1. Searching and booking the flight to Australia.
2. Choosing the right travel destinations.
3. Outlining the travel itinerary across Australia.
4. Choosing cost-effective transportation around Australia,
5. Booking domestic flights, car rental etc.
6. Researching and booking your accommodation in Australia.

Now it’s time for you to step forward and make all arrangements for your trip to Australia.

Let’s have a look at the second row of things to sort out before travelling to Australia.

All Steps for Planning a Trip to Australia

• Passport and Australia Travel Visa Issues
  As you know you need a valid passport to enter as a tourist Australia. Check your passport’s expiry date and make sure it is valid for at least 6 months after your planned departure. You will also need travel or a tourist visa to enter Australia unless you are from New Zeland, everyone needs one.The best way to get a tourist visa is to apply for a Travel Visa also called ETA. If you are from Europe, you can apply for the e-visitors visa, a free visa granted to all European citizens.You can apply for ETA Visa to Australia or your e-visitors at least a couple of weeks before leaving, and all applications are usually processed within 48hours. Save a copy of your Australia Visa with a copy of your passport on a USB flash drive.

• International Driving License for hiring a car in Australia
  If you plan to hire a can in Australia, you need an international driving license, unless you have an English driving license. You need to apply for it at your local car registration office. Do not forget to bring your own local driving license too.Here are some great tips for driving in Australia.

• How to pay in Australia – Cash or Credit Cards
  Credit and debit cards are the best way to pay in Australia. Visa and Mastercard are the most common credit cards. A prepaid credit card can save you money on exchange commissions. You’d better check out with your own bank before going to Australila.For your daily cash, the best tip is to withdraw money from the ATMs, you can use either credit card or prepaid cards, but beware that commissions on credit cards can be expensive. On this post, you can read about currency exchange tips and also check out with your local bank how they will charge your card when using it in Australia.

• Australia Travel Insurance
  When it comes to Travel Insurance, this is probably the less exciting aspect of the whole trip preparation. Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered it here. I have been using different travel insurance types and have a bit of experience with it. The first thing you need to check is1) whether your health insurance covers you in Australia. Most local health insurances don’t.
  
  What you want to have covered? Major issues are Health Insurance and MedEvac Insurance.
  Flight Cancellation. Thefts of personal belongings. Personal liability.For a deeper insight into choosing the right travel insurance, I’ve put together a detailed page with all things about travel insurance for Australia.

• Packing for Australia – what kind of luggage
  If you have not made up your mind yet with what kind of baggage you will choose for Australia check out this post with great packing trips and how to choose between a backpack and suitcase for your travel in Australia.If you have made up your decision, check out this useful packing tips for Australia.

To learn more about how to get your Australia Trip organized, check out these other pages:

Packing Tips for Australia

Baggage Allowances Australia

What to Wear in Australia

Your Australia Itinerary Guide Book

Australia Travel Tips

The post How To Plan A Solo Adventure in Australia appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

Memories from my Wildlife Warrior Volunteer Experience

Feeding Koalas was, among other things, the most exciting experience. You need to learn some basic skill of how to do it properly but it is not difficult at all. However feeding koalas is not as eay as it may sound, koalas, like human beings, have their own character, moods and approach, some koalas are keen on their daily paste, some others simply hate it. So as a novice warrior I only had to feed the “good ones” and I had the honour of feeding the koala patient Warren for a few days, as you can see from the pictures below, I really enjoyed it and Warrend did it too

During the cleaning process you have to remove the old leaves and replace them with fresh gum tree leaves. You must develop the feel for it, what has to be removed and what can be left inside. Moreover some of them prefer eating only a certain type of gum tree leaves, so at the beginning it was very confusing, but after a couple of days you get used to it and you do it naturally. If you ask me, I still cannot distinguish a blue gum leaf from a casuarina gum leaf But do not worry experienced volunteers and the lovely wildlife hospital staff help out with that, pulling out the right bunches of fresh gum tree leaves for you to fill the pots in each koala enclosure!

Watching animal patients’ in the I.C.U and in the emergency rooms

Australia is a great country for volunteering. It offers the opportunity to residents as well as to foreign travellers and students to get involved in environmental and social projects, thus become part of the australian community by doing volunteer work. Before getting into details, let’s have a look at what volunteering means.

All about volunteer work in Australia

Volunteer work by definition is something that you personally choose to do and in no way is related to paid work. Volunteer work is no replacement for paid work either. It is something you choose to do out of your wish to experience new challenges and be confronted with the local environmental and social conditions of the country you live in or travel to.

Volunteer work only can take place within non profit organizations which are involved in projects with the goal of being a benefit of the whole community and of the volunteers too.

Why volunteering in Australia

Volunteering in Australia is a great opportunity not only to learn about the environmental, social, needs of the country, but also a way of being part of the related activities of the community and thus contributing to the conservation of the australian land, the australian wildlife, the australian culture as well as promoting equality, dignity, human and animal rights.

There are many individual benefits you can gain and here below I can list some:

• personal development
• acquiring knowledge and new skills
• helping the community
• exploring new environments
• contributing with ideas and abilities
• meeting new people
• doing small things that makes a huge difference
• having fun

Who choose to volunteer in Australia

Australia has a large offer of volunteer work. Did you know that over 5millions of Australians volunteer each year thus contributing to the community with their work ? Over 45% of them are aged 35-44 years, however the younger people between 18-24 represent the biggest growth area in volunteering. The most active volunteers are from Queensland and ACT. On top of this statistics you can add the increasing number of international volunteers, i.e. foreign students and travellers coming to Australia every year to join a volunteer project.

Where to volunteer in Australia

There is a large number of non profit organizations in Australia where you can research and apply for volunteer work. The type of organizations range from:

• sport, recreation
• education
• training
• land conservation
• wildlife conservation
• community services
• welfare
• religios groups

Here is a link to the Organizations Profiles from GoVolunteer as part of an initiative of Volunteering Australia where you can check out for more detailed information and see what volunteering projects are currently available.

What type of volunteer work

I have always wanted to experience some volunteer work in Australia. During my last trip in Australia, I have been lucky to do this amazing Volunteer Work with Wildlife in Queensland.

How to Become a Wildlife Warrior Volunteer

The post Wildlife Volunteer Australia appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

But apart from this aspect, the trip prologue and the trip planning blueprint is exactly the same to plan a trip to Australia.

So how does my travel planning blueprint looks like for my third trip to Australia?

My Travel Blueprint for Australia

• How I booked my flight to Australia….first time flying with Emirates
  Once we outlined the time frame for our flight to Australia we started the research online….this time I have been pretty lucky with the flight schedule and the flight booking to Australia. I managed to get an EMIRATES flight to Australia booked, and for the first time, I also managed to get a stopover night at the connection airport in Dubai. This is excellent news: in fact, it’s not easy at all to find a good value flight to Australia along with a stopover night at the connection airport. I travelled twice via Singapore and I could not get it. And for the first time I will be leaving from home too, directly from Venice airport to Dubai and from Dubai off to Melbourne, ah ah, that’s great news indeed.
• Emirates is offering great flight deals to Australia leaving from Europe with excellent flight connections. I am flying Emirates for the first time too, and since I have heard that Emirates is among the most reputable worldwide airlines for service and comfort onboard, I can’t wait to fly and try it out myself. I can highly recommend to check out the Emirates Website and search for flight deals there.

• What Travel Destination am I going to see this time. It will be a bit of déjà vu trip
  This time I will have the honour to show Australia to a friend who is returning for the first time to Australia after a long time! So my travel plan for the first weeks will be a sort of “déjà vu trip” for me, re-visiting the iconic destinations and major attractions in Australia. Come back here to see the updates of my day-by-day travel route. Some among the iconic Australian destinations that we will be visiting are the GOR, Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon, The Top End, and major cities like Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and more.

• How will I get around Australia?
  On my previous trips I loved using Australian public transportation, I covered my entire itinerary by bus and by train. This time I will take advantage of having a wonderful travel companion, so for the first time, I will be hiring a car for some driving routes. Searching and booking the car has been very easy, and I did it online through oodles.

• My Tip: book ahead of time, 2WD car hire and especially 4WD car hire can be very expensive especially in the Red Centre and in some other Australian attraction areas if you wait till the last minute. The sooner you book the better.With this great car rental comparison site, we had the advantage of having all our car bookings made with a few clicks, a good time ahead and we did not have to pay upfront. We paid when we picked up our booked cars.This is a checklist for you to go through when booking your car in Australia:
  • Weekends opening hours for pick up and drop off be careful in the red centre over weekends you can hire your car only from airports, cities like Alice Springs are usually closed on Saturdays and Sundays. So check it out and before making your reservation and book your connection flight accordingly
  • Different drop off from pick up location can be turned into an expensive extra may turn out to be very expensive if you pick up your car in one place and want to drop it off somewhere else. The best thing is to drive in a loop, i.e. same pick up and drop off location. The Ayers Rock drop off can cost you 300,00AUD alone if you
    have picked up your car somewhere else. The good thing is to check it out with the car rental company once you have your booking processed.
  • Check out whether you are allowed to drive a 2WD or if you need a 4WD. You can only use a 2WD on all sealed road, and 4WD are for gravel roads, even if you are driving on a short unsealed road you are not allowed to use a 2WD. This is a rule for car rentals. If you own your car then you can do whatever you like, i.e. can drive on unsealed roads with a 2WD car too, if you wish to do so.
• Where will I be staying during my trip to Australia
  Yes, you have guessed. as usual, I will be staying in my fave Australian hostels, for most of the time. As for the bookings it is easily made online. Since I am a fan of YHA, I booked in most places directly from their website: www.yha.com.au and for other destinations, I checked it out through the hostelbookers.com website. If you book with YHA make sure you have your own YHA membership card to save 3-5dolllars on each night. And bear in mind that you have to pay in advance the full stay. But you also are entitled to cancel your reservation and get a full refund if you cancel 48hours prior your arrival date.

For more tips on how to travel solo in Australia check out this page here.

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Deciding to take the leap and travel the world solo can be scary. Picking your first destination is even more difficult a task albeit a fun one. To help narrow your options, here are a few suggestions with supportive infrastructures for solo travelers to start you off.

Japan

Japan’s population doesn’t have a highly functional command in English, but in the major urban centers, you’ll find that English is prevalent on street signs, some restaurant menus, and train announcements. Without knowing a lick of Japanese, it is surprisingly easy to navigate the country as a solo traveler. On top of that, Japan has a reputation for being one of the safest countries, a culinary mecca of the world, and surprisingly budget friendly. It is a country rich with both ancient traditions and modern technology.

Australia and New Zealand

Talk about an adventure, solo traveler’s paradise. Australia and New Zealand are two places where one can take outdoor recreation by air (skydiving), land (hiking), and sea (diving). Take a few days to mosey through the big cities, but then get out. Join a hiking group, head to the beach, do some snorkeling, get an ocean view from the top of a mountain, or check out some rural farming. The possibilities for staying active are endless.

Thailand

Thailand is the ideal first host to a solo traveler friendly S.E. Asian holiday. Adorned with cheap, plastic chairs and tables where delicious street food is served and devoured, the country is a chaotic feast for the senses and a goldmine for knockoff souvenirs. For some quality beach time or to try your hand at scuba diving, head to the coast or spend some time in the islands.

Iceland

As a solo traveler, visiting Iceland feels like coming home to family. The people are extremely welcoming, generous, and relaxed. Iceland is a great place to dig deep into the local culture without feeling like an outsider, and the country is small enough so you won’t feel overwhelmed. No to mention, Iceland is home to some of the most scenic road trips and cleanest, crispest water in the world.

Turkey

The flavor, simplicity, and price of food in Turkey alone are enough to draw in the curious solo traveler. The mixture of a Middle Eastern presence, European flavored architecture, and passionate people makes for an incredible ambiance that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. When in Turkey, take it slow. You’ll be pleasantly surprised what can come of a simple hello.

Ireland

If you’re coming from America, Australia, or the UK and are looking for a change of scenery without drastic differences in culture, Ireland is the place to go. The major cities aren’t as fast-paced as London or New York, and the whole country is accessible by train. In fact, it’s not unreasonable to rendezvous in a city 2-3 hours away and return the same day. Plus, Ireland’s abundance of greenery makes for some great photography or backdrops for photo shoots.

Canada

Canada is one of the safer first world countries. With little crime, lots to explore and friendly people abound, the country is the ultimate playground for the solo traveler. Canada makes a great launchpad for a multi-destination trip or a great place to wind down afterwards.

Taiwan

Don’t let the sturdy language barrier deter you from visiting Taiwan. Even during peak season, the country isn’t as crowded as some of its neighbors. Just off the coast of China, Taiwan is a semi-secluded island with celebrations as festive as China, metropolitan areas as lively and bright as Seoul, and a plethora of night markets that will take your taste buds for a roller coaster ride. It would be best to visit this underrated destination before it becomes consumed by big business and skyscrapers.

South Korea

Even though South Korea is fairly foreigner friendly and a popular destination to teach English as a foreign language, visitors won’t be spared the staring of curious onlookers. No need to fret. If you make the effort to speak a little bit of Korean (i.e. hello or thank you), people will warm up to you real quick. Additionally, just like its Asian counterparts, South Korea is one of the best places to take your taste buds on an adventure aka pointing to something on a menu and hoping for good results.

 About this Guest Author

Kimi Sugiyama is a passionately curious world traveler, writer, and Adventure Coach at Wandering Souldier. After quitting her job in 2012, she took off to travel the world on her own and create a location independent lifestyle. She now works remotely all over the world, studying different cultures through food, people, languages, and all the adventures that come intertwined. You can follow Kimi on Twitter and on Facebook.

The post Destinations to travel alone appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

On the previous post we highlighted the reasons and motivations why women travel alone Why shall a woman travel alone and what are the major benefits from adopting this way of travel and making it to a lifestyle ?

Every woman is different, travels with different purposes and therefore makes different, unique experiences. However there are common benefits that every woman witness after travelling alone for a while. This is a list of the major advantages women experience.

4  benefits from travelling alone

• The freedom to do whatever you want and like without anyone having expectations from you. This is absolutely priceless. There is no other way to travel that can match this level of freedom.

• The experience is unique as you are the only one who can feel the intensity of what’s going on. Meeting people and socializing with them will become much easier and slowly an integral part of your journey.

• The connection to your surrounds is deeper and from different perspectives. By travelling alone you will become more proactive, as there is no one else that can do things for you. You have to take action all the times, whenever you need an information, advice, tips or just want to talk to someone, it’s just you and no one else.

• The learning process is maximized as you gain direct knowledge. When you travel alone you are bound to increase your level of awareness, this is something that comes naturally as you need to be more vigilant of what’s happening in your surrounds. This may be tiring at times, however it has a beneficial effect as you can take in your surrounds in a more efficient way.

I started in my twenties to travel alone first in my home country, then in Europe as a studen and in the USA.  From every single solo trip I have learned a lot, every experience has enriched my life with new knowledge. It has brought a lesson along with a spark of energy into my life. But first of all it gave me the opportunity to learn me more about myself.

Here is how travelling alone can help you become not only a better traveller but also a better person.

• to see with clarity your strong and weak points.
• to give the best of yourself in all circumstances.
• to do things you thought you could not do it on your own.
• to recognize the kindness of generosity of strangers around you.
• to appreciate everything around you.
• to be thankful for things you used to take for granted.
• to share with fellow travellers and locals your experience about life.

The list could go on and on. But now it’s enough with lists.

What about our personal solo travel stories ? These are what counts.Starting from this month I will tell you more about my past and present solo travel stories around the world. As well as interviewing other women and solo travellers who will share their voice and experience on our SoloTravelJunkie Blog.

If you are interested in telling us about your story or being interviewed check out this page and get in contact with us here.

What are for you the biggest benefits from travelling alone ? Share your experience here below!

Michela

The post The benefits of travelling alone appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

Women have always travelled alone. While in the past it was not common for women to go solo over the last years an increasing number of women have embraced solo travel as a new empowering way for discovering the world, making experiences, meeting new people, mingling with the locals and first and foremost getting to know more about themselves. A changing attitude towards life and a higher level of awareness has made this possible.

When looking at the time when I started to travel alone, over 20 years ago, it was not like now. I often had to face prejudices and deal with unsupportive environment. This was not preventing me from travelling alone though. Nowadays people’s perception has changed, female solo travel is culturally welcomed, mostly everywhere, at last. Moreover women-friendly infrastructures are opening up to make female solo travel safe, comfortable and more affordable too.

What is motivating women to travel alone

Travel is the best way to enrich our life. As an old saying says, it is the only thing that you buy that makes you richer”. This is very true. It makes our mind and spirit richer. No matter how you do it. Either couple travel, in a group or alone. Travel alone in my opinion is the best way to leverage the whole process as it is an empowering tool for personal growth.

However personal growth is not the reason why women travel alone, but the ultimate benefit. Women travel alone because they feel called to it. It’s our inner voice that steers our actions and our willpower that tells us what to do.

It’s not something you do because it’s trendy or because someone has tried to persuade you. It’s not something you are good or bad at it. It’s something you simply do and most importantly it’s something you do your way.

That being said, what are the situations that motivate women to travel alone ?

The common denominator for women who love to travel alone

Hundreds of unique different situations motivate women to travel alone. No matter what the reason may be for women to travel alone, I believe they have something in common. A special mindset and a purpose in life, that triggers every woman to going solo.

Independence

A profound feeling of independence and freedom is what triggers most women to travel alone. Women who lead an independent life are more likely to travel alone. Being financially and mentally independent is key. An independent frame of mind is important, as it makes you free in all circumstances, in your daily life as well as on the go.

Confidence

To travel alone you need the right level confidence that allows you to step out of your comfort zone and feel comfortable with it. You cannot force yourself but we all feel uncertain in life. Most of times uncertainty and limitations come from irrationals fears that linger in our box (mind). The trick is to become aware of it and learn how to turn this negative feeling into positive energy.

Balance

Most women who travel alone want to restore balance into their own life. While overcoming death of loved ones, divorce, career breaks, middle life crisis or whenever things have come out of sight and the situation requires endurance.

If these feelings are not vivid now, do not worry, it may take a little bit more before you are ready to take the final step to travel alone.  Learn more about how powerful solo travel experience can be and the benefits from travelling alone here.

The post Why women travel alone appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

Today is a great day because I am officially opening the Solo Travel Junkie Blog. It has been on my list for a long time. As I have been travelling solo since I was in my twenties I have felt the need of sharing my experiences. But the Solo Travel Junkie Blog is not only about my solo travels it has a higher purpose and mission. It has the ambition of inspiring women who would love to travel solo but have fear of stepping out and are seeking a supportive environment from a female community that can walk them through to empowering travel solo experiences.

I have deliberately chosen to dedicate the Solo Travel Junkie Blog only to WOMEN. Because I feel women are wonderfully social creatures who can foster their inner feminine voice and empower one another by creating a synergy of like-minded women.

Why every woman should Travel Solo

I think Solo Travel is the cornerstone of the Personal Growth Path in every woman’s life. And a  supportive environment is essential before planning your solo trip as well as when travelling solo. It is vital to be surrounded by the right people, not only because we want to go solo. We always shall want to naturally select with whom we want to be and who can help us foster our dreams and live the life we want.

I know the feeling of being talked out of travelling solo, especially at your first attempt, by unsupportive family members or by critical friends who fail to recognize the essence, the value and the benefits of travelling solo.

Travel Solo means taking a Spiritual Discovery Journey

 

Solo Travel imparts vigor to the mind, by creating clarity –  Nurtures the soul, by increasing self-esteem – Balances out you inner voice, by regaining sight of things.  – Miki Fantinel

 

As an addicted solo traveller I started travelling alone in my early twenties.  It still is my preferred way of travelling, as I travel alone by 90% of my time. And I can tell you why.

Last week I came back from my Solo Trip to London, as I attended the WTM2013. A great get-together of fellow travellers who shared their experiences and talents, an interesting event wher you can learn and share new things and be inspired. At the same time the first Asian Women Conference took place in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

This was absolutely a great event, organized by the AWE and my friend Juno Kim from RunawayJuno.

Unfourtunately I could not attend the Asian Women Conference. Nonetheless I was honoured to contribute with an interview about why every woman should travel solo. This was published on the travel blog of the AWE Sponsor, Sedunia Travels.

On this link you can read my Interview about Why Every Woman Should Travel Solo. Feel free to share it or embed if you find it useful.

What is Solo Travel Junkie Blog about

On the Solo Travel Junkie Blog you will be reading about my solo trips as well as about those from other fellow female travellers who have decided to go solo and want to motivate and inspire other women. The Solo Travel Junkie Blog will not only cover emotional and supportive articles, it will also provide you with pratical solo travel tips from how to start travelling solo and learn about your-self to how to deal and overcome mishaps, when on the road.

I am delighted to invite you to join the Solo Travel Junkie Blog and be part of this empowering community of Solo Female Travellers who love to stand out, empower their feminine voice and live the life they love!

Much love from the author of the Solo Travel Junkie Blog!

Michela

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