The Best Budget Tips For A Road Trip In Australia
Road trip in Australia is guaranteed to be an epic experience. It is also a perfect way to travel in Australia on a budget, since flying around will always end up costing a lot. By car, you are able to explore all the best spots and even find some hidden gems on the way! Many of us traveling are always trying to save money and are hunting for the best budget tips, this time for a road trip. We gathered together our best budget tips to help you save your pennies during your road trip. Here are our budget tips for a road trip in Australia (or anywhere in the world!).
VIEW POST The Ultimate Guide For A Road Trip In Australia – Getting ready
Free camp
One of our best budget tips for your road trip is to make sure to free camp whenever possible. This is guaranteed to save you a lot of money. There are heaps of free camping areas around Australia and some of them are absolute gems! You might end up camping on the beach or under the eucalyptus trees.
Free camping areas vary a lot. Some of them are really basic, basically just truck stops without toilets or any other amenities. There are many places that do have toilets and even BBQs and showers. Use apps like WikiCamp or CamperMate to find all the camping areas in Australia.
Note that you are not allowed to camp everywhere in Australia, but only in certain places. If you free camp in cities or parks that say no camping, you are very likely to get fined. We have told some of our favorite free camping spots in our ultimate road trip guide!
VIEW POST: The Ultimate Guide For A Road Trip In Australia – On The Road
Avoid big cities
It is harder to find free camping areas around popular areas and close to big cities. The camping areas are also often very expensive, especially if you want to stay close or inside the city. Spending a lot of time in big cities during your road trip is guaranteed to wreck your budget!
Cook your own food
The second of our top two budget tips is to cook your own meals during your road trip. Eating out in Australia is expensive! Even if you are not a master chef, cooking your own meals during your road trip is a good way to save your pennies. That way you can afford to treat yourself with a nice meal out every now and then.
Bulk buy food
Make sure to buy enough food from big supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths. Sometimes there might be long ways with only small supermarkets and they are EXPENSIVE. Get all the basic dry food, such as can food and pasta, before you head out on your road trip.
Compare petrol prices
There can be big differences between petrol prices between places. Even the smaller differences might end up making a big difference in the long run, when you will fill up with big amounts of petrol.
Use apps like Fuel Map to see where are the best and the most budget-friendly places to fill up your tank full.
VIEW POST: Australian East Coast Road Trip – The Ultimate Guide
Have extra petrol with you
This might get handy when you are driving in rural areas. The most expensive petrol we paid during our road trip was $1,90! If you have your own petrol tanks with you, you can fill them up in cheaper places and avoid places that are guaranteed to rip you off.
Share the ride
If you are only 1-2 people on your road trip, a good option to save some money is to share a ride with some other people. Sharing the petrol cost can make a big difference in your budget. We would not recommend taking any random hitchhikers but you can find other backpackers willing to share a ride in Facebook groups, even from notice boards in hostels.
Obey the rules
Camp only is allowed sites, don’t speed and keep your seatbelt buckled up. We added these to this road trip guide even though they may not be exactly budget tips. But we feel like not getting fined is a 100% way to save your money!
Avoid peak seasons
Australians go camping a lot during the holidays. This means that you might find the best free camping areas crowded or full. Also the regular camping areas will have higher prices during peak times. Try to time your road trip outside peak seasons.
Plan your road trip
Think about what are your must-see places on your road trip. Avoid the ordinary places that just end up adding up to your budget with entrance fees and petrol costs. Figuring out your priorities will help you to skip the basic stuff you can do anywhere and it will most certainly help you keep your budget.
Fill up with water for free
You don´t only need a lot of water daily to keep hydrated but also to other daily stuff too like cooking. See beforehand camping areas are day-use areas where you can fill up your water tanks for free. This is not only good for your budget but in addition it is also a perfect way to avoid useless plastic use!
Buy a National Park Pass
West Coast is full of beautiful National Parks! If you are doing the West Coast road trip and you are planning to visit multiple National Parks during your road trip, we recommend buying a National Park pass. Buying a pass will cost you 60 dollars for a month and you can visit as many National Parks as you want within six weeks. You can get more information HERE.
Hope you liked our budget tips for your road trip! Check our also our other road trip guides.
VIEW POST: Perth To Adelaide Road Trip – The Perfect Southwest Itinerary
VIEW POST: Broome To Perth On A Budget -The Perfect Three Weeks Itinerary
