Oz Experience
The most popular bus passes around Australia
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Oz experience v campervan???!!! |
 Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:15 pm |
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Hi everyone 
Im new to gapyear but have found the site really helpful over the past few months in planning my travels so thought I would ask my own question at last!!! Me and my boyfriend are starting our round the world trip in November this year and we're really struggling to decide on the best way to travel up the coast of Oz. We have roughly three weeks to get to Cairns after spending a week in Melbourne for christmas and a week in Sydney for new year. We keep getting conflicting advice on the best way to do it so any of you out there who have done either oz experience or campervan, which are the two we are swaying towards at the mo, please help!!! Any advice you can give us would be greatly appreciated  |
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| Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:28 pm |
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| Hi Keeley
In Australia you really need a car to get around. There are trains and buses but they are not great in terms of frequency and time taken. (no where near as good as the rail system in the UK and Europe) There is an excellent deal in Australia where you can hire a campervan for $1 a day and often get fuel included in the deal. Rental companies do this to move campervans from one place to another. The only downside is that it is a fairly last minute thing...usually about 1 to 2 months out. Here is a website that offers this http://www.standbyrelocations.com/ Hope it helps |
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:16 am |
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| Hi Wheelykeeley
We did Oz in a campervan - the campsites are brill. So clean and well maintained. Lots have pools. The beauty of a campervan is that you can unpack for a few weeks, and you don't have to worry about finding accommodation each night and wondering what it will be like. We found an independant company - we were just walking by in Sydney and saw they had one to rent. It had TV fridge, cooker microwave. Everything we needed. The showers on the Big 4 sites are all free and hot and clean. Can't say enough about them. You should get a book of all the Big 4 sites in Oz from the company you rent the campervan from. Best site we stayed at was at Airie Beach - can't remember the name but it had a big frog at the entrance. Also site at Port Macquarie was great - see dolphins. Have a great time. |
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:42 am |
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| Hi Keeley,
Definately do Aus in a campervan, its fab! It also works out a lot cheaper than doing something like Aus experience and you've got the freedom to stop where you want. We did Aus in a camper and NZ on a bus and Aus was more pleasurable because you have the freedom to do what you want when you please. If there's just two of you maybe go for a cheap option like a wicked camper, we'd have loved one of those but ended up going with the camperman because there were three of us and we needed the extra space. The campsites are all great, most had clean showers and decent camp kitchens so we were able to fit into them nicely. You probably meet more people on the buses but making friends on campsites isn't hard either! Im so jealous, miss Aus so much, have an amazing time!
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:22 am |
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| Thank you all so much for your replies they have been really helpfull!!! At the moment its looking like the campervan is winning so if anyone wants to stick up for oz experience let me no!!
I do like the idea that with a campervan you can go where you want when you want. We just didnt want to cut ourselves off from ppl that we may have met in Melbourne or Sydney who were doing a bus up the coast. We would book the campervan within the next month so we want to be certain! How do most backpackers travel up the coast does anyone have any idea???  |
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:26 pm |
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| I haven't heard great things about Oz experience at Peak Times, over crowding meaning you can't really hop on hop off when you feel
With regards to campervans they are good way of getting round although not so if you want to spend times in cities as the campsites are generally miles from the centre I found the Greyhounds fine in Oz as a lot of places in Oz are connected to each other by one highway they pretty much allow you to get anywhere. A car or greyhound may be better as it may allow you to use a combination of hostels and camping which would be more sociable because if you have a campervan it seems pointless and a wate of money to stay in a hostel |
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:45 pm |
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| I'll stick up for Oz Experience... *goes off to find relevant thread* | |
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:49 pm |
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| This thread is worth reading. | |
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| Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:58 pm |
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| Thanks Warrick thats a really good thread-but its confused me even more!lol Iv got some thinkin to do!!! | |
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:20 am |
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| I'm intending to write an Oz Experience vs Greyhound vs Independent Travel article for the site, but I haven't gotten round to it yet!
If you want my advice, then just answer these few questions: Who are you travelling with? What are you looking to see on the East Coast? Are you only doing the East Coast in Oz? Are you on a very strict timeframe/budget? That should do to start! |
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:58 pm |
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| I travelled the east coast in a camper and had the best time EVER!!! The good thing about travelling in a camper or car is that you can stop off wherever you like and in places that the Greyhound and Oz Experience don't stop at. For example we stopped off at Mission Beach and met some locals who were amazingly friendly and let us stay in their house for the night (this happened to us a few times). Have you thought about buying a big car? You can get them really cheap and usually they come with camping equipment.
The only drawback with self driving is that it won't be as easy to meet people, bearing in mind you are a couple. You can do it very cheaply though. There are a lot of free campsites along the way, most with bbq and toilets. |
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 8:01 pm |
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I'm intending to write an Oz Experience vs Greyhound vs Independent Travel article for the site, but I haven't gotten round to it yet!
Do it! Do it! Do it!
Although to be honest i think im pretty settled on Oz Experience. As long as i can remember the West Coast its all good. |
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| Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:59 am |
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| My boyfriend and I travelled from Sydney to Brisbane in a Jucy campervan, which is basically a Toyota people carrier converted into a two person campervan. I can highly recommend it. 10 days hire was A$450, and there were no extra one way fee. The Jucy van is also very fuel economical, which is what you want. You could pay more for a proper camper with a toilet, but all the campsites we stayed at were very well equipped.
Since you're travelling as a couple, I would imagine that hiring a campervan would be your cheapest option. If you both plan to drive, it's even better because by sharing driving you can cover longer distances (which means more time at the great places and less time at halfway houses). Our experiences of hiring a campervan was really positive. There is a real camaraderie between campervan drivers. And campsites are really friendly places, the kind of places hostels used to be like at one time. We met some great people there... there are some really sweet "Grey Nomads"! We did the camping thing for East Coast Australia, West Coast Australia, Central Australia and Kiwiland. We also used Spaceships (Good - like Jucy but more expensive), Wicked (rather badly maintained, fuel hungry vehicles but the only affordable way of doing the west coast with a campervan) and a relocation (4X4 with tent). Good luck with whatever you decide. |
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:50 pm |
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| This is something my boyfriend and i are qlso deciding over - campervan or bus/train!! Just wondering how easy is it to find the campsites every night and does it work out cheaper than staying in hostels ? | |
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| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:41 pm |
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| Hi,
Just really looking for some general advice on what would be enough money to take to Oz. I was planning on having around £6000-£7000 for around a year which i assume would be more than enough, however after a pretty heavy summer the traveling funds have diminished slightly  .
The plan was to head over in November but as it goes that is looking increasingly unlikely . At this point in time i am planning on trying to make Sydney for the new year to meet a couple of mates who are leaving in a few weeks but i think realistically by December ill have around £4500 - £5000, so my question is will this be enough or should i hold back a few months and wait until i have some more cash to play with??
Any advice would be much appreciated!! Cheers, A clueless Scotsman |
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