Most people need to know how much it is going to cost them when planning a trip around or within
Some people travel long distances almost every day and at speeds
that will burn fuel faster than just ambling along. Others may travel on average only a few hundred kilometres a week, spending
time at nice locations such as alongside a lake or beach.
You can take expensive cruises and flights, or just select
a few of the lower costs options.
When camping, you have your accommodation with you, but camp site fees can vary from nothing for bush camping to over $50 per night in if you choose caravan parks in popular areas at peak season. If you have a canvas camper or tent that does not make life easy in the rain, you may choose a cabin when the weather is wet.
Food
and drinks will depend on your choices and whether you eat out a lot, or always cook for yourself, and the price of the foods and
drinks you choose.
If your rig is your sole home, you will be probably be in front on living costs, whereas for those
who are maintaining a home and a rig will have additional costs at home.
See also keeping it simple for ideas on
setting up a rig without spending a fortune.
Fuel is probably the biggest budget item, and prices increase when you go into rural and outback areas. If towing, watch the revs and find the optimum economical speed for your car. Probably around 85 - 90 kilometres per hour would be a good speed, and this gives everyone a chance to look at things as you pass them. If you are travelling with young children and want to get them spotting wildlife, it would be hard at 110 kilometres per hour but easy at 85 kilometres per hour. Carrying a lot of extra fuel to save buying in the most expensive places can be counter productive as extra weight will add to your fuel consumption, and doesn't help the business working with low customer numbers make a living to be able to provide fuel for those in need. When costing a long trip around Australia, the price of fuel at a few outback places will not make a huge difference in the end.
Plan a shorter overall trip and travel less in a day rather than driving and covering long distances in your given space of time. This will be more enjoyable and relaxing as well as saving on running costs. The saving will be around twice the fuel saving when you consider maintenance, including tyres and wear and tear. Keep maintenance up to date and check rig over, especially after corrugated roads.
Travel as light as you can; extra weight means more fuel used. See here for weight reduction tips.
You should always have enough money set aside for emergency repairs in case of a major breakdown, such as a motor
or gearbox, and bear mind that costs away from cities may be much higher than you expect.
Sometimes boats or kayaks can be hired at gorges where boat tours operate. Considering the cost, we have found that taking the
cruise, which may have refreshments or a meal included, can work out better value than hiring and going alone, aside from the information
given and special spots pointed out by the tour operator.
We do not visit every museum, gallery or cave, but see a selection
of different ones. We have not taken overnight or longer cruises, but have taken short boat trips along various gorges and rivers
or to go fishing. We have not taken long flights, but a short helicopter flight adds a whole new dimension to the place you
have just walked (eg
We bush or free camp as often as we can. This is a holiday choice. If we wanted to stay in towns, it would be cheaper to go to motels
than to have purchased our rig. You get a feel for finding good spots, and bookssuch as Camps Australia Wide, or websites and
Apps such as listed helps if you are stuck for somewhere to stop overnight, or if you want a nice place to stay for a while.
If
you are looking for a quiet place to spend the night, watch for disused gravel pits and road works dumps. These are usually
tucked away in the bush, flat and clean, but in
When not in a rush, we start looking for a nice spot soon
after lunch, or even stay at our lunch spot if it is too nice to leave so soon, which can be a feeling as much as a good view. We get less selective as the afternoon goes on. If it gets dark and we haven’t found a spot, when it becomes impossible to see
opportunities such as tracks leading in to the bush in time, we pull off and stay alongside the road. We do not travel at night
in much of
When bush camping, even
if you don't have a bathroom in your caravan, everyone can get fresh and clean each day with a tub of water and a flannel. If you
have a shower and HWS, you can save by not showering every night. A wash with water warmed from a boiling kettle will save water
and gas. When you are visiting towns or major attractions, it is usually false economy to drive many kilometres out to a free
camp each day rather than staying right there on the spot.
I you want a mix of bush and caravan park camping to save money,
try and camp overnight around 20-50 kilometres from the town you want to tour. This will minimise time spent in the caravan
park in town, eg get four almost full days sightseeing out of two nights in a caravan park.
Look for showers and laundromats in
towns and at some larger service stations, particularly those that cater for truckies. It will usually cost a few dollars, but
less than an overnight fee at a caravan park, where you usually still pay the same for the laundry. See our developing lists
of places with showers and coin laundries.
If weather is fine, don’t use the laundromat dryers. Hang your washing out discreetly
when you stop. A lot of washing can fit on a fold-up clothes airer, and this can be moved around to follow the sun, without
looking unsightly like a line of clothes strung out amongst the trees. See simple clothes drying. We were caught with
a huge load of wet washing when it started to rain. We were in a Caravan Park with power and I had a small electric fan
heater. With all the washing piled onto the clothes airer, I squeezed it into the shower recess and propped the door open a
little with the heater. It proved a very effective drying cabinet. Not only was it cheaper than using the dryers as we
had already paid for a powered site, but it saved trips across to the laundry in the rain.
Save money by staying a while
in places where camping is free or very low cost rather than spending that amount of time in an expensive resort caravan park. Some towns provide serviced camp grounds free or low cost to encourage visitors to their towns which may be in rural areas where the
economy has suffered. Reward these towns by doing your shopping there, and talk to the locals to gain a whole new dimension
about life in that region.
There are many towns and regions where free or low costs options are available. Some
of these can be found at Free and low cost camping with the best of the ones we have visited at Free camping and low cost
camping places we have enjoyed , and there are numerous publications such as Camps Australia Wide with free and low cost camp sites. Check out the CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Club of
Of course always leave your campsite clean, as some people doing the wrong things are
causing some Shires to close down free camping opportunities. I have not used this iPhone and iPad app SnapSendSolve for reporting
those doing the wrong thing, but by reporting them to the relevent authority be any means you will be helping to keep the great Australian
dream of responsible free camping.
Many travellers who frequent caravan parks get considerable savings from their membership of one or two chains. There are quite a few different caravan parks chains or groups. However if you join one, you may find they are not in the towns you are visiting. Research this carefully according to your travel plans. To find where parks belong to each chain are, see My Parks List Groups
Big 4 Membership gives discounts to Big 4 caravan parks and a number of other tourist attractions.
Top Tourist Parks rebranded to reflect different levels of facilities; See Top Parks and
Family Parks
We have never considered paying membership of
a caravan park chain or group as we go to caravan parks only occasionally and usually to parks in rural towns or to lower cost ones
which usually aren't part of a chain or group. Low cost caravan parks are listed in Camps Australia Wide publications. The best three caravan parks we stayed at in 2009 were at the low prices of $22 and $23 per night for two powered. They were
very good caravan parks at any price and were not members of any chain or group.
The following extract is
from: Tourism
Caravan parks that were members of a caravan park chain and/or the CIA were more likely to have a higher pricing
structure than those which were not members i.e.:
- more likely to charge more per night across all accommodation types
- more likely
to charge for an additional adult / child
It is suggested that the higher pricing structure is because of the additional facilities
that caravan parks which are members of a caravan park chain and/or the CIA typically provide. It was also mentioned in the qualitative
research that caravan parks that are members of a chain are committed to providing a discount on the standard cost of accommodation
to members which may raise the standard price (to non members) to cover the discount.
Aspen Parks is a private company with
caravan parks across
Discovery Holiday Parks are another parks ownership company which has parks in all states, including some which are part of the groups such as Big 4, Top Tourist and Family Parks. There is no membership or discounts, but specials are advertised on the web site from time to time.
Some caravan parks will give a discount to Senior’s or Pensioner Concession Card holders; it is worth asking if you have one of these cards.
Entrance fees, cruises etc can be high. However considering what it has cost you to get there, a shame not to spend a few more dollars
to see or do what ever it is. Be selective. Check out the alternatives. Someone may be charging a fee to see something such as a wildlife
event and you are paying for their talk and information. What is happening may well be able to be seen free nearby. Assess the value
of the information to you and your family before deciding whether to pay or not.
