Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 2 . PLANNING AN AFFORDABLE TRIP TO AUSTRALIA
which offers an online magazine and a
directory of off-the-beaten-path tours
and tour operators for families.
How to Take Great Trips with
Your Kids (The Harvard Common
Press) is full of good general advice
that can apply to travel anywhere.
STUDENT TRAVEL
If you’re a student planning to travel to
Australia, you’d be wise to arm yourself
with an International Student Identity
Card (ISIC), which offers substantial
savings on rail passes, plane
tickets, and entrance fees. It also provides
you with basic health and life
insurance and a 24-hour help line. The
card is available for $22 from STA
Travel (& 800/781-4040, and if
you’re not in North America there’s
probably a local number in your country;
www.statravel.com), the biggest
student travel agency in the world. If
you’re no longer a student but are still
under 26, you can get an International
Youth Travel Card (IYTC) for
the same price from the same people,
which entitles you to some discounts
(but not on museum admissions).
(Note: In 2002, STA Travel bought
competitors Council Travel and USIT
Campus after they went bankrupt. It’s
still operating some offices under the
Council name, but it’s owned by STA.)
Travel CUTS (& 800/667-2887
or 416/614-2887; www.travelcuts.
com) offers similar services for both
Canadians and U.S. residents. Irish
students should turn to USIT (& 01/
602-1600; www.usitnow.ie).
SINGLE TRAVELERS
Many people prefer traveling alone,
and for independent travelers, solo
journeys offer infinite opportunities
to make friends and meet locals.
Unfortunately, if you like resorts, tours,
or cruises, you’re likely to get hit with a
“single supplement” to the base price.
Single travelers can avoid these supplements,
of course, by agreeing to room
with other single travelers on the trip.
One Australian resort that will fix you
up with a same-sex roommate if you’re
traveling alone is Contiki Great Keppel
Island Resort (& 1800/245 658
in Australia, or 07/4939 5044; www.
contikiresorts.com), off the Queensland
coast (see chapter 6).
An even better idea is to find a compatible
roommate before you go from
one of the many roommate locator
agencies. Travel Buddies Singles
Travel Club (& 800/998-9099; www.
travelbuddiesworldwide.com), based in
Canada, runs small, intimate, singlefriendly
group trips to a range of destinations
including Australia, and will
match you with a roommate free of
charge. TravelChums (& 212/787-
2621; www.travelchums.com) is an
Internet-only travel-companion matching
service with elements of an online
personals-type site, hosted by the
respected New York–based Shaw
Guides travel service. Many reputable
tour companies offer singles-only trips.
Backroads (& 800/462-2848; www.
backroads.com) offers more than 160
active trips to 30 destinations worldwide,
including Australia, New
Zealand, and Bali.
For more information, check out
Eleanor Berman’s Traveling Solo:
Advice and Ideas for More Than 250
Great Vacations (Globe Pequot), a
guide with advice on traveling alone,
whether on your own or on a group
tour. (It’s been updated for 2003.) Or
turn to the Travel Alone and Love
It website (www.travelaloneandloveit.
com), designed by former flight attendant
Sharon Wingler, the author of the
book of the same name. Her site is full
of tips for single travelers.