Advice needed on travelling to Oz on my own!

[kw1985]

Hi,
I am thinking of going to Australia next year and have seen a tour I want to do that takes 25 days pretty much heading from Sydney up the east coast. It sounds great but a lot of people are saying it is just better to turn up with no real plan and go from there?
The thing that really worries me is that i'd be on my own and I don't really want to travel to the other side of the world with no plan - it's too scary for me! But I do want to have the best time possible! Does anyone have any advice as to what would be the best thing to do?
Thanks!

[JaliscoJudy]

I depends on how comfortable you are with figuring everything out yourself. Tours take some of the pressure off of you and give you some travel buddies, some of whom you will probably get along with very well. In addition, with a group you have backup if something goes awry (e.g., money or passport stolen).

Doing it on your own has rewards too. The schedule is your own and you can alter your plans whenever you feel like it. Also, traveling alone changes the way you interact with people. When I'm alone, I am much more open to meeting new people; when I'm traveling with others, my relationship with them becomes primary. This is not to say that one is better than the other, just different.

Whatever you decide, you're in for a great adventure!

[DanielBMe]

Beware of the Wicked Witch of the West...

[Zuleika]

I have travelled a lot both under my own steam and on these types of tours.
I do prefer to travel by myself under my own steam because of the freedom it affords you - in Australia there are many many backpackers doing the same thing, travelling the same route so you are never on your own very long. Australia is probably one of the easiest countries and friendliest for that matter to travel around by yourself.
That said - I now like to use these adventure tour companies because it affords me the max amount of travel in a small amount of time I have. When i was travelling under my own steam I was on a RTW trip and had all the time in the world so it didnt matter.
The tours organise everything for you and you have (hopefully) a good bunch of people on your tour with you, and you will see alot, probably more than you would see if you went by yourself.

It all depends on how you feel, if you are more comfortable with being more looked after when you are far from home then defo do a tour for sure, you will certainly have a lot of fun on a GAP trip dont worry about that!!! I have done several now!!

But If you like to strike out alone and make your own way then you will have no problem in Australia doing it this way either.

[nikimarcotte]

if you just want a bit of security as to something booked, look into companies like oz experience that pretty much is a bus company for backpackers, books you a route through whatever part of australia you are interested in. if you have lots of time, you can hop off the bus whenever you get somewhere that seems interesting, then when you are ready to leave, you book back on the bus....you can only go one way along the route you booked and you can only use each segment once...but, unless things have changed, you have a year to do whatever route you booked, so if you find somewhere you love, stay as long as you like. i found this was great because lots of out-of-the-way places that ended up being my favorite places, never would have thought to go on my own. the driver would ask us if we needed a bed each night along the way with the bus and he would reserve a spot for whoever needed it. the drivers would also mention available activities in the area. saved me hauling around a huge travel book...and there were usually plenty of other people on the bus with books if you really wanted to look some stuff up. usually a pretty young crowd in australia, but there were a few older people using these bus routes too just because they were cost effective and took you more places....and you can ask them to stop for random photo ops....like signs for kangaroo crossings:)

just another option to consider:)

[japachap]

If you are limited by time then go for the tour- you'll be guaranteed top destinations and like-minded company.
If you have time and want to do other things, getting around in Oz is pretty easy. Travellers Contact Point in Sydney is a good place to start...