@ratpack_travel
Hey, I'm Sammy

Owner and Operator

Age: 32

Where's home?

You can never EVER forget where your from – In my case Manchester, UK. BUTtttttttt for now and for the foreseeable future my Home is Byron Bay Babbbbbbbbby.

Languages spoken:

English & je parle petit pe francis (only after a few Bevies – DEL BOi Style ahahah)

Time spent in Australia and NZ:

Since Nov 2011!

A little about me:

The standard end of Uni – I don’t know what to DO with my life story resulted in me shopping around for flights and hitting the Open Road with Big Ryan (my college buddy & absolute Banter Man)… what was a few month adventures has become a lifestyle that I didn’t think even existed.

I get just as much a Buzz Creating Epic adventures for travellers than I do going on them myself. I’m still partial to a good old roadie and cruise in the van from Byron on surf trips – in search of waves, sunsets and open beaches!

Why is Aussie / NZ so special...

To start with Aussie Land is MASSIVE – not many peeps have been around the full circuit (and I myself wasn’t at all planning on) but the Roadie can become addictive and it certainly did for me!

I hit the road and travelled 25,913 Km’s the diversity between the tropical beach towns on the East Coast to the West Coast which feels like the end of the world got me hooked straight away. The people I met along the way – live by the chilled & relaxed lifestyle that takes you a while to get used to – but now have become totally accustomed too.

Rambling on so much I almost forgot about the little sibling AKA NZ – I planned to go there for 2 months well I ended up staying 2 years. Everything is accessible and not too far away – get ya self out of Auckland and there is literally not a person in site! There are too many moments to mention but Free Camping for a week with my Bruv-Ski {AKA Jakey Boi} next to a snow capped mountain, clear blue ocean and dolphins has to be up there. NZ has it ALL.

Favourite spot in Australia/NZ:

BYRON BAY Babbbbbbbbby (to live and stay for an extended time) however – if it’s just a visit then Uluru is MAJESTICAL {had to use the spell checker on that one}. Not gona lie after the 6 full days it took me to drive to the centre of Oz and see the red centre – I almost shed a tear.

NZ – Raglan is the ONE… perfect & laid back vibes it’s just UNREAL alsooooo – Big up Tim & Suz – they’ve made ‘Raglan BackPackers’ their own. In 6 and a bit years of travelling you can imagine how many hostels I’ve stayed at. This one is in a league of its own. The town itself is amazing but the hostel makes it.

Backpacker tips:

Put down the phone – chat to the person next to you – don’t take every moment for granted and be as open as possible – you just don’t know what the next person will bring into your life – Special Mention to Mollie Bylett – The Blog on how we met is COMING!

Funny travel story/or best moment in Australia:

Location NZ: A rainy night in a camp kitchen kick started a game of Rock Paper Scissors – the winner got the last Biscuit. The game after that we ran out of choccy biccies so we proceeded to bet on who would cut one anothers hair with a dodgy pair of clippers >>> safe to say I lost!

Type of traveller:

Chilled out & cruising along. Happy go Lucky. More Happy than Lucky ; )

Our Top Picks
  • Fraser Island

    K’Gari (Fraser Island)

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  • Whitsundays

    The Whitsundays, Airlie Beach

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  • Great Barrier Reef

    Great Barrier Reef

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Not the tour you're looking for?
OUR TEAM

Meet the Ratpackers

  • Sammy

    British

    Owner and Operator

    You can never EVER forget where your from – In my case Manchester, UK. But for now and for...

    Read more
  • Jules

    German

    Travel Guru

    Home is where my passport is… My roots lie in East Germany but I’ve spent most of my life on the...

    Read more
  • Tyla

    Aussie

    Travel Guru

    Originally born in Zimbabwe, I moved to The Land of Oz when I was super young...

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  • Mikey

    British

    Travel Guru

    I spent my time at home being king of the BBQ at Nandos flipping chicken before I decided that...

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  • Holly

    British

    Social Media & Marketing

    About 2 years ago now, I headed off to Australia on my gap yahhh (really not a fan of that term...

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  • Reuben

    British

    Travel Guru

    I first came to Oz on a 1-year working holiday and have settled here in Byron Bay... ...

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  • Mike

    British

    Travel Guru

    I'm Mike (not to be mistaken for Mikey), like Mikey though I'm also from Manchester in the UK......

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Meet the team
CUSTOMER REVIEWS

From our RatPackers

5.0

1,600+ Google & Facebook reviews

5.0

1,600+ Google & Facebook reviews

tilde carlsson
21 April 2024

Ryan did an amazing job and guided me through the alternatives of different campervan rentals and helped me to find what suits me for my trip

Aoife McGovern
20 April 2024

Planning a huge trip is always a daunting experience but George managed to make the whole experience stress free and enjoyable. Everything from start to finish was personal and easy! Booking with RatPack is like being on the phone to a mate. Super informative, really friendly and we got an amazing deal. All you can ask for really. Thank you RatPack!

Jasmine Cleere
19 April 2024

Huge thank you to RatPack Travel! We left it pretty late to book our campervan for Tassie and couldn't find many affordable options ourselves. I spoke to Gregg from RatPack on Whatsapp and within 10 minutes he had found us a great vehicle at an amazing price. We've just landed in Hobart and found out we've been upgraded to an even better van at the same price!! Will definitely be recommending RatPack to everyone I know who is planning to travel and see Australia the proper way! Thank you Gregg! ❤️

Toni Snoxell
19 April 2024

My booking experience was such a pleasure and quite unique. I assumed I’d be dealing with computer generated prompts but instead had 2 calls with the lovely Anna who worked with our tricky time difference (I’m in Qatar) . Within 24 hours she secured me a great deal on the van that would work best for me. Can’t wait for my December adventure and couldn’t recommend RatPack Travel enough!!

George Dixon
19 April 2024

Ryan was very helpful top bloke 👍👍

T. Loof
19 April 2024

Super schnelle und gleichzeitig sehr persönliche Abwicklung der Buchung. Anna war sehr freundlich und bei Fragen stets erreichbar. Macht das buchen super easy, sehr guter Service!

Rita Vidal
18 April 2024

I had an incredible experience renting a van with them for my road trip in New Zealand. Ben was exceptionally helpful and made the whole process smooth and enjoyable. We had a pleasant chat, and they were accommodating when I needed to make changes to my booking. Highly recommend this rental company for anyone exploring New Zealand! Can’t wait to get in the road.

Cannot recommend these guys enough!! We recently booked our 3 week holiday in NZ. We would be lying if we said the process of looking for a motorhome/campervan was easy. We spent days tossing up options that hardly met our budget. After a few days of stressing out like a pair of lunatics we came across RatPack Travel, lo and behold they were the saviours we desperately needed! We hopped on a call with Chris and got chatting. Within the hour we locked in a spacious motorhome (with insurance) that met our budget - WE’RE SO STOKED!! We wholeheartedly recommend RatPack Travel to any future holiday makers out there looking for a fast, reliable and friendly service! THANK YOU CHRIS!!! ❤️‍🔥

Kathy Bonello
17 April 2024

Haven't started my journey yet so can't say much but so far the customer service specifically from Ben has been incredible and he was able to find me a great deal and I'm very excited.

Theresa KM
16 April 2024

A huge thanks to George and Jenna for a great service! Kind, accomodating, and effective!

Julie H
15 April 2024

Anna has been really helpful and made sure I got the best deal for my last minute booking. She made it really easy as I had nothing to do, except for answer questions and review the details to confirm the booking. She was very professional and also answered my questions and gave me tips. The service is free for users as they get paid by the rental company. Thank you to Sammy and Tammy as well for finding a solution for me :). Will recommend your services.

Super helpful and friendly staff. They helped me plan an adventure with my dog in a rental camper and got the best deals. Thank you Ryan F and RatPack.

Erika Post
15 April 2024

George was super helpful. He got us the absolute best deal and saved us so much money on our van!

Gregg was great to work with! Made the process so smooth and effortless!

Nathan Wise
15 April 2024

These guys are lifesavers! Needed to book a van for ten days right before arriving in Australia and they did all the heavy lifting finding the van! Huge thank you to Anna for being incredibly friendly and helpful - RatPack is the best!

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