Planning a trip to Australia
#AD – This is a collaborative post
When my friend moved to Australia around 7 years ago, I have to admit I was pretty heartbroken. We had grown up living virtually in each others shadow, meeting on the first day of secondary school and spending pretty much every day together ever since. We’d been through plenty of highs and lows together, from boyfriends to break ups, day trips to our first girly holidays, and been there to support each other when times got tough. The thought of her suddenly be the other side of the world as opposed to round the corner absolutely filled me with dread, and whilst I still see her (and her beautiful son) during her visits to England twice a year, I vowed that some day, ONE day I would make it to Perth and see her new Aussie home for myself. I’ve been planning a trip to Australia ever since.
Planning a trip to Australia – Visiting Perth
As much as I’d love to be able to jump on a plane to Perth tomorrow, planning a trip to Australia isn’t something that can be done overnight, and some thought needs to be put into planning the trip, considering everything from visas to flights times, temperatures to time differences. With two young children at home, both of whom have never been on a plane let alone a long haul trip to Australia, there’s certainly plenty to think about.
After chatting with my bestie about how to prepare for our first trip to Australia, here’s just a few of her hints and tips.
Sort your visas online
When planning a trip to Australia, it is important to remember that both adults and children will be required to have a valid Australia visa. Whilst this might sound like a faff, the good news is that you can apply for your Australian visa online, and most are granted within a few days. The most common type of visa for travelling to Australia is the variety called an eVisitor (also known as the business or tourist visa) which can be used for both work and social visits.
You must also make sure that your passport is valid for 6 months (so it’s always worth checking on those expiry dates!)
Once your visas for Australia are granted, they are normally valid for 12 months, during which time you can (in theory!) travel there and back as many times as you like, as long as you never stay in the country for longer than 3 consecutive months.
The cost of an Australian eVisitor visa is £14.95 per person.
Consider the time of year
One thing to consider when planning a trip to Australia, before you book your flights, is what time of year is best to visit. My friend tends to come back to the UK during their Summer (December) as whilst its freezing and cold over here, it is often blisteringly hot in Perth – for pale skin and someone who’s experienced a melenoma in situ, its probably not the optimum time for us to travel.That said, we would obviously like to experience some of the sunshine and warmer weather we’re not treated to here in the UK, and their Winters are WET, so opting for Perth’s shoulder seasons of April and October seems like the best bet.
Easter and Christmas holiday periods as well as school holidays are also inevitably going to be more expensive, with the costs of flights during peak seasons increasing considerably.
Direct or with a stop over?
Birmingham now have direct flights to Australia with a number of airlines, however it’s worth considering whether we have enough means to occupy two young children on such a long haul flight. The other options include a brief stop over in Singapore or Dubai, the latter of which is probably the more family friendly option.
The jet lag is somewhat unavoidable, but look carefully at flight times to try and find ones that are going to cause the least disruption (at least at the beginning of your trip) to your children’s sleep and wake patterns.
Flights on weekends tend to be more expensive, so being flexible about when you can travel can help keep the costs down. Whilst we don’t have the luxury of a baby in arms, children under 2 generally don’t require a paid seat (although this comes with pros and cons too!)
Make a location Bucketlist
When planning a trip to Australia, you are quite literally visiting the other side of the world, and therefore some form of plan or Perth travel itinerary is pretty much essential. In our case at least, it’s unlikely to be somewhere we can afford to return to in a hurry. We want to ensure we visit as many of the must see Perth locations as we can feasibly do in a short 3 week visit.
Lucky for our family, I already have a Perth Bucketlist ready and waiting. That’s one thing off I can tick off the list!
Sadly for me – the first item on the list is the biggest and most depressing – budgeting and SAVING. Even with the promise of free accommodation during our stay (something I am pretty lucky to have on offer!) there is still a large amount of expenses with flights and visas to take into account on such a large scale trip. For now therefore, this trip to visit my friends home shores still remains a distant dream, but we will get there!
Have you been to Australia with a young family? What other tips would you recommend to ensure it goes smoothly?
