Accommodation

• Hostels
• Sharehouses
• Apartments
• Campsites

The first thing you will need to do before you go or when landing in Oz is find somewhere to stay. Be it long term or short term there is no shortage of places to stay in Australia. There are hostels, motels, hotels, share houses, furnished/ unfurnished flats, caravan parks, etc, depending on what you're looking for.

Hostels

Being a backpacker you will more than likely stay in a hostel on a number of occasions, especially at first. Australian hostels are of a very high standard, unless you stay in unofficial hostels which can be found anywhere there is a large number of backpackers. However, staying in these types of hostels are a bad idea as they may not meet fire safety standards as well as being unsanitary.

The average price per person per night is usually around $20 - $30, depending on what type of room you want. This does not include key deposit or cutlery/utensils hire which some hostels may require. It's usually a good idea to pay for a week in one go as you can usually get some money off the price. You might also be able to do some cleaning in the hostel for free rent. Ask at reception. In a typical hostel there are dorms (anything from 3 beds to 16 beds), single rooms, twin rooms, and double rooms. Dorms are usually mixed or sometimes girls only.

The notice board of a hostel is a great place not only for finding jobs, but also for accomodation, cars for sale and offers of lifts, where you would share costs of petrol with someone who owned a car in exchange for a lift up the coast for example.

You may be able to book tours at the hostel, many hostels have tour desks, or at least get recommendations for the cheapest and best tours.

When booking a hostel consider the following: the key deposit, cutlery deposit, 24hr reception, phone and internet access, security, if you're allowed visitors, laundry, does it have a large clean kitchen, is it a party hostel or a quite, chilled out hostel?

Join a chain such as YHA, VIP, or Nomads. This can cut your nightly rates by $2 or more. These cards can save you oney in many other ways as well, eg If you were to get the Indian Pacific train from Sydney to Perth you're looking at paying $680 for a full adult fare in a daynighter seat which is the cheapest seat. With a concession card that comes right down to $428. A card that costs you $30 could save you in this instance $252.

Share Houses

If you are staying in one particular place for longer than a few weeks but not long enough to rent out your own flat, moving into a share house with fellow backpackers can be the answer. This can be a good idea if you are looking to save some money as hostels can be quite expensive, and you might just tire of sharing your kitchen with 50 other people.

House sharing can be a great way to meet new people and make lifelong friends. The first place to look for a share house can be hostel notice boards or even notices on lampposts. The best way is to get the newspapers on Wednesdays and Saturdays or backpacker magazines such as british balls. The Wednesday edition of the paper would be your best bet as there would be less people looking than on the weekend. You can also get online at gumtree.com, or domain.com.au.

Apartments

If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend or a group of friends or whatever the situation is and you want to get your own place that is also possible. Check the above links or again get the papers. Keep in mind that most flats will be unfurnished but there are plenty of furnished flats around. Just remember if it doesn't say 'furnished', it probably isn't. Unfurnished apartments will be cheaper but of course you will have the hassle of getting your own furniture and of course this just isn't worth it if you're not staying for an extended amount of time. If you are staying and want some cheap stuff go to a St Vincent De Pauls or somewhere similar for cheap furniture.

Campsites

If you do one of the great Australian road trips and don't fancy staying in a tent on the side of the road Australia has a large number of caravan parks catering for backpackers and holidaying families. A lot of parks in Australia, however, are designed for campervans more than tents meaning there won't be much grass to pitch a tent. You will find somewhere to put it though.

Campgrounds are usually situated outside of towns or cities. As you will probably be travelling around in a car or campervan this shouldn't be a problem. Most of the parks in Australia are very well kept with good facilities such as hot showers, well equipped kitchens and laundry facilities.