Somethings you might want to know about backpacking, budget travel tips/advice and overall summaries for: Australia and the Pacific - Oz, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Easter Island.

What follows are only basic snapshot summaries and breakdowns of the factors important to budget independent travellers. Both Australia and New Zealand have a lot to offer and in the case of Australia, spread over a wide area, so of course it's impossible for this page to be comprehensive.

Huge numbers of backpackers head this way on year outs and a whole industry has sprung up around them, offering hostels, working visas, car rentals, local guides, etc. So there's a lot of detailed info available, particularly for Australia. Unfortunately most is commercial in orientation, so don't get suckered into all of this at home; just get a good guidebook and head off - the rest is easy.

» It's worth looking, if you have not already, at the example layout to see the guidelines each section of information is based on - or for other travel advice and site home head for http://travelindependent.info

If you're thinking that the destinations on this page are some of the countries you want to visit and need more planning information then you are strongly recommended to complement what you find here with any of the excellent guidebooks or activity guides for Oz and NZ. Trust us it will make life much easier and fill in the grey areas.

If you are set on going and need a guidebook or reading material please see a list of recommended guides/books here (go on, have a look!). All guides/books can be viewed in more detail and click-through purchased with Amazon in the UK, US or Canada. Plus shopping through the site is a big thank you (if you have been helped out). To see why click here.

Many thanks to Stephen Totterman for contributing the Vanuatu summary and for Katie Penman's Fiji summary.

For more info on backpacking in Australia, click here for an article submitted.

• Typical tourist trail: Cairns to Sydney. Side trips down to Melbourne, Darwin to Alice or to Perth

• Dangers: Spending too much money, never leaving

• Hot/cold, wet and dry: Normally fairly hot pleasant weather. Darwin can be unpleasant in the wet season and Sydney/Melbourne and the far south can get colder than you might expect in the winter months.

• Costs: Coming from Asia you're going to find Australia expensive on a day-to-day basis. However if making a comparison with Europe or America, prices are comparable or cheaper - especially with an advantageous exchange rate. Nevertheless, to summarise Australia is expensive. Sticking to major cities (as backpackers do) and covering the country's vast distances are going to bleed money, particularly if you want to live it up to any degree. At least US$50/£25+ per day and that's with cooking most of your own food. The country is well set up for independent travellers, so with a student, YHA or other backpackers' card you can find discounts on transport, entertainment, etc and with a highly competitive market you can find some bargains. Just remember, getting around costs a lot of money, so does drinking and giving in to all the great things like parachute jumping (cheaper in NZ) that the country has to offer.

• Working: Many travellers go with the ambition of working in order to 'fund the rest of their travels'. How much and what work you get will depend on the state of the economy at the time, which in recent years has not been too strong. Fruit picking work is typical. It is hard work and pays about enough to live on. Think realistically about working in Australia if you have limited time and are unskilled. The golden years are gone. Much, much more information can be found on the internet regarding work visas etc., so for that reason this area is left fairly blank.

• Money: ATMs and credit cards

• Guide book: Many available, all good. The Lonely Planet: Australia is a good choice, but extremely popular. The Rough Guide: Australia version is a great alternative and recommended. It may not be as well geared to budget travellers, but who cares when there is so much free material available when in Oz on hostels, saving etc. It is however, a really good read and not boring in the way the Lonely Planet can be. For a full list of guides and reading material click here.

• Other reading: Recommended by readers are: Down Under by Bill Bryson which has a fair bit of history and general humour in it. (see details - UK).

• People vibe:

  • Locals: Fine, some backpacker jaded souls in places, mostly friendly

  • Other travellers: A lot of backpackers from all over the world, especially the UK. Many young first time backpackers, coming after graduating from school sometimes on 'Daddy's' money to work or seemingly just to get drunk - normally both. Too many travellers to pigeon hole

• Tourist factor: 8/10 on the main circuit - it's no coincidence that this is the second most viewed page on this site!

• Accommodation: There is a huge variety and range of places to stay, and notably an excellent choice of hostels with good social scenes in most towns: book ahead for the best ones and for double rooms. Camping is widely available at campsites (if you can get to them with your own transport) or in some hostel gardens.

  • Hot water: Developed country, never a problem

  • Average cost: US$30 double room in Sydney hostel, prices less outside big cities

• Communications: Cheap international calling cards available, internet widespread. Local pay-as-you-go SIM cards for your mobile phone.

• Food: Buy your own and cook it in hostels to keep costs down

• Media: For photos click here

  • Books: many good book shops

  • TV: In all hostels

Visa strategy:

Everyone requires a visa for Australia, except New Zealanders. Usually it's an electronic visa called an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). If American you need to head to Washington, Los Angeles or Ottawa - or you can use embassy web sites. Nationals of Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and most European countries (if staying for less than three months) can get an ETA, valid for multiple entry over one year. Applied for online, there is no visa stamp in your passport (ETAs are computerised) and saves the hassle of queuing or sending off your passport. ETAs can be applied for on the web with a credit card for A$20 (see www.eta.immi.gov.au) or from travel agents and airlines (for an additional fee levied on top of the cost of the ETA). If you want to stay longer than 3 months, you'll need to complete an application form and lodge it either in person or by post with the embassy or consulate. It'll cost A$65 (or the equivalent in your country) and takes up to three weeks to process. If you think you might stay more than three months, it's best to get the longer visa before departure, because once you get to Australia extensions cost A$160. Once issued, a visa usually allows multiple entries, so long as your passport is valid.

Different restrictions apply if you want to work - see here for information about the WHM Visa Subclass 417, which allows certain young people to work and holiday in Australia.

These 12-month working holiday visas are easily available to British, Irish, Canadian, Dutch, German, Japanese and Korean single people aged 18–30. However, remember this will open the door to casual work (often hard agricultural work which is seasonal) and is not a chance to make a wonderful career - you are meant to work for no more than three months at any one job. You must arrange the visa before you arrive in Australia, and several months in advance. Working visas cost A$160; some travel agents such as Trailfinders can arrange them for you.

The all important condition for holiday-visa is that you have adequate funds both to support yourself during your stay – at least A$1000 a month – and eventually to get yourself home again.

 

Getting around:

(land): Many options. Backpacker buses (see getting around in the on the road section) are popular. Perfect if you are in a hurry or on your own, but better avoided if there are a few of you in a group who could club together for more independent means (such as car hire or Greyhound Buses (for which you can buy a mileage pass)). Car hires is quite expensive, so buying a car or, better, a campervan and splitting the cost between a few is a cheaper option if you have the time.

There are quite a few re-locations available around the country, if you keep an eye out. You will probably end up on a tour at some point (in the Northern Territory) and will probably have to take internal flights if doing more than the east coast stretch.

Train travel is an other option and comfortable, but slightly more restricting as trains don’t run as frequently or operate to as many destinations as buses. There are numberous good value rail passes and special 'backpacker' fares.

(air): There are two companies offering internal travel in Australia: Virgin Blue (virginblue com) and Qantas (qantas.com.au). They operate on the same basis as low cost/no-frills airlines in Europe, i.e. the sooner you book, the cheaper the price. Both websites are user friendly, and you can easily book your flights before leaving for Oz, simply quoting your reservation number on arrival at your Australian airport.

It's worth studying both airlines, because it is sometime cheaper to take the outward journey with one airline and the return journey with the other. Of the two, Virgin Blue is more no-frills while Qantas provides a free meal and drinks. Note that internal flights booked from outside Australia are free from 10% GST (Australia's VAT).

• Intro: It's a view maintained by many that New Zealand beats the hell out of Australia as a backpacker destination. Its smaller, cheaper, more compact, prettier and just better. Few would disagree that for a developed country it's cheap and one of the, if not the, most beautiful places on earth. Picking up a car to buy or hire is easy and the country hosts a perfect system of wonderful hostels. Outdoor activities are cheaper than Australia and there is a whole host of possibilities from oxygen-assisted skydives to white-water rafting/surfing to the well known bungee jump. You might feel a little like you are on a tourist trail and the North Island is a little lacking in some ways, but the scenery, especially in the fiordlands makes up for it all.

  • Highlights: The fiordland , volcanic activity, Wanaka, great hostels and the South Island in general. NZ's amazing back country hut system comes highly rated as does many short treks. General awesome natural beauty, great facilites and compactness .

  • Lowlights: Queenstown, often full accommodation, the west (wet) coast (although lowlight might be a bit harsh and some certainly disagree), some of the North Islands cities and sand flies. Christchurch and Auckland are just big cities, with little to distinguish them from most western world cities. The general feedback on backpacker buses is rarely good.

Isolated, still fifteen hundred kilometres on from Australia, New Zealand is enjoying a tourist boom with a certain trilogy of films putting its landscape very much on the map. Despite this the country remains unfettered by the crowds you'd find elsewhere.

More a hoilday rather than a travel destination. Everything is easily accessible, packed into a land area little larger than the UK but with a population of under 4million, with over half that in the three largest cities: Auckland, the capital Wellington, and the South Island's Christchurch. Elsewhere, you can travel miles through farmland from one attraction to another and hardly see anyone. At major tourist attractions okay, it's busy, but a far cry from Europe or North America's equivalent. And the scenery: well welcome to 'Godzone'.

• Dangers: Spending too long or getting stuck without a flight out (reconfirm). The island can be very hot and dusty

• Visa strategy: Free on entry, same requirements as Chile

• Typical tourist trail: A few days stop over between Santiago and French Polynesia

• Costs: Quite expensive (about US$35-$50 per day), but cheap accommodation can be found and you can cook your own food in some hotels/hostels. The major cost is getting transport out to all the moai.

• Money: The bank (just one) will give credit card advances when open at a fee. No ATM, USD TCs change no problem. If coming from Chile, bring a good supply of money.

• What to buy: Some expensive, but very nice carvings. Lots of mini-moai

• People vibe: For photos click here

  • Locals: Fine (not many of them)

  • Other travellers: Fine (not many of them)

• Tourist factor: 4/10

• Accommodation: The options as you step off the plane are huge. From the nice hotels/guesthouses from about US$30 to pitching your own tent and dorm beds. Pick wisely and go with one of these owners for a look and free lift into town

• Communications: Some Internet (you see, even the world's most remote place has internet!)

• Food: Restaurants are nice, but quite expensive. Supermarkets have very limited stock for preparing your own meals. Bring any food you can from the mainland

  • Vegetarians: Fine

Getting there and around:

Getting there: Currently the only way to get to Easter Island without spending a small fortune from Chile, is to take a LAN Chile flight from French Polynesia to Santiago (or vice versa) and make sure you can get off the plane during the stop-off. This was possible on a One World round-the-world ticket, but regulations change frequently.

Getting around: The only real way to see the island is to hire a jeep (US$50) or take a tour (three times a week). A jeep, split between a few people is the best option and you will see all the sights in a day. Around the town, you can hire bikes and walk (long) to a few sights including one of the stunning volcanoes and ruins.

Guide & Other Reading

Guide book: There is no guidebook for Easter Island alone. So you need to use the chapters in the Rough Guide: Chile (see details/buy with Amazon - UK or USA) or Lonely Planet: Chile (see details/buy with Amazon - UK or USA), which are both good. To be honest you just need information on the history of the island. Some hostels have nice books for loan. Also there are loads of abandoned South America guidebooks here. The new Moon Handbook on Tahiti (including the Cook Islands), has a fairly detailed section on Easter Island and has been recommended.

Other reading: There are many books relating to the history of the island and your guidebook is probably the best place to start, but for a novel/biography set around the island, Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge and Her Remarkable Expedition to Easter Island by Andrew Tathum (see details - UK, Canada or USA) is highly recommended and very informative/interesting.

• Highlights: The outer islands. Although the Yasawa to the north-west of the mainland are hugely popular, they are also over-priced and over-rated, although offer perhaps the best snorkelling and diving in this region. Best for 2/3 day trips only. Visit Ovalau, to the west, to experience an island totally uncorrupted by tourism (I have pondered long and hard as whether to reveal this, please don't spread the word and risk the island's innocence by making it too well known!) Just off the coast of Ovalau is Caqalai (pronounce Thangalai) an island on which time stops and there is nothing to do but lie and relax, snorkel, or explore its 5 minute's walk diameter! Visit Nananu-I-Ra to the north for sheer beauty and tranquillity and excellent diving.

• Lowlights: Suva, the capital, is very run down and notorious for crime (I myself was mugged, not very pleasant). However, worth visiting are the market and the Botanical Gardens. Once a colonial beauty spot, unfortunately Suva is now not what Fiji is all about and I would advise to spend a minimal amount of time there. Pacific Harbour on the Coral Coast is also to be avoided as it caters solely for ignorant tourists wanting a nice restaurant and some souveniours – over-priced and far too western to be the real Fiji.

• Intro: You may feel like you are in a picture postcard or shipwreck movie, but the cost of living is higher here than almost anywhere else in the world so you really have to limit your time or catch a flight onto Easter Island (for which French Poly is a main launching point). Expect French through and through including the attitude, food, standards and prices. Escape Tahiti and head for the nearby island of Moorea, cook for yourself and it's doable price -wise. Head for some of the more evocative sounding islands or outer islands and you might wonder why you bothered, especially compared to other pacific nations which offer so much more at half the price.

• Highlights: What can you afford?

• Lowlights: The costs and some locals

• People vibe:

  • Locals: French characteristics prevail with some quite stroppy unfriendly locals.

  • Other travellers: Few backpackers, loads of honeymooners

• Tourist factor: 8/10

• Accommodation: There is one expensive-ish place (European prices) opposite the airport (see right) and a few in town, but its best to sleep at the airport the night you arrive (arrivals are normally in the middle of the night). Nearby there are two camping places in Moorea with some fixed huts if you don't have a tent or sleeping bag. These are fairly reasonably priced. See text on right for how to get there. You can find similar places on other islands, but check the guidebook and make a reservation before you head out since budget choices are very limited and if you can't find a bed you'll be forced into a resort at great expense. Beware camping sites can get booked up during public holidays.

  • Average cost: About US$10 a tent

• Food: Cook your own, everything is expensive, bring basic foods to cook with you if coming from New Zealand

• Drugs, cigarettes and alcohol: You might treat yourself to a beer and that's it

Where to stay and getting to Moorea without a guide book:

This is the only information you need - As you walk out of the airport, cross a big car park to the main road. This takes you to the side of the road furthest from the airport. To your right and 150m along is a commercial laundry. Up the street to its side is as cheap as room you will find in Tahiti (around US$30 dorm bed). Or on the road you will see a bus stop, which is in fact for Le Truck. You want to be on the side of the road that takes you left (with your back to the airport).

Don't get off Le Truck until you see big boats. Pay when you get off - prices are posted and there is no danger of getting ripped-off. You will soon find a ferry to Moorea; the first one goes at about 0630 (about 5 a day).

At Moorea (short crossing) you will see an old clapped-out school bus as you step off. The driver will signal to you, and will know where you are going from your backpack. Its about 30mins to Moorea Camping (there is one other option 100m before this). This ride can be hitched, but took me four hours.