Australia travel costs

Australia is not a particularly cheap country to travel in, but there are a few ways you can cut your travel costs.

Hiring a campervan (RV) is a good way to get around and can help save on accommodation. The cost is around $50 a day or you could get a discount for a longer term, lower priced deal of around $35-40.

A better option would be to buy a a cheap mini cargo van for say about $1500-$3000. The Trading Post newspaper has second hand goods for sale. Major tourist areas have places where other tourists are looking to sell their vehichles. You can also find a lot of advertisements on hostel noticeboards.

It can be a good idea to get your car checked by a mechanic if you don't know much about cars. Take a look at www.MyBackpackerVan.com which has information on the registration requirements which vary from state to state.

Many people travel down the east coast. A trip down would be around 12-15,000 kilometers and average fuel consumtion of 12l/100km @$1.50/l, the fuel bill would be about $3000. With a campervan you can pull up almost anywhere and stay the night. A cheap camping ground where you can have a shower is around $10 a day.

If you make your meals you would probably spend around $20 a day on food and sundries. Special activities and tours can get expensive, such as snorkelling or scuba, a boat trip on whitsundays, Fraser Island, Sydney Harbour Bridge climb etc.

You could further cut costs by traveling with other people and sharing the petrol (gasoline) and camping ground costs. If you have any questions about traveling in Australia take a look at Australia forum.