Tour Guide Jobs for Backpackers

Most Recent Jobs

 

Cooper's Country Lodge Houskeeping Coordinator

Eromanga Natural History Museum Premium Employer

Eromanga, South West QLD

ABOUT THE BUSINESSThe Eromanga Natural History Museum (ENHM) is an educational and tourism destination committed to discovering, conserving and showcasing...

ABOUT THE BUSINESSThe Eromanga Natural History Museum (ENHM) is an educational and tourism destination committed to discovering, conserving and showcasing...

 

Tour Guide / Museum Visitor Services

Eromanga Natural History Museum Premium Employer

Eromanga, South West QLD

PLEASE ONLY APPLY IF YOU HAVE A VEHICLE; WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER ROLE AVAILABLE AND ENCOURAGE COUPLES AND FRIENDS TO APPLY.ABOUT THE BUSINESS AND ROLE:The Eromanga...

PLEASE ONLY APPLY IF YOU HAVE A VEHICLE; WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER ROLE AVAILABLE AND ENCOURAGE COUPLES AND FRIENDS TO APPLY.ABOUT THE BUSINESS AND ROLE:The Eromanga...

Tour Coordinator 2nd April 2024

Fraser Dingo 4wd Adventures

URANGAN, Queensland

Exciting Job opportunity working with Fraser Dingo 4wd AdventuresFraser Dingo 4wd Adventure’s is a 4wd tagalong tour operator based in Hervey Bay (on the Fraser...

12d ago

Exciting Job opportunity working with Fraser Dingo 4wd AdventuresFraser Dingo 4wd Adventure’s is a 4wd tagalong tour operator based in Hervey Bay (on the Fraser...

Tour Guide

Blinman Heritage Mine

Blinman, South Australia

Interested in a paid Working Holiday?Love ionic locations?The Flinders Ranges is the place to be!We are looking for a number of casual tour guides to join...

3mth ago

Interested in a paid Working Holiday?Love ionic locations?The Flinders Ranges is the place to be!We are looking for a number of casual tour guides to join...

Casual Tour Guide & Customer Service Professional

Qantas Founders Museum

Longreach, Queensland

About the business and the roleQantas Founders Museum is a world-class museum located in Longreach, Queensland and is home to the oldest civil aviation building in...

1yr+ ago

About the business and the roleQantas Founders Museum is a world-class museum located in Longreach, Queensland and is home to the oldest civil aviation building in...

Tour Guide Assistant

Australian 4WD Adventure Tours

Cairns to Cape York, Cairns

AUSTRALIAN 4WD ADVENTURE TOURSIS LOOKING FOR TOUR GUIDE ASSISTANTS!The job entails cooking, cleaning and camp preparation while travelling as part of the team,...

1yr+ ago

AUSTRALIAN 4WD ADVENTURE TOURSIS LOOKING FOR TOUR GUIDE ASSISTANTS!The job entails cooking, cleaning and camp preparation while travelling as part of the team,...

Customer Service/ Tour Guide And Kitchen Hands

Qantas Founders Museum

Longreach, Queensland

We are currently seeking enthusiastic and energetic people to join our team as Customer Service personnel, Tour Guides and Kitchen Hands.To be trained as a tour...

3yr+ ago

We are currently seeking enthusiastic and energetic people to join our team as Customer Service personnel, Tour Guides and Kitchen Hands.To be trained as a tour...

Fraser Island Campsite Assistant

Pippies Beachhouse Rainbow Beach

Fraser Island, Queensland

We are looking for an Awesome Lady or Lad (maximum of 2 people) to help out our Tour Guides when our Groups arrive at our permanent Campsite on their 3 Day Tour of...

4yr+ ago

We are looking for an Awesome Lady or Lad (maximum of 2 people) to help out our Tour Guides when our Groups arrive at our permanent Campsite on their 3 Day Tour of...

 

Get an Internation Student Visa

Free Course Consulation

Want to stay longer in Australia? Convert your working holiday to an International Student Visa (subclass 500). Get a free student consultation to get the best advice on which course, where to study and how much it costs.

Want to stay longer in Australia? Convert your working holiday to an International Student Visa (subclass 500). Get a free student consultation to get the best advice on which course, where to study and how much it costs.

Motor Cycle Tour Guide

scooter roo tours

AGNES WATER / TOWN OF 1770, Queensland

Looking for an experienced rider with a full Motor bike license to join our team, as a tour guide, with the famous Scooter Roo Tours, in Agnes Water, Queensland. Must...

5yr+ ago

Looking for an experienced rider with a full Motor bike license to join our team, as a tour guide, with the famous Scooter Roo Tours, in Agnes Water, Queensland. Must...

Tour Guide Jobs in Australia

As a working holidaymaker, you probably have a passion for travel. So why not turn that passion into a profession (at least temporarily)?

Working as a tour guide offers a fantastic opportunity for 417 and 462 visa holders to not only see the best bits of Australia, but to show them to other people, and to get paid to do it!

Tour Guide Jobs
Find Tour Guide Jobs in Australia

Where are most tour guide jobs located?

Tour guide jobs are found anywhere that tourists are found. The centre of Sydney, the middle of the outback, and on the islands and coastlines that make Australia such an alluring destination.

The more touristy the destination, the more tour guide opportunities there’ll be. A place like Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, might only have a population of 1200 people, but there’ll be almost as many tour guide opportunities there as there’ll be in cities of five million like Sydney and Melbourne.

What tour guide jobs are available to working holidaymakers?

Tour guide jobs aren’t limited to simply guiding tourists. There are many different roles to be filled within a tour company, including:

  • Tour guide: Whether a city guide, dive guide, trek guide, boat tour guide or Contiki guide, you’ll see a lot of sights, but you’ll also be responsible for ensuring the tourists are safe and happy.
  • Assistant tour guide: A common role for backpackers, assistant tour guides help to ensure the tour runs smoothly, and may not need the skills and depth of knowledge that the main guide does.
  • Salesperson: Tourism is a competitive industry, so many tour companies hire people to actively sell their services.
  • Office worker: A tour company is like any other company - phones need to be answered, accounts need to be balanced, and workers need to be paid - so in-office jobs are available too!

What qualifications are needed?

While the company that employs you will need to be registered as a tour operator, there are no legislative controls in place for the tour guides themselves, and companies create their own requirements. First aid training is a must for tour guides, while job-specific qualifications like a PADI certification may also be required.

What is the pay like?

As many in the industry will tell you, being a tour guide isn’t about the money, it’s about the experience. Spending all day in beauty and putting smiles on people's faces can feel like payment enough. You’ve still got to eat though.

Tour guide pay usually hovers around the minimum wage, although Australia has the highest in the world - around $20 per hour - so this isn’t as bad as it might sound. And while Australia doesn’t really have a tipping culture, tour guides who host international visitors may enjoy a tip for their troubles.

Pros and cons of tour guide jobs

So should you look for tour guide work as a backpacker? Let’s sum up the pros and cons.

Pros

  • Fun and exciting work
  • Plenty of part time and casual opportunities
  • May count as specified work for your second/third year visas (if it’s in a remote area)
  • Get paid to see Australia’s most popular sights

Cons

  • There are higher paying jobs
  • You’ll be working where others are holidaying and partying
  • It can be a fickle industry

Should you be a tour guide as a working holidaymaker? If the pros outweigh the cons, if you’re ready for the responsibility, and if you quite enjoy being in front of a crowd, it’s a fantastic option!