Who told you Australia was expensive? Someone that didn't do it on the cheap like me...
I've lost count of the amount of people that have said to me they thought me that Australia is a very expensive place to travel round. They must be missing out on some essential tips and tricks or maybe they are living the luxury lifestyle in the land down under. Australia, to be honest was one of the less expensive places I have ever worked and travelled round, I was making loads of money when I lived there, enough to take 4 months off work and travel full time. Many young backpackers must be going to the wrong places, or perhaps they are ill-informed, not properly prepared or just spending and wasting their money in the wrong ways. Here's 12 full proof ways to save money and reasons to prove the myth that Australia is expensive is wrong, all from my own experience of living in Australia.
1. Sleeping - Yes hostels are great but take a break away from them. Don't just spend your whole time in hostels getting pissed! Camping out is the best accomodation option for travelling cheap in Australia. A tent can be purchased for $15 - 20 and some nights you will end up camping out for free. Make a tent your home for a few months as you "backpack" your way round the land down under. Nearly all campsites have toilets and showers by the way, lots of them are also close to places where you can get part time and temporary jobs.
2. Eating - If you really insist on eating out - then head to bars that do the promotions such as $10 steaks. These bars often throw in a free beer or a soft drink as well. A good tip is monitoring bars that do cheap big meals and keep your eyes on the times they apply. I discovered that most of them tend to be specials at lunchtime. In that case, it's no big deal to change your main meal of the day from your dinner to your lunch. To save for breakfast eat cereals and toast. And don't be afraid to frequent Hungry Jacks or McDonalds for a budget breakfast either. Hungry Jacks also have unlimited drink refills - take your flask in and fill it up. They're not going to chase you away if you're a paying customer. Also McDonalds has free wi-fi as an advantage. And of course you can go wrong with vegemite sandwiches! Love them!
3. Transport - Don't be getting flights around Australia! I lived there for a couple of years and I never used an internal flight. Use the bus company Greyhound and book them early, even better idea is to hook up with others, get a car and off you go on a road trip - you have a car now which you should equip for sleeping in and stay on or near campsites with it. Cut your costs by sharing petrol and sharing lifts to work. Also if you are getting a Greyhound bus get it at night so that you save money on accommodation. These are simple and obvious things by the way but often neglected by travellers. Other good places to look are hostel notice boards and local travel websites. Gumtree and Facebook can also be useful.
4. Get some kind of a Working Visa - I don't understand travellers that are able to get a working holiday visa for Australia but yet they don't buy it. The number of travellers I met in the land down under that say things like "we only plan to stay for a few months so we're not planning to work" and then they follow it with "this place is expensive", so why didn't you get some kind of a working visa then?! Do it - even by working for a week or two in Australia can earn you over 1000 Australian Dollars.
5. Don;t pay entrance fees into places. There's a host of FREE things for you to see and do in the land down under. For example - hiking, fancy dress parties (make your costume), beaches, walking round cities etc. Some museums are even free as is walking along Sydney Harbour Bridge. Save money on wildlife viewing too. Australian marsupials such as kangaroos, wallabies and koalas can all be found in the wild for free so don't be paying entry to theme parks. A decent spot to see Koala Bears is Kennet River on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Kangaroos and wallabies are hard to miss if you get out of the cities...
6. Money saving coupons, tokens and vouchers - Seriously these types of coupons are everywhere and most travellers miss them. Try picking up leaflets and magazines in bars, travel agents, bus stations, airports etc and you will be extremely surprised to hear that they often contain money off and free entry vouchers. Sometimes you even get a free beer - head to the bar to get your free beer then leave!
7. Buy Value Brands - Value brands such as those available in Woolworths and Coles are worth buying. The quality of the food and drink is really not that much worse than the top brands to be honest and yu can live a healthy and stable eating lifestyle by buying the cheap stuff.
8. Avoid Nightclubs after 10pm - Ask yourself the question - did you go to Australia just to get drunk in nightclubs? No you didn't - you went to see the wonderful country and culture within. By all means visit some night clubs now and then but try and do it on a weeknight or a night with special offers. Most bars and clubs put their prices up after 10 pm (for entry and for drinks). The beer you had a 6pm on Happy Hour could have doubled in price by midnight. Do yourself a favour and have an early night or get a takeaway and have a cheap party at the hostel or campsite!
9. Cut Back On Using the Internet - I met a few people in Australia moaning about the price of the internet there. Well I have a lot of tips for this - main one is to maximise your use of free internet when you have it - if you're staying in a hostel that has free internet, take advantage of it (update blogs, upload photos etc.). Don't ever pay to use the internet. Some internet cafes have free wi-fi so try and travel with a laptop and take advantage of this - at least for the price you pay you will have a coffee. And don;t forget about McDonalds - yes as big a company as they are - they are cheap to eat at and they have free wi-fi. Another option is to pay for the USB wireless internet stick and top it up as you go - this way you can have internet ANY time you want and from anywhere in Australia - use it wisely.
10. Try not to book things in advance. Despite what you hear - don't be bookings too many things in advance. Advance bookings normally mean deposits and in Australia your plans change a lot so that hostel you just booked a night in for 2 weeks time might just be a wasted deposit as you've met another group of backpackers doing a road trip and now you're going with them. Only book something if you are 100% SURE you'll be doing it.
11. Doing Your Laundry. Best tip is to keep washing your stuff by hand as you go, and wear things more than once - it's not a contest of who can smell the best - you're here to travel and enjoy yourself! There's also a cotton bud travellers tip for using laundrettes or washing machines. You'll work it out if you don't already know it. Put cotton buds in the coin slot to get free washing!
12. Use Fake student ID - Yes things become cheaper when you have a student card. I'm not telling you to be fraudulent - just get a fake student ID card - you'll save entry fees in a lot of places - it's not like you're going to climb over the fence into zoos!
So all in all - get yourself to Australia and do it on the cheap. It really is a wonderful country to explore your way around. You will just love it.
Get out there and see Australia - what are you waiting for?
I've lost count of the amount of people that have said to me they thought me that Australia is a very expensive place to travel round. They must be missing out on some essential tips and tricks or maybe they are living the luxury lifestyle in the land down under. Australia, to be honest was one of the less expensive places I have ever worked and travelled round, I was making loads of money when I lived there, enough to take 4 months off work and travel full time. Many young backpackers must be going to the wrong places, or perhaps they are ill-informed, not properly prepared or just spending and wasting their money in the wrong ways. Here's 12 full proof ways to save money and reasons to prove the myth that Australia is expensive is wrong, all from my own experience of living in Australia.
1. Sleeping - Yes hostels are great but take a break away from them. Don't just spend your whole time in hostels getting pissed! Camping out is the best accomodation option for travelling cheap in Australia. A tent can be purchased for $15 - 20 and some nights you will end up camping out for free. Make a tent your home for a few months as you "backpack" your way round the land down under. Nearly all campsites have toilets and showers by the way, lots of them are also close to places where you can get part time and temporary jobs.
2. Eating - If you really insist on eating out - then head to bars that do the promotions such as $10 steaks. These bars often throw in a free beer or a soft drink as well. A good tip is monitoring bars that do cheap big meals and keep your eyes on the times they apply. I discovered that most of them tend to be specials at lunchtime. In that case, it's no big deal to change your main meal of the day from your dinner to your lunch. To save for breakfast eat cereals and toast. And don't be afraid to frequent Hungry Jacks or McDonalds for a budget breakfast either. Hungry Jacks also have unlimited drink refills - take your flask in and fill it up. They're not going to chase you away if you're a paying customer. Also McDonalds has free wi-fi as an advantage. And of course you can go wrong with vegemite sandwiches! Love them!
3. Transport - Don't be getting flights around Australia! I lived there for a couple of years and I never used an internal flight. Use the bus company Greyhound and book them early, even better idea is to hook up with others, get a car and off you go on a road trip - you have a car now which you should equip for sleeping in and stay on or near campsites with it. Cut your costs by sharing petrol and sharing lifts to work. Also if you are getting a Greyhound bus get it at night so that you save money on accommodation. These are simple and obvious things by the way but often neglected by travellers. Other good places to look are hostel notice boards and local travel websites. Gumtree and Facebook can also be useful.
4. Get some kind of a Working Visa - I don't understand travellers that are able to get a working holiday visa for Australia but yet they don't buy it. The number of travellers I met in the land down under that say things like "we only plan to stay for a few months so we're not planning to work" and then they follow it with "this place is expensive", so why didn't you get some kind of a working visa then?! Do it - even by working for a week or two in Australia can earn you over 1000 Australian Dollars.
5. Don;t pay entrance fees into places. There's a host of FREE things for you to see and do in the land down under. For example - hiking, fancy dress parties (make your costume), beaches, walking round cities etc. Some museums are even free as is walking along Sydney Harbour Bridge. Save money on wildlife viewing too. Australian marsupials such as kangaroos, wallabies and koalas can all be found in the wild for free so don't be paying entry to theme parks. A decent spot to see Koala Bears is Kennet River on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Kangaroos and wallabies are hard to miss if you get out of the cities...
6. Money saving coupons, tokens and vouchers - Seriously these types of coupons are everywhere and most travellers miss them. Try picking up leaflets and magazines in bars, travel agents, bus stations, airports etc and you will be extremely surprised to hear that they often contain money off and free entry vouchers. Sometimes you even get a free beer - head to the bar to get your free beer then leave!
7. Buy Value Brands - Value brands such as those available in Woolworths and Coles are worth buying. The quality of the food and drink is really not that much worse than the top brands to be honest and yu can live a healthy and stable eating lifestyle by buying the cheap stuff.
8. Avoid Nightclubs after 10pm - Ask yourself the question - did you go to Australia just to get drunk in nightclubs? No you didn't - you went to see the wonderful country and culture within. By all means visit some night clubs now and then but try and do it on a weeknight or a night with special offers. Most bars and clubs put their prices up after 10 pm (for entry and for drinks). The beer you had a 6pm on Happy Hour could have doubled in price by midnight. Do yourself a favour and have an early night or get a takeaway and have a cheap party at the hostel or campsite!
9. Cut Back On Using the Internet - I met a few people in Australia moaning about the price of the internet there. Well I have a lot of tips for this - main one is to maximise your use of free internet when you have it - if you're staying in a hostel that has free internet, take advantage of it (update blogs, upload photos etc.). Don't ever pay to use the internet. Some internet cafes have free wi-fi so try and travel with a laptop and take advantage of this - at least for the price you pay you will have a coffee. And don;t forget about McDonalds - yes as big a company as they are - they are cheap to eat at and they have free wi-fi. Another option is to pay for the USB wireless internet stick and top it up as you go - this way you can have internet ANY time you want and from anywhere in Australia - use it wisely.
10. Try not to book things in advance. Despite what you hear - don't be bookings too many things in advance. Advance bookings normally mean deposits and in Australia your plans change a lot so that hostel you just booked a night in for 2 weeks time might just be a wasted deposit as you've met another group of backpackers doing a road trip and now you're going with them. Only book something if you are 100% SURE you'll be doing it.
11. Doing Your Laundry. Best tip is to keep washing your stuff by hand as you go, and wear things more than once - it's not a contest of who can smell the best - you're here to travel and enjoy yourself! There's also a cotton bud travellers tip for using laundrettes or washing machines. You'll work it out if you don't already know it. Put cotton buds in the coin slot to get free washing!
12. Use Fake student ID - Yes things become cheaper when you have a student card. I'm not telling you to be fraudulent - just get a fake student ID card - you'll save entry fees in a lot of places - it's not like you're going to climb over the fence into zoos!
So all in all - get yourself to Australia and do it on the cheap. It really is a wonderful country to explore your way around. You will just love it.
Get out there and see Australia - what are you waiting for?
About the Author:
For more amazing advice on doing Australia on the cheap check out Jonny Blair's extensive travel, work and lifestyle website Dont Stop Living.. Also published at Living cheaply in the land down under - Australia!.
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