11 Classic Tourist Mistakes You Should Avoid When Visiting Australia

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11 Classic Tourist Mistakes You Should Avoid When Visiting Australia

In the year 2018, eight and a half million tourists visited Australia, and this is for a good reason.

The land down under offers a lot of exciting sights and experiences for any tourists who want to visit. However, it’s important to do your research first before travelling to Australia.

To help you get started, here are 11 classic tourist mistakes you should avoid when visiting Australia.

1. Not familiarizing with the seasons

One of the first two things you need to do whenever you go to any place, especially abroad, would be to research their climate.

Knowing the environment and what the weather is before you go will help you know what to pack. You’ll also know how to change for whatever you might need to deal with, weather-wise, when you’re there.

Besides knowing the general climate of the entire country, it would be best to look up the weather in the area of your accommodation.

2. Skipping on travel insurance

Skipping on travel insurance when you’re on your way to Australia is not the best move.

There are many reasons you should get yourself travel insurance, such as the expensive plane tickets to Australia. If you have to cancel or change your flight, you’re less likely to get a full refund if you don’t have travel insurance.

Another reason you shouldn’t skip travel insurance is that Australia is known for having many dangerous animals. If you wanted to cover all of your basis, then you shouldn’t skip out on the travel insurance. It’s better to be safe than sorry. 

3. Overpacking

One of the biggest struggles that people have, when they’re travelling, is packing.

Finding the delicate balance between bringing essentials and items you think you might need is hard. However, please don’t pack a lot, especially if you’re backpacking across Australia.

Plenty of luggage brands offer big enough packing space for all of your essentials, but also small enough to constrain the number of items you bring. Stick to bags like these so that you stay disciplined when you pack.

4. Not using sunscreen

People associate two things with Australia:

  1. They have a lot of dangerous animals
  2. They have a scorching weather

When it comes to the latter, you have to make sure that you pack your sunscreen. Your sunscreen should be SPF 30 at the very least to adequately protect you. Sure, you might want to get a tan but it doesn’t mean you should destroy your skin.

Aside from sunscreen, it would also help if you are wearing hats or sunglasses that protect your eyes from the brightness of the sun. 

5. Not talking to locals

Australia is known for having a lot of friendly locals that will make you feel welcome. If you need to ask them for advice around their localities, feel free to ask them.

Australians are also known for having a good sense of humour. Their sense of humour will make you feel more at ease with them.

Australia is also quite multicultural, so you can expect more tolerance from them than in other countries. However, you need to make sure that you reciprocate their energy by being open and friendly.

6. Putting out cigarettes on the beach

European countries are very tolerant of smoking. But since Australia isn’t in Europe, you should expect that they’re not as tolerant of free cigarette usage.

There are a lot of rules and regulations that their law enforces around smoking. There are even specific places that prohibit smoking.

For example, some beaches don’t tolerate cigarettes at all. Even some suburbs are a dedicated non-smoking area.

Therefore, if you’re a smoker, consider when and where to smoke if you plan on doing so.

7. Fearing the wildlife

Australia is most famous for having a lot of exciting and one-of-a-kind wildlife in their country. However, you shouldn’t panic too much about these unique critters.

If you stick to cities, you are unlikely to encounter wildlife. The principle is to stick to yourself if you see any wild animal and they won’t bother with you.

8. Not budgeting for Australian prices

Australia is a beautiful place with friendly people. However, there is one big catch that you have to prepare yourself for ‒ the cost of goods.

Australia is very expensive, even starting with the plane tickets themselves. Therefore you have to make sure you properly budget out or else you might run out of money while you’re there.

9. Hiking in the outback alone

A popular pastime in Australia is to go hiking. However, hiking in Australia means you need to deal with a lot of rugged landscapes.

Due to this fact, please hike with a small group. Anyone can be your company as long as you don’t go hiking by yourself.

You might not be familiar with the wildlife you can encounter, so it’s best to have a local or an expert. 

10. Swimming outside the flags

Beaches in Australia have flags that indicate the safest places to swim in on the beach. If you’re not used to powerful currents, you should stay inside these flags.

These flags will be red and yellow, so keep them in mind as you look out for them on the beach. 

11. Taking cabs or Ubers

Since Australia is already expensive, you should stick to public transportation when you’re trying to go from one place to another.

They have an excellent public transportation system that makes it easy to navigate even as a tourist. They are a lot cheaper than taking a cab, and they are well maintained too. 

If you still haven’t been to Australia, make sure you check it out next time you travel. There’s a lot of things to see and visit that are worthwhile for any tourist!

To ensure that you truly enjoy yourself while you’re there, make sure that you avoid the classic tourist mistakes we have listed above. It will prepare you for your travel and ensure a stress-free vacation.

Andi Croft

Andi Croft is a freelance writer. This is brought about by her passion for going around the world, meeting people from all walks of life.

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