Road Trip Budgeting: What It Costs for a Two Month Australian Adventure

With hundreds of national parks, thousands of beaches, and millions of ways to enjoy your adventure, Australia is one of the best countries in the world to explore on four wheels.

To prepare for your amazing road trip adventure down under we give you a break down of the main spends during a 2-month road trip around Australia: petrol, campsites, toll fees and food.

Photo by Jason Charles Hill

Campsites

Campsites usually cost between $15 and $50,- a night depending on location and facilities. Try to save on campground fees and look for free campsites. The website Australian Campsites or download the app Wiki Camps.

Budget campsites: 60 x $20, average = $1800,-

Plus, don’t forget that when you hire a campervan with Travellers Autobarn you get access to free camp grounds and exclusive deals with our campsite partners. Check out the current deals here.

Petrol

A road trip means driving long distances. Driving long distances requires fuel. Fuel is expensive. While you can’t eliminate the cost of gas, there are a lot of little things you can do to help alleviate the cost.

• Keep your tires inflated, oil fresh and engine tuned for better mileage.
• Fill up away from cities. With some exceptions, the closer you are to a metropolitan area, the more you’ll pay for gas.
• Use a smartphone app like GasBuddy to find the best prices in your area.
• Use a GPS device to avoid getting lost and wasting fuel.
• Avoid rapid acceleration and braking, which uses more gas.
• Avoid rush hour traffic.
• Park your car and walk whenever possible if you want to explore an area.
• Collect FUEL VOUCHERS – if you do your shopping in a Coles or Woolworth supermarket and spend over $30 they often supply you with discount voucher such as 4 or 8 cents of each litre – very handy. This of course depends on different states and you will need to use these vouchers at dedicated Coles and Woolworth petrol stations.

Our Chubby campervan fits 55 litres of fuel that will drive you 400km from Perth to Albany. A full tank will cost set you back around $70,- 10 tanks of fuel will get you from the east to the west of Australia ($700,-/4000km)

Photo by Jason Charles Hill

Tollroads and fees

Gone are the days when you could simply drive on a toll road and pay an operator in a cash booth.Navigating toad tolls in Australia can be tricky business nowadays. When renting a campervan, you are fully responsible for road toll fees. Unpaid toll fees can attract hefty fines. Toll fees vary from $4,- to $11,- depending on location and the size of your vehicle.

Toll roads can be found within the metropolitan areas of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and are a popular route for travel in and around these cities.

• Try to plan your journeys ahead and pre-purchase tolls to avoid any potential penalties
• If you don’t have an electronic tag fitted, your vehicle is identified by cameras positioned at various points along each toll road which record your registration plate.
• If you don’t have an electronic tag you will be able to purchase a temporary pass from a variety of locations. You should ideally do this before travelling on any toll road, although you are given up to 72 hours after travelling on them to purchase a pass.

Photo by The Rolling Home

Food and drinks

Eating cheaply doesn’t have to mean eating poorly. Plan in advance and try to avoid eating and drinking out. Use the outdoor BBQ’s scattered around the country and teach yourself to make your own coffee. Australia is the third most expensive country to buy a pint of beer. Drop your standards and drink goon like a real backpacker. Goon is the brilliant invention of wine in a bag, sold in a cardboard box. It is cheap and tastes good ice-cold or mixed. After you finish drinking it. You can blow it up and use it as a pillow.

Here are our top tips for shopping for food more efficiently without spending a fortune.

• Stock up on snacks to avoid spontaneous splurging. In moments of hungry indecision, it’s easy to succumb to (expensive) cravings. Pack filling, healthy snacks like granola bars, nuts, and crackers. Avoid snacks that easily go bad, melt, or are messy.
• Pre-plan your meals, eat vegetarian twice a week and buy generic brands at the supermarket.
• Save money on coffees. Coffee prices vary around the country. A small cappuccino will set you back around $3 in Sydney and can cost up to $8,- in Perth! Make your own coffee or get $1,- coffee at the local Seven Eleven.
• Use cash only. Paying cash to cover all of your expenses may seem intimidating at first, but it is a great way to limit your spending.

Photo by The Rolling Home

Food budget: 60 days x $20,- a day (2 people) = $1200,-

Total breakdown for a 2 month roadtrip for 2 people

Campsites                                                 $1800,-
Toll fees                                                      $100,-
Petrol (4000km)                                          $700,-
Food and drinks (2 people)                       $1200,-
Total ____________________________________+
$3800,-*

* excl. campervan rental and any additional expenses.

Start planning the best roadtrip ever!  Travellers Autobarn has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Perth. To buy one of our vehincles please call 1800 674 374. If your not ready to buy, you can still find our deals & specials on campervan hire in Australia.

Looking for more Budget Travel Tips for your epic trip in Australia? We are experts on the subject!