DESTINATIONS

Australia

Europe

United States

RTW Trips
"Round the World"

TOP 20 HOSTELS

COMMUNICATE

TRAVEL GEAR

SERVICES

Destination Australia!
Click on a link below to jump to a specific section

Ambiance

Lay of the Land

Backpacker Scene

Backpacker Scene

The natural wonders and the people of Australia are wonderful all by themselves, but the real reason that you're likely to have a great time down under is the lively and diverse backpacker scene. Americans traveling through Australia will make more European friends during their Australian adventure than they could by traveling through Europe, itself. This may sound absurd, but the people that you really get to know are the ones that you travel with, the backpackers. The Australian backpacker scene has a much more diverse mix of travelers than the European scene, which can be over-run by American backpackers.

The hostels throughout Australia are some of the best in the world. Many of them are located in smaller towns where real estate is more affordable, so the hostel owners can offer much more attractive accommodations and still keep the rates within a backpackers budget. Often times, there are three of four good hostels in a town so you'll meet backpackers at other hostels in addition to the one where you're staying. The accommodations are relatively nice for the rent. It's not uncommon to have a pool, an inexpensive restaurant, a lively pub, and a tour booking office at most hostels. If you've done the hostel thing through Europe, you may be weary of hostels due to the cleanliness factor. I'm with you. Rest assured, you'll be pleasantly surprised by many of the Australian hostels. Nonetheless, Australia's big city hostels resemble other city hostels around the world and share their shortcomings.

Activities are plentiful for the outdoors oriented backpacker in Australia. You won't be able to catch a lot of museums, cathedrals, and architectural wonders (except in Sydney), but you will be able to partake in everything from great hikes to 4WD adventures to sailing trips to scuba diving to bungee jumping to sapphire mining. For your cultural appreciation quota, you'll have to soak up all of the Aboriginal sights and sounds - which are quite plentiful.

Partying at the hostels and pretty much everywhere you go is a given any night of the week. Drinking beer is a national pastime down under, so you'll be made to feel right at home if you belly up to the bar and order a pint of VB (Victoria Bitter, the beer of choice in most of Australia). VB is possibly the best beer on earth, but it's hard to find outside of Australia. Ironically, Fosters, referred to as "Australian for Beer" in America - can hardly be found down under. Buying slabs (cases) of piss (beer) and warming up at the hostel is the way to keep within budget. Another money saving tidbit - when you go out, it's not customary to tip unless you're at a nice restaurant. Oh, did I mention that the drinking age is 18 in Australia?

The busiest backpacking season is from the end of November to the end of February, Australia's summer. Since Australia is huge and one third is in the tropics, you can find nice weather all year. If you're dipping into the southern parts and you want warm weather while you're there, you should restrict your southern segment to between October and March.

Buses are the way to travel in Australia, as trains are more expensive and fail to hit all the nooks and crannies of Australia. The bus to take is the backpacker oriented Oz Experience which goes off the beaten path, stops when the passengers want to stop, plays the music the passengers want to hear, and books whatever hostel you wish to stay at while your enroute. It like a traveling hostel. It definitely is NOT the mind-numbing organized bus tour that may come to mind. There are traditional bus companies, but what's the point if you've got specialized backpacker transportation, of which the Oz Experience is only one. For the longer jumps, you should seriously consider taking a plane… you don't want to go coast to coast on a bus unless you've got heaps (lots) of time. Buying a car is another option if you don't mind: getting lost occasionally, getting lots of parking tickets, or having to try to sell the thing when you're done. Once again… what's the point? My advice is to take the backpacker buses, and spend all your extra time and money you'll have drinking beer with the new backpacker friends you met on the bus rides.

For US$80 a day (Excluding flight), if you stay in hostels, you can be a high-rollin' backpacker partying at the pub almost every night, eating out at inexpensive restaurants, partaking in all the day trips and weekend excursions you can handle, and even hit the casinos. This should serve as a good spending ceiling. Many travelers can easily get by on half this and still have a great time. So target about US$40 a day and don't get upset or be surprised if you spend a little more than this. It's the trip of a lifetime after all. Remember that you're in Australia and wealth is calculated in social currency… often times the less you spend, the more fun you have. This is what hostelling is all about.

-wise nomad

Want more info on Australia?
Join our Traveling Australia Group!

View
Australia's
best hostels

Join the
Traveling Australia
discussion group

Get an
Australian
Guidebook

Latest Aussie News