Should I Travel Alone or In A Group?

It seems to be an age old argument with Australian working holiday travel – should I travel alone or in a group?

Well, I’m glad I asked.

There are positives and negatives for both options and, ultimately, it is a personal decision whether you travel alone or with a more organised group.

When making this decision, that could completely shape the adventure you are about to embark on, you have to consider many things.

This isn’t a post trying to change your mind. If you are dead set on coming to Australia alone, I’m sure you’ll have an absolute blast! If you are thinking of coming to Australia as part of a group, here is why we offer a service that you won’t soon forget.

Relax!

The beauty of an UltimateOz tour is that it’s hassle free. Especially when moving to Australia long term, there’s a lot of niggly paperwork and processes to go through. If it’s your first long-term trip abroad, it is much more reassuring to have an experienced guide.

You will have nothing to worry about, we do this stuff for a living. You’ll arrive in Australia and we already have the information we need to get the paperwork you need sorted.

Booking your arrival week in Australia with us allows you to take a load off. If you are planning on staying in Australia for a prolonged period, we can help with all the boring bits that everyone would rather not have to go through. We apply for tax file numbers (which let you work in Australia), bank accounts and mobile phone numbers so as soon as you arrive in Australia you are ready to hit the ground running.

It is a strange thing moving to a country thousands of miles from home on your own. Some people thrive in the uncertainty, the not knowing what comes next. Others like a little more structure and that is what we offer.

We provide the tour, we aren’t an agency so you know what you are getting with us and you know where to look for any other help and advice that you need. There is no need for the middle man and you can contact us directly.

We are here for however long you’ll be here. If you finish your UltimateOz week and want to move to Melbourne, we are a phone call or email away. Want to head north, look for farm work or find a place in Sydney? Give us a shout. Even if you just want to come in for a chat and some wifi head to our shop and relax.

Speaking of WIFI….

It’s a tough mother to find in Australia. Aside from the fried goodness of McDonalds, free wifi is difficult to come by but UltimateOz travellers are given access to free wifi in our shop.

Of course, no-one books a life-altering trip just to spend time checking your Tweets, but it is nice to know you’ve got somewhere to fall back on wifi if you need to email your mum every once in a while so she’s knows you are still alive.

Did We Just Become Best Friends?!

UltimateOz is a great way to meet people. Whether you’re the most confident person that walks into a room or a little on the shy side, our groups are a great way to get together with like-minded people.

Having moved to Australia from England a year and a half ago, it was more difficult meeting people than I had expected. You have hostel buddies, people you make idle chit-chat with over breakfast or go out for a few too many beers with, but friendship is harder to find.

With UltimateOz, you can meet your group before you leave for Australia using our Facebook Groups. Everyone is in the same situation before they leave for Australia and by meeting the group first, you can see where people are coming from and where they have been before.

The group size of UltimateOz is kind of a perfect middle ground. The groups aren’t too big or small, you can get to know everyone during the week and spend enough time together to get to know one another well.

No two groups are the same so don’t think you are too young or old to come and enjoy an Ultimate week in Australia. As long as you are fun, open-minded and willing to meet other people then you are good to go!

When the week is over, many of our group members either travel together or move in together in Sydney. Whether you want to travel by campervan or Greyhound, we can help you and there is probably someone in your group that wants to do something similar.

UltimateOz Basecamp!

The best thing about the UltimateOz experience is that you are able to see more than just Sydney. While Sydney is an incredible city, one that has a habit of drawing you in, it is good to get a feel for somewhere else in your first week in the country.

After each group draws to a close, 9 times out of 10 the highlight has been UltimateOz Basecamp – our secret hideaway where you spend 2-nights during your first week. It’s paradise! Golden sands and crystal clear waters, dolphins playing in the water and koalas sleeping in the trees – its awesome!

While Basecamp only lasts a couple of days, it gives you a taste of what is to come on the East Coast of Australia, and it is close enough to Sydney that you won’t spend a day on the coach to get there and back.

Us Vs Them

In case you haven’t already Googled this – we aren’t the only people offering a welcome week in Australia. Let’s get down to brass tacks, why should you choose UltimateOz over competitors?

It all boils down to what we offer and how we provide the service. When in Sydney, you stay in the best hostel in the city (WakeUp!) and then head off on the amazing Basecamp in Port Stephens.

We focus on group activity. Many providers of similar tours have a heavy focus on the paperwork side of things – they help you get settled and then leave you to it. While we are fine with this if it is your choice, we want to give you a first week in Sydney that you’ll never forget and the reviews speak for themselves!

The job service we provide (more on that later) is an award winner and helps thousands of travellers a year find work right the way across Australia. We also have staff dedicated to help finding you work – they will help with your CV and applications making you the strongest possible candidate for any work you go for.

If you are just here for the fun times and travelling, we are more than capable of helping with that too – discounts anyone?!

Experience

UltimateOz has been around for 22 years and has seen the changing tourism industry in Australia. The company is not just a flash in the pan, make money quick deal, we really know our stuff.

One of the best things about UltimateOz is that we have been there, and done it all. I’m a backpacker myself and have been in Australia for just over 12-months. The rest of our work and travel gurus are a mixture of working holiday visas and sponsored workers from across the globe with a couple of Aussies thrown in for good measure!

We’ve all had to make those tough decisions – To farm or not to farm? Where to go and when to go? Where to live and how to find an apartment? How much tax should you be paying and how do you claim it back?

Our experience is here, so use it!

Whether you want to work first and then travel or vice-versa is completely fine. There is no right or wrong way to travel, Fraser Island will still be there in 3 weeks or 3 months. Do what is right for you and let other’s do the same.

A word of warning, you will get those massive pangs of Facebook jealousy. If your fellow UltimateOzers head straight up the Coast and you decide to work in Sydney for a few months, they’ll be exploring tropical paradise and you’ll be working a normal job.

Don’t let this put you off Sydney, Melbourne or any other Australian city though. Each has their own character and are filled with things to do and see – it just probably won’t sound as impressive as scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef!

Working

We help to prepare you for your time in Australia with our work and travel information talk. This gives you all the different options at your disposal, whether you want to hit the road or stay a little while, we have all the information you need.

If you’re heading to Australia looking for work, we’ll help you with your CV and job applications, and you’ll have access to our extensive backpacker job database. Many people arrive in Australia expecting work easily, and we don’t want to sugarcoat this: it is more difficult than people expect to find work in Australia, so a little help is always handy.

Don’t let this put you off, hundreds of thousands of travellers find work in Australia each year (myself included), just remember that it isn’t easy finding work. With our TAW servvice, we can help you along the way wherever you want to settle in Australia.

My Story

In the interests of full disclosure, I came to Australia without a tour group. I have family in Sydney and my interest in Australia was from a ‘living somewhere else’ mindset than an ‘let’s put the backpack on and see where I end up’ way of thinking.

I’d been to Sydney before and I absolutely love it, so I wanted to spend as much time as possible in the city. I’ve traveled the East Coast, done my farm work and am on my second year visa. I’ve been to Melbourne a few times too and I loved it there as well and a trip to Tasmania is on the horizon.

For me, with my mindset and family connections, it was a no-brainer to come alone. I wouldn’t change my decision but having worked at Ultimate Travel for over 6 months, I have seen how awesome the UltimateOz experience is. You might think that this is only a week long experience but it totally isn’t.

People stay in touch with us right the way through their time in Australia, whether they need help with travel plans or finding work or they just want to chat through their options with someone who has been in a similar position.

If you do decide to embark on your adventure alone, we’re still here to help! Come in to our shop and say hi, ask us questions on Facebook and Twitter, follow us on Instagram. We are here to help and we actually mean that!

If you arrive in Australia and all isn’t going well, don’t hesitate to contact us! We can help you with the paperwork, the tough decisions and the fun stuff too!

Whether you come alone or with us or anyone else, Australia is a great place to live, work and travel. The UltimateOz group gives you the best of all three (and wifi to boot), so what are you waiting for?!

Make a decision and get the hell over here!!