Working Holiday: Pack your courage, leave the rest behind

How Lissy Spent Seven Months on a Working Holiday visa in Australia – and Why She'd Do It All Over Again

Lissy is 25, lives in Berlin, and recently returned from seven months of Working Holiday in Australia. She had an opportunity to take in between jobs and a bucket list that had been whispering “Australia” for years. 

Between March and October 2025, she worked on a trail riding property in New South Wales – preparing horses for guests, bringing the groups lunch on their tours in the bush, and living a life that looked nothing like her previous office job in Amsterdam. In between, she backpacked through Australia, flew to New Zealand and Bali, and came home with a clear head, new friends, and a deep appreciation for a well-earned night’s sleep.

We asked her to tell us what the Working Holiday actually looks like – not the Instagram version, but the real one.

The decision: now or never

Lissy didn’t plan the Working Holiday years in advance. The timing simply lined up. “I was about to quit my job anyway, and I knew I’d have to move to another city and find a new flat too,” she says. “I could either do all of that straight away, or take a few months in between and finally go to Australia.”

The logic was simple but convincing: flying to Australia for a two-week holiday means losing roughly four days to jet lag and travel time alone. For a destination that far away, committing to longer – and actually experiencing the country properly – just makes sense.

Visiting Australia, New Zealand and the wider region had been on her bucket list for a long time. The Working Holiday visa turned a vague wish into a real plan.

Before you go: The admin checklist that actually matters

#1 The visa – easier than you think (if you’re German)

Australia’s Working Holiday Visa is structured as a three-year programme, but many people – like Lissy – only use the first year. For German citizens, it’s remarkably straightforward: you apply online through the Australian government’s portal, and approval is mostly automatic or at least very fast. The requirements are a valid passport, proof that you can support yourself financially (roughly 5,000 AUD or €3,000 – a bank statement usually does the job), no children travelling with you, and an age between 18 and 30. The current fee is 670 AUD.

One thing worth knowing: not every European country has the same agreement with Australia. Austrians, for example, apply under a different visa type that is reviewed manually and requires proof of language skills – a process that takes considerably longer. If your travel dates are fixed, check which agreement applies to your nationality before you apply.

For anyone thinking about staying a second or third year: that requires completing “Regional Work”, for example agricultural labour like fruit picking. Lissy didn’t go down that route, but if you’re considering it, it’s worth factoring into your job search from the very beginning.

#2 Banking

Lissy opened an account with Commonwealth Bank online about 14 days before flying out – the online application lets you choose a home branch in advance, so she simply picked one close to her first hostel in Sydney. On arrival she walked in with her passport, activated the account in minutes, and had a working debit card the same day.

#3 Tax File Number (TFN)

The Tax File Number (TFN) – Australia’s equivalent of a tax ID – can only be applied for once you’re in the country. The online application takes minutes, and the confirmation arrives by post about a week or two later. Lissy had already started work on the farm by then and simply had the letter sent there. Without a TFN, you can’t be officially employed – so apply as soon as you land. Also worth knowing: there’s a legal limit of six months with any single employer before government approval is required.

#4 Phone & Mobile Data

For her phone, Lissy used an eSIM from Telsim. The advantage over a physical SIM card is that you can buy it before you leave and activate it the moment you connect to an Australian network – instant mobile data and an actual Australian phone number, which you’ll need for some admin tasks. She kept her German SIM running in parallel, so she didn’t have to give up her number - if you plan to stay for longer than a few months, it’s worth to cancel your European plan though to save the money.

#5 Health insurance

Lissy was covered by HanseMerkur, who offer travel packages specifically for extended stays abroad. She booked a year-long policy timed exactly to her trip, which included liability cover for riding other people’s horses and driving other people’s cars – both relevant for farm life. Most importantly: make sure your policy covers emergency medical transport back to Germany. It’s the kind of thing you hope never to need.

#6 International driving licence 

Your German driving licence card is not enough on its own in Australia. The international licence is issued on the spot at your local registration office (Straßenverkehrsamt) for around €20, but you’ll need an appointment – and those aren’t always available at short notice. Book early.

One financial detail that catches people out

As a Working Holiday worker, you’ll pay into Australia’s mandatory retirement fund, the Superannuation – even if you’re only there for a few months. The good news: once your visa expires and you’ve left the country, you can claim it back. Just make sure you factor it into your earnings calculations while you’re there.

The job: horses, guests, and a countryside experience she’d never have found otherwise

Lissy’s job search was unusual by Working Holiday standards because she found it the old-fashioned way. She knew she wanted to work with horses, so she Googled “Trail Ride Business Australia”, worked her way through the websites she found, and made contact before she even booked her flight.

The trail riding business near Port Macquarie takes on only two helpers a year and requires extensive riding experience. Her days involved preparing the horses each morning, helping guests get on their way, bringing lunch out to groups on the trail, and meeting tours at the pick-up spot in the evening with the trailer. It was physically demanding and deeply satisfying – and it placed her in a small rural community she would never have encountered as a tourist. In between groups, she got to explore the Australian beaches on horseback and visit local events. Her highlight: taking care of the retired horses on the farm that are not coming on the trails anymore: “there was something about them getting excited at feeding time that made you feel like nothing else mattered.” 

She worked there for three months, spent two months travelling while the business was on its winter break, and then came back for another two months when the new season started. The relationship with her employer was so good that returning felt like the obvious thing to do, the farm really became her home away from home. “I had neighbours,” she says simply. “I saw a part of Australia most visitors never see.”

Not every Working Holiday job looks like this, and Lissy knows it. She’s heard stories of poor conditions, particularly in fruit picking and vegetable harvesting. Her advice: put in the research before you go, insist on official employment contracts – yes, even if it means paying taxes and superannuation – and make sure you have enough financial buffer that you’re not forced to take the first offer you receive. Backpacker job boards and Facebook groups exist and can be useful. But the jobs worth having often require a direct approach – and a bit of patience.

The Travels: From the Outback to Antarctica’s Doorstep

Two months of backpacking in between farm seasons. A mix of guided group tours, solo city trips, and day excursions booked through GetYourGuide. Lissy covered a remarkable amount of ground – and she’ll be the first to tell you that Australia’s distances should not be underestimated.

The Outback – the moment that stayed with her

Lissy’s first part of the journey was with Mulgas Adventures on their “Rock to Rock” tour: Uluru and the surrounding landscape, sleeping outside with a swag and a sleeping bag, fireplace, stars, and a guide with a deep knowledge of the spiritual significance of the places they were passing through.

One night after getting ready for bed she came back to the fire, and looked up. “The sky in the Outback is unlike anything I’ve seen,” she says. “It was just stunning.” She lists it as one of the strongest experiences of the entire trip.

Tasmania – wild, humbling, and still under the radar

With Under Down Under on their “Famous Five” tour, Lissy explored an island that many visitors to Australia still overlook. The rough beaches and the raw nature. Standing there, knowing how close you are to the bottom of the world, is genuinely humbling. She recommends it without reservation.

Other stops Lissy took in short

Cairns, Queensland: From Cairns, she took the Kuranda train through the rainforest. The Great Barrier Reef day tour to Green Island is beautiful, but if you have time, a multi-day boat trip further out is probably the better experience. 

Perth, Western Australia: In Perth she explored Pinnacle desert and Fremantle – and slept in Fremantle Prison, now partly a YHA hostel (an experience she describes as “a bit weird, in a good way”, especially when she toured the original prison next door). 

New Zealand: She flew to Queenstown in New Zealand, bought a bus pass calculated by travel hours, and hopped north over three weeks all the way to Auckland, where she flew back to Sydney. Whale watching in Kaikōura, New Zealand: genuinely one of the best things she has ever seen.

Sydney, New South Wales: Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb: looks like a tourist trap, absolutely worth doing. Bondi Beach: nice, but not the revelation the hype suggests.

Brisbane & Gold Coast: Visiting Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary was a truly amazing experience. A few days taking surf lessons on the Gold Coast with Get Wet Surfschool was just the challenge she needed. 

Bali, Indonesia: In Bali, she joined an Intro Travel group tour that took care of logistics, activities and – handily – provided an instant group of people to explore with.

South Australia & Victoria, she’ll admit, were only brief stops – and she’d go back for longer. In Melbourne, a friend was living there, which made it feel like a proper visit rather than a tourist stop. As for the rest: “I feel like I’ve seen everything I wanted to see as a tourist. But I’d go back to visit the friends I made there.”

A word on accommodation & transport

For accommodation, Lissy used mostly hostels – but chosen carefully. With research, you can find places with smaller rooms, curtained beds, and en-suite bathrooms. Lissy always booked women-only dorms where available. During tours, accommodation was included: camping under the stars in the Outback, hostel rooms in Tasmania, hotel rooms in Bali.

For getting between cities in Australia, she flew, which felt like the most reasonable mode of transport for a young woman travelling solo. Road trips can be a great way to explore Australia as well! But anyone planning to drive, especially into the Outback or across the desert, should research the conditions carefully – temperatures, distances and infrastructure are not to be taken lightly.

The One Thing Nobody Tells You About Working Holiday Finances

The most persistent myth about the Working Holiday – and the one that disappoints the most people – is that you can fund the whole experience from the money you earn on the ground. You might be able to cover a lot of it. Lissy’s travel months were largely paid for by what she earned on the farm. But the starting costs are real.

The visa, the flights, the first few weeks before you find a job – all of that needs to be covered before you earn a single Australian dollar. You also need to demonstrate financial means to enter the country (around 5,000 AUD), and you should have enough of a buffer that you’re not forced into a bad job out of desperation, or stuck in an emergency far from home without options.

Lissy’s recommendation: treat that 5,000 AUD figure – around €3,000 – as your minimum starting point, not just a box to tick for the visa application.

Coming Home

Lissy came back to Germany in October 2025 and started looking for a new job and a new flat – exactly what she would have been doing half a year earlier, had she not left. The difference: she came back knowing what she wanted.

“It really helped me be more motivated,” she says. “I came back ready to start a new chapter. Sometimes you need exactly that kind of step to know what you’re looking for.”

Seven months of physical work, open skies, and genuine connection with people and places she’d never have found any other way. That’s not a bad return on a one-way ticket to Sydney.

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All recommendations made in this article are based on Lissys individual experience while she travelled in 2025. They were not chosen based on an extensive research or comparison of different tours or activities. 

Lissy reviewed and approved this article before publication. Thank you – and enjoy the next adventure, wherever it takes you.

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