Australia is an expensive county to travel in, there’s no doubt about that. With a night in one of Sydney’s hostels averaging 30AUD and dinner in a cheap restaurant costing about 20AUD, not to mention a local beer coming in at around 8AUD, you can’t escape the fact that Australia isn’t the most budget-friendly destination. But the land Down Under is an absolute backpackers’ paradise, with one-of-a-kind destinations like the Whitsunday Islands and Fraser Island as well as cool cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
I backpacked along the East Coast a few years ago on a limited budget, and want to start planning a return trip to see the bits I missed soon. With this in mind, I’ve done lots of research into how to save money while travelling in Australia and put together this huge guide to backpacking Australia on a budget. I’ve included tips for finding cheap accommodation in Australia, plus how to save money on tours, experiences, food, drink and transport in Australia. I hope you find it useful!
Tips for saving money while travelling in Australia
You shouldn’t have to miss out on Australia just because you’re on a tight budget while travelling! I hope this money-saving guide to Australia helps you plan your trip.
Saving on Aussie accommodation
Hostels
One of the main ways backpackers save money while travelling in Australia is staying in hostels. They’re cheap (okay, not as cheap as hostels in SE Asia, but definitely cheaper than Aussie hotels!), cheerful and you’ll meet lots of likeminded backpackers around your age.
If you’re completely averse to shared dorms, look out for private rooms in hostels. These are great for travelling couples or friends looking to save money, and usually have all the amenities you’d find in a basic hotel, with a cheaper price per night. You can enjoy the social elements of staying in a hostel, but you still have some privacy and a lockable door.
The best site for booking Australia hostels is hostelworld, who offer free cancellation, which is useful for last minute changes of plan on your travels.
Hotels
Accommodation is bound to be your biggest expense when you travel around Australia, and you can expect to pay at least $100 a night for a private room in a budget hotel, or more during busy seasons. Save money on hotel bookings in Australia with booking.com. You can also check LateRooms.com, Trivago, and hotels.com.
If you’re signed up to a frequent flyer programme, you can sometimes use your points to book hotels or activities – and earn points, too.
Camping
Camping is a great way to save on accommodation when you’re travelling in Australia. The national parks in particular are filled with stunning spots to pitch your tent – and there are over 500 national parks in the country! Entry fees, permits and camping costs vary across states and campsites, while free camping is available in places with no facilities.
The Camps Australia Wide book is a great purchase if you’re planning to camp in Australia. It has tons of information and pictures from all the camping spots in the country. The savings you’ll make after just a few nights of camping in a free or cheap spot found in the book will outweigh the cost of the book.
Obviously in the height of an Australian summer, a tent might not be the most comfortable place to sleep, so think about the time of year you’re visiting when you’re deciding whether camping would be a good option to save money during your Australia trip.
Alternative accommodation options in Australia
If your budget is super tight and you don’t mind new experiences, try WOOFing or housesitting or petsitting to help you save on accommodation in Australia. These options work best for people who are spending longer lengths of time in a destination. The best sites for housesitting are Trusted Housesitters, Mindahome and Aussie Housesitters.
I’ve heard that a lot of pro travellers actually rent rooms in shared houses with other backpackers to save money, so check Gumtree for listings in your destination.
I don’t recommend Couchsurfing because I haven’t done it myself and I’ve heard too many scare stories from other young women, but you could look into that if you’re comfortable with it.
Saving on transport in Australia
Be savvy about booking flights
To get the cheapest flights, it’s best to book as far in advance of your Australia trip as possible. I usually use Skyscanner to compare flight prices, and you can set up alerts so you get an email when your preferred flight drops in price.
It’s often cheaper to fly into one city and out of another, which actually makes it cheaper and easier to do an Aussie road trip! The time of year that you visit Australia can have a huge effect on how much you’ll spend, and flights are usually cheaper during the quieter months in Spring and Autumn.
Qantas offers an Aussie Airpass, which includes return flights from US and 2-3 flights within Australia.
Other useful sites for booking flights to and from, or within Australia, include Expedia, ebookers, Travel Supermarket, Opodo, Momondo, trip.com and Kayak. Don’t forget the low-cost Australian airlines too, like Webjet.
Use your loyalty to your advantage
Sign up to Qantas, Emirates and Qatar Airways frequent flyer programmes to earn points whenever you fly with the airline. This works especially well if you’re travelling solely with one particular airline during your Aussie adventure, but some airlines have partner airlines which you can also earn points with. With frequent flyer programmes, you can save money in the long run and redeem your points against hotel bookings and tours, or future flights. Some airlines also give you lounge access, meaning you can eat there and save on overpriced airport food.
Hire your own wheels
By combining your accommodation with your mode of transport, you’ll be saving big on hostel rates and bus tickets. Plus, you can cook in a camper van, so you’ll eat out less and therefore save on food. Camper van hire, or even buying a used camper van in Australia, works best if you’re travelling in a small group because you can split the costs. You can browse campervans and other vehicles for sale on Gumtree.
You can sometimes find road trip buddies on hostel noticeboards or websites like Gumtree, too.
If you decide to hire a car, you’ll still need to pay for accommodation, but it will get you from A to B on your own terms. Avoid one-way bookings, which cost more as you’ll incur a ‘one-way’ drop off fee. Pick the same location for pick-up and drop-off so you get cheaper rates on car hire.
Bus around
Travelling by bus is one of the cheaper ways to backpack in Australia, and Greyhound is the go-to national bus service. They have a range of passes, including a flexible hop-on-hop-off pass, which will give you the most freedom.
Forget trains – they’re expensive and definitely not the best, or cheapest, way to travel in Australia.
How to save on food and drink in Australia
Save on eating out in Australia
Australian restaurants can be pricy, with a main meal and drink topping 20AUD in Melbourne. Check out Australia’s Groupon to see if you can get discounts on restaurants.
Buy your own groceries
Groceries in Australia are more expensive than a lot of other countries, but it’s definitely cheaper to buy your own produce and cook in your camper van or make packed lunches, than it is to eat out every day.
A lot of the parks in Australia have free BBQ facilities. Simply buy some meat or veggies in the local supermarket and get grilling. Alternatively, use your hostel kitchens to cook food – why not host a pot luck night with your new dorm mates? For the price of a few dollars each, you can eat a decent meal and make friends.
You can also save massively on takeout coffee, which costs around $5, by making your own and carrying a flask. It’s worth investing in a refillable water bottle, so you aren’t constantly paying for bottled water on the go. It’s better for the environment, too.
Guzzle goon
‘Goon’ is cheap, nasty boxed wine and is otherwise known as the Aussie backpacker elixir. It’s cheapest when purchased from a local ‘bottle-o’, and you can save on bar tabs if you pre-drink. A beer or a glass of wine in a bar can cost around $10, and most nightclubs charge an entry fee. Get to know the best happy hours to make some real savings!
Save money on tours and experiences in Australia
It’s often cheaper to book online in advance, rather than going through a travel agent or the tour operators themselves in Australia. I learned that the hard way – we paid much more for our Whitsunday Islands sailing adventure than we would have done if we’d checked the prices online first.
There are plenty of websites where you can find cheap tickets for tours and experiences in Australia. Try 365 Tickets, Viator and GetYourGuide.
Remember that it’s cheaper to go it alone than to book a proper tour in Australia. This is where a hired car or camper van comes in handy!
It’s always worth checking out the Australian GroupOn site to see if you can save on anything you’re planning to do! The ‘travel’ and ‘ticket’ categories will be most useful. My friend used this hack to bulk buy our New Zealand bus tickets, and it saved us a fortune – we even gave a fellow backpacker a ticket for free because we had spares.
There are plenty of free things to do in Australia, so you don’t have to spend money keeping yourself occupied all day. With stunning beaches, national parks and beautiful botanical gardens in the main cities, you’ll never find yourself stuck for something to do, even if you’re travelling Australia on a budget. Most Australian art galleries and museums are free too, so that’s a perfect way to spend a rainy day.
If you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing in a short space of time, look at Flexipasses. Expedia do one for Sydney that saves you up to 50% on the top attractions.
Other easy ways to save money travelling in Australia
- The Lonely Planet guidebooks are packed full of money saving tips for Australia and were basically my backpacking bible when I travelled along Australia’s East Coast. Buy the most recent copy for the area you’re exploring for up-to-date listings – including cheap places to stay Down Under. They list the average prices for the eateries and accommodation options, which can be helpful for budgeting.
- If you’ll be hiking or doing any other outdoor activities, you can order gear from Hawkshead. I managed to get super cheap women’s hiking boots and a mega versatile backpack from there.
- Medical care can cost a lot in Australia, so it’s vital that you get travel insurance before you go. It can save you crazy money in the long run, and it’ll put your parents mind at ease! I recommend World Nomads.
- I’ve never done it (I wish I had!), but a lot of people who backpack in Australia do farm work to earn money and save. There’s not a lot to do in rural areas of Australia, so you’ll save everything you earn – but it can be back-breaking work.
- I used a pre-loaded ‘cash passport’ to save on bank fees and currency conversion charges when I travelled in Australia. Check out FairFX for currency cards, cash conversion and travel cash. Their rates are the best I’ve found (online or in stores) and their ‘Everywhere card’ is the best option for anyone travelling in multiple countries.
Read: Best stops on an East Coast Australia Road Trip
Read: Places I regret skipping when I travelling Australia’s East Coast
I hope you’ve found these tips for saving money in Australia useful! I’m hoping to return to the land Down Under soon, so please comment below with any other money-saving hacks and tips for Australia travel. I want this to be a really useful resource for anyone planning their own Aussie adventure – including my little brother, who sets off in a few months!
This post is sponsored by Gumtree.
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