Australia in Just 2 weeks

AUSTRALIA is a beautiful country which has perhaps some of the best-est beaches in the world. If you are a beach lover then this is the perfect country for you.

I am writing this post as to encourage you all to make your won itineraries while you are traveling. It is not at all important to go to any travel agents to book the entire trip, instead it is extremely easy to customize your own trip just like I did.

Imagine you are asked to be on top of Eureka Tower(Melbourne)-- 88th deck at 2 pm; what will you be able to see? Your travel agent will take you to the place and they will mark that place as covered. 

But if you are going to top of Eureka Tower and not seeing the beautiful Melbourne lit in your own eyes then what is the point of going there. Instead you can plan your day in such a way that in the evening you are going to the top. The tickets are very much available at ticket counters, so there is no need to worry about tickets as well. This is just one simple example I gave! Also if you customize your own trip it will be extreme budget friendly.

Let's have a look at the map of Australia.

From the map above it can be seen that first comes Melbourne, then Sydney and then Gold Coast( near Brisbane). So the flights should be booked in this manner as well. So whenever I plan a trip first I look at the map and then I plan my flights accordingly :)

Then the most important thing to consider is WEATHER. What time of the year you want to visit Australia? If you love summer the best time to visit is December/January when the sun is at it's peak. And if you want less crowd then perhaps the spring/autumn is the best time to travel.

Few things are just important to do before you start your trip: 

1> Visa - One can go to VFS office and apply for an Australian visa at least a month before your date of travel. Please see the below website for applying Australian visa for Indians

http://www.vfsglobal.com/australia/india/

2> Flight Itenary- Need to book flights to and from Australia. Since I covered Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast, my flight was from Kolkata to Melbourne and then Gold Coast to Kolkata. I also did book the flight from Melbourne to Sydney and Sydney to Gold Coast. The domestic flights are really cheap.

3> Hotel Itenary -I booked the hotels in advance. Since Australia is a very expensive country, I chose to book via AirBnb where hosts allows you to share their rooms and you can stay at their places. In a way you can make new friends , learn their culture, sometimes if you lucky to get good hosts then they might give you tips for your travel.

www.airbnb.co.in/‎

4> Carry International Debit Cards and Credit cards or you can even use Forex cards as well.

That is all you need. Pack your bags and you are ready for the great adventure. :)

Back in 2016, I have traveled to 3 places: Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast and I covered these places in just 2 weeks.

I dwell in India and from here I had my flight straight to Melbourne, the coastal capital of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. I spent 4 nights in Melbourne and from there I went to Sydney, the capital of New South Wales famous for it's superb beaches, vibrant cultural scene and for it's cosmopolitan international population. I stayed 4 nights in Sydney as well. Later from Sydney I went to Gold Coast, famous for its long sandy beaches, surfing spots and elaborate system of inland canals and waterways. It’s also home to theme parks such as Dreamworld, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild . Here I spent 5 nights. I found Gold Coast one of the most beautiful places I have visited till date and in a separate post I will share my experiences about Gold Coast

When I was planning for the trip I first figured out the places i wanted to visit in each of these beautiful cities and based on that I made my entire trip itenary .

Melbourne

Day 1 -> Visit Melbourne Cricket Ground, Ethiad Stadium, St Kilda Beach and Brighton Beach.

Day 2 -> Great Ocean Road Tour

Day 3 -> Chocolate Factory and Philip Island Tour

Day 4 -> Gold Trail tour during day and Federation Square in evening.

Sydney

Day 1 -> Sydney City Tour includes Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Botanical Gardens.

Day 2 -> Manly Beach, A coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach.

Day 3 -> Blue Mountains Trip

Day 4 -> Taronga Zoo

Gold Coast

Day 1 -> Relaxing day - Covered almost all the beaches.

Day 2 -> Movie World.

Day 3 -> Sea World.

Day 4 -> Glow Worm Cave and Natural Bridge Tour from Gold Coast.

Day 5 -> Shopping

Once I decided my places of visit, next things that came to my mind is what hotel and where shall I book the same. 

I always chose to stay at a place close to public transport because all these places are very well communicated by trains and buses. Melbourne inter city is well communicated by trams and buses and Sydney via trains and Gold Coast also by trams and buses. 

It is always expensive if you choose to stay in the downtown and so it is widely advisable to stay maybe 2 stops away from downtown but the place should be easily communicated by public transport so that you can reach your destination in few minutes only.

Another most important thing that I have not mentioned is public transport cards. Each of these places have travel cards which has got it's utility and one can travel at very cheap price.

Melbourne -> myki card.

myki is your ticket to travel on trains, tram and buses in Melbourne and many parts of regional Victoria. 

Please refer to the below website.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/myki 

 

Sydney -> Opal card. 

 

Contactless payments now available on Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity Opal rail services. 

Please refer to the below website.

https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/opal#/login

Best part is that the maximum daily cut off is 15$ a day. So if someone is traveling too much in a day, after 15$ the journey is free. :)

Gold Coast -> go card. 

 

Travel seamlessly across South East Queensland by touching on at the beginning of your journey and touching off at the end. 

Please refer to the below website.

https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card

It is possible to buy these cards at any nearest train stations or 7 Eleven or even at airport. While leaving the city it is advisable to return the cards as well and the top-up money gets refunded.

Hope I clear some of your doubts. I will prepare separate posts regarding each of the places I mentioned here.

Till then good bye :)

Cheers Leena