Cairns Travel Answers

If the A$5000 does NOT include accommodaton, you should be able to survive on that amount. Bus travel is cheapest. However, there are cheap domestic flights between main cities (Virgin is best) If you intend settling and finding a job, make sure that you have the necessary permits and visa The smaller cities (eg Newcastle, Wollongong- which are on the coast near Sydney) are much cheaper re living costs. Sydney is beautiful- but NOT a cheap place to actually live. There is an excellent hostel is Sydney overlooking the harbour.....Sydney YHA Suggest that you read a few pages about Australia which are here on VT. Enter any destination in the 'search' box (top right of page) and click GO.

If you put Cairns in the search box top right you will find a page by tropicrd and somewhere in her tips you can find out about earning some money. Also have a look at The_Downunder_Mob pages "Official VirtualTourist Australian Local Chapter" - The_Downunder_Mob's Profile There is heaps there and a special page for The Younger Mob and scroll down to the Help line for young people working in Australia by Ettiewyn. "The Younger Mob" - Personal Page by The_Downunder_Mob

Hi Aiofe Good advice above. The phrase that stands out for me is that you plan on settling. I assume that you are going on a one year work visa? If so, then check out the details on whether this is possible. My experience is that it is not necessarily straightforward to convert the one year working visa into a permanent residence visa unless you've got a scarce skill (in which case, a company would probably have to sponsor you in). In most cases, people planning to do this would have to return to their country of origin and apply through the formal immigration process. As you have some time before you head off, I would suggest that this is worth investigation so that you're aware of your situation. Regards Cathy

I think that if you are watching your money, backpacking, staying in cheap hostels etc. it is absolutely possible possible to travel for six weeks with 5000$, however, if you go shopping a lot, do lots of tours, stay in more expensive places, it might not. It really depends on your way of spending money. Regarding hostels, there are several websites that might help you, for example www.hostelworld.com, www.hostelbookers.com and www.yha.com.au In Cairns, I very much recommend JJs Backpackers: http://www.jjsbackpackers.com/ Here is my review of it: "Cairns Hostel" - JJ's Backpackers Hostel Tip by ettiewyn But again, it depends on your interest. If you are more of a party person, you might want to stay in one of the party hostels in the town centre.

That should be enough money to see you through.There are lots of things to see and do, and it depends on your likes and dislikes. I would recommend the following...day trip to the Great Barrier Reef...Visit one of the Whitsunday islands out of Airlie Beach...Visit the Sunshine coast in QLD from Noosa to Caloundra....A day to Australia Zoo on Your way to Brisbane...A few days in Brisbane...A couple days on the Gold Coast...Byron Bay on your way to Sydney. I dont know New South Wales so will leave that part to someone else. Happy travels!

I hope aoife from Dublin follows the links to your 'Help Line' Mirjam.