There are many travel experiences that you can have in your lifetime. Some will involve traveling across the country to see different cities and visit family—and some will be much further afield. When you want to see the world, the most infamous sights, and take in a range of difficult cultures, your travel bucket list could be quite busy! But there’s one thing on that list that could feel so much more special than the others: planning Australian vacations.

If you ever get to see Australia, it’s probably going to be a once in a lifetime experience. And when you’re doing a trip as big as this, you want to make it the best ever. That’s going to involve trying to make the most of every single experience you have while you’re there. So, let’s take a look at planning Australian vacations and what you need to cover off before you go and while you’re there to have the best possible time.

8 Tips for Planning Australian Vacations

Do your research

You’re excited, right? That’s only natural. But you need to take a slow and steady approach to your trip planning. You may want to get your vacation booked, but if you rush or choose the first offer you see, you may not be making the most of your experience. So, you’re going to want to do your research. Look into anything and everything that’s available—accommodations, flights, transport, activities, locations, food. Then you can start to make some concrete plans.

Then base a realistic budget on that

From here, you’re then going to want to take all of that research and come up with a budget. Whether it’s frugal and you’re going to try and do you trip with limited funds, or you plan to splash out and book the best of everything, you need to make that decision before you start to set things in stone.

Choose the right time of year

Then, you can work on when you should go. Even if it’s not for months or even this year, you need to know when you should go. Traveling to Australia can be whatever you want it to be, but you need to pick the right month—remembering that their seasons are different to ours. You should also look at the best time to buy flights and try to get them in advance in order to secure the best price.

Find accommodations for the duration of your trip

Next, it’s onto accommodations. Whether you’re planning on heading to a few different spots across the country, or just one region, you need to find a suitable place to stay such as Forest Rise Chalets in Margaret River based in Western Australia. If you’re going across the entire country, look into chalet, hotel, and apartment options that could be within budget but will also form a good base for your trip too.

Book activities in advance

Another key thing to think about and then book in advance are your must-do activities. You may also want to try and team these up with your accommodation. For example, while staying in Margaret River, you might like to go to the Margaret River Gourmet Escape, the food and drink festival that takes place in November, as well as see some of the most famous sights such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Write a hit-list

Don’t forget about the places you want to dine at, too! Because when you’re looking to take in a new culture, eating at some of the best restaurants in the country is something that you’ll want to do. But then again, you’re going to want to plan ahead. If you’re only in a certain area for a set time, you should look at booking restaurants in advance to make sure that you can get a spot.

Start conversations

While you’re there, there’s one thing that you have to make sure you do in order to make the most of your experiences—and that’s talk. Talk to anyone and everyone. Whether they’re other visitors or locals. Because just striking up a conversation could mean that you get the best recommendations to take your experience to the next level.

Keep a clear head

And above all else, key your eye on the ball. If you’re only in Australia for a few weeks, you need to make every moment count. So don’t waste time. Stay fresh-minded, get up early, and make the most of each and every day that you spend there. You’ll only regret it if you don’t.

This ‘Planning Australian Vacations’ post was contributed to The Lady-like Leopard.