First days in Melbourne

Your arrival in Melbourne as an international student will be challenging and exciting with many new experiences.

Before you immerse yourself in your new surroundings we recommend you take some time and recover from your possible jet lag through your long journey.

Download our PDF on-arrival checklist (276KB) packed with tips and suggestions.

It does take time to adjust to a new environment and it is normal to feel tired, anxious and even apprehensive when you arrive in a new country. Most international students experience this, and you should not feel alone.

Things to do in the first 72 hours

These are some of the important things that we recommend you deal with in the first 72 hours:

Phone home!
It is very important that you contact your family or friends as soon as possible to let them know you have arrived safely.
Organise a bank account
Learn the transport routes
Take a walk or use public transport options in your local area
Become familiar with your immediate surroundings and for some helpful advice.
Keep fit and healthy
Buy some food, eat well, get some exercise, drink plenty of water.

When you are feeling settled:

Locate your VU campus so you know where to come for the higher education orientation day
If you're a TAFE student, find your campus for orientation on your first day of class. See the VU campus maps
Start looking for long term accommodation
Finding a good place to live is an important part of settling in to life here in Melbourne. If you are not having luck with finding permanent housing before Orientation perhaps you should come to the VU Accommodation Day

Orientation

For some really helpful advice, refer again to our orientation information pages and we look forward to meeting you there.

Tourist things to see and do

When you have organised your basic accommodation needs and started to settle in, you may find you have some time before classes start to look around your new hometown. For information on local attractions and events see Life in Melbourne.