Australia is a huge country full of interesting things to see so I recommend you plan how to get around in Australia before you leave home. Here are links to cheap domestic flight tickets, bus travel in Australia, train travel in Australia, budget car hire in Australia, where to rent a caravan in Australia, or buy a second hand caravan. If you drive, don’t underestimate Australia’s road distances. It may be the world’s smallest continent but it’s as lagre as the whole mainland Europe, or the USA. It takes months to travel it all.
Australia Trip Route Planner: Cheap Domestic Flights Australia What if you haven’t got months of time for your Australia trip but still want to visit the most classic Australian destinations such as Sydney and Melbourne, the Great Barrier Reef and the tropical rainforests in the far north Queensland, red rock Uluru in the centre of Australia? Well, you may have to consider flying. It’s not a cheap option, but it saves you time if you’ve got the dollars. Here is some information about domestic flights in Australia.
Australia Trip Route Planner: Train Travel in Australia If you’ve got a little more time, catch a train. It definitely beats flying if you want to have some scenery, and it’s more comfortable than buses. Long-distance trains have bars and restaurants, and comfortable sleeping cabins. In the Queensland's new Tilt Train, you even have your own movie screen just like in an airplane. And the relatively new Ghan, which shuttles between Darwin and Adelaide, goes right through the red centre in the outback. Another great trip is from Adelaide to Perth, which crosses the Nullarbour Plain.
Australia Trip Route Planner: Budget Car Hire Australia But if you want the flexibility and freedom to get onto the roads less travelled, or if it just gets too much to read timetables and spend a considerable time of your trip standing at bus stops with all your bags – nothing beats renting a car. Some large Australian car rental companies are Avis, Budget, Delta Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty.
Australia Trip Route Planner: Rent a Caravan in Australia Renting a car can be cheaper than renting a campervan, but this leaves you with extra costs for dinners and accommodation. In a campervan you can do your cooking yourself, and you have the freedom to camp wherever you want along the road, instead of relying on towns with hotels and motels. On my first big trip around Australia, we rented a campervan and made our own trip: Sydney – Melbourne – Adelaide – Perth – Broome – Darwin – Alice Springs – Uluru – Broken Hill – Sydney (yeah, I know we missed Queensland on that trip but I knew I was going there the following year) and we had the opportunity to see the countryside between the cities, visit smaller towns on our own pace, and discover national parks, small swimming holes, deserts, goldmining country, the remote Kimberley, and camp in the bush.
Australia Trip Route Planner: Rent a Caravan in Australia It’s the best way of doing it, but remember Australia’s long distances – on our trip we drove almost 10,000km and it took us months, but you can of course cover a smaller area with less time and still enjoy your freedom on your own wheels. We rented a campervan from Britz for about A$120 a day (year 2001). If you want to make it cheaper, try Backpacker Campervans and Wicked Campers.
Australia Trip Route Planner: Buy a Second Hand Caravan or Car If you don’t believe in paying rent, you can buy a car and sell it after your trip, before you leave Australia. It may take you a few weeks to sell it, but it’s usually cheaper than renting. The most popular place to buy a backpacker car or campervan is the Kings Cross Carmarket in Sydney. If you are worried about how to get it sold again, Travellers Auto Barn and Car Connection make buy-back deals. And if you’re a really adventurous soul (that’s me!), get a 4WD. That’s how I travel nowadays. Get out there on dirt roads and find the real secret spots that are all for yourself.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
