15 Aug 2019

Schoolies is getting real close, real fast.

Exams are approaching and soon everyone will start getting a little bit stressed as we enter our hectic study routines. People will turn feral from the isolation and bedroom walls will be covered with scrawled, indecipherable notes.

The one thing keeping us sane, however, will be the radiant light at the end of the tunnel – schoolies. There will be a nationwide, simultaneous sigh of relief from thousands of fresh high school graduates as school comes to an end and the shenanigans begin.

The last thing you want to experience at schoolies, however, is stress (you’ll be getting enough of that during your exams). Here’s how to avoid it.

1. Don’t just jump on the schoolies bandwagon

Before you choose the place that everyone is going to, think about what you want to get up to during your schoolies experience. I know this doesn’t sound like much of a hack, but you’ve just studied for thirteen years straight and been learning about subjects you probably don’t care about so it’s time to do something you actually want to do.

If partying is your thing, then I don’t need to tell you where to head. But if that’s not what you’re into, then don’t feel like you have to hit up one of the main spots. If you’d prefer to do a chilled road trip down the coast with your mates or a week to spent relaxing somewhere on your own, go for it. 

Hell, if you really wanna jump out of your comfort zone, suss out what experiences Schoolies Unearthed has to offer with trips to Borneo, Vanuatu, Nepal and Vietnam.

You’ve earned this week, so spend it however you like.

2. Carefully choose your people

Sometimes, there’s nothing worse than travelling in a large group of people (by the time my schoolies trip rolled around, I wasn’t even friends with half the people I booked with). The trouble with massive groups is that if everyone wants to do different things, sometimes you all just end up doing nothing and you don’t want a dud trip.

There’s nothing wrong with having a small crew of good mates to make memories with.

3. Get booking right now

This isn’t like school where you can just cram the night before and still manage to scrape through. The prices of flights around schoolies time tend to skyrocket, and the later you leave it, the more it’s gonna cost ya.

If you haven’t already locked in some plans get on it now. Accommodation will be filling up fast, flights cost are skyrocketing and even organised trips like Schoolies Unearthed have cut offs by October. I know you’re stressing about studying but grab your mates, grab your laptop and start booking.

4. Be careful of flight times

Usually, the cheapest flights are the ones that leave early in the morning or late at night. That’s fine for the trip to your destination but when you want to send it on your last night of schoolies but you have a 6am flight the next morning it’s going to be a hard slog getting home.

5. Don’t skip travel insurance

I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you this but travel insurance is absolutely essential. Yeah, it sucks to cough up a couple of hundred bucks on something you might not even need but if you don’t get it Murphy’s law will kick in and everything that could go wrong will go wrong.

6. Look for trips that have everything sorted

If you’re the kind of person that sucks at making decisions or can’t organise anything – find a trip that has everything organised. Experiences like Schoolies Unearthed will sort everything out for you so you don’t even have to think about things like travel or accommodation.

7.  If flying in a pair, book the window and aisle seat

Leaving the middle seat (a.k.a. the worst seat) empty means people will be less likely to sit there, thus more chance of getting the aisle to yourself. And if it does get booked, simply ask to switch so you can sit next to your mate. No harm done.

The last thing you want to be doing at schoolies is stressing out. By following the steps above, you can ensure that the entire week is nothing but smooth sailing (and letting loose with ya mates). Have fun!