err...food only wor..like that also need to budget? u can get a decent meals for 1 person for 1 meal using AUD10 also ler
if u talking abt those ordering dishes 1 then different ler..even for italian food, me and my friends just called maybe let's say 2 large plates of pasta then pizza then share out the cost ler..also not much nia..so blary full and only cost AUD 11 ea. and even if u go Crown Casino to visit or gamble, u go right into the casino, the food there is blardy cheap wei..AUD5 for pasta or AUD6.80 for the grilled meat that i had, can't remember was what meat xD

But dun mistakenly eat outside of the casino those restaurants ler..u will faint seeing the bill xD

Can recommend which budget hotel to stay in Sydney, Melbourne and GoldCoast ?

in melbourne.

backpackers will be the ultimate cheapest place.

YHA is the answer

Melbourne, try Malaysia Hall if you really go for budget..

yes..SOLO and LIFT, i like SOLO more... i miss it ..haha

oh yeah malaysia hall is pretty good for new comers. i never stayed there myself. but a friend did said is was good for the price. plus you meet lots of people.

any of you try that SOLO 440ml heh. the giant can. damn syiok

I was in Sydney and Melbourne in May.
Flew Airasia into GoldCoast, then took Virgin to Sydney and then Jetstar to Melb and back to GC.
Weather was chilly then as it was mid-end autumn, I think. Spent most of my time in Sydney, with a few days in Melb and GC.

Sydney is a more happening place.
Melb would be more Cultural.
GC is basically a resort city.
Brisbane is a short drive from GC and a decent riverside city.

Most places in Sydney are within walking distance in the city centre. Darling Harbour etc.
Best place to stay would be around Chinatown area.

If you planning to stay at YHA, suggest you sign up for Youth Hostelling International card, can get from YMCA, I think. Get the international card and I think you can get discount. Book early esp weekends.

Theres 2 YHA in Sydney, 1 is at the railway station, the other is nearer Chinatown.

I stayed at the railway 1. Very clean and decent. Can cook also in the kitchen.
There's another hostel opposite the Railway 1, can't quite remember the name, nice place also with Big Screens TV in the lobby lounge.

In Sydney, you can also take the discover Sydney tour bus.
It's a hop on hop off bus that takes you to all the main tourist spots in Sydney.
Theres 2 lines, red and blue. 1 is for the city area, while the other bus goes to Bondi etc.
At bondi, there's a walk that can take you from Bondi to the next stop, going around the cliffs next to the sea. Beautiful scenery.

To get a view of the Opera House from the sea, just take a short ferry ride from the ferry terminal to darling harbour. Quite Cheap. Nice view, esp at night, though pics turn out crappy.
Although if you going for the blue mountains tour, most companies include a river cruise back from Olympic Park in the evening, so you can skip that.

Best place for pics would be Darling Harbour Area, esp night scenes.

Try out the seafood market in Sydney. Interesting place.

Cheapest place for food would be Chinatown.
Although during lunch hours, sometimes you can get promotions in some of the hotels/restaurants etc.
Average would be AU$10/pax/meal.

For Coles, you can find it in the city. Some of the things are cheap (their own brand), similar concept to Tesco etc.

This post has been edited by Quasar: Nov 2 2008, 12:15 AM

Hi Quasar.

HOw much did ur Virgin Air flight from GC-Sydney & Sydney-Melbourne?

Which seafood mkt do u recommen to visit in sydney?

And how much is a nite in YHA?

I am going Aus this end of nov
I would like to ask wether take night train better or bus
because my flight will reach melbourne in the afternoon so, i will go sydney that night also
wondering which's better considering safety and comfort, what you all think?
rail I will choose countrylink as it has 40% for ISIC card and Greyhound which has now a promotion, both price are about the same
so now is just which's better choice, esp to have better sleep and safe

My Syd-Melb flight was abt AU$70-80.
Jetstar and Virgin flies syd-melb.
Check their site for fares.

I also thought of taking bus/train, but it's actually cheaper to take flight if you can get cheap tickets and it's definitely faster.

Sydney's seafood market is called Sydney Fish Market.
They sell both raw and cooked seafood/meals.
It's within walking distance from the city centre.


This post has been edited by Quasar: Nov 2 2008, 12:17 AM

I have just checked the flights, the lowest is $79 by jetstar but time is not really right(considering it will land at sydney airport, so if take rail, it will stop at sydney central which can save me up too)
I am on budget. if i take rail, melbourne-sydney-canberra-melbourne will only cost me $147

normally how much is the transport fee around the city?
there's a backtracker pass available
i wonder will those bonus vouchers worth about $85

---------
Backtracker Pass

Your passport to NSW
CountryLink’s train and coach network operates to over 360 destinations linking Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane with regional NSW. And the best way to see it all is with CountryLink’s Backtracker Pass, combining flexibility with great savings.

The Backtracker Pass provides you with unlimited travel on the entire CountryLink network, including the Gold Coast, Byron Bay, Tamworth, Broken Hill, Albury and many more.

The Backtracker Pass also includes four bonus vouchers on Sydney’s CityRail network

a DayTripper ticket for all day use on CityRail trains, Sydney Buses and Sydney Ferries.
a return train/bus ticket to Bondi Beach.
one way train tickets from Sydney to Katoomba in the scenic Blue Mountains and back.
The Backtracker Pass is only available to overseas visitors holding a valid passport and a return airline ticket.

Backtracker pass fares *
14 days - $232.00
1 month - $275.00
3 months - $298.00
6 months - $420.00
-----------------------------

well in the case for melbourne if you take the trams they are roughly $5-7 bucks for day passes. i cant give you the proper price cause they always change. ... cause they want more money. probably $7+ nowadays. also. ticket machines on trams and trains in melbourne only take coins.

they have weekly tickets too. but from the sound of your trip i doubt you will spend that many days in melbourne. the metlink ticket will allow you to take the bus, train and trams. which is connected all over the city and suburbs. i dont think you will be visiting zone 2 cause there is nothing. but yeah.

zone 1 daily is around 5-7$

hope thats what you asked for. hahah. hope it helps

This post has been edited by panda-man: Nov 2 2008, 11:53 AM

Thanks
I guess I dont need to buy backtracker pass anymore as I heard there's also free shuttle bus around melbourne city
Yeah, I think there'll be some day pass for students as well, I'll need to check it up...

oh ya, again, i hope to get an answer about train/bus ,which's safer to travel at night as I am a girl backpack alone
I read in some books saying bus is safer? i dunno.... this's my first travel to a western country so, would like to get some opinion from those who have been there

actually melb is a quite a safe place to travel even at night. but in any case i will say the tram is the safer one coz if there's drunkards disturbing you, you can get down easily - the stops are pretty near unlike bus.

I mean I am going Sydney from melbourne at night
so rail/bus better?

i'm not too sure on that but i'll think train is better and safer.

if you are an international student there is no 'student fare' for you. melbourne only give student rates to locals and PR. ISIC is not part of their rail system.
yeah the tram is called the city circle. it only circles the outside and you will have to wait for it. the city circle is free. its old and cool hahaha.

if you are daring enough. you could always just not pay for the tram hahahahah. you can just hop on and off. not recommended though. fine is au$150. but i guess you can leave the country hahaha.

if you are a girl travelling alone. it is safer for you to take the tram or the bus. the reason being is that the driver of the vehicle is in the front. if there is any problems you could jump out. or ask the driver to help you. the train is isolated. but a lot of the public transport got cameras. even the taxi cabs. i had a lot of friends who took like 11pm trains alone they always got home safe. but i always was scared for them


but long haul rides like sydney to melbourne. should be lots of people right? if there are lots of seats taken up train should be safe as well as bus.... but safety as in car accident type safety then train is safer.

This post has been edited by panda-man: Nov 2 2008, 05:47 PM

I hope that isnt true!
ISIC offer a lot of discounts worldwide for students under 26 who bought the card.
http://www.isic.org/sisp/index.htm?fx=isic...country.code=AU
CountryLink offer a 40% for its train ride

each state has its own system. i dunno about the long distance railsystems like syd--melb. but for within the city melbourne uses metlink and from what i know there are no student fares for isic. unless they changed this in 2008 (i grad in end of 2007). to use the student price you need a VICTORIAN Student concession card type thing. otherwise they will fine you.

could other forumers confirm this too. in case it has changed.

This post has been edited by panda-man: Nov 2 2008, 07:17 PM

that's right. no student fare for international students or other students unless if you have a Victorian concession card - other states (NSW, QLD, SA etc) does not apply either.

VLine is only for travelling interstate or remote areas like Ballarat, Geelong etc. Anyway, if you're in Melbourne on a Sunday, you can buy the Sunday Saver ticket. It's about $2.80 per person and you can use it the whole day on busses, trams and trains in both Zone 1 and 2. Pretty good I think?

---

Added on November 5, 2008, 5:30 amby the way, countrylink is similar to vline in melbourne. it's used for travelling out to the remote areas or interstate. Sydney's metropolitan transport is here

This post has been edited by sinichi_v: Nov 5 2008, 05:30 AM