Budget Travel in Australia

Budget

Australia is an expensive country to live in or travel through. We started our trip with a budget of $75 (50 quid) per day to include travel, accommodation and food. As a couple it was hard to stick to this budget and we ended up spending on average around $100 (65 quid) between us. This allowed us to stay in budget accommodation and shop locally for groceries and go out for the odd coffee or two.

Prices vs UK prices (2013)

Item	Aus $ (uk pound)	UK price (pounds)	Difference
Loaf of bread	3.00 (2.00)	1.20	+80p
Petrol (per litre)	1.50 (1.10)	1.45	-35p
Can of Baked Beans	1.50 (1.10)	0.30	+120p
Pack of Bacon	4.00 (2.80)	3.00	-20p
Bag of Salad	3.00 (2.30)	1.30	+100p
Litre of Milk	2.50 (1.80)	0.60	+120p
6 Eggs (free range)	3.50 (2.70)	1.45	+125p
Cup of coffee (flat white)	4.50 (3.60)	3.50	+10p
Pint of Lager (in a pub)	10.00 (7.50)	3.00	+450p
6 bottles of lager (off licence)	18.00 (14.50)	8.00	+1000p
Fried Breakfast (from Cafe’)	15.00 (11.00)	6.00	+500p
Mcdonalds Quarter pounder meal (med)	7.95 (5.20)	4.25	+95p
Bottle of 500ml water from garage	4.00 (3.00)	1.00	+200p

Top Tips

·         You can see that by eating out and especially by drinking alcohol you can really blow a travellers budget! A cheaper way to drink is to buy boxes of wine from the supermarket these are actually cheaper than in the UK (around $15) for 3 litres.

·         Buy Petrol on mid week days (its chaeaper by around 3c a litre) and save supermarket money off vouchers (Coles and Woolworths were each doing up to 8c a litre off Fuel)

·         Stay in accommodation that includes some kind of free breakfast/tea and coffee.

Staying in Australia as a couple

 If you are travelling with a shared bank account as a couple, then you may be surprised at what accommodation is available for the same price as the grottiest backpacker hostel. Motels tend to cost between $60 and $100 a night for a double room with a private bathroom etc. Backpackers tend to be around $25 a person for a shared dorm style accommodation with a shared bathroom going up to around $50 a person for a private room with a shared bathroom. Motel rooms suffer by not having actual cooking appliances (most have a Kettle and Microwave though) so it means you may be forced to eat out at a high cost whereas Hostels often have a shared kitchen so you can save money by preparing your own meals.

Other accommodation options are self catering apartments; these can often be rented by the week and work out quite a lot cheaper per night than either a Hostel or Motel room.

Top Tips

·         Share an apartment with 2 or 3 people and keep the costs right down.

·         If staying somewhere for a long time try renting a house for the month

·         Use apps like AirBnB (free to download on the ios devices) to get a room staying with local people at a cheaper price.

Camping

You can always camp your way round Australia. Campgrounds are plentiful and often free to use. If you have a campervan, car or tent then these are great options. Even the paid for options vary between $8 a person and $25 a person depending on the location and site.

Top Tips

·         Get hold of a copy of Camps Australia (on revision 7 now but they are all ok we used revision 3!) for all the free and cheap campsites around Australia (new it costs $60).

·         If camping in areas without showers, head to the coast and nearly all surf beaches have cold showers that you can use for free (alternatively find the local swimming pool and go for a swim!)

·         No need to buy expensive cooking equipment. All parks and public areas around Australia have electric BBQ’s that are free for anyone to use and also access to clean drinking water.

Travelling around

Air Travel

Australia is big and well serviced by airports. Air travel is comparable with budget travel in Europe, the 2 main budget airlines are Jetstar Asia and Virgin (Blue). An example price of one of the flights we used Perth – Adelaide (one way) with Virgin cost around $150 each. As with any budget airline check that your bags are included in the fare.

Campervan Rental

A billion companies offer campervan rental, the average price for a month’s rental of a 2 berth van is around $1800. Its often cheaper to rent a van and bring it back to the same place it started. The rental option is good if you are limited by time, have loads of cash or don’t want the hassle of buying a car/van and then selling it later.

Train and Bus

Train travel interstate in Australia is hugely expensive and buses are not much cheaper (its always cheaper to fly). Local buses and trains are normally much cheaper and convenient to use.

Buying a car

If you are thinking of spending over a month in Oz then buying a car or van would be a good option. Depending on the state and time of year cars and vans are plentiful and reasonably cheap. The process of owning a car in Australia is pretty straight forward. You need to ensure it’s registered (insurance is included in the registration), that you have a document to prove ownership and that its roadworthy (some states require a roadworthiness certificate). You can then drive it on a normal UK licence. Websites like Gumtree are a good place to start looking for your perfect vehicle, as are backpacker hostels as people are often selling their vehicles full of camping equipment etc. Even if you sell your vehicle for a loss its unlikely you will have lost as much money as you would have spent on renting for a prolonged period!