You’ve got your Working Holiday Visa, the one way flight to Aussie is booked and it’s time to think about how you are going to spend your time in Australia. You’ve probably got mates that have done the WHV and have heard about some of the sweet spots to see and where the best places to find work are. We’ll be sharing with you our tips on whether you should work or travel first including tips on:
- Being money savvy before and during your trip
- What to avoid when on your working holiday visa
- Working in return for accommodation
- What to do when you start running out of money!
Before heading to Australia you’ve been working your ass off to fund your travels right? All those extra hours at work, the missed nights out, the instant noodles and selling your PS games is quite the sacrifice BUT we guarantee it is worth and that you’ll have the experience of a lifetime if you use your time wisely.
Read on to find out what its like to travel Australia whilst on your working holiday visa…
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Don't get sucked into a job from the off
We’ve heard wayyyyyy too many stories about people heading straight out to Melbourne or Sydney, finding a job, getting settled into the 9-5 lifestyle (like they had at home) or even worse slaving away on a farm to get those 88 days and then realising at the end of their time they only have 1 month left and try and cram in as much travel into 4 weeks as they can. We are NOT about that, as brits, europeans, canadians, americans and more we are so lucky that we have the opportunity to spend a full year (2 if you do the farmwork – more on this in another blog) living the dream in Aussie, so make the most of it RatPackers.
How I've done it - from a RatPack Team Member
Like a lot of people I headed out to Australia with a working holiday visa, a one way ticket and the plan to travel and enjoy myself for as long as possible… I arrived in Cairns and with the help of Sammy Boy planning the best calendar for me before I arrived, I cruised the east coast of Aussie for 2 and a half months hitting up all the amazing spots. I saw the Great Barrier Reef, partied on Magnetic Island, sailed the Whitsundays, explored Fraser Island, experienced life in Byron Bay and had a LOT of good times. By exploring the east coast I was able to see everything and also – decide where I wanted to base myself, I realised that I loved the little beachy surf towns as they had the best vibes and were the experience that I wanted!
After nearly 3 months of bouncing around the east coast, I wanted to chill a little bit so I did loads of epic little volunteer jobs, I volunteered on the beautiful Fraser Island, where i did work in return for accommodation and food, I did work for accommodation in Hervey Bay and Agnes Water in hostels and had SUCH a great time. By doing work for accom you save a lot of money and still get to experience the hostel life (FYI – you’ll normally get sick perks working for a hostel, free or cheap food, discounted tours, free laundry, free wifi etc).
What to do when you start running out of money?
After you’ve enjoyed yourself sailing the Whitsundays, cruising around Fraser Island, snorkelling with turtles and drinking way to much goon and xxxx gold to mention it’ll probably be time to get some work and give your liver a rest right? Okay SO, important tip RatPackers, do not let your money get down to your last $, or you might find yourself in a tricky situ. Jobs in Aussie are easy to come about you just need to get out there, get networking and get yourself known! Like Sophia did, you could always do work for accomodation, every hostel offers this and is always looking for volunteers, expect to work between 15-20 hours a week doing housekeeping, driving or cooking and you’ll get free acom. The best way to find this work is to ask at reception, keep an eye out on the backpacker job fb groups or if you’ve left a hostel to continue travelling drop them an email with your CV!
There are plenty of backpacker jobs in every town and city in Aussie, so make sure your CV is up to date and get knocking on doors! You’ll find that there are plenty of jobs available in hospitality AKA baristas, bar tenders or restaurant work. There are lots of opportunities to work for call centres, charities and door knocking type of jobs – be careful of some of these as they are commission based and can be tough. Working in construction is a popular option too and you’ll find this is how you can make that serious dollar!
Ready to head to Aussie?
Doing a working holiday visa in Australia is without a doubt the best way to experience Aussie, travel, stop to work for abit to top up your funds and then repeat!
- Don’t get caught up in an office job if thats not what you want to do!
- You don’t have to do farmwork if you don’t want to stay for the second year
- Travel first to suss out where you’d like to base yourself and scope out opportunities
- Save up plenty before you go!
About the Author: Sammy
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From our RatPackers
Ben was amazing and went above and beyond to find us amazing deals and exactly what we were looking for. He did it all in record time too! We were very close to our travel date and Ben was doing so much for us so quickly! Definitely recommend
Mikey was fantastic from start to finish. He was so efficient and easy to talk to. 10/10 for him, would highly recommend the service. So happy I chose to go with RatPack Travel.
Friendly helpful and accommodating. Thanks Ryan. You made it all very easy.
Great service from Ben, came back with answers within minutes and walked us through the process, great experience, thanks Ben
George was fantastic, I came in very vague and he gave me the time and examples to lock in what we were looking for. He found great deals and was easy to talk to - he was able to give tips about the process without putting any pressure. Would recommend using Ratpack.
Ben made it so fast and easy for us to reserve our camper van for our trip in the fall! Excellent service!’n
I had a call with Ryan who was super nice, knowledgable and made me feel really at ease with making my decision. He asked me all about what I want to do and achieve on my trip, although I didn’t really want to pack too much in… nor gave much detail on what I want to do, he gave options and ideas for me to look into. He used his own experience as an example which was really helpful to hear and made me feel like I’m right at home with RatPack, I knew then I was making the right choice by talking to him. He answered any questions I had, even if they seemed like silly questions to ask. The booking process is really easy and straight forward, they do all the hard parts for you. Once Ryan talked me through my options, I made my selection and all I had to do was enter my card details for the deposit and I was done! Thanks to Ryan’s detailed and calm approach I knew I was booking with the right company/team. I can’t wait for the next step!!
George has been amazing. He put together the costings for our trip, and then I changed the dates completely and he redid everything and said it wasn’t a problem. I felt that he worked hard to get me the best deal, advised me which pickup town was the best deal, when was the best time to travel, and how I could save money by adding a day to our trip (yes, it was cheaper to go for 21 days than go for 20!). George sent through mountains of advice on travel destinations, camping sites etc. I would definitely recommend RatPack Travel and George.
The Ratpack team and specifically Ryan f were great for booking our dream New Zealand campervan trip. Ryan worked hard over several days trying to find the best possible deals for us and the communication was great with updates regularly. He was able to get us 2 vans that out did any other quotes that we received and we are really looking forward to our trip with Ratpack being by our side. Thanks a lot Ryan F!
Lovely people, more than helpful.
I am so stoked with the service I received from Ryan at RatPack Travel. He was so proactive and on the ball to help me with all my questions and variations. He gave me several options and gave me other things to look at to make sure I had all that I needed. Ryan did all the legwork in following up the availability of the type of van I wanted. If you are wanting to go on a Campervan holiday no matter how long or short, I would recommend RatPack Travel! They will be you support in every step of the process, in the lead up and while on the road. Thanks Ryan! You're a legend! They are a one stop shop when it comes to sourcing campervans and motorhomes from different providers! I nearly forgot to say - he got me a great deal on a newer model. ;)
Thijs and Gemma were just so lovely to communicate with and explained everything so well. Booked us our campervan seamlessly, and with a great deal too 😊 10/10 service from them both!! Couldn’t recommend more! 😊
Ben was super helpful, easy to deal with and always got back to all my questions nice and quickly, with all the campervan options out there we really didn’t know what one to go with but Ben did all the searching for us and made the whole process really simple.
Amazing and outstanding customer service, Ryan exceeded all expectations, he and his team found the perfect deal for us, if you are looking for renting a campervan in NZ or Oz, don’t look for more! Go straight to them and you’ll see you are in the best hands! 🙌
Greg was superb! We told him what we wanted in a camper van. Even with less than two weeks notice, he didn’t disappoint. We loved our camper van and it was perfect for the two of us!
