ROADTRIP ON THE EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA: TRAVEL BUDGET

Make a roadtrip by Australia in van is a dream That has many travelers like us. But that dream is usually not exactly cheap. First of all, the flight to Australia tends to eat an important part of our budget, although there are always ways to find good deals (below we give more details). The accommodations, the rental of the van, and in general the prices in Australia do not facilitate the trip to those who go somewhat fair. But be careful, because you won't have to mortgage to fulfill this dream traveler.

Here we bring you a detailed post with the travel budget to make a roadtrip along the east coast of Australia for a duration 3 weeks. We divide it into sections: flights, van rental, gasoline, accommodation, food and other expenses.

Flying to Australia does not have to be as expensive as it seems. If you start the trip from Spain and you want to find a round trip flight to Australia, there are prices starting at € 600, but it is not easy to find offers for less than € 700 with decent stops. In this case it is best to have flexibility and patience to find the one that interests us most.

→ Flights from Spain to Australia round trip

The cheapest solution we found (and with which we made our return) is to fly with Scoot from Athens, with stopover in Singapore. There are flights to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne or Gold Coast from € 200! The same prices for return flights. Of course, you will have to look for flights to Athens and find the best combination (from € 50 each way). You may even need to spend the night there.

→ Flights from Athens to Australia / Flights from Australia to Athens
→ Flights from Spain to Athens / Flights from Athens to Spain

In short, a round trip flight, including a stop in Athens, can leave for about € 600 per person round trip and without being too complicated to find it.

We believe that the best way to travel the east coast of Australia is by renting a camper van or motorhome. The rental companies are many, so it is interesting to use comparator like Motorhome Republic. It is the one we use in all rentals and it was always good. These search engines are the best way to find competitive prices.

To consider:

Type of van: There are from minivans with the rear made bed and a cooking area (rather small space) to motorhomes or huge vans with bathrooms. Obviously when bigger, more expensive. We recommend the Hitop van, without a bathroom, but with a lot of space to make life inside.

Manual or automatic: As you know, in Australia you drive on the left and the steering wheel and gearbox are in reverse sites. To make driving easier, an automatic van is always better. We had a manual in Tasmania and, although in the end you do, we prefer a thousand times the other.

Prices per day: One price is always applied per day, which is usually reduced if the rentals are long-term (from the first week normally).

Peak season: Prices tend to be more expensive between November and March, when it is high season in Australia. From April you will see more offers coming out (even from relocations, we explain below what it consists of).

Different itineraries, different prices: In this case we are in luck, this route is usually cheaper than others less touristy. In the same way the direction of your route influences prices, if instead of making the journey from south to north you do it the other way around, there may be good offers.

“One Way” Rate: It usually comes included for long rentals, but in case the flyes do not hurt to leave doubts before making the reservation.

Prices without insurance extension: The prices you see are those of the most basic rental, which includes insurance with excess. What does it mean? When you go to pick up the car you will have to leave a deposit with a credit card that is the maximum amount you will pay in case of an accident. The amount depends on the company, in Cheapa Campa which is the one we chose was 3,500AUD (about 2,160 €). Keep it in mind to increase your card limit!

Contract full insurance: to avoid having to leave a deposit and also usually include some extras, such as chairs and tables, sheets and towels, some fees, etc ... The price depends on the package, but is between 25 and 40 AUD a day.

Roadside assistance and protection of wheels and moons: this coverage is always set aside from the previous one, usually it costs about 6-8AUD per day.

The total rental price of a Hitop van for 22 days in low season it is around 1,000AUD, some620€ ( € 310 per personif you travel as a couple). We rent the Hitop from Cheapa Campa, 22 days in April cost us 1,291AUD (about € 800).

→ Use the Motorhome Republic comparator to get the best prices on the van rental.

Do you know that the rent can be almost free?

Rental companies need to move vans and cars from one office to another, according to needs and demand. To do this, they place limited offers on these routes, the so-called “relocations”From € 1 per day! They are usually very punctual offers, on specific dates and leaving few days of travel. There are several websites to search, we always look at Imoova.

Gasoline in Australia is much cheaper than in Spain. On average on this trip we pay 1.37AUD per liter (0.84 per liter).

On the route from Melbourne to Cairns we made a total of 5,323 km. We rented a Hitop gasoline and went at a rather low speed (rarely exceeding 100km / h). Making the calculation at the end we ended up consuming an average of 11.10 liters / 100km.

The total cost we made on gasoline was 807AUD, about495€ ( € 247 per person if you travel as a couple).

To know the price of gasoline in different areas of the country we use the app Fuel Map Australia.

The best thing about traveling by van is that, if you want, you can save yourself every night of accommodation. You just have to look for places where it is allowed to spend the night, in apps like Wikicamps or Campermate. Therefore, the budget for accommodation in the most extreme case is zero!

Although it is highly recommended book one night in these three places: Melbourne, Sydney and Byron Bay. Of course, try to have the car park! You can find a bed in a shared room for about 25-30 AUD in cool and central hostels, about € 18 per person and night.

→ Cheap accommodation in Melbourne
→ Cheap accommodation in Sydney
→ Cheap accommodation in Byron Bay

There is also the option of staying in paid campsites: Caravan Parks. As reference prices, a plot in an average Caravan Park, with electricity for a van and two people, is usually about 30 or 40 AUD. The price includes a plot for the caravan and 2 people (you will also have the right to use hot showers, kitchen with BBQ / oven,…). There are other simpler ones starting at 20 AUD.

If we consider that we will make a total of 5 nights in hostels (2 in Melbourne, 2 in Sydney and 1 in Byron Bay), at an average price of about € 18 per night, The total price of accommodation for this trip would be € 90 per person.

But, as we said, you can do the whole trip without paying a dollar for accommodation.

In addition to saving a handful of hostel nights, traveling with the van you can cook everything you want and supermarket prices are not excessive. With about $ 300 for two people you can buy food for 3 weeks of travel, with a whim (some steaks and some beers from time to time). So it would be about € 100 per person only for the period in which you travel by van.

However, if the budget allows it, from time to time you should try a restaurant and bar, especially in the cities. You can find good offers of dishes with beer at noon for about 15-20AUD (or less), and enjoy the happy hours (You can almost always find beer for 5-7AUD). On this website there are a few recommended sites.

Therefore, we can dedicate some about € 150 per person. One tip: the water is free (tap water) so if you want to save avoid drinking smoothies or drinks.

→ Attractions and activities

On the east coast of Australia there are some paid attractions that may be worthwhile, for example the scenic flight over the Great Barrier (€ 150) or the boat trip on the Daintree (€ 15). We dedicate a total of € 165 per person.

→ Travel insurance

It is essential to carry a good travel insurance, as you know with health you do not joke and less in a country like Australia! Insurance Iati Premium Star, which covers up to € 500,000 costs about € 110 per person for 22 days Including 5% discount if you hire from this link.

→ Miscellaneous expenses

As with each trip you have to have a item of miscellaneous expenses. It is usually the tailor's drawer and the least one can be calculated a priori, but we put a total of € 50 per person.

Total miscellaneous expenses per person: € 325

After analyzing each of the different types of expenses to consider, we can answer the question of How much does a trip in eastern Australia cost by van? Here we summarize thebudget per total person taking as a reference a trip for two people of 3 weeks, from Melbourne to Cairns.

What do you think? We hope that with this three-week travel budget for the east coast of Australia Let you clarify more to prepare your adventure! Although we always remember that each one at the end decides how and how much to spend, but it can be an indicative budget.

Video: What budget? East Coast Road Trip Australia. EN (May 2024).