I wear glasses and contact lenses and will soon be on a
working holiday in Oz. What I wanted to know was how
expensive are contact lenses to buy in Australia? Also are
the cleaning solutions relatively expensive? I was wondering
if any other travellers have experienced any problems
wearing lenses whilst travelling, is it impractical and
should I stick to my glasses?
Thanks
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I live in NZ, but have been to Australia few times. We're
quite civilised down here! My (disposable) contact lenses
are MADE in Australia and solutions are about AUS $15-18
for 500mls. You can get all types etc. I don't know which
type of lens type you use but they wouldn't be
prohibitively expensive. The last thing you should be
worried about. Happy travels :-))
Yeh, I live in the UK and went to Aus for a few months. the
solutions were slightly cheaper than over here and there
was more choice.
Thanks for asking this question. It's been on my mind and I
haven't seen it addressed on this site. I guess I could
have posted my own message, right? The responses have
alleviated my concern about having to pack a bunch of
bottles of contact solution in my backpack for a 3-month
trip. What a relief.
I can't believe anyone would be concerned about contact
solution in AU/NZ. Africa maybe, but not AU/NZ! What do
you imagine it to be like there???
By the way Aussie's..your solution is twice as expensive as
it is here in Canada...I'm a little surprised..
No-one seems to have commented on the COST of the damn
things. It has been a while since I bought a set and then
they cost around $200 australian without the consultation
for the script.
A sensible question re solutions do you have a specific
brand you use and wish to try and find here? If so let me
know and I will nip across the road and check OPSM or the
other places.
Thanks for answering my questions, I know Australia isn't
like Africa I was more concerned about something happening
to my lenses and whether I could replace them at a
reasonable cost. Prices, on what I've been told are pretty
much the same as over here, which is a relief. The brand
of solution I use is from a particular opticians so I don't
think I'll be able to find it in oz, but it's an all in one
solution for sensitive eyes. I presume that I will be able
to find something similar when I get there.
Re contact lenses...be aware if you're coming from a cooler
climate that you need to be EXTRA careful with cleaning and
hygiene...I've seen a couple of instances of exchange
students having infections in the tropics....no big deal,
just be careful!
3 months supply of disposable lenses costs between 70 and 90 aussi dollars, and can take up to a week to order in if you have a difficult script. Standard ones you can probably get over the counter if your lucky.
I just came back from a one month trip to Australia. Of
course, silly me, I forgot to pack in my contact lens,
while all my cleaning and storing solutions were packed.
Grrrrr.
Anyways, if you're planning on buying contact lenses in OZ,
remember to bring a prescription from your home optician.
The optical shops in OZ do not dispense/sell any contact
lens without any prescription. If you don't have a
prescription and can't live without contact lenses (like
me), you'll need to shell out money for eye testing and
them giving you a prescription. I visited many
practitioners, and was quoted between A$60-120, no prizes
for guessing what amount I paid.