Who told you Australia was expensive? Someone that didn't do it on the cheap like me...
I've heard from loads of people that have gone backpacking in the land down under that it is a dear or expensive place to travel. These people really must be living a luxury lifestyle if that's their impression of the land down under. Australia has to have been one of the cheapest places I have ever travelled and worked in, I earned tons of money when I was living there, enough to take four months off work. Young and inexperienced backpackers must be doing things wrong if they find it expensive. Maybe they are perhaps ill-informed, badly prepared or just spending their cash in the wrong way. I've concocted 12 sure fire reasons, all from personal experience on how to live cheaply 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 insist on eating out - then head to pubs that do $10 steaks and such offers. They often throw in a beer or a soft drink for this. One of the tricks I used while in Australia is monitoring pubs that did cheap big meals and the times they apply. I found that most of them are lunchtime specials. In which case, it's hardly a big deal to transfer your main meal of the day from dinner to lunch. Eat cereals and toast for breakfast. Don't be afraid to venture into Hungry Jacks or McDonalds for a cheap breakfast either. Hungry Jacks also offer unlimited refills - take your flask in. They're not going to chase out paying customers. And McDonalds has free wi-fi. If all else fails stick to vegemite sandwiches! Top notch!
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 a Working Visa (of some kind) - I can't understand how those that are eligible for a working holiday visa in Australia don't use it. The amount of travellers I met in Australia that said "we're only here for 3 months so we're not working" then followed it up by "this place is dear", well why didn't you just get a working visa then? Even working for just a week or two in Australia can earn you over a thousand Australian Dollars.
5. Entrance Fees - Again it sounds obvious but don't be paying entry into places - there are loads of FREE things to see and do in Australia. Hiking for one, some amazing landscapes to see, beaches (completely free), fancy dress parties (make your own costumes for free), museums are often also free entry (including the amazing War Memorial in Canberra), as is walking across Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you want to see Koalas and Kangaroos - these can all be done for free. Kennet River on the Great Ocean Road is a decent spot for Koala watching at sunrise. Kangaroos and wallabies are hard to miss.
6. Coupons, vouchers and tokens - These are lying around everywhere and they are FREE to pick up. You see them in hostels, bars, bus stops, travel agents, airports etc. Next time you see a magazine or a leaflet - pick it up - they normally have vouchers inside them and often with discount off entry into places, cheap lunch or just general savings or tips which come in handy.
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. Nightclubs after 10pm - did you really go to Australia just to attend expensive nightclubs? I certainly didn't! You'll notice that after 9 or 10 pm (especially on weekends) the prices of drinks go up. Seriously to all those backpackers in Australia - get yourself a carryout, a box of goon and some tinnies and sit with your new found friends.
9. Don't Spend Too Much Time On the Internet - Facebook is great and all that but seriously you didn't go to Australia just to tell other people where you are and what you're doing. So stop moaning about the price of the internet - yes it costs a lot so don't pay it - simple. Here's a few alternatives (if you have brought a laptop with you) - eat at McDonalds and use their free wi-fi, buy a coffee in an internet cafe that has wi-fi (at least you have a coffee for your money), stay in a hostel that has free wi-fi. If you don't have a laptop - borrow from travel buddies if you really need to get online. And a long term cheaper option is to buy a USB stick which acts as a wireless internet modem - this is only recommended if you plan on staying in Australia for a while.
10. Don't book things in advance. Why pay a deposit online for a hostel that you will stay in next week? Scared it will sell out? In the event of that type of thing ever happening, you'll have your tent and can offer to sleep in the garden for a $5, most hostels will take pity on you and let you sleep on their sofas anyway. Book as you go, and if its hostels go into the cheapest dorm.
11. Laundry - The obvious is to wear the same clothes over and over again, and hand wash them. Done that myself manys a time. If you really feel the need to use laundry - get 2-3 cotton buds on sticks and stick them in the coin slots in the machines to get free laundry. Most of you reading will know this trick. A well known travellers "secret".
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 basically - get yourself over to Australia and enjoy it - but do it cheaply. Take my tips and have an amazing time in the crazy land down under!
Get out there and see Australia - what are you waiting for?
I've heard from loads of people that have gone backpacking in the land down under that it is a dear or expensive place to travel. These people really must be living a luxury lifestyle if that's their impression of the land down under. Australia has to have been one of the cheapest places I have ever travelled and worked in, I earned tons of money when I was living there, enough to take four months off work. Young and inexperienced backpackers must be doing things wrong if they find it expensive. Maybe they are perhaps ill-informed, badly prepared or just spending their cash in the wrong way. I've concocted 12 sure fire reasons, all from personal experience on how to live cheaply 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 insist on eating out - then head to pubs that do $10 steaks and such offers. They often throw in a beer or a soft drink for this. One of the tricks I used while in Australia is monitoring pubs that did cheap big meals and the times they apply. I found that most of them are lunchtime specials. In which case, it's hardly a big deal to transfer your main meal of the day from dinner to lunch. Eat cereals and toast for breakfast. Don't be afraid to venture into Hungry Jacks or McDonalds for a cheap breakfast either. Hungry Jacks also offer unlimited refills - take your flask in. They're not going to chase out paying customers. And McDonalds has free wi-fi. If all else fails stick to vegemite sandwiches! Top notch!
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 a Working Visa (of some kind) - I can't understand how those that are eligible for a working holiday visa in Australia don't use it. The amount of travellers I met in Australia that said "we're only here for 3 months so we're not working" then followed it up by "this place is dear", well why didn't you just get a working visa then? Even working for just a week or two in Australia can earn you over a thousand Australian Dollars.
5. Entrance Fees - Again it sounds obvious but don't be paying entry into places - there are loads of FREE things to see and do in Australia. Hiking for one, some amazing landscapes to see, beaches (completely free), fancy dress parties (make your own costumes for free), museums are often also free entry (including the amazing War Memorial in Canberra), as is walking across Sydney Harbour Bridge. If you want to see Koalas and Kangaroos - these can all be done for free. Kennet River on the Great Ocean Road is a decent spot for Koala watching at sunrise. Kangaroos and wallabies are hard to miss.
6. Coupons, vouchers and tokens - These are lying around everywhere and they are FREE to pick up. You see them in hostels, bars, bus stops, travel agents, airports etc. Next time you see a magazine or a leaflet - pick it up - they normally have vouchers inside them and often with discount off entry into places, cheap lunch or just general savings or tips which come in handy.
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. Nightclubs after 10pm - did you really go to Australia just to attend expensive nightclubs? I certainly didn't! You'll notice that after 9 or 10 pm (especially on weekends) the prices of drinks go up. Seriously to all those backpackers in Australia - get yourself a carryout, a box of goon and some tinnies and sit with your new found friends.
9. Don't Spend Too Much Time On the Internet - Facebook is great and all that but seriously you didn't go to Australia just to tell other people where you are and what you're doing. So stop moaning about the price of the internet - yes it costs a lot so don't pay it - simple. Here's a few alternatives (if you have brought a laptop with you) - eat at McDonalds and use their free wi-fi, buy a coffee in an internet cafe that has wi-fi (at least you have a coffee for your money), stay in a hostel that has free wi-fi. If you don't have a laptop - borrow from travel buddies if you really need to get online. And a long term cheaper option is to buy a USB stick which acts as a wireless internet modem - this is only recommended if you plan on staying in Australia for a while.
10. Don't book things in advance. Why pay a deposit online for a hostel that you will stay in next week? Scared it will sell out? In the event of that type of thing ever happening, you'll have your tent and can offer to sleep in the garden for a $5, most hostels will take pity on you and let you sleep on their sofas anyway. Book as you go, and if its hostels go into the cheapest dorm.
11. Laundry - The obvious is to wear the same clothes over and over again, and hand wash them. Done that myself manys a time. If you really feel the need to use laundry - get 2-3 cotton buds on sticks and stick them in the coin slots in the machines to get free laundry. Most of you reading will know this trick. A well known travellers "secret".
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 basically - get yourself over to Australia and enjoy it - but do it cheaply. Take my tips and have an amazing time in the crazy land down under!
Get out there and see Australia - what are you waiting for?
About the Author:
For more resourceful advice on doing Australia on the cheap check out Jonny Blair's resourceful travel, work and lifestyle site Dont Stop Living.