Backpacking Australia on a budget
A guide for backpacking in Australia.
Planning your backpacking trip to australia? And don’t know what to expect or how much money you are going to spend? I think we all know that Australia is not one of the cheapest country’s to go backpacking, but backpacking trough Australia is very popular so a lot of things are made easier for backpackers, with lots of different options to spend your trip, I made a guide with tips on how to Backpack trough Australia with a budget. -Australia is a backpackers heaven-
backpacking in Australia with a budget? what are the cost?
Of course you didn’t fly halfway across the world to be tight and think about your money all the time so first of all figure out how much budget you need or want to have, how much you still need to save to make the trip of your dreams, how long you want to go and how long you will last on this budget, it will make it a lot easier knowing you have enough money to depend on. Make sure you always keep something aside for emergencies. Also think about the visas Australia requires. One of the most chosen visas is a working holiday visa, you are allowed to stay in Australia for 12 months, and gives you the option to work while traveling, what can be very handy if you need more money halfway your trip. If you want more information about this click here.
Travel in the off seasons
Traveling in the high seasons like Christmas and New Years can be a lot more expensive as the whole country has their vacation and they throw their prices up. Make sure you travel in the off seasons to save money on your flight tickets and accommodation, maybe even pre-book your accommodation for days like Christmas & New Years so you will be secured of a good not to expensive spot, before everything will be fully booked as well.
Buy an Australian sim card
Using the internet and calling home with your sim card from home can be expensive in another country’s, make sure you have an Australian sim card to use it will save you lots of money, you can buy them basically in every supermarket for only $2 AUD. Look up the best providers, the one i used was Telstra, they have connection everywhere even in the middle of nowhere and you never know when that can come in handy.
Backpacking trough Australia with a van
Australia is a very big country and it’s hard to explore if your stuck in one place, also if you don’t want to be stuck with those bus schedules you can better buy your own camper-van, the prices for cars/camper vans is very low in Australia compared to lets say Europe. You can have an all set & ready to live in camper van for $4000 AUD. and if your lucky even cheaper. This is a great way to travel trough Australia with having your own freedom and having your own kitchen and bed with you all the time.
Make your own food
Another upside of having your own camper van is the kitchen thats in it, making dinner for yourself is way cheaper than going out for dinner all the time, as this can bet quite expensive in Australia. If you don’t have your own camper-van you can try out the kitchen in the hostels where you are staying, mostly they have good equipped kitchens to cool yourself a nice and nutritious meal.
Australia hostels
Sleeping in hostels in australia is better for your wallet then sleeping in hotels or resorts. The common price for a dorm bed is $21 AUD. And a private room $50 AUD. Where hotels can go up to $80/$100 AUD a night. Also you meet lots of awesome people if your staying in hostels, so you can share your traveling stories and make travel buddy’s.
Go camping
First of all Australia is less scary then you think! and If your feeling adventurous you can tryout camping, Australia has lots of beautiful nature and incredible ocean shores, and there are always campsites near those spots. Now it depends on how much money you spend for what kind of camp spot you choose, there are a lot of free campsites in australia, you just need to search for them. Some websites that helped me finding the best spots were, campermates / Aircamp, they’ll show you a map of all the campsites near you, so you can choose for yourself if you want to stay in a Holiday-park, low budget campsite or a free campsite.
Work for accommodation
Working for accommodation can be a very good option if you are traveling and planning to stay at one place a little bit longer just because you like it so much, or want to save some money, in almost every hostel (backpackers) in Australia it’s very normal to work for your accommodation, in most hostels you have to work around the 10 hours a week and you can sleep and use all their facilities for free. No better way to save a little bit of money, just by a bit of work.
Fly trough Australia
Don’t feel like driving trough Australia? Or you just don’t have enough time to drive to all the places you want to see? The train and buses are not as cheap as you would expect and it takes much longer, So flying can be a very good and cheap option as well! Some of the low cost airlines are: Tiger air , Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas. If you fly in the weekdays late in the night or early mornings instead of weekends it will save you a lot of money.
Visit the less touristic spots
Of course you want to see all the big city’s like Sydney and Melbourne with everything beautiful they have to offer, but this places will automatically be more expensive so be aware of that. Also the less touristic spots are most of the times even more beautiful and you will find a lot of hidden gems and less busy spots. If you want to visit a big city spend the day there and find a less expensive accommodation to sleep a little out of the busy city centre, this will save you some money.
Look for free activities
If your visiting one of the big city’s, look for the free activities like hikes, botanical gardens, picnics in a beautiful park, they most of the time have lots of them. Of course you want to see all the famous landmarks Australia has to offer so save your money for the things you really want to see and do, so make sure you make it count and don’t spend it on companies that make use of your money.
Visit local markets
Local markets are always an good idea, most of the food like vegetables & fruits you buy on the market is fresh, locally grown, organic and by buying it you support a local tiny farmer with it, no better way to spend your money next to that it’s also less expensive then in the supermarkets. The jewelry they sell are most of the times handmade and unique, the same for some of the clothing you can find. And Australia wouldn’t be Australia if they didn’t sell all different kinds of special gem stones and crystals.
Use free wifi spots
Having wifi can be very precious sometimes while you’re traveling and always on the road, look for free wifi spots in the place where you are staying, there will be plenty, it saves a lot of money to search things up while your connected trough wifi instead of your 4G. The library will be a good solution if you need to arrange some stuff, like book flights or other things that take time. Most of the libraries offer free wifi and charging points.
Talk with your fellow travelers
(Especially if you are backpacking trough Australia alone)
Talking with other travelers can help you find things you can’t find online, like magical secret beaches and beautiful other places to visit that no one knows about. It can help you make the right decisions and give you an insight about certain places you haven’t been to yet. Next that it gives you a lot of information about how other people do it, you might make some life long travel buddy’s.
Be flexible and enjoy!
Being flexible is the key to traveling, don’t be pinned to one idea, be open for other things that come on your path along the way, experience real freedom. And of course enjoy life, soak in every moment and make the best of it, because you are very lucky for being able to travel the world.
Backpacking trough Australia what to pack?
for tips about packing your backpack I will make another blog. If you want to be updated please subscribe and get an email whit the latest news about my other blogs.
Also for more tips about backpacking trough Australia, read some of my other blogs.
I Hope this guide gave you a better view on how backpacking trough Australia works. Subscribe for more tips.
