Student Travel Guide

Introduction and Methodology

The student travel guide has been divided into two sections. The first, entitled Getting to Australia, details everything a student should know prior to and during a trip to Melbourne. Important information such as procedures for obtaining passports and visas as well as travel arrangements is included.

The second section entitled Staying in Australia, details everyday facets of life that the students should expect when they arrive. Included within are topics ranging from entertainment options to shopping center locations. It was written first-hand from student experience so it should be quite helpful.

Getting to Australia

Airport

The Melbourne Airport is located about 22km northwest of the city. Try to arrange for someone to pick you up from the airport. If you cannot, then taking a taxi is your best bet. Taking a taxi will cost you around A$25-$30 to get to the city center. You can get your US currency exchanged for Australian in the airport. Australian money comes in denominations of $100, $50, $20, $10, and $5 dollar bills with the coins being worth $2, $1, 50c, 20c, 10c, and 5c. (NOTE: All prices listed after this section will refer to Australian dollars unless otherwise specified.)

Customs

There are a couple of things to remember about customs. First, you cannot bring in more than $5000 cash or equivalent currency. Second, organic material of any kind is not allowed, including food. There are restrictions on how much of certain items you are allowed to bring in. You can only bring in a maximum of 250 cigarettes and one liter of alcohol. Perfumes and other luxury items also have restrictions.

Customs was an interesting experience. On the plane we were given two forms to fill out which included items such as our traveler classification (student/tourist), our origin, what we were carrying with us (alcohol, organic/food items, money), whether we packed our own luggage, and a few other items including passport numbers. When we deplaned in Melbourne, they first checked our passports and drilled us with a few questions about who we were seeing in Melbourne, why we were there and how long we planned on staying. After that, customs officials searched through every piece of our luggage and every item within. Once they were sure we weren't carrying anything illegal, they let us through into the rest of the airport.

Plane Flight

The flight that we took was from JFK International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), LAX to Fiji, and Fiji to Melbourne. The flight from JFK to LAX is 5 hours, from LAX to Fiji is the longest flight at 11 hours, and the flight from Fiji to Melbourne is another 5 hours. Therefore, the total flight time was around 21 hours not including layover time in Los Angeles and Fiji.

Plane Tickets

Many travel agents can help you to find tickets to Australia. One that we found to be particularly good is Council Travel (Appendix ), which specializes in student travel. They offer an International Student Identity Card (ISIC) which can be used at many places around the world for discounts. It cost around US$20. When we purchased our tickets in November 1997 for a departure date of December 30th , we were able to find tickets at US$1,400 roundtrip. It is possible to purchase a non-stop ticket from Qantas. However, the price that we were quoted was US$400 more than the other flight.

You should plan to buy your tickets at least 2 months before your departure date. If you are planning to travel during C term you may wish to buy them earlier because airlines are heavily booked during January and February.

Time Zone Information

Melbourne, Australia is 16 hours ahead of the Eastern US (EST). A quick, but sometimes ineffective way to calculate the time in the US while you're here is to subtract 4 hours from the current time and switch from AM to PM or vice versa. The opposite holds true when calculating the time in Melbourne from the US.

Vaccinations

You do not need any special vaccinations to enter Australia.

Visa and Passport Information

To obtain a passport there are several things that you need to do. First, you need to have two passport pictures taken. This can be done at any camera shop and many travel agencies. Since the pictures are special sizes, you need to ask for passport pictures. Then you need to obtain a passport form, which you can get at any post office. After you have filled out the passport form just drop it off at any post office along with your birth certificate and pictures. The passport costs US$55 plus a US$10 clerk fee. If you wish to pay cash, there will be a small charge for a money order. You should get your passport as soon as possible, preferably 6 months before you leave.

Your visa to Australia can be completed electronically by your travel agent or your airline. The visa will cost US$25; it can be added to your bill with the travel agent. When you call to get your visa, you should have your passport ready. It is advised that you have your visa at least a month before your departure date to be safe. However, it is possible to get it a couple of days before you leave.

Continue on to "Staying in Australia"