Written by Adam Whitehouse
Posted, 8th June 2021
Is it safe to go travelling in Australia alone you ask? The simple answer is… 100% YES 🐨 🇦🇺
With so many different ways to travel this incredible country, you would be crazy not to! Whether you’re planning a short trip up the East Coast of Australia or planning to do a working holiday visa on your Gap Year. There really is no better experience out there!
To give you a bit of peace of mind, we thought we’d cover a few topics relating to travelling in Australia alone…
You’re never truly alone when travelling in Australia
The youth market contributes to over a quarter of the visitors arriving in Australia each year, in 2019 alone there were over 2.4 million young travellers visiting Australia looking to explore this incredible country! In Sydney there are over 30 different backpacker/youth hostels to choose from, full of travellers just like you travelling in Australia alone.
Everyone speaks English in Australia
One of the biggest worries that most people have when travelling abroad is ‘communication’. Luckily for us English speakers… Australia is one of those places you’ll have absolutely no worries communicating with locals. Yes granted they don’t speak the most pristine old fashioned English, they actually shorten most words and have decided to make up a few of their own along the way. But rest assured 99.9% of Australians speak English!
The money is easy to manage
You may or may not know but Australia is part of the commonwealth and still holds the Queen as head of state. The first time I went travelling in Australia it was super weird to receive money that looked very similar to that of British pounds.
Plus… if you’re on a working holiday visa in Australia you will be eligible to set up a local bank account to keep all those hard-earned pennies safe while travelling around Australia.
You can do a Group Tour
One of the easiest and best things to do if you are worried about travelling in Australia alone is – jumping on a ‘Group Tour’. If you’ve never heard of this kind of thing then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that they’ll sort out pretty much everything for you from start to finish, accommodation, activities, experiences and a bunch of meals. Plus if you’re on a working holiday visa they can help with setting up bank accounts, tax file numbers, SIM cards, job preparation and of course unlimited support during your whole time in Australia!
Group Tour Recommendation: Welcome to Sydney – Starter Package
Group Tour Recommendation: Welcome to Melbourne – Starter Package
Easy ways to get around
Australia as a nation has a fantastic transportation system from hop-on-hop-off buses up the east coast of Australia to free trams in both Sydney and Melbourne CBD. There really is no shortage of transport in this incredible country and generally, it’s pretty affordable for the average traveller. Most people travelling in Australia alone opt for hop-off-hop-off bus passes.
Pro Tip: If you’re looking to get a bus pass, let us know via the DM’s. Our buddies in Australia can sort you out with some solid DISCOUNTS 🔥
Flat/houseshare is very popular
With most of the major destinations being university cities there is no shortage of both local and foreign students. You can find all sorts of groups on Facebook with young people just like you looking to share a place to stay.
There is WI-FI absolutely EVERYWHERE
Being able to stay in touch with your worrying family back home is an absolute must when travelling in Australia alone. Well, rest assured, Australia is fully rigged up with WIFI in most restaurants, bars, cafes and of course hostels/hotels. There are also a whole bunch of SIM card providers with a range of different internet packages to keep you connected!
Optus and Boost were my 2 go-to sim card providers in Australia. Optus for the bigger cities but Boost for the more rural areas as they piggy back off the Telstra network!
The food is very similar to back home
For all the picky eaters out there you will be happy to know that food in Australia is very similar to back home! You can find anything from burger and chips to avo on toast! What makes Australia even more appealing is the very affordable eating out options, if you decide to do a working holiday visa in Australia you will find your salary each month will balance well alongside a healthy social lifestyle of going out and socialising with friends on a weeknight.
Very little chance of been scammed
I’m not going to guarantee that you 100% won’t get scammed in Australia! Let’s be honest, you can get scammed in pretty much any country in the world. But what I will tell you is that all the service providers that you deal with should be regulated and licensed. This means when you pay for something – you’ll get exactly what you pay for, ticket in hand or some kind of email to prove it!
Vehicle rental is good value and trustworthy
A very popular way to travel Australia is by campervan or car. At some point during your trip to Australia you’ll consider the idea of renting a campervan. Well, rest assured, renting a camper or car in Australia doesn’t have to be a stressful ordeal, actually the complete opposite to be honest. Just like everything back home, read all the terms and conditions, ask lots of questions, and be sure to understand what’s included and what’s not. The only thing left to do is hit the road and have an AWESOME time!
If you’re looking at renting a campervan you should get in touch with the guys at Ratpack Travel. These legends have an awesome reputation and will guarantee to save you 10% Vs going direct!
Road safety is an actual thing in Australia
You’ll be happy to know that driving in Australia is reasonably safe. Speed limits are adhered to (most of the time!) and seatbelt wearing is mandatory. What’s even more important is the state of the highways. The infrastructure in Australia is great so no worrying about crazy car accidents because of dodgy roads. With all that said if you venture far ‘outback’, things can get a little funky with dirt roads, cattle trucks and kangaroos crossing the busy roads!
If you’ve ever been travelling in Australia alone and feel we missed anything in this article please slide into the DM’s (Whatsapp/FB Messenger) as we are always looking to update our content!
Also if you found this blog super helpful, you can share it with a friend via the links either here 👉🏼 or here 👇🏼
