Gap Year/ Once in a Lifetime Holiday

[Condi]

Asking for a bit of help from the learned few on here please;

Ok, so im trying to cobble together or organise a holiday/gap year, but havent much experience in things abroad, or holidays at all! So has anyone got any advice or comments?

12 months abroad
Want to visit Aus + NZ.
Round the world flight ticket enables up to 6 stops.
Could stop in Thailand, then overland to Singapore, then onto Aus.
Going the other way could go to Fiji then via North/South America back to Europe.
This WILL be a once in a lifetime holiday. So I want to make the most of it.
Ideally I would work for a while in Aus or NZ, maybe upto about 6 months. Mainly a sightseeing/experience tour though.
Budget of about £6k.
Flights expected to be about £1k.

Yes it looks like a fking expensive holiday, and thats what it will be, but im only going to get once chance so may as well blow the budget. Budget is flexible - if you think I need more money then could potentially get another 2 or 3 grand together.

Where to visit? Want to do some of the islands around Kiribati, other than that where else is beautiful or worth visiting?

Suggest away........ Wheres anyone been they would recommend, or anywhere to avoid.

[lockhart flawse]

how old are you?

[Condi]

21, I'll be 22 when I go though.

Edited by Condi on Wednesday 12th May 09:39

[VEA]

Get down to an STA branch and talk to them in there, I have just booked my flights with them and they are more than helpful.

Good luck with it!

[Tangent Police]

Australia is VERY VERY EXPENSIVE. It really is.

Be prepared to get raped in your wallet. Don't bother with the West Coast either.

Edited by Tangent Police on Wednesday 12th May 11:39

[Xaero]

I've been travelling for 14 months now. 4 in SE Asia and 10 in Australia.

Australia will destroy your budget. Think £4 beer (and that's not even a pint), £13 a night in a hostel, £5 a day on food, then multiply that by how many months you want to be here. Working is essential, and don't assume you'll get work either, I struggled to find jobs, I only got casual positions, enough to cover good. I don't pay for hostels as I got my own campervan (fuel is half price compared to UK).

I wouldn't (and didn't) book with STA or something like that. Just DIY it. www.airasia.com is your friend if you head into Asia. If you book now you can get a flight to Malaysia in a few months for about £200, or £250 if it's closer to the time. About £150 to get to Oz on same airline.

Check out the Couch surfing website too. Although you'll soon learn not to do it for a free nights sleep but it's a great cultural exchange with locals.

£6k budget it alright for world travel for a year, although I will repeat: Australia will kill that budget alone if you're not careful, but as it's your main aim, then I guess you don't want to skip it.

[Condi]

Thanks so far.

I have agricultural and bar work experience, and with 8 years on farms can turn my hand to almost everything mechanical/heavy machinery related. Hopefully this will be my get out of jail free ticket, although I dont really want to be working on farms too much - I want to see the cities and coast, not be stuck 30 miles from the nearest town in the outback.

The camper van idea sounds good, although as im going by myself I was hoping that cheap hostels would be available as much for the social aspect as a nights sleep.

[i'm no superhero]

Get Lonely Plant guides to Australia, Thailand and New Zealand.

Have a look at the itineraries and go from there.

Use a flight broker after checking out on a flight comparison websote (www.skyscanner.net, STA Travel, Travel Supermarket) and so on. Get the lowest quote, then ask STA to beat it as they offer a price match.

And you will need a license to work in Oz in a bar.

[Faceplant]

Xaero said:

£6k budget it alright for world travel for a year.

I did 6 months recently - SE Asia, New Zealand and South America.

I did try and be sensible yet I still spent roughly 6 grand in total.

There are very few truly cheap countries left nowadays it seems, plus travel tends to be more expensive if you're going solo.

[v15ben]

I'd definitely try and work in Australia and if you have the skills to work on a farm then all the better as there are areas crying out for these skills. It'll also mean you could extend a working holiday visa to 2 years if you go down that route.

I'd get to STA and ask them to price up a few routes and what options are possible. I would then search around and get them to beat your cheapest quote! I used to work for STA and that seems to be the best value way to use their services

Overall be flexible in where you travel and enjoy the trip! I did 7 months travelling in 2008. 3 going overland from Beijing to Singapore and the rest working in Sydney. I didn't break even by any means, but the money I earned and tax I claimed back from work in Sydney certainly paid for my fun stuff in Australia and a little more.

[v15ben]

Condi said:

I dont really want to be working on farms too much - I want to see the cities and coast, not be stuck 30 miles from the nearest town in the outback.

If you get a one year working holiday visa then work for 3 months (think it works out to 88 or 89 days minimum) in agriculture or in a remote/rural area then you can extend the one year visa for an extra 12 months. Wish I'd done that and really it isn't that much time to spend on a farm for an extra year in Australia I guess

[Dan_1981]

Trailinders were good for me when I did similar. I'd advise cahtting to them or STA.

My route.....

N America
Peru
Chile
Argentina
Easter Island
French Polynesia
NZ
Aus
Indonesia.

6k I think just about covered it. I spent my very very last penny in the airport in bali on the morning of my flight home.

Edited by Dan_1981 on Wednesday 12th May 22:41

[Condi]

Thanks for your help, at the advice of people my trip is getting more expensive and exotic by the minuet.

Current incarnation looks like this;

UK - Kazakhstan

Kazak - Singapore

Somehow make it overland/water/possibly fly to AUS

While in Aus visit Fiji, New Caledonia, etc

Back to Aus. Then Aus - Peru

Peru - Brazil overland. Possibly visiting other places in South America as I go.

Brazil - Zambia or other sub Saharan countries.

Africa - UK

So.... any thoughts on that! I would probably stay 6 months in Aus to prop up the bank balance, but I can go back there any time for a holiday. It has been suggested that visiting some less developed countries might open my eyes to opportunities and possibilities which I can take advantage of while young. Hence the inclusion of 2 new continents.

[Condi]

v15ben said:

Condi said:

I dont really want to be working on farms too much - I want to see the cities and coast, not be stuck 30 miles from the nearest town in the outback.

If you get a one year working holiday visa then work for 3 months (think it works out to 88 or 89 days minimum) in agriculture or in a remote/rural area then you can extend the one year visa for an extra 12 months. Wish I'd done that and really it isn't that much time to spend on a farm for an extra year in Australia I guess

I agree, but if I can only spend a maximum of 12 months abroad anyway - which it looks like I will be able to - then why take a bus-man's holiday! If things change and I dont have any time to be back in the UK for I might well do that though. Thanks for the tip.

[Condi]

Dan_1981 said:

Trailfinders were good for me when I did similar. I'd advise cahtting to them or STA.
etc

Looks good, I havent heard of them so will check them out.

[v15ben]

Zambia and Kazhakstan? Any specific reasons why those two?
I've just had a quick think through the route and much of it could be done, but it'll be expensive.
I'm knackered, but just a few thoughts that immediately spring to mind.
Singapore to Oz - definitely fly - can be done quite cheaply.
Australia to Fiji etc then back. I'd say fly Oz --> Fiji --> South America (possibly cheaper fares if you go Fiji via LA to South America.) Going to and from Oz will just add extra costs.
Brazil to Africa will be pretty expensive unless you find a cheap flight or route. Brazil --> South Africa with South African Airways then maybe Kenyan or someone else up to central/north Africa.

[v15ben]

Condi said:

I agree, but if I can only spend a maximum of 12 months abroad anyway - which it looks like I will be able to - then why take a bus-man's holiday! If things change and I dont have any time to be back in the UK for I might well do that though. Thanks for the tip.

Fair play. I found work easily enough in Sydney, got made redundant, found work again the next week. Just keep your ear to the ground and there is money to be made. A guy I worked with lived in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and who knows where since. Every time he got bored or the company needed to shift temporary staff, he just jumped cities, stayed in a hostel for the first few days and went from there. He did everything from office work and call centre to bricklaying!

[Condi]

v15ben said:

Zambia and Kazhakstan? Any specific reasons why those two?

Nope. I was thinking of going to a former Soviet state, and Kazak looked interesting, cheap, and a not so Westernised as those near Europe. If you have any alternatives then feel free to suggest, the whole plan is flexible at the moment, even if the general route is falling into place. As for Zambia - same reasoning; I fancy visiting sub-Saharan Africa, so am after a fairly safe, cheap place to go. Zambia looked to fit the bill.

Edited by Condi on Wednesday 12th May 23:15