How I spent my Summer Holidays in Australia

By Emma Pitcher, University of Western Australia Perth, Australia

The best part of doing your year abroad in Australia is that you get an extra long break between semesters! Aussie summer holidays are over Christmas time so this gives you plenty of time to travel.

Popular destinations included the east coast of Aus, New Zealand, and SE Asia as you’re so close. From Perth especially, it’s a shorter flight to Bali or Singapore than it is to Sydney.

At the end of my first semester, I went to Kuala Lumpur and Bali, with a stopover in Jakarta, and then to Singapore where I spent Christmas. KL is a great city and easy to get around! Here I mainly did sightseeing. If you visit, find a hotel near the centre or a train station.

I was in Bali for a longer period of time (~2 weeks). My favourite place to stay in was Ubud. Here, we stayed in a hostel on the main street where there were loads of shops and restaurants. From here, you can do the Mt. Batur hike (we did this in rainy season and it was foggy at the peak, don’t do what we did), go ring-making, visit waterfalls, coffee plantations, and see the rice terraces!

From Sanur, you can get a ferry to Nusa Penida where you can snorkel with Manta Rays, and visit iconic locations such as Kelingking Beach. We stayed in Nusa Penida in a hostel, which was nice, but the island’s are harder to get around (no Grab) and less “walkable” so you might be best off staying in Sanur and doing day trips.

Surfing is a popular activity in Bali, especially as lessons are more affordable. We did surfing in Seminyak and highly rate the experience!

In Singapore, I was staying with a friend who I met in Semester 1 of my year abroad. Hotel/hostel accommodation in Singapore is nowhere as affordable as other SE Asian countries. Food here is incredible though, my favourite thing about Singapore was how easy it is to walk around at night.

After Singapore, I flew back to Australia and landed in Sydney where I stayed with relatives for 3 weeks before starting my east coast tour (detailed in another blog post). Sydney is an incredible city, with beaches and city life all in one place. After my east coast trip, I landed in Melbourne where I also stayed with relatives (amazing coffee in this city) and then finally Adelaide before returning to Perth! Melbourne is worth visiting for a more cultural city experience and while I liked Adelaide, I mainly went here because I had family friends here. Although, South Australia has some insane beaches so worth a visit if you have the time.