If there is one thing I hate from the deepest of my
heart, one thing that turns me into an obnoxious human being – it would
be waking up early. (I'm serious, every single one of my friends would
agree). This morning our alarm went off with a provocative thrill at
around 4am. Yes, 4AM IN THE MORNING. And I swear – in any other case I
would have turned it off in order to continue dreaming, but I knew … we
were flying to Adelaide to travel along the Great Ocean Road!
18987 coffee and a long time of silence later we arrived in Adelaide – the capital city of south Australia ! Well, for two girls from Berlin, who lived in Sydney for quite a while, it did not really feel like as if we were stranded in a city that is entered under the same heading, as the place is quite small (compared to those mentioned ones we've been).
A lovely friend of us was awaiting us at the airport, which made carrying all of our stuff much easier, and together we took the Airport Shuttle to his place. The first 3 days were meant to discover the city – read all about it here – before we would pick up our rented SUV to make our way through the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne.
This piece of writing will be for those of you who are planing to do a Roadtrip – maybe even the same as us – and need some tips and advice on how to plan it, because even though I always prefer to plan just as little as possible, there is nothing wrong with doing a little bit research just to feel prepared.
18987 coffee and a long time of silence later we arrived in Adelaide – the capital city of south Australia ! Well, for two girls from Berlin, who lived in Sydney for quite a while, it did not really feel like as if we were stranded in a city that is entered under the same heading, as the place is quite small (compared to those mentioned ones we've been).
A lovely friend of us was awaiting us at the airport, which made carrying all of our stuff much easier, and together we took the Airport Shuttle to his place. The first 3 days were meant to discover the city – read all about it here – before we would pick up our rented SUV to make our way through the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne.
This piece of writing will be for those of you who are planing to do a Roadtrip – maybe even the same as us – and need some tips and advice on how to plan it, because even though I always prefer to plan just as little as possible, there is nothing wrong with doing a little bit research just to feel prepared.
So – how to plan this awesome Roadtrip ?
1. The Route
Who could have charged with that you would have to plan your route – even if necessarily just roughly – before driving along it ? Surprise, Surprise !
You probably won't make it without a proper map or your smartphone anyway, but it is quite important to give yourself + your company a roughly idea about where you are heading and how much time you should take to make the most out of your trip. Of course, nobody expects you to know the route by heart, neither will you be able to avoid getting lost at some point, but preparing that much won't be wrong and further it is quite some fun, as it provides your imagination with some ground for those expectations you should take on every trip you do.
This was our Route – 12h, 960km and the most amazing surroundings.
Who could have charged with that you would have to plan your route – even if necessarily just roughly – before driving along it ? Surprise, Surprise !
You probably won't make it without a proper map or your smartphone anyway, but it is quite important to give yourself + your company a roughly idea about where you are heading and how much time you should take to make the most out of your trip. Of course, nobody expects you to know the route by heart, neither will you be able to avoid getting lost at some point, but preparing that much won't be wrong and further it is quite some fun, as it provides your imagination with some ground for those expectations you should take on every trip you do.
This was our Route – 12h, 960km and the most amazing surroundings.
2.The car
Hold your breath – the next secret I'm telling you is that you are probably gonna need at least 1 car ! Yes, one of those big metallic things on 4 wheels. Even though this might be a little bit unexpected – choose your car wisely !
Our decision ended in renting a SUV (= big car) for 3 days and two nights, as we would drive quite a lot everyday (around 5-9h) and only make a few longer stops. We used all the space which a car like this provides, as our studying friend (poor poor guy) was moving from Adelaide over to Melbourne and had tons of stuff to transport from A to B. According to the circumstances he was willing to pay a little bit more than we did and It worked out so well !
Feel free to check out the company we trusted here , but please take your time to find a cheaper option if you are not traveling with that much stuff !
Compare the prices of Australia's major car rental brands on vroomvroomvroom or just walk straight into the Travel Agency of your hostel to get some advice and maybe even a better deal. I am pretty sure that you won't have any problems, but still advice you to check the car probably and might take some pictures of any minor damage you can find to avoid the risk of getting charged any further costs at the end.
( I found this handy article on Tripadvisor for those who might have further questions)
Alternatively – and definitely better and cheaper for longer trips – you can also buy your own car, give it a name and a lots of love. I won't miss to write an article about that, as I just found my partner in crime – Mitch – a few weeks ago.
Hold your breath – the next secret I'm telling you is that you are probably gonna need at least 1 car ! Yes, one of those big metallic things on 4 wheels. Even though this might be a little bit unexpected – choose your car wisely !
Our decision ended in renting a SUV (= big car) for 3 days and two nights, as we would drive quite a lot everyday (around 5-9h) and only make a few longer stops. We used all the space which a car like this provides, as our studying friend (poor poor guy) was moving from Adelaide over to Melbourne and had tons of stuff to transport from A to B. According to the circumstances he was willing to pay a little bit more than we did and It worked out so well !
Feel free to check out the company we trusted here , but please take your time to find a cheaper option if you are not traveling with that much stuff !
Compare the prices of Australia's major car rental brands on vroomvroomvroom or just walk straight into the Travel Agency of your hostel to get some advice and maybe even a better deal. I am pretty sure that you won't have any problems, but still advice you to check the car probably and might take some pictures of any minor damage you can find to avoid the risk of getting charged any further costs at the end.
( I found this handy article on Tripadvisor for those who might have further questions)
Alternatively – and definitely better and cheaper for longer trips – you can also buy your own car, give it a name and a lots of love. I won't miss to write an article about that, as I just found my partner in crime – Mitch – a few weeks ago.
3.The Budget
So, you have an epic Route and a sexy Car. That's great ! I hope you have some spare coins as well, because even though the best things in life are free – this trip isn't. Get a roughly idea of the basic expenses like fuel, food , alcohol (please respect my humor) and accommodation (even if you're a bad ass like me sleeping in the car – parking is not always free. Skip a beer and invest the money in wikicamps to lead you to the best ones). Depending on whatever works best for you – make a list or just keep it in mind to avoid ending up broke afterwords (like me) – especially if you're on a small budget.
- In case you have a tiny budget (like me), don't get desperate – there is always a way to travel. That one dude in the hostel I am currently staying at told me he wouldn't have the money to stay in one place, which is why he is traveling. Ever thought that way
So, you have an epic Route and a sexy Car. That's great ! I hope you have some spare coins as well, because even though the best things in life are free – this trip isn't. Get a roughly idea of the basic expenses like fuel, food , alcohol (please respect my humor) and accommodation (even if you're a bad ass like me sleeping in the car – parking is not always free. Skip a beer and invest the money in wikicamps to lead you to the best ones). Depending on whatever works best for you – make a list or just keep it in mind to avoid ending up broke afterwords (like me) – especially if you're on a small budget.
- In case you have a tiny budget (like me), don't get desperate – there is always a way to travel. That one dude in the hostel I am currently staying at told me he wouldn't have the money to stay in one place, which is why he is traveling. Ever thought that way
4.The company
Being alone is nice, but on a 10h drive it can get quite boring – and expensive. Make sure you find some human beings who are as badass as you are to not to get bored on the way, share the beautiful moments you will happen to experience and to share the costs ! Happiness is the only thing that get's bigger when shared, right ?
Being alone is nice, but on a 10h drive it can get quite boring – and expensive. Make sure you find some human beings who are as badass as you are to not to get bored on the way, share the beautiful moments you will happen to experience and to share the costs ! Happiness is the only thing that get's bigger when shared, right ?
5.The stops
Where do you plan to stay overnight ? Where should you take the time to take a deep breath, enjoying a view that will take it away instantly ? Do a little bit research about where to stop, because that's the heart of your Roadtrip !
We did pretty much all of the common stops along the Great Ocean Road – 12 Apostles, London Bridge, Apollo Bay... - but also stopped whenever we have assumed a place on the road to be nice and made the best memories there.
Where do you plan to stay overnight ? Where should you take the time to take a deep breath, enjoying a view that will take it away instantly ? Do a little bit research about where to stop, because that's the heart of your Roadtrip !
We did pretty much all of the common stops along the Great Ocean Road – 12 Apostles, London Bridge, Apollo Bay... - but also stopped whenever we have assumed a place on the road to be nice and made the best memories there.
( 6.The To-Do List )
That's the personal addition to any trip I make – a little piece of paper filled with my personal desires. And it is so much fun !
What is most important for me to see and to do ? What do I need to look back on this trip afterwords and appreciate it the most ?
Anything I could might forget without writing it down?
* Never forget to drive on the wrong side (because in Germany we go for the right side – got the joke ? )
* Sing super loud and completely wrong to old rock songs with one of my most loved humans in the car
* Drive so close to the ocean that I keep smelling the beautiful odor of salt
* Experience the sun going down at the 12 Apostles (even if it was crab that day)
* Wake up on the beach
* Have some meals on top of the car (careful here please)
* Lay on top of the car and watch the stars (one of my weird habits from home I could not miss anymore)
* Randomly jump into the sea at some lonely beach we find
That's the personal addition to any trip I make – a little piece of paper filled with my personal desires. And it is so much fun !
What is most important for me to see and to do ? What do I need to look back on this trip afterwords and appreciate it the most ?
Anything I could might forget without writing it down?
* Never forget to drive on the wrong side (because in Germany we go for the right side – got the joke ? )
* Sing super loud and completely wrong to old rock songs with one of my most loved humans in the car
* Drive so close to the ocean that I keep smelling the beautiful odor of salt
* Experience the sun going down at the 12 Apostles (even if it was crab that day)
* Wake up on the beach
* Have some meals on top of the car (careful here please)
* Lay on top of the car and watch the stars (one of my weird habits from home I could not miss anymore)
* Randomly jump into the sea at some lonely beach we find
What would be yours ?
I
hope to help some of you planing your trip - if anyone has further
questions or ideas to ad here, please feel free to contact me ! Thanks a
lot for reading!
Cheers !
Cheers !
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