Australia or Europe?
 

I am an 18 year old Canadian, and i just cannot make a decision on where to travel this summer. I have family and friends in both Europe and Australia, both have offered to show me around, house me etc. I have never been to Oz, but i have also only really seen the U.K. in Europe. I cannot make a decision, hopefully some fellow travellers can help me out??

Cheers!

Hi R,

>Australia or Europe?

Apple pie or chocolate cake?

((I))

I say go to Australia- you are young, have lots of energy. Australia is a big, spreadout country. Europe on the other hand is more sedate and an entirely different scene. You can take a lot at one time or in small sips.
This is an entirely personal opinion.
By the way if you're going to Australia you may as well jump to NZ as well.
Have a good trip!

I think the previous poster is on to something. Australia and NZ are fantastic ( it will be winter there but you can still wear shorts in Oz).
Most young people just love it!

and most young travelers doing the Youth Eurail type backpacking trip around Europe love it as well.

To me Europe is much more varied, culturally, cuisine even geographically then Down Under

Zillions of Aussies and Aucklanders spend their summers touring Europe.

But i agree - you can't go wrong. It's also a whole lot longer getting the kangaroo land.

Yes,PalenQ, as an ex Kiwi I agree that nz and Aussie do not have the same varied culture as Europe but they are I think more demanding physically than Europe which you can ration according to your strengths. Thus said I think it is good to go down under when you are younger. Europe you can enjoy for the rest of your life no matter what your age.
Chasing kangaroos etc is for a certain age.

If I was given the option, I'd go to Australia, but this is just me...

ex-Kiwi - i don't really understand why Australia is more demanding physically? Please explain and i in no way am not saying this may not be true so don't take me wrong as confrontation... do you mean Scuba diving, etc. or what?

sincerely PalQ

I mean the long distances between each place . Long travelling. In Europe you can pass thru several countries in several hours. In Australia you can go several days between large towns.
But as I said it's my personal opinion.
Whatever - ther are all great place to travel!

The reason i never went to Australia even though i did a whole year's travel in Asia when i was a youth was just that - lots of empty space between the few cities that would attract me.

Plus i thought Australia and NZ would be fairly similar, in the realm of things, to the U.S. and when i went to Europe for two months as a college student i had to cope with lanugage and cultural differences - these could well make traveling in Europe the first time i think more strenuous mentally than in an English-speaking country.

And then there's the lack of history, again a relative thing - like the U.S. i though Aussies shared basically a British origin history of shared values and language.

In Europe the old cathedrals and museums with things i had always read about gave me a great sense of centuries of Western culture.

Whatever but at that age i would view a trip as the chance to gain cultural growth and cope for yourself in a truly foreign i.e. non-English speaking country. The summer i spent in Europe greatly helped me become independent and confident, etc.

And yes, every few hours on the train in Europe you have a completely different city and even culture whereas in Australia there's a lot of tumbleweed and spaces in between.

But my impression of Australia/NZ being pretty much like Canada in the wider picture may be wrong.

I'd chose Europe if i were an 18 year old but that's my opinion.

Respectively, PalQ

I backpacked Oz the year I graduated college. It was a wonderful experience... I have been to Europe several times... but for a grad present- Oz all the way!!! You need to have a lot of time though, we were there for 7 weeks and didn't see it all. Oz is really big... like the size of the US. It takes a lot of time to travel to different parts, unlike Europe.

It's very unlikely you'll mismanage your life so badly as to spend the 80 years you're likely to be around after you get back never going more than 10 miles from Medicine Hat.

Especially since over the next few years you'll be able, if you want to, to spend serious time working in Oz, NZ or a reasonable slug of Europe.

Obviously a greater proportion of what's easily accessible to visitors in Oz is physical than in Europe. But you can just as easily do serious hiking in the Blue Mountains, or scubaing off the Barrier Reef, in your late 50s as in your teens.

Actually, I'd argue strongly for Continental Europe at your age. Travelling in Australia is infintely less pressured than in most of Europe. The airports are emptier, the hourly change of language as you're driving (or at your age, stuck for the 24th endless hour on a Eurolines bus) less disorienting, the lavatories cleaner and hotel rooms big enough to swing a cat a great deal cheaper.

I never cease being gobsmacked on this site reading the tales of North American and Antipodean visitors to Europe putting up with the discomfort and pressure as they get the overnight train from Rome to Athens that I swore in my mid-20s I'd never put up with again.

God, in Her wisdom, designed Oz for serious youthful gapyears, where youthful English-speakers can invest six months or a year socialising and partying with people they've got to know at work. Or for us middle-aged farts, who can enjoy Australia's sheer bloody painlessness.

Europe's overcrowded cheap hostels, shoulder-to-shoulder Metro travel and mass, multilingual, student intermingling, are best tasted in youth. Then go back in maturity to the expensive hotels, Michelin restaurants, and the highly specialised birdwatching, manuscript-chasing or gallery- prowling trips that'll fill in the gaps you noticed as you were torn betwen getting to the third country of the day or checking whether that potential partner you were chatting up really was as up for it as you convinced yourself.

How long's your trip? I would want a month to go all the way to Australia. I'm willing to go to Europe for as short a time a 2 weeks.

Have you priced plane tickets to both places?

Come downunder to the dark side of the moon. You'll have a great time. We have lots to offer, but yes quite different to Europe. My Canadian cousins visited a few years ago and wanted to move here permanently and they never left Melbourne! My cousin from London has been here a couple of times and would love to live here. Where do your relo's live? You can get cheap flights between all cities and attractions (easyjet and virgin blue).
Winter here will be no problem for you - you'll be able to visit Uluru, snorkel the G.B.Reef and swim in beautiful beaches, walk through the Daintree rainforest, eat great food at reasonable prices, drink good Aussie wine or beer, watch an Aussie Rules football match, etc., etc.

My trip will be a month long... likely the end of June tell the beginning of August. I have priced both places and getting from Calgary (My city) to Sydney is quite a bit more expenisve than it is to travel from Calgary to London. That being said once I have gotten tickets to all the countries i would like to see in Europe, both prices should be close to equal. I have family and friends in London, Aberdeen, and Koln. In Oz i have family and friends in both Sydney and Perth (quite a distance apart though). All your comments have been quite helpful thank you all very much!

Australia is nothing like Canada or the USA . What is your budget ? That may determine what you do .Do some research on costs ,as our dollar is the highest in the last 6 years against the US dollar and I presume the Canadian dollar as well .So it is not cheap travelling .
It is Winter in Australia and cool down south and warm up North . In the Red Centre it can be 30 degrees celsius in the day and minus degrees overnight . It is a beautiful time of year - and Australians like Canadians a lot in my experience if for no other reason than we share a Queen as Head of State .

Absolutely no doubt it has got to be Europe! You may travel thousands of km's in Australia but still only meet Australians (and a few immigrants). Travel a few km's in Europe and you meet different Nationalities. Australia like USA and South Africa have history only going back +- 350 years, Europe has everything.

Rollinrevue, one thing to consider is the season. Chances are your relatives live somewhere in the south (NSW, Victoria, etc), where the weather isn't all that brilliant in Jun-Aug. That time of year is perfect for visiting Far North Queensland and Northern Territory, though. It's dry season, there aren't any stingers on the beaches, and the best time for going to the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu, Uluru, etc.

I'm an aussie aswell and would recommend europe for one reason mentioned. If your staying with friends , then you will see alot more close the their home carrying out day trips etc as opposed to Australia (unless they mean flying with you somewhere?). With regards to costs,I don't know what Johnfitz means by Australia not being cheap. True, the aussie dollar has been on the rise for some years now , but one aussie dollar only gets you about 60 cents euro, therefore giving you more value for your canadian currency.

As an Aussie - I would say come to Australia!
Here are a few recommendations if you do...
Hiking in Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Adventure Touring on Fraser Island (the whole island is world heritage listed and absolutely beautiful)
Climbing the Sydney Harbour or Story Bridge (Sydney and Brisbane)
The natural wonders - Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Kimberley, Great Ocean Road
Melbourne has a great arts and music scene and Sydney has the beautiful harbour
Wonderful beaches if you like surfing, swimming or snorkeling.
If you are young and like the outdoors - Australia is a great option. New Zealand is also so close and the adventure sports capital of the world - heaps to do there!
But hey I'm biased!
We are heading to Europe in July and I an't wait to experience the rich tapestry that is Europe's great cities, art, culture and history - so pros and cons on both accounts!
There is a lot of space in Australia and that is part of the beauty of the place. You feel you are the only person on earth in most of the continent - some spectacular landscape inland. Hard decision for you - good luck!