Travel tips to ensure a smooth arrival in any destination

Have a trip planned, here are a few tips to ensure that it is as smooth as possible. Let’s face it travel between Ireland and Australia is expensive.

here are some suggestions to make the trip even easier from the moment you land at the airport.

Before heading off google what’s local to the area and ensure that you are able to download the local store apps – change the location of your phones App Store if you need to, and then sign up for the reward programs to ensure that you have copies of all transactions so that you have the information for next time.  

Download each destinations public transport App, this to be able to create an account and order tickets or reload money onto the ticket card online from your phone.

Have a look at what the system is for each destination. Travelling around Australia for a year or two, then for each state you will need a different public transport ticket card.

Each city has a different public transport system in place, and this can be frustrating it can also allow a small balance to be either used to save money on the next trip or transferred to another person

If heading to Australia there are at least seven different systems in place (one for each state and territory). In Victoria it’s the Myki, however there are some regional Victoria Services that require the use of a paper ticket. In New South Wales it’s the Opal in Adelaide Metro is used in Adelaide, Translink currently uses the Go Card with TransPerth only servicing Metropolitan Perth and utilises the SmartRider public transport tickets, where TransWA serves regional Western Australia.

The best way to store all of these public transport cards is with an A6 Budget organiser from Amazon or an alternative of your choosing and sectioned by location using the A6 card holders from Amazon are the perfect inserts for all of those public transport tickets, want or need to keep a paper ticket then the A6 cash envelopes are perfect for that.

To purchase a public transport ticket for each city is time consuming and costly, they can often provide to be great souvenirs and can be ready to reload for and use on your next trip to that city.

A separate cash wallet that can be used in any situation where you cannot use your card. At the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympics there is a restriction that only Visa branded credit, debit and prepaid cards can be used in addition to cash.

A travel currency card Revolut and Wise are great and offer a similar product, both are multi-currency cards and both offer quick transfer services. These can be ordered before leaving home and can be used with physical and digital cards.

Using a large amount of data, then you may want to invest in a local prepaid phone there are many apps that provide eSIM

An eSIM is a more sustainable option and in some cases, this can be activated before leaving home. They can also be handy if you are working abroad and need to have a local presence set up or for security measures, when abroad on holidays for safety and security reasons.  

Heading to the UK, GiffGaff will send out a free SIM card all over the world, you can opt in to a SIM only deal at the time of ordering the SIM card or at a later date. Thanks to Brexit some networks may now charge for roaming, if you are not on the main three Irish carriers then you may be charged for international roaming. An eSIM from UK mobile carrier GiffGaff will help save you money on this.

Heading to France and want a local number then the Orange travel Sim with this you can get a local French mobile number for the Orange Holiday Europe, world and France plans or Spanish for the Spain plan, depending on the offer selected at the time of purchase.  this service allows for calls and SMS messages to be sent and is available through the website or by downloading the Orange Travel World eSIM from the Apple App Store or from Google Play,

Heading to Australia, all three major carriers (Telstra, Optus and Vodafone all have a presence at Melbourne International Airport in Terminal 2 Arrivals (right as you exit customs and border control, Vodafone cannot be missed and ) and you need to go , with Vodafone you will need to pick up a sim card activate that then transfer to a eSIM

For those new to Ireland, you will need to go into a store, pick up a physical sim card and then transfer to the sSIM either online or instore