The Statistics
Number of days spent in country – 48
Cities/towns visited – Bussleton, Margaret River, Alice Springs, Kings Canyon, Yulara, Cairns, Port Douglas, Sydney, Manly, Melbourne, Hobart, Sorell, Port Aurthur, Coles Bay, St Helens, Pyengana, Scottsdale, Launceston, Westbury, Deloraine, Meander, Chudleigh, Mole Creek, Gowrie Park, Strahan, Queenstown
Number of different lodgings – 20
Flights – 6
Bus journeys – 14
Boat rides – 6
Combi/collective/taxi journeys – 3
Car rentals – 5
The Budget
Australia was a challenge on our budget, partly because it’s really expensive, and partly because we were travelling with family for most of the trip. We took a lot of cross-country flights, which bumped up our budget in a major way (you can see from the chart the travel costs were HALF our budget). Our accommodation costs were also significantly higher than if we had been on our own, though we did share rooms or get family rooms most of the time and we had two weeks of basically free nights from time share exchanges and hotel points from my mom.
Total US dollar amount spent – $10, 121
Average cost per day, per person – $105.43. We spent around $121 when we were travelling with our family, $70.53 when we were on our own.
Average lodging cost per night, per person – $39.10 We only had to pay for lodging for 25 of the 47 nights we were in Australia, thanks to some timeshare exchanges, loads of free-camping in Tasmania, some couchsurfing, and the generosity of a few friends of friends. We stayed in motels with my parents, and spent a week in an airbnb apartment in Melbourne. Australia had the most expensive lodging, even when looking at the cost of staying in hostel dorm rooms, that we encountered on our entire trip.
Most expensive lodging, per person – $76.50 at the Ayers Rock Resort. Yikes.
Least expensive lodging, per person – $3.20 for a campsite outside of Strahan, Tasmania.
Average food/drink cost per day, per person – $19.20 With a few exceptions we self-catered. We did have quite a few fish and chips lunches, and a few very nice dinners out.
The Best
Travacalm – You may know that I have a bit of a problem with motion sickness. And by a bit, I mean a huge problem. This is particularly true when the motion involves water, and it is a rare occasion that I escape a boat ride without throwing up at least once. So, you can imagine my delight when I was introduced to Travacalm, which appears to be the only motion sickness medicine that ACTUALLY WORKS! I discovered it on our snorkel trip to the Great Barrier Reef (more about that below). I spent the whole crazy choppy trip out to the reef literally willing myself not to puke as at least 5 people all around me were getting sick. I could only hold out so long though, and ended up being pretty sick just prior to getting into the water. Fortunately, being in the water really helps, so I was feeling much better by the time we were ready to head back to shore. One of the crew members was handing out Travacalm to those of us with seasickness and for the first time in my life I survived a really rocky ride of nearly an hour and a half back to shore without feeling so much as a twinge of dizziness. You can’t buy this stuff in the USA, so I promptly went to the pharmacy and bought 10 boxes. For real.
Wavelength Great Barrier Reef Snorkel trip – If you get all the way to Cairns or Port Douglas, you’d be remiss to not make it out to the Great Barrier Reef. There are quite a few companies ready to take your money, so you need to really look around for what you want. For us, it was important to have a trip just for snorkeling, and we didn’t want to be on a boat with hundreds of other people who would then be crowding around us in the water and scaring all the fish away. That’s why we went with Wavelength. They take only about 30 passengers, are totally snorkel dedicated, and ended up being a great choice for us. They give you a full-coverage stinger suit (to protect from jellyfish stings) and pool noodles to help you float lazily along.
Smiths Salt and Vinegar chips – We have a real weakness for salt and vinegar chips, and these were the best flavor we found in all of Australia.
$2 sushi rolls in Melbourne – Another way to ease your budget blues! You can get cheap and tasty sushi rolls all over the city. I only needed two to fill me up for a lunch!
Fish n’ Chips – As a former colony of England, Australia really has nailed the art of fish n’ chips. We sampled this classic favorite all over the continent, and it rarely disappointed us. It was also pretty easy on our budget, especially compared to the high cost of restaurant meals.
Bondi to Coogee Beach walk outside of Sydney – We spent the better part of a day strolling along this famous coastal walk, and it was totally worth it. Especially when you end at a rooftop bar overlooking the ocean. Bliss!
Getting out into the wilderness – Australia has some serious nature. From the Outback to the Gold Coast, to the rugged mountains of Tasmania, to the wine valleys, to the rain forests north of Cairns… this continent has it all. I highly recommend reading Bill Bryson’s In a Sunburned Country
to get a real sense of just how wild Australia really is.
Wine Tasting – Australia is famous for a lot of things, one of them is fantastic wine. You can visit a variety of different wine regions, but we spent most of our time in the Margaret River Valley, which is south of Perth. It was awesome, and most of the tastings were FREE! Just make sure you have a designated ‘skipper’.
Tasmania – If you like nature and hiking and camping and beautiful scenic vistas, then you should go. Really, just go. Make sure you have at LEAST 10 days to really do it justice. We had 16 and we could have easily spent twice as long.
The Worst
Australia was great, and the only part we really disliked is that the US dollar is not so strong at the moment…which made it a very expensive trip. Still, that’s not Australia’s fault, but just be prepared to drop more cash than you might have originally planned for.
The Parallel Life 