First Time Traveler

[autumnbaby2939]

I've never traveled outside of North America, so right now I'm clueless.
Outside of applying for a passport, what do I need to know about traveling to Australia?
What's a good time of year?
What's a reasonable price for a round-trip ticket?
What's the deal with tourist visas? Are they expensive?
What am I allowed to bring in and out of the country?
HELP!!

[Insanity]

Hey, this is the Australian immigration website https://www.immi.gov.au/
Where in Australia do you plan on going?
To be honest I think Australia is nice all year round depending on what kind of weather you like. I'm sure there are Americans on here who'll be able to give more advice about visa's and flights. Given how strong the Australian dollar is you'll realise once you get here how expensive everything is, in some cases double the price.
Customs is quite strict here, you have to declare many things like all food, plant or animal based products. Though if you're not sure if you have to declare something its best to just tick the yes box or ask questions, the staff are helpful.
I hope that helps, if you have any more questions I'm happy to help.

[13000km]

Which part of Australia are you going to? Seasons are the opposite in Australia, but they have relatively mild season "symptoms".
A good time of the year depends on you and your partner's schedules, of course. It is significantly cheaper to travel during the off peak periods (times that are not Summer and winter or any other school break).
A reasonable price of ticket from the US to Australia...I would say about $2000.
Visa types, prices and processes are easily available online.
You're not allowed to bring any living thing like plants and pets in and out of the country. Certain items may be tricky, like cigarettes and some medication. Liquids and gels and sharp objects should not be in carry-on bags.
Mmm, that's all I can think of at the moment. I hope you have a great trip! (:

[autumnbaby2939]

I'll be visiting Sydney. Thanks for your help.

[ClipitsWings]

have a wonderful time
i just wanted to thank you for posting this too because i'll one day eventually need help with these things

[Insanity]

Oh here is the Australian customs website for travellers that'll have more information about what you can and cannot bring into the country https://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4224.asp

[Insanity]

Oh here is the Australian customs website for travellers that'll have more information about what you can and cannot bring into the country https://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4224.asp

[Casey]

Sydney is pretty good all year round. Personally I prefer summer over winter. So October- April?

[Silviar]

1) In addition to your passpost, you need a visa. If you're visiting for less than three months, it's an electronic visa called an ETA - cheap, only like $20-30, and easy to obtain. Longer means more money and more difficulty of course. https://www.immi.gov.au/immigration/

2) Read up on what's allowed in and out of the country - https://www.customs.gov.au/
Customs is quite strict, so don't lie if you have any snack foods or anything like that - just claim it on the form they give you.

3) I suggest getting Lonely Planet's Australia guide - they're native to Australia, and the guide has great maps/descriptions of things around whatever area you go to. Skip the restaurant recommendations and search on your own, though.

4) All year is a good time of the year in Australia.

5) Reasonable is anything under $2k. Cheapest times of the year are around $1500.

Really, if you buy the tour book, you'll be all right - it'll help you with a lot of that information. Good luck!

[BlueCat]

I was pretty sure that under 3 months and you can travel under the VISA waiver program. Good time of year depends on your seasonal preferences and what you want to do. But probably September-November or March-May if you want to avoid the hottest temperatures and the summer holidays. But yeah, all year round is good unless you don't like the really hot weather. Winter is pretty mild comparitively. But it really depends what you want to do, if you want to spend a lot of time at the beaches etc, summer obviously, but if you want to do a lot of hiking or anything, summer isn't so great for that and if you go camping in summer, you can't have a campfire etc. So it depends what you're planning.

I don't know how these people are getting return trips from the U.S for 2grand or less. I've only managed less than 2grand once and that was several years ago, these days with the cost of oil, you can expect more around 2-2500 in my opinion. I'm including an additional stopover on my upcoming trip to the U.S so am struggling to find tickets under 3grand =/

In terms of what you're allowed to bring in, no fruit or veg or living things (obviously). Chocolates and lollies etc are fine as they're processed foods, just make sure you declare them. Unopened packets are always better. Avoid all organic parts of things, like dried fruit, untreated timber products, bamboo mats etc, animal products etc. Though most tourist visits don't include the bringing over of those items. We don't want bombs or anything else either, so leave those at home In terms of medication, it's usually not a big deal, if you have medicine to cover the amount of time you're spending in australia, that's perfectly normal (obviously) but for pescription meds, carry a copy of the pescription with you just in case.

But yeah.. best to read customs website etc.


Also, we're big on sniffer dogs. So expect to be passed over by one when you collect your luggage.

[Kwala]

5) Reasonable is anything under $2k. Cheapest times of the year are around $1500.

I agree with this. It can get even lower than this depending on sale prices and travel periods, but I think you should be able to swing an economy return flight for under $2K, even from east coast USA.

[snow_girl]

I got really excited when I saw this thread. I thought it was about the first person that traveled through time.

[lucybelle]

I got really excited when I saw this thread. I thought it was about the first person that traveled through time.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[ioanna]

I got really excited when I saw this thread. I thought it was about the first person that traveled through time.

YAY! I'm not the only one

[Victoriaa]

Go to any informative site where you can find all these answers about Australia. Well what's your plan for visit places in Australia. Let me suggest you some most attractive places in Australia. Kakadu National Park, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Fraser Island Manly Beach these are the some most amazing places of Australia. You should must visit all of them