Our Travellers Stories Archives - Welcome to Travel

Moving to Australia: It’s Not That Hard. It’s Not That Scary.

Nicolle Payne — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 03:36:29 +0000

Picture this – you’re working for a department store installing washing machines, delivering white goods. Underpaid and overworked. Feeling stuck, like there’s something more out there.

Sound familiar?

Meet Tom. Tom came over on a Working Holiday visa, booked a super cheap flight and joined the Hemsworth Package. What followed next was 52 days of travelling the East Coast and making life long friends. Now that beats installing white goods.

‘I just keep thinking, there’s got to be more to life than this. I need to go and do something. So I just quit my job.’

Australia has always been a dream for Tom. The Australian lifestyle, surfing every day. Working to live instead of living to work. To be able to enjoy life.

Whereas most people do at least a little bit of research about Australia, Tom booked his flight on a spur of the moment and let Welcome to Travel sort everything out for him, and he hasn’t looked back.

And when it came to choosing a group tour over doing it solo? Meeting new people was the goal and being able to just enjoy his time was exactly what Tom was looking for.

The start of a new life

‘I thought if I made friends, I might be able to travel somewhere else with them.’

Which is exactly what Tom did. Joining The Hemsworth Package meant he was able to meet 46 new friends, including his two new best friends. Frankie, and Curly Tom (we have to differentiate them somehow).

‘I’ve met people I wouldn’t normally chill with. And my best friends, y’know, we were three complete strangers who wouldn’t really have talked to each other, until we joined this tour, and now I’ve spent an extra three weeks with them in Palm Cove, Uluru and then Sydney again. We Facetime most nights, even though Frankie is in Byron and Tom is back home in the UK.’

There were a few big surprises for Tom. Expectations vs the reality of Australia were two different worlds.

However the one thing everyone seems to agree on when it comes to expectations, especially in the UK with TV programmes like Crocodile Dundee and Deadly 60, is everything in Australia will kill you. Shockingly – they’re all wrong.

‘Everyone told me you gotta be so careful. They told me 'There’s spiders everywhere'! And then you come out and it’s not like that at all. Sure there are some around but really, it's just like home, except the weather and pay is better.’

Living life in the moment

And the reality of it all – it’s not as hard as you think it’s going to be.

After his time on the East Coast, Tom has moved back to where it all started – Melbourne. In the hustle and bustle of the city, he started a job and found somewhere to live. Having never lived away from home before, Tom’s become a lot more independent, even more confident and has stopped overthinking it all.

‘Finding a job was quite easy. You do have to make an effort, but it’s the same everywhere in the world. Jobs aren’t just going to land in your lap.’

And it’s just not as scary as he thought it would be.

Tom’s favourite bit of advice? – Don’t overthink it. Especially while you’re young, but even if you’re a little bit older too. It doesn’t matter.

‘You have to go out and do some travelling. You've got to get yourself out and travel, and just learn more about yourself. Put yourself out of your comfort zone.’

WE DO TOURS

Discover our Tours and Packages on the East Coast

PACKAGES

The post Moving to Australia: It’s Not That Hard. It’s Not That Scary. appeared first on Welcome to Travel.

How To Make Friends As a Solo Traveller

Hannah Foy — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 23:56:57 +0000

If there’s one thing to know about travelling, it’s that it’s easier to make friends on the road than it is at home. Trust us here. To start with, you’ve got the biggest thing in common: travelling! But more importantly, everyone else is in exactly the same situation, keen to meet people, make new friends and have an amazing time.

We’ve put together our top tricks for making friends as a solo traveller. So you can set off in confidence, knowing you’ve got friends for life waiting for you at the end of that plane ride.

Join a group tour

Ok, so landing in a new city, let alone a new country, where you don’t know a soul can feel intimidating… We’re not denying that. So to ease yourself in gently (and make sure you have ready-made friends waiting) start off your solo adventure with a group tour.

We love a group tour for a few reasons. First, you get a whole group of people in the exact same position as you. Second, we’ve got the BEST group tour to start your adventure – we’ve called them our Welcome Tours for a reason.

You’ll spend a week exploring a new city with new mates and your guide (who also feels like a new mate). You’ll tick off all your Australian must-dos – you’ll surf and you’ll meet a kangaroo… or maybe a dolphin… a koala if you’re lucky too. Most importantly, you’ll leave not just with friends, but with a whole family. Once you’re part of our community, you’ll find friends all across Australia.

WELCOME TOURS

Let us show you around Melbourne or Sydney

CHECK OUT TOURS

Say hello in hostels (it’s not as scary as you think)

It’s time to start introducing yourself. Once you’ve done this a few times it’ll become second nature. So use your hostel to its full advantage. Say hello to your dorm mates (aka your new mates), ask if anyone wants to join you for a bite to eat, explore the area or at the hostel’s happy hour.

And then do the same when you’re cooking in the kitchen, ask what everyone is cooking then ask where they’re from and what they’ve been up to today – before long you’ll be chatting away and picking up some travel tips as you go.

via GIPHY

And finally, make full use of the hostel’s social calendar – join that guided walk or yoga session. Take full advantage of the happy hours or bingo nights. These events are made for you to meet other travellers – so join in – start a conversation. And you’ll leave with new mates for sure.

Make the most of the outdoors

Australian’s love their outside lifestyle, so joining sports or outside activities is another great way to make friends when you’re travelling solo. Join a run club (Sydney has heaps of run clubs, for all suburbs and groups you can think of) or a team sport (rugby, volleyball and football are popular options).

Or head out to watch a game or show. Melbourne is particularly great for this being the place for sports, so there’s no shortage of games to watch or a new sport to try out. You don’t have to be sporty, but just eager to try something new and make friends as you go – and isn’t that what travelling is all about?

If in doubt, social it out

We can’t not include social media in this blog. Social media is everywhere and it’s the best connection tool – and it’s in your pocket. If you haven’t already, join our Facebook group, then join plenty more for backpacking and travelling around Australia. But don’t just join, you need to participate – put a post introducing yourself and your travel plans and see who responds.

via GIPHY

You’ll hopefully connect with people in the same city as you or who are planning a similar trip and chat it out. Who knows, your new best mate might be waiting? Although, just like your mum, we’re going to tell you to be careful when talking to strangers online – trust your gut here.

Join our community

Once you’ve joined us on tour, you’re part of the Welcome to Travel family and you’ll get exclusive access to our events and tours.

Yep, you heard that right. Every year we host tours just for our community and explore places like the West Coast and Uluru all together – aka another really easy way to make friends.

But that’s not all, we also have events across Melbourne and Sydney so you can meet like-minded people in the same city as you.

WE DO TOURS

Groups tours in Melbourne, Sydney and the East Coast

CHECK OUT TOURS

The post How To Make Friends As a Solo Traveller appeared first on Welcome to Travel.

The Value Of Travelling – A Parents Perspective

Darryl Newby — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 05:23:21 +0000

A Parent's Tale of Travelling

As the Welcome to Travel community continues to rapidly grow, we often get carried away with immersing ourselves in the adventures and stories of our travellers. We are lucky to be a part of everyone’s journey as they join us on tour with many only having just arrived in Australia. Each traveller has a unique story, with individual aspirations and goals they wish to achieve during their time abroad. We’ve come to realise however, that we’ve been overlooking some of the most important stories this whole time. These are also the ones we tend to take for granted – our parents.

Us youngins will never truly understand what our parents go through as we head to the other side of the world for the trip of a lifetime. Perhaps we will never fully appreciate the trust they put in us until we become parents ourselves or take the time to ask.

It might even be because of our parents, that we have the courage to get on that flight. We may have grown up listening to their own backpacker stories and the amazing things they’ve seen before we came along. We subconsciously absorb this thirst for adventure and before we know it, we’re out there replicating their journeys to see what all the fuss is about.

We decided to get into contact with Fiona & John Devlin from Ireland;

parents of Ruairi (21), who arrived in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa in January 2020 and joined us on tour.

Our guide Clauds vaguely remembered him mentioning that his parents were avid travellers and had fallen in love with Australia on one of their trips. We sent some simple questions for them to answer thinking it would be valuable information for a future blog. Little did we know that we would receive the story of a lifetime in response.

The team unanimously agreed it had to be made into its own blog, so do yourself a favour and sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy.

This is their story.

Travel abroad was something which started as a small seed with us at a time when we were supposed to be planning our wedding in 1990 but spent more time fantasizing about where we would travel instead. And so our honeymoon was not the traditional one. Two days after the wedding we donned our rucksacks and headed for Europe.

Two months later travelling in the direction of North Africa to backpack our way through it.

Five months later we came home and started planning a trip to Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe where we’d be backpacking as well as overland safari trips.

What we saw and experienced at a time when travel to such places was unheard of in the small rural country area in Ireland we came from and people thought we were insane giving up employment to travel. For us, they were the insane ones not having the taste for travel and adventure and that’s what it was. Great countries, people, cultures, food, everything! Thirty years later we are still great friends with an Australian couple we met in Egypt who have stayed many times with us and now our son has stayed with them in NSW!

We eventually settled into home life and work but got the travel bug again in 1996.

This time we headed for India, Nepal, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia which took us over a year. We stood at an airport waving farewell to our parents eager to get on that plane, oblivious to their tears and worrying. Fast forward to January 2020 we both stood in an airport waving goodbye to our 20-year old son eager to get on a plane to Australia and oblivious to our tears!

How history can repeat itself. And it was only at that point when we watched our son disappear into the crowd, that we realised how much our travels and reminiscing had created the same sense of curiosity and eagerness with him. It was as they say a Deja-vu moment!

It was at that point we reconciled ourselves that he was doing what all young adults should do – experience the world, experience what life has to offer you, get adventure and find yourself. Life’s too short to sit in the comfort of your small space. We realised that for years when the children would look at our travel slides and listen to our stories that we were actually planting the seeds of travel in them and the belief that there was more to see.

Why did you travel to Australia and where did you go?

We both had relatives in Australia and heard about the vastness of the country, how much there was to see, the weather, and that Australians were similar to the Irish – very relaxed and family orientated. We saved hard and planned a year away starting in India and ending up in Australia.

We had spent 6 weeks touring in a hired van with a mattress and some cooking utensils around the North and South islands of New Zealand and in Dec 1996 we flew into Sydney to be met by our long-time friends and their new baby son. Despite years and distance separating us, our meeting was like yesterday and so we stayed with them for Christmas to experience how it’s done in Aus and were welcomed into their families. We recall Boxing Day in the heat and heading with our friends to learn to dive as they both were instructors. What better way to spend Boxing Day than exploring the ocean and its marine life – spectacular!

We bought a second hand Holden Shuttle which had been converted into a campervan,

made some finer adjustments and were off on the adventure of a lifetime. We even took our friend’s son’s little reindeer toy with us to send back pictures of him at every spot we visited in Australia, which he still has today! We started in the Blue Mountains in NSW before heading to Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, across the Nullarbor, over to Perth, then up the West Coast to Broome.

From there we went to Darwin before taking a jump into Thailand for a month and back to Alice Springs in the centre of Australia. From there we travelled east over to Cairns, down to Brisbane and back to Sydney . We even spent time in remote Kalgoorlie where John spent 3 days working in the gold mines – what an experience!

Equipped with the Explore Australia 15th Edition book which was given to us as a present,

we started our travels right across the country to the sound of a Pulp Fiction tape, which to this day reminds us of Australia when we hear it.

We were excited at the vastness of the countryside, the rainforests, the beaches, the cities, the outback, the national parks, the wildlife, the infamous Kookaburra, hot weather, the remoteness of places like the Nullarbor where you might not see another vehicle on the 17hr drive. The road trains, bush fires that could be seen for miles, your first wild kangaroo, your first snake, the fear when you drive into a mass of locusts.

Only Australia‘s skies can take on a different look by day and night – many times they looked like they were on fire. The colours and shadows on the land were magnificent. We challenged ourselves with bungy jumping, flying over the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu National Park). Only those who have done it and looked at them and flown between the rocks will appreciate the magnificence of the experience.

Swimming with whale sharks, Monkey Mia and the list of our adventures goes on! It was the best experience ever. It’s a country with many covers, each one better than the last.

Have you always encouraged Ruairi to travel or was it something he naturally wanted to do himself?

When travelling Australia, we planned that if we had children we would give them adventure holidays and not conform to the fortnight hotel / beach holiday.

In 2005 we bought a new 6-berth Autotrail campervan and with a 4-year-old and an 18-month-old child we started the first of many trips to France and Italy for over 10 years touring around these countries. Each holiday action packed with surfing, bodyboarding, biking, climbing, kayaking, from the beaches and woods to the snowy mountains and passes – they loved it.

We decided to go to America for 3 weeks but again this was not your normal holiday and we road tripped from San Francisco to Vegas and Los Angeles and stopped at all the national parks along the way. Afterwards we headed to Cuba for more action packed adventures. Ruairi was blown away with the country, lifestyle and people and we think that it was here that he started to think about travel and something different. He always said Australia would be our next holiday.

Ruairi finished schooling and undecided on a career pathway went to College for a 2 year Diploma. Like all young teenagers he lived the college lifestyle and enjoyed the new venture of living away from home and meeting new friends. He became your typical “ teenager” interested in cars and parties. However, shortly after finishing college and doing temporary work we started to see a restlessness in him and at this point we realised he had been researching Australia.

For months Ruairi had been checking out travel to Australia and different options with the intent on going on the Working Holiday Visa.

Part of me as his mother was inwardly screaming we don’t want you to go – what if something happens to you so far away! However the calm response given was that it was his decision and we would support him. Right up to the last minute when he pushed the send button on his application and purchased flights we didn’t think it was real.

Once the decision was made he quickly started organising and researching the trip. We realised he had everything prepared and organised. This is where the teenager becomes the mature adult and his eagerness to get away increased and losing interest in the teenage college things were clear.

He wanted to do something different realising there was more “out there”. When he was leaving Ireland on a January morning to board for Australia not really knowing what was ahead of him or if he would stick it – as parents we were so incredibly proud of him going on an adventure of a lifetime and being confident to do it by himself. We didn’t see it coming!

Were you nervous about him travelling to Australia on a working holiday visa at such a young age?

YES, YES and YES!

Like every parent we were worried; we thought back to our own days of travel with the highs and lows, the lack of IT accessibility… But there was something different now.

Ruairi had changed in his whole concept towards life. Not sure what the trigger was but we knew he had the determination to see it through, we could see he was nervous, who wouldn’t be! We knew he would miss the home comforts but also reassured him of his ability to adapt and had seen over the years how he managed and navigated himself in other countries.

Ruairi is also a person who sees his commitments through. We were glad he had enrolled with a reputable travel company for a week’s induction of Australia and be supported by them. We actually commended him on the maturity of the decision to do this. He was young but who is to say what age is the right age to travel and we knew from our own travels that he would be safe. We knew from when we were in Australia that it was a country that appeals to young people and has so much to offer to them so what better place to start!

Do you think Australia is a suitable country for young backpackers to travel? If so why?

Travelling is an art, you have to enjoy it but no matter where you are you cannot be complacent!

Even at home you cannot be complacent, we always have to have a sense of maturity and responsibility about us when going through life. At no point did we feel unsafe or worried on our trip 30 years ago – we actually thought about living there. We were welcomed no matter where we went.

Young people travelling learn so much from other cultures and nationalities – we do not give enough credit to their versatility and to the sense of responsibility when travelling. Of course as parents we will worry but to be honest every day Ruairi stepped into his car at home to go to college or work we worried – that’s what parents do – it’s inherent in our DNA!

So do we think Australia is suitable for young backpackers? Three different things to date have happened while Ruairi has been in Australia which has had the potential of being negative but such a different experience for us and so reassuring.

1. Ruairi was involved in a car accident a few weeks into Australia.

Thankfully it was not serious but still cause for worry when you are thousands of miles away!

We were extremely anxious and trying to trace his whereabouts in a hospital knowing he had just passed through the Twelve Apostles area. The Irish / Australian Embassy located him in 6 mins, phoned the hospital, spoke with consultants and nurses and updated us – unbelievable. All we had to give was his name and date of birth and meanwhile the backpackers with him looked after his gear, passport etc and got a car to travel miles to the hospital to collect him when he was discharged while one stayed with him! That’s what teenagers do – they look out for each other when travelling and as parents it was so reassuring.

2. A pandemic occured

What are the chances of that happening when starting out to travel?!

COVID-19 and lock down happened and we panicked as parents to get him out of the country. In the end we had to let him stay as borders were closing and no flights were coming home. We wanted to get him to our friends house but lockdown and travel restrictions made it difficult. A work colleague posted onto an Australian Facebook page seeking help for travel and got over 1.8K views and shares, with 885 responses offering help of lodgings and work and travel to the border!

As parents we were overwhelmed by the response from Australians who did not know our son but were going out of their way to help. We even had some Australians private message and ring us and even as I write this I am tearful at the total selflessness of the Australian people at such a difficult time towards our son.

3. Ruairi's 21st birthday

We were not with Ruairi to celebrate his big birthday and worried he would have no special day – believe me it’s a mother thing!

So on his birthday we rang to wish him a happy birthday having sent him cards from all the family and hoping he would at least have something to open on the day.

We were surprised as Ruairi said all the friends he had met at the surfers campsite had thrown him a surprise party with a magnificent cake, neon flashing lights, music, balloons and to top it all a half pack of Guinness!!! This was young backpackers who had worked together to throw a party of a lifetime for a 21 year old miles away from home ….. I cried when I saw the video as he was so happy and we knew he was experiencing far more there than we could ever have given him back home!

So YES – Australia is a great country to travel and technology is brilliant compared to the days we travelled when it was a letter to a PO Box! The pictures and videos he sends are fantastic and we are once again experiencing Australia but through a new lens.

When Ruairi phones we can hear in his voice that he has not regretted his decision and for us as much as we miss him, this has been the best experience and opportunity for him.

In your opinion, what are the benefits of travel to you, if any?

Travel is about living, it’s about learning. That adrenalin rush, the unknown and living on the edge. Being different and not doing the norm.

It’s about growing up, taking responsibility, developing, being mature, being inquisitive. It’s a curiosity that once you get the bug you will want more.

It provides fulfilment, it’s about having fun and there is so much to be explored and so little time to do it. So plant the seed early, never hold back and live the dream. Believe us you will never look back and regret it – it will shape you for the future that no text book can teach you!

What advice would you give to parents who are nervous about their young adult “children” travelling to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa?

The best advice we can give to parents from our experience is to allow them to travel. Encourage that inquisitiveness, give them the reassurance and let them know it’s OKAY to go. Never hold them back.

As someone once said to us – it’s the greatest compliment as parents, on how you have raised your child if they want to experience what you have done. You have helped developed and shape them into the young confident adults they have become and you now have to allow them to spread their wings while always reassuring them home will be there for them no matter what.

They will go through highs and lows but they will be able to work through it and you will see them develop into a very confident and mature young adult.

They will meet similar minded young people on their travels and each encounter helps develop them while they form lifelong friendships. As parents it is our responsibility to advise and support them but never hold them back and we very quickly will learn they are more responsible and mature than we give them credit for.

For us Australia was the best country for our son to go to – it has so much to offer him and 6 months into his experience it has not let us down!

A big Thank You to Fiona & John Devlin for sharing their amazing travel story and for the insight they provided as parents.

The post The Value Of Travelling – A Parents Perspective appeared first on Welcome to Travel.

Travelling In Your 30s

Darryl Newby — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 07:53:33 +0000

Most of us still associate a “gap year” as being only for the youngins

Aged between 18-21, who need to venture out of their safety net and see the world before settling into a career or further education. We’re here to tell you it’s not only for the young ones. In fact, we have seen how perfect the gap year has been for individuals in between the ages of 18-35 and how beneficial travelling in your 30s can be.

We interviewed Welcome To Travel legends Charlotte & Ghillie who decided to leave their well established professional lives behind in the UK and head abroad as solo travellers in their 30s. They explain what the experience has been like from their perspective and prove why the “gap year” has no age limit.

Charlotte Whelan came to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa when she was 31

When did you decide to travel to Australia?

“It’s something I had wanted to do from the age of 18 but always thought I’d meet a guy that shares the same passion that would want to come do it with me! I just never had the lady balls to do it myself! So when I turned 29, I thought to myself ‘it’s something you’ve always wanted to do and this is your last chance saloon now’ so I left it as near to the deadline as I possibly could – still hanging on to the thought that I might meet someone to come with me.

I fell in love with Australia on day one and even kicked myself that I hadn’t done this sooner, it really wasn’t as scary as I’d made it out to be in my head and was meeting people from the very first day I arrived!”

Why did you decide to travel to Aus?

“Funnily enough I had never been overly fussed about going to Australia – it wasn’t at the top of my bucket list. The only reason I went to Australia was because I have always wanted to go to NZ.

Now that’s always been at the top of my bucket list and it just made sense to check out Australia and see what all the fuss was about! Would be rude not to with me being so close and boy am I glad I did! I loved it so much that I even wanted to live there permanently; if only! I was lucky to get a few months there because of Covid! And the funniest thing is, I didn’t even get to do The East Coast which was the whole point of me going.

I was in love with Oz; head over heals, upside down, back to front, crazy, stupid love and I only ever saw Melbourne and Sydney! Can you imagine if I’d have actually seen the East Coast!? I don’t think my heart would have been able to cope!!”

What advice would you give to those who want to travel in their early 30s but are hesitant/worried they've 'missed the boat' on being a backpacker?

“Oh my god DO IT!!! It’s never too late!

I put it off for years and then finally just went for it and on day one, I wondered what all the fuss was about! I had the most amazing time and met the most incredible people and if anything being a bit older had it’s advantages because I was a bit more worldly and wise and had my wits about me.

I have a mantra and it’s like a little devil on my shoulder that says ‘Do one thing every day that scares you!’ The anxiety this little devil causes me but you know what, there is an old saying ‘We only live to regret the things in life we HAVEN’T done’. If it’s even a little seed in your head then you should just do it instead of getting to your death bed thinking, should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.

Many people often say to me (who are now settled down, married/divorced/with kids) ‘I wish I’d have done that!’ And more than not that phrase often starts with ‘That’s my only regret in life’… Please don’t be that person! You owe it to yourself to live your best life and nothing less!!”

Ghillie travelled Australia and other countries at age 30

What made you decide to head abroad on this trip of a lifetime?

“I was two months away from turning 30 when my long term boyfriend broke up with me, pretty out the blue. I was absolutely gutted and had never felt this lost in my life. I had no idea what to do.

I’ve always absolutely loved holidays and experiencing different cultures. I got the travel bug from my parents and have been lucky enough to visit lots of amazing, far flung places. I go on holiday as much as I can. I had never done the whole backpacking thing and decided to just go for it a couple months before I turned 30.

My long term relationship had broken down and I didn’t know what to do with myself, knowing I had to have my Australian visa granted before I turned 30 I immediately applied for it and once it was granted I started planning.”

Where did your journey start?

“I had never travelled solo before. So in January 2019, I boarded a flight to the Philippines, travelled with a friend for 5 weeks and then landed in Melbourne. I chose Australia because it was on my bucket list, it felt like a safe option because my friends- Darryl and Adam- had started WTT and they had given me reassurance that I would be ok. At that point I was suffering from really crippling anxiety. Travelling solo was the best thing I have ever done.”

How was the experience overall?

“I felt like I was more sensible and street wise to do it at 30 and I met amazing like minded people everywhere I went. My favourite experience was the outback trip WTT planned for me. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and was the most amazing experience ever. I loved every second.

I get on with everyone so my age didn’t affect my experience at all and I met quite a few other 30 year olds and older. I would tell them to go for it, age is nothing but a number in the world of travel and it honestly is the best thing I have ever done.

Travel as far and much as you can, see everywhere you can. There’s absolutely no need to be scared or hesitant. I wish I could relive my travels all over again. It’s literally made me fearless and totally changed me. Travel is life.”

The post Travelling In Your 30s appeared first on Welcome to Travel.

Travelling As A Couple

Darryl Newby — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 06:08:24 +0000

Travelling as a couple is arguably one of the biggest challenges any relationship can face. It will show you a side of your partner that perhaps you’ve never seen before. You’ll be tested in a way that only travelling and living abroad can test you.

We spoke to a few couples who have joined us on our Welcome to Melbourne tour and, in our opinion, are the definition of couple goals. It comes as no surprise that the remedy for success is clear communication and compromise. Although there have been some tough times, they all agree travelling as a couple has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

Chloe & Tom

Chloe & Tom joined us on tour back in November 2018 and have been together since 2015.

Throughout their time in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa, they have been doing a mix of work and travel all over the country. They’ve worked casual jobs at the same time as working for accommodation in hostels and with their savings, went on an unreal adventure covering the majority of Australia before continuing on to New Zealand and South East Asia!

The first major challenges that couples tend to face when backpacking are hostels and the lack of privacy. Chloe and Tom had some useful tips on how to approach and benefit from staying in hostels.

“Be prepared to have single beds but save money for private rooms along the way. It’s a nice treat.”

“Work for accommodation when you can for cheaper accommodation. We worked together during the day but had different evening jobs. It’s nice to have some time apart to do your own thing.”

“Have dates nights! Make plans together if you do end up working different jobs.”

What is your opinion on independence when travelling as a couple?

“It can be hard being together 24/7, it’s not always fun fun fun! Make friends with fellow travellers, it makes it easier being together all the time. Compromise – do things you both want to do but also what your other half wants to do as well. You don’t always have to do the same thing. Tom went skydiving and bungy jumping. I stayed at the hostel and chilled….. Nice to have that time!”

It’s clear you still learn new things about your other half even if you’ve been in a long term relationship.

Travelling teaches things about yourself and helps you to grow as a person, so it only makes sense it should have the same effect on a relationship. As long as you’re both on the same page and have an equal amount of motivation to work hard, save and make the dream happen, then you’re in for an adventure of a lifetime alongside your favourite person.

“Work as much as you can when you’re not traveling around and have a plan on where you’re going to go next…. Darryl planned our New Zealand trip! Be prepared to get to know each other’s every move! Be comfortable with each other before you go travelling… You still get to know things when travelling.”

Kathy & Jordan

Kathy & Jordan from Canada joined us on tour back in October 2019 and have been together for 7 years.

It seemed even from the start of their relationship they had the dream of someday moving abroad together.

“We started dating 7 years ago now, one of the first things she told me was like I just wanna go live in Australia.”

“I laid it down flat and said my dream is to move to Australia at one point so it’s happening. It’s been a dream of mine since I got Tumblr. Just think about how old that is.”

Kathy & Jordan are the definition of couple goals. They are both very relaxed and down to earth and it’s clear they have utmost trust and respect for one another. It was already clear in their first week on tour with us, they find it very easy to give each other space and independence while still showing constant support.

Their time in Australia has not been without its challenges. After working and saving money in Melbourne for 8 months, they became stuck in lockdown during the pandemic only weeks before they planned to head up the East Coast on the road trip of their dreams.

Despite the hurdles, they’ve stuck it out and during temporary easing of restrictions they were able to head up north and are now travelling through beautiful Queensland in a camper van.

“You’re together but you still have your own lives apart from each other. I feel like if you’re just wrapped up around your partner all the time it’s just like why are you out in another country, you can do that at home.”

“Travel has made our communication better, our communication is amazing. Take advantage of where you are and who you have around you, make the most of those experiences.”

Terri & Jamie

Terri (24) and Jamie (31) from Scotland have been together for over 4 years and joined us on our tour in August 2019.

Terri first had the idea in 2018 of heading to Australia on a Working Holiday Visa despite the couple not having travelled further than Tenerife, Spain before and Jamie was on board with the idea from the start. They both worked their butts off to save and watched plenty of Youtube videos for inspiration – especially Backpacking Bananas which is how they also found out about Welcome To Travel.

The couple lived in Phillip Island for months after falling in love with the place on our 8-Day tour and spent their time living the Australian dream and working in hospitality. Afterwards they headed up the East Coast in a camper van on an epic road trip and have only decided to head back to Scotland because of the pandemic.

“WE WISH WE STARTED EARLIER. We both regret not starting our working holiday visa YEARS ago as we would have accomplished a lot more. Jamie is now too old for a working holiday visa in most places and because of COVID19 we didn’t get to finish the last 5 months of our first year to do our second. Our main piece of advice is if you have the scratch to travel then do it while you are young and make the most of all the experiences you can with your partner!”

What is your advice for couples thinking of travelling together?

“We advise hiring a camper van for your travels. We did this for the Great Ocean Road, Grampians and the East Coast and LOVED it. We had our own personal private space away from sharing 10-person hostel dorms to catch up with sleep as well as it being your own little piece of normality like back home – bonus, you already know each other’s living habits (good and bad) unlike sharing a camper van with new people.

We also really advise planning all attractions you definitely want to see and agreeing together before travelling incase you wing it and end up having totally different ideas/ plans and have to compromise on the day because it’s last minute and missing things you really wanted to do.”

Advantages & disadvantages of travelling as a couple?

“We merged our money together to better manage our money and split everything down the middle which is a great advantage to travelling with your partner.

You are not on the other side of the world alone and have someone you have known for years by your side.

If one of you is shy then your partner can break the ice in conversations that you might not have done alone and you get to make amazing memories for life with your other half!”

The disadvantages are “just because you are in paradise doesn’t mean you don’t bicker. There’s not a lot of alone time while in hostels and it’s an odd experience while with your long term partner sleeping in bunk beds to say the least.
Because of our age once we return- WHICH WE WILL – it will have to be for the non working holiday visa so will have to save a lot of money to do all the things we want without running out of money so START WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG!”

Have you seen a change in your relationship since travelling?

“We both feel this experience has strengthened our relationship. If we can camp and share a small van for three weeks in 37 degree weather and make it out the other side or share a dorm with 10 complete strangers while in bunk beds for months at a time I think we can make it through anything.

We learned to budget every dollar together and compromise on every detail to make the experience the best it could be. It has made us want to travel so much more which at the beginning we didn’t know but now COVID19 has other plans.”

The post Travelling As A Couple appeared first on Welcome to Travel.

Don’t Be Scared To Quit Your Job And Go Travelling

Emily Potter — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 06:51:46 +0000

If you asked me five years ago where I’d be today, I don’t think my answer would have been working at a honey factory in Australia.

In fact, I don’t think anyone could have predicted what‘s happened in the world in the last eight months, but I can safely say that I don’t regret one minute of my time spent here in Oz.

After graduating from university four years ago, I continued to work full time for the same company I had spent the previous three summers with. It provided me with amazing networking connections, allowed me to spend my summers outside in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, and forged some of the strongest friendships I’ll ever have. But room for upward growth was relatively limited, and even with the opportunities I did have, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was starting to get burnt out, and I decided I was too young to be feeling this way.

Deciding to quit and deciding to travel were two seperate issues.

I knew in late 2018 that I needed to leave my job, but I didn’t fully start thinking about travel until the following April.

My original plan was to leave my job that November and travel for about three months, spending six weeks in Australia and six weeks in South America, and then return home to get on with my life. But then it occurred to me that if I’m uprooting everything, my job, my house, and my life, what’s the need to rush back to the States?

Aside from the fact that six weeks isn’t nearly enough time to see either of those continents, I started to explore options for long-term travel. If I was going to be traveling for more than three months, I’d need to start earning some money along the way, which is when I started to look at Australia’s working holiday program.

What started as a vacation for a few weeks turned into a full year of travel.

I'm a planner and always have been, so what scared me the most about taking this leap was the uncertainty.

Where would I go, what would I do about money, where would I work, would I have fun, what would I do when I returned home? These were all questions that I pondered in the months leading up to my trip, that I’ve since come to realize don’t really matter.

I think it’s smart to put a little bit of thought into where you want to go and what you want to see, and it’s good to have enough savings to last a few months without a job, but the rest will fall into place. There are plenty of ways to travel on a budget, and certain countries are more expensive than others, so don’t feel like you have to spend your life savings.

If you need inspiration on specifics, I recommend you check out this YouTube channel. You’ll likely need a flight to get to your first destination, and a place to stay for the first week, but beyond that you can’t predict what will happen once you arrive.

I arrived in Australia on November 15, 2019 and after my first week in Melbourne, I knew I was going to need more than a year in this amazing country.

Prior to my arrival, I’d spent hours making lists of top destinations, taking recommendations from friends, and making itineraries for how long I wanted to stay in each location. I had a plan for how I wanted to travel, and when I would work, but what I couldn’t have predicted was how much I would love Melbourne, and want to stay for as long as possible. I left the city just at the start of quarantine, and moved to regional Victoria to pursue my farm work. This will allow me to spend an additional year in Australia, and it’s possible that I’ll continue my farm work for an additional six months to stay for a third year.

What have I learned from my eight months here? Dropping everything and leaving your former life behind doesn’t absolve you of responsibility. Just because I’m galavanting around Australia doesn’t mean I don’t still need to worry about paying my credit card bill, and how to figure out taxes in two different countries. But quitting my job and coming to Australia was the best decision I could have made. Within the past year, my life has changed substantially.

I’m a more positive and open person; I’m more adaptable, flexible, and have embraced any challenge I’ve been faced with. I’ve taken a “one day at a time” approach, and especially during the start of COVID and lockdown, found that to be the best way for me to handle the uncertainty about the future.

It occurred to me recently that often when meeting someone new at home, the question that quickly follows your name is “what do you do?”

The pressure of work and career at home in America is just not what it is here in Australia. I know that some people know what they want to do with their lives from an early age, and they set out to make it happen.

But what I’ve found to be more often the case is that no one knows what they want to do, and that we’re all faking it until we figure it out. We all need to work to survive, but what’s the point if you’re not able to enjoy yourself outside of your work life.

I know that one day I’ll have to settle down, and likely go back to working a 9-to-5 job, but for the time being I’m learning more from these life experiences than I could ever learn from behind a desk.

I recognize that I’m in a privileged position to be able to quit a stable job and travel 8,000 miles away from home. Especially amidst a pandemic, leaving work to travel may not be a viable option at the moment. But take this opportunity to evaluate what you want, and spend your time planning an adventure of your own. I can’t recommend it enough!

The post Don’t Be Scared To Quit Your Job And Go Travelling appeared first on Welcome to Travel.

Travelling With My Best Friend In Australia

Maddie Balcombe — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 02:47:06 +0000

In January of 2020, I went travelling for the first time with my best friend, Maisie.

We spent every day together for 3 months so, as you can imagine, we learnt a lot about each other and made memories to last a lifetime! When it comes to travelling, the solo vs group debate is a big one; stepping on a plane completely alone is a terrifying thought, but it can be equally as hard to plan a trip with someone else. However, I’ve always wanted to see the world, and I know that Maisie has the same goal, so sharing my first travel experience with her was a no-brainer!

Maisie and I met on the first day of primary school and, 14 years later, we are still such close friends. From concerts to parties, school to weekends away, we’ve literally grown up together! In 2019 we finished college and both decided to take a gap year before starting university and getting a job. I had plans to go to Bali and Maisie had booked a trip to Kenya, but we both knew that we wanted to slot in another adventure somewhere within our year out! On a random day in September, I woke up to a message from Maisie: “I’m thinking of backpacking Australia next year. Do you want to come?” One month later, our flights were booked and, before we knew it, we were 10,000 miles away from home!

Our decision to go to Australia together was very spontaneous but it worked out perfectly. Having been friends for such a long time, Maisie and I know exactly what our dynamic is like and I think this is why our travels together worked so well.

How We Planned It!

During the planning process of our trip, we were always on the same page and everything seemed to happen so naturally. Looking back, I believe that the way that we approached the planning process set the tone for the rest of our trip. We both did a lot of research and made a pact to always be honest with each other about what we wanted to achieve. When you’re spending such a long time with someone, honesty is always the best policy – and I’m so thankful that Maisie and I realised this very early on.

We based our route off of Unjaded Jade’s YouTube videos, which is where we heard about Welcome to Travel and their tour Welcome to Melbourne: The 8 Day which is where we started our journey.

There were aspects of her trip up the East Coast of Australia that neither of us were that fussed about, so instead of beating around the bush and trying to please the other person, we both made sure that we said exactly what we did and didn’t want to do.

Experiences Make A Friendship Stronger

Maisie and I are similar in so many ways, but we also have differences that came in handy whilst we were travelling. On many occasions we decided to change our accommodation, extend our stay somewhere or had to deal with an unexpected problem and the responsibility of making the phone calls would naturally fall on me. Equally, Maisie was the GPS of the trip. We’d arrive in a new place and, within a day, she’d know her way around like the back of her hand. If it wasn’t for Maisie, I’d probably still be in Hong Kong airport trying to figure out where the gate for our connecting flight is! The different practical abilities that we both had to offer made the trip unfold effortlessly.

Luckily, when it came to activities, we were always on the same page.

Be it sunset hikes, kayaking with dolphins, camping on a remote island or falling 15,000 feet from a plane, we made the most of each day.

I can’t think of anyone else crazy enough to experience these things with me! That said, it’s inevitable that there were days when we were feeling a bit down or just wanted some space. Maisie and I made sure to respect each other’s boundaries and always be there for one another. We were in it together through all of the ups and downs!

The time I spent in Australia was unforgettable and having someone like Maisie to share those memories with made it extra special.

The post Travelling With My Best Friend In Australia appeared first on Welcome to Travel.