I am planning on going to Australia in 2011 for a month, probably sometime either in Aug, Sept, or Oct. I am thinking of taking a Contiki Tour for 18 days, as I will be 30-31 at the time, and the rest of the time I would like to spend more time in Sydney and Melbourne. My other thought has been to just travel solo for a month and see the stuff I would like to see, but not sure if I would get more experiences with doing the Contiki Tour or going alone. I am also concerned as the more I research Contiki it sounds as though there is a lot of partying and not sure that I really want that in a trip. Any suggestions??

Whether or not there is a lot of partying with Contiki I would opt for a do it yourself tour. Australia is very easy to get around and if you use suggestions on this forum you will do much, much better for a lot less $$$$ than you would with Contiki etc.

Hi Shianne,

Last year I did an itinerary for a single 19 year old girl travelling solo in Australia; (and first time out of the US). Her mother even called me as she had some concerns about her daughter travelling so far by herself. She was spending a week in Perth with friends, but the rest of the time travelling solo. She took the train from Perth to Adelaide and I put her in a hostel there (where she met other people), and then I had her on a bus tour w/accommodation from Adelaide to Melbourne, in another hostel, and both this one and the one I put her in Sydney had "women's only" floors that could only be accessed by a key card, which her Mom really appreciated hearing about!

The next segment was onto Cairns and she had a great time there, met tons of people who invited her to continue on with them (but she was out of time and couldn't).

That type of itinerary allows more freedom than being locked into an 18 day touring schedule, possibly going to areas or places that you might not have an interest in; however, if you like their itinerary, then go for it!

As far as Contiki and partying, yes, there will be some of that going on, but it doesn't mean you have to partake if you don't want to. When you get any group of people together you're going to run into all sorts of personalities - some good, some not.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Melodie, thanks for the info, that is quite helpful. My mom is also worried about me traveling alone (and I am almost 30!) so she would like me to go with a tour, but the more that I look into things, the more I think I would like to travel solo and possibly see more. Do you have any recommendations as for guidebooks?

Shianne, I have travelled solo to lots of places. Australia is very easy to travel around as a solo traveller. You speak the language, so you won't have any language problems. Read a guide book, you can't see the whole country in one month. Choose where you'd like to go and go for it. It's a great destination for a first time solo traveller. A tour group can be a hit or miss, how much you enjoy the trip will depend on who is one the tour, you can have some great travel companions, or you can have some people who are inconsiderate and spoil things for everybody else. Traavelling in a tour group means travelling on their schedule, not yours.

Hi Shianne,

Glad that info was helpful! I'm not the best source for guidebooks as I sort of have all this stuff in my head but when I do Europe, I really love the Eyewitness Guides; Lonely Planet's also good. The problem with guidebooks is by the time they're printed (a year later) some of the information is already out of date. Why don't you check out the official Australia Tourism site at www.australia.com?

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Hi Shianne,
Good to see you on this forum too. I think it is much more active than the "other" one.

I like both Frommers and Fodors guidebooks, but you should do some browsing in your local library and bookstore(s) to see which style fits you best. Lonely Planet is less US oriented and may be another option.

__________________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Hi Shiane,
If I were your Mother, I think I'd be more likely to be concerned about your tripping around on a Contiki/party/hostel junket than going solo Seriously, as others have said, I'd encourage you to travel solo and do day or short,small group interest based tours from various locations. From Cairns, for example, you could do a wildlife tour for a couple of days and see a lot you most probably would not see/recognize otherwise. And/or you could do a live-aboard dive/snorkel trip to the Great Barrier Reef. In the Blue Mountains, you could do a walking & bird spotting day with a guide. In Sydney, there's a very good tourist info centre in The Rocks, and from there you can get contacts for all manner of tours, guides etc. Same set up in all our major cities and most regional towns.

I think this mix gives you the best of all options: your schedule & itinerary, an opportunity of mixing with fellow travellers with similar interests when you choose, and of some time exploring or doing not too much at all, on your own.
As you have a month, you have some flexibility and could mix in flying between most distant localities with driving between others, to give you more than the "100 km/mile radius" view from various centres.

School Holidays in 2011 will be approx: April 8 - 30; July 8 - 20; Sept 23-October 10; Dec 17 - 2 Feb 2012. If you can avoid these dates, you'll do better with accommodation & air fare rates.

You'll have a wonderful time. When you've some idea of what you'd like to see and can give us an indication of your interests, do come back & ask away; lots of helpful people from all around the country as well as travellers who've been here and can give you their views.

Hi,

Go for the ideas above.

When our daughter was 20 a few years ago, she went to Australia for over two months. Granted during the week for about 6 weeks, she was doing her practise teaching, but for a few weeks before and after and on the week ends she traveleld to places that she wanted to see by her self and had a ball.

As her mon, I was a bit nervous with her so far away, but she enjoyed her travels and using the day tour route at the places she visited. She loved it, met lots of nice people and felt very safe.

We were in Australia for a month this year, traveled all over, driving ourselves, using planes and trains, meeting lots of friendly people. We know now why she had such a good time.

Thanks everyone! Now I think I may need to convince my mom to let me go alone and just do the day/short tour thing. One question though...is it easier or best to set up the tours prior to getting to Australia or once you get there??

You're an adult & have been for more than a decade Shianne, and presumably responsibly leading your life, earning a living etc.. You're more than old enough and one would hope, mature enough to make your own travel decisions. If not, it'll be a great learning curve that will set you up for the rest of your life

OTOH, you could tell your Mother you've decided to ditch the solo Australia idea and canoe up the Zambesi - with a group, of course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLoxZ...eature=related

When she comes back from the rafters, you can let her convince YOU to go solo in Australia

Shianne, what tours are you talking about? Day trips from certain cities, or a tour that is a few days long (like a Melbourne to Adelaide GOR tour, or an Ayers Rock tour)?

You can get discounts on day trips when you book locally, especially excursions from Cairns. There is alot of competition amoungst the travel agencies there and all of them discount day trips to the Barrier reef, Kuranda, Cape Trib, etc.

Alot of tours are easy to book once in OZ, but if it is a tour to travel from A to B (like Melbourne to Adelaide, for example) and you need to book flights in advance and organize your itinerary accordingly, I'd book these tours in advance.

Hi Shianne,
Let me give you a different perspective as I've traveled w/ Contiki to Canada & New Zealand. I went to Australia w/ my sister-in-law & alone to stay w/ friends so I guess I've done both. If you want to meet a bunch of great people, I say go w/ Contiki & then extend afterwards on your own. You party as much as you want to party but be forewarned they start pretty early in the am. You can pay for optional excursions or you can just spend that time sight seeing on your own or w/ others in your group. It's still your holiday. I've met many nice Aussies through Contiki & I'm sure you'll make friends to hang out w/ after your trip.

LABruin,
Did you enjoy your Contiki tours and get a lot out of them?? How old were you when you went on them?? I don't mind partying now and then and am not a huge drinker anymore, so I don't know that getting up early would be a problem. However, I don't want to feel like that is the focus of the trip.

I very much enjoyed my Contiki holidays & have made great, new friends out of it as well. I was actually just over the "age limit" when I first went & went again in October as an alum. I'm not much of a drinker either but nights out were still fun watching the others drink or just dancing/singing along & meeting locals. The more solo travelers in the group, the funner it is. Everyone I've met was there to see the sights/country, not be hungover all day. Contiki gives you a taste of each location. Sometimes (usually) not long enough but just enough in smaller locales. I wouldn't use them in Europe cause that's too much go, go, go which is why I used them in more scenic countries that involved lots of driving. I promise you though, you will meet Aussies on Contiki who will welcome you to their hometowns!

LaBruin-
Was your first trip to Canada or New Zealand?? What was the average age on your trips?? I am so undecided on what route to take, either the tour or solo and just do day tours or short trip tours. Most of the major trips I have ever taken involved school trips and someone else doing all the arranging for me, so this is a major project for me.

Shianne, e-mail me...I don't want to bore the rest of the Fodors readers....chinesebruin at gmail. Also, have you checked out the Contiki message boards?