Here we bring you a detailed post about how much a 3-week campervan trip to Australia costs , divided into sections: flights, campervan rental, petrol, accommodation, food and other expenses. To make the calculation we focused on our road trip through South Australia, from Perth to Melbourne .
How much does a trip to Australia cost?
We knew that a campervan trip through Australia would not be exactly cheap, although we had already had a first experience of a road trip in a country with similar prices such as the USA and a campervan trip along Route 66. But there is always the question of how much a campervan trip through Australia costs .
Our route was from Perth to Melbourne and we completed the trip in 3 weeks , and we have to be honest, it's not a super cheap trip, but if you adapt to camping life, save on accommodation and food and get a deal on flights, it doesn't have to be an expensive trip either.
Below we detail all the expenses in sections, and at the end you will find a summary with the total cost of the road trip through Australia.
Take out IATI travel insurance with a 5% discount here . Whatever your destination, save yourself trouble and don't take any chances.
1. Flights
Flying to the antipodes doesn't have to be as expensive as it seems. We arrived in Perth from Asia, where we spent a few months, on a flight from Bali for €110, although if you look in advance and are flexible, you can find flights between €50 and €60 . There are also good offers from Singapore . Flights to Asia are not expensive so it's not a bad idea to stop off for a few days in an Asian destination.
→ Compare and find cheap flights on the Skyscanner website
To travel directly from Spain on a return flight to Australia, the price starts from €600, but it is not easy to find offers for less than €700 with decent stopovers. The cheapest solution is to fly with Scoot from Athens, with a stopover in Singapore. There are flights to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne or Gold Coast from €200! And return flights from those destinations with the same prices. Now you would have to look for flights to Athens and find the best combination (from €50 one way).
So a round trip flight, including a stopover in Athens, can cost around €600 per person round trip and it is not too difficult to find one.
2. Van / Motorhome Rental
The best way to travel around Australia is by renting a van or motorhome. There are many rental companies so we think it's best to use a comparison site like Motorhome Republic . We used this one and everything went well. These search engines are the best way to find competitive prices .
Please note:
- Daily prices : a daily price always applies, which is often reduced for long-term rentals (from two weeks).
- Peak season : prices are usually higher between November and March, when it is peak season in Australia. From April onwards you will see more offers (even relocations , which we explain below).
- Different routes, different prices : On less touristy routes such as the one between Perth and Melbourne, prices are somewhat higher. For example, on the east coast you can find prices between 10 and 20% lower. Likewise, the direction of your route influences prices. We were offered excellent offers directly from Apollo for the Cairns to Melbourne route, because in general people tend to do it the other way around and need to return the vans to the origin offices.
- One-way rate : This is usually included for rentals between these two cities, but it is worth clarifying your doubts before making your reservation.
- Prices without insurance extension : the prices shown are for the most basic rental, which includes insurance with excess. What does this mean? When you go to pick up the car you will have to leave a deposit with a credit card, which is the maximum amount you will pay in the event of an accident. The amount depends on the company; at Cheapa Campa, which is the one we chose, it is 2,700AUD (about €1,700). Keep this in mind when increasing the limit on your card!
- Take out comprehensive insurance : this way you don't have to leave a deposit and they also usually include some extras, such as chairs and tables, sheets and towels, some taxes, etc. The price depends on the package, but is between 30 and 40 AUD per day.
- Roadside assistance and wheel and glass protection : this coverage is always included separately from the previous one and usually costs around 6-8AUD per day.
The total price of renting a Hitop style van for 21 days is around 1,100AUD , about 700€ ( 350€ per person if you travel as a couple) . These prices are in April, in low season. We rented the Hitop from Cheapa Campa , luckily when we arrived to pick it up they had upgraded us to a Euro Tourer !!
→ Use the Motorhome Republic comparison tool to get the best prices on van rentals.
Did you know that rent can be almost free?
There is an option called “ relocation ” where you can rent a car or van (from €1 per day) to take you from one office to another, depending on the needs of each company. These are usually very specific offers, on specific dates and leaving only a few days of travel. There are several websites where these offers appear, we always look at Imoova .
→ Here we give you all the information about what relocation is .
3. Gasoline
The good news is that petrol is quite cheap in Australia (on average €0.87 per litre of diesel ). The price of unleaded petrol is usually slightly lower than that of diesel, but only slightly. On the route from Perth to Melbourne that we took, we travelled a total of 5,423 km.
The van we drove is bigger than the normal Hitop, but we were going quite slowly, not going over 100km/h and doing very low averages (we are becoming expert petrol savers), doing the math in the end we ended up consuming an average of 8.75 litres/100km (against the 12 indicated on the data sheet!).
The total cost we incurred in gasoline (diesel) was 660AUD, about 420€ ( 210€ per person if you travel as a couple).
Litres of petrol → 475 litres
Total cost → 660$ (420€)
— — — — —
Average consumption → 8.75 l/100km
Average price per litre of diesel → 1.39$ (0.87€)
Average cost per 100km → 12.15$ (7.6€)
To find out the price of gasoline in different areas of the country we use the Fuel Map Australia app .
4. Accommodation
We occasionally stayed in Caravan Parks (paying campsites) and some YHA hostels in the cities, but in general you can save all or most nights of accommodation by travelling in a campervan.
As a guide, a pitch in a medium-sized caravan park , with electricity for a van and two people, usually costs around 30 or 40 AUD. The price includes a pitch for the caravan and 2 people (you will also have the right to use hot showers, a kitchen with a BBQ/oven, etc.). There are cheaper and more expensive ones, depending on the services, location, how well maintained it is, etc. If you look at the WikiCamps Au app you will see many comments, photos and prices. Keep in mind that if you don't need many facilities and are happy with simpler sites, you can find cheaper campsites/caravan parks (from 20 AUD).
As for YHA hostels in the cities , you can find a bed in a shared room for around 25-30 AUD.
But, as we said, you can do the whole trip without paying a dollar for accommodation.
5. Food
But you won't just save on accommodation with the van, but also on food! You can cook as often as you like in the campervan's kitchen and the prices in the supermarkets aren't excessive (we have an article on reference prices pending). To give you an idea, with around $300 for two people you can buy groceries for those 3 weeks, with a few treats (a few steaks and a few beers from time to time). So that would be around €100 per person .
If your budget allows, it's also a good idea to eat out from time to time. You can find good deals on lunchtime dishes with beer for around 15-20AUD (or less), and enjoy happy hours (you can almost always find beer for 5-7AUD) . There are a few recommended places on this website .
Tip: Water is free (tap water) so if you want to save money avoid drinking shakes or soft drinks.
6. Other expenses
To complete the summary of how much a trip to Australia costs, we will have to add another item of unavoidable miscellaneous expenses. These are:
→ Tickets to attractions and national parks
There are some paid attractions that may be worthwhile, and to enter the national parks you also have to pay for a pass (there are ones per day/park or per state). We aim for 50€ per person for this item . We only paid for the Cape Le Grand park ($13 per vehicle).
→ Travel insurance
It is essential to have good travel insurance, as you already know, health is no joke, especially in a country like Australia! The Iati Estrella Premium insurance , which covers up to €500,000, costs around €101 per person for 21 days. Including the 5% discount if you purchase from this link .
→ Miscellaneous expenses
As with every trip, you have to take into account a certain amount of miscellaneous expenses. This is usually the catch-all and the one that is the least likely to be calculated in advance, but we estimate a total of €50 per person.
Total miscellaneous expenses per person: €201
Summary of how much a trip to Australia costs
After breaking down all the types of expenses to take into account, we can now answer the question of how much does a trip through southwest Australia by van cost? Here we summarize the total budget per person based on a 3-week trip for two people, from Perth to Melbourne.
Flights → €600
Van rental: → €350
Gasoline → 210€
Accommodation → 0€
Food → 100€
Miscellaneous expenses → €201
TOTAL → 1.461€
We hope that now you have a better idea of how much a 3-week trip to Australia costs . As always, keep in mind that when it comes down to it, it is you who decides how and how much to spend, but we believe that this budget can help you out quite well!
