If you don’t care about luxury, don’t mind putting yourself in slightly dangerous situations and throw yourself into the deep and stepping out of your comfort zone, than this is the article for you!
Australia is one of the most expensive countries in the world and your wallet will not love you for it. But there is good news, it is absolutely possible to travel on the cheap in Aussie! Let’s make a list of things that makes your wallet cry if you don’t look for alternative ways of traveling. The biggest expenses will be; accomodation, transport and ofcourse all the tours you want to do. There is a solution for all of these money-eating problems.
For accomodation on the cheap, you have a few options. Wildcamping is allowed in Australia and certainly a good and adventurous option. Everywhere across Australia there are BBQ area’s you can use for free and also places to shower. It really is a walhalla for people that love to camp.
There is also the couchsurf community, which I used a lot in Australia. Couchsurfing is a great way to meet awesome new like minded people to have a good time with. You sleep with locals in their home for free. You can sign up for free and see who has a couch available in the area you are heading next! Another big plus is that they usually love to take you out on trips as well to show you a bit of their country. Most Australians I met are so proud of their country that they can’t wait to show you as much as possible. Another lovely thing about couchsurfing is that you really get to interact with the locals. I have to say that I met the most amazing people while surfing their couch and I still am in contact with most of them today!
There is also the couchsurf community, which I used a lot in Australia. Couchsurfing is a great way to meet awesome new like minded people to have a good time with. You sleep with locals in their home for free. You can sign up for free and see who has a couch available in the area you are heading next! Another big plus is that they usually love to take you out on trips as well to show you a bit of their country. Most Australians I met are so proud of their country that they can’t wait to show you as much as possible. Another lovely thing about couchsurfing is that you really get to interact with the locals. I have to say that I met the most amazing people while surfing their couch and I still am in contact with most of them today!
Transport is also a huge money eating problem, especially in a country as big as Australia. There are a few ways to travel on the cheap when it comes to transport in Australia.
The first one is, what else could it be, hitchhiking! It is free, it is amazing and you meet amazing locals and hear amazing stories! Yes it’s a bit more dangerous than taking the Greyhound bus, but as long as you’re really careful, there is not much to worry about. You can find a how to post about safe hitching here.
It’s super easy to hitchhike in Australia and especially as a girl alone you won’t have to wait long. I hitched a few 100 kilometers with another girl and that was really quick as well. Longest waiting time was probably 10 minutes.
The other way is to try to find a relocation car. A relocation car is a rental car that needs to go to another city in Australia. The rental company will give you the car for free in exchange that you bring it to their other rental location in another city. You do have to pay for your own gas, so I recommend to place an ad on gumtree to search for people who look for rideshares. That way you can split the costs for fuel and hit the road on the cheap! If you can’t find a relocation car, which is likely to happen since they are very populair among backpackers, you can place an ad on gumtree that you are looking for a rideshare. You will probably have better luck with that.
The first one is, what else could it be, hitchhiking! It is free, it is amazing and you meet amazing locals and hear amazing stories! Yes it’s a bit more dangerous than taking the Greyhound bus, but as long as you’re really careful, there is not much to worry about. You can find a how to post about safe hitching here.
It’s super easy to hitchhike in Australia and especially as a girl alone you won’t have to wait long. I hitched a few 100 kilometers with another girl and that was really quick as well. Longest waiting time was probably 10 minutes.
The other way is to try to find a relocation car. A relocation car is a rental car that needs to go to another city in Australia. The rental company will give you the car for free in exchange that you bring it to their other rental location in another city. You do have to pay for your own gas, so I recommend to place an ad on gumtree to search for people who look for rideshares. That way you can split the costs for fuel and hit the road on the cheap! If you can’t find a relocation car, which is likely to happen since they are very populair among backpackers, you can place an ad on gumtree that you are looking for a rideshare. You will probably have better luck with that.
By couchsurfing and hitchhiking I was able to cut the costs dramatically and travel really cheap.
And if you are not up for these kind of adventures, there is always the option of working, saving money and party hard!
And if you are not up for these kind of adventures, there is always the option of working, saving money and party hard!
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