The backpacker’s secrets for travelling Australia on a shoestring

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Is
there such a thing as travelling for free around Australia? As full time
travellers we soon start to learn some tricks of the trade on how to travel
Australia on a shoestring and in some cases even for free, some shared by
fellow backpackers others learn on our own experience. So how do we travel with
less than $40 each a day?

You
might think of hitch-hiking, well it might be indeed a technique for make your
way around Australia for free but that’s not our case. Get your own way of
transport, that’s right, buy a car. Anything from a station
wagon, small bus, utility van or hippie camper. We are convinced that in the
long term it’s the cheapest option to travel, no wonder it’s widely used by
many travellers. If you play your cards wisely and know what you get, we have
the evidences that you could even make some profit out of it which means you
will travel all the time for free.

LPG.
If you get your own wheels try to get one on LPG; it’s the cheapest fuel to
travel around. It is something around 44 cent per litre in some area around
Melbourne going up to 84 cent per litre in the north of Queensland, the more
further to remote area you go, the pricey it will get.

Relocation.
If you are only travelling for a short time it might not worth it the risk of
buying a car and, if your destinations are flexible and you keep your ears
open, you might get a campervan as little as $1 per day. In fact
some rental companies will let you drive their van almost for free to bring it
from point A to B. Of course there is a time limit, normally it has to be done
on a short timescale, but if they are not in hurry they will let you used it
for few extra days. Check it out Apollo Relocations.

If
you opt to get one of the above options of transport then you could also sleep
for free. Having a mobile bed means you could get advantage of the many
free rest areas along Australia East Coast, if you are lucky even ocean front.
Sometimes you will need to pay a small fee for some extra comforts such a
shower or if you travel with good spirit and are flexible and
adaptable, well….

In
most cases there is no reservation but the only problem is those spots full up
very quickly early in the morning, especially the most known by the campervans’
crowd that year after year come back in the same place.

Bush
camping and camping at remote locations is also free; even some hotels or
restaurants in the Outback will offer you to park overnight in their car park
for free with any purchase at the bar.

Camping
on the many National Parks, apart for being an amazing experience, it’s also
low-cost something around $5 each per night while others, like in NSW, are
free; for the most popular campgrounds you would better off to book it in
advance and for the more remote you will need a 4WD to reach them.

We
couldn’t have done our big loop without our bible, Camps Australia 4,
where they are listed all camping grounds which saved us hundreds of dollars,
and without taking advantage of all camping among NSW State Forest, Parks
Victoria, Queensland National Parks . Camps4 can be pricey for a backpacker (I
think it is something around $50-70, we were blessed it came with our van) but
I can bet it would be the best thing you ever bought, it’s just priceless.

Food.
We know we all have to eat as we would at home but, there is no secrets, the
more we cook ourselves, using also the free bbq in many beach and
pick nick areas, and the less take away we buy or eating at restaurants the
more we save. As I said in many occasions if you fancy casting your own line
you could end up also eating for free.

If you have to catch a plane try Tiger Airways, it’s not free but you could fly
Melbourne – Sydney for only $32, that’s a bargain.Don’t
waste your money on enclosed wildlife’s encounters. You will have many
opportunities to come face to face with Australian wildlife even
if you don’t visit a zoo or a farm, from crocs to whales-watching, dolphins and
kangaroos, if you are patient and go a bit “closer to the wild” you
could spot these animals in their own environment.

If you fancy to earn some cash
while travelling and having fun there are plenty of chances to work your
way around Australia from fruit-picking, teaching, working in bar and
hostels

Stays connect for free. Although I am not a great fun of
MacDonald, even if I would not eat there by being cheeky I enjoyed many hours
of web-surfing on the house; you could take advantage of free wifi at many
libraries too.

Australia
has many natural attractions that can be simple enjoyed for free
while for others touristy
attractions I always watch out for those great discount’s
vouchers on the many free magazines distributed in hostels, train
stations and travel agents. Even if I don’t have a voucher my motto is always “shop
around”.

Happy
travel!