Your next-door neighbour’s nephew spent £3,000; your best mate’s older sister spent £6,000; and the Aussie guy in the coffee shop said you’d only need around £4,000. So how much money do you need to travel to Australia and New Zealand, for 3 months?
There’s never going to be a consistent answer. Some people will eat more, drink less, give hitch-hiking a go, refuse to share a dorm, hire a campervan and put up without certain comforts. Everyone will have their own very different expectations of what they want from a trip to Australia and New Zealand, but we believe it’s possible to calculate a rough budget guide.
Personally, I took only £1,200 when jetting off to Australia to go backpacking for a year. That sounds insane, right? But it was over 15 years ago and I planned to start working out there 1 month into my trip.
I’ve broken down the three months into eight weeks in Australia, including two weeks in a campervan, and four weeks in New Zealand. Remember, this is just a rough guide, and prices can (and do) fluctuate. If you have some personal experiences on the cost of travel in this region, add to the conversation via the comment thread below.
How much does accommodation cost in Australia?
Compared to other popular backpacking destinations, such as Southeast Asia, accommodation in Australia doesn’t come cheap. Dorm prices range from around £16-27 per night, depending on how many people you share with. The more popular cities, such as Sydney and Melbourne, and others along the east coast, will sit at the higher end of the scale.
Private rooms in hostels will cost at least £20 more than dorms, and hotels start from £60 per person. Our advice ― stick to the dorms!
So if you’re spending six weeks in shared hostel accommodation, which is on average about £20 per night, then you’re looking at a bill for around £672.
How much does food and drink cost in Australia?
The cost of food and drink is quite similar to the UK. However things work a bit differently here, it can be cheaper to eat out in Australia compared to the UK if you know a few good local food places but grocery shopping costs quite a bit more than in the UK. It’s going to get heavy paying for three meals a day and hitting the bars and clubs every night, so it’s advisable to have a few nights off from the booze, and enjoy a hearty, low-cost hostel-cooked meal as often as you can.
There are two main supermarkets in Australia ― Coles and Woolworths ― and they’re perfect for picking up the basics. Stocking up on a week’s worth of food shopping would cost around £40, which works out to £5 a day and £320 for the full 8-week duration.
How much does it cost for food and drink in Australia
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant: £7
Sit-down meal for 2: £50
McDonalds meal: £6.30
Bottle of 500ml water: £1.50 (Australian tap water is safe to drink)
Can of coke: £1.70
Beer: £4.50 – £7.50
Bag of goon / Cask wine (2 litres of cheap, hangover-inducing wine): £7
So if we’re looking at £5 per day from your weekly shop, at least one beer a day, one goon bag a week, about 7 ‘meals on the go’, and a can of coke or a bottle of water a day, your daily food and drink spend comes to around £20, which equates to £1120 over the 8 weeks.
Cost of getting around Australia
Australia is huge, so this will have an effect on the cost of your trip, and is likely to devour your budget like a hungry croc. One of the most cost-effective ways of getting around would be a campervan (more on that later) but you can also get some very reasonable domestic flights and cheap coaches.
A one-way flight from Sydney to Melbourne, for example, will cost around £55, or if you’re looking at heading from the East Coast to West Coast, Melbourne to Perth one-way starts from around £99.
Rail travel is also a great shout, and there are loads of cross-country passes available that are valid for three months.
The rail Explorer Passes set you back around £90 per region e.g NSW to Queensland. You can also explore both coastal and outback Australia including Darwin, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth if you want to try a very long distance train.
Riding the Greyhound or Firefly bus is another popular choice. Greyhound Travel Passes range from £70 for 500km to £1530 for 25,000km. Firefly bus journeys from £40 for a Sydney to Melbourne trip.
If you get the Rail Explorer Pass, a 500km Greyhound pass, and book at least one flight for £45, you’ll part with £454. You will likely base yourself in some of Australia’s cities on more than one occasion, so be sure to set aside some cash for public transport. A train fare in Melbourne starts from £2.60 and taxis in Sydney will set you back £8 for 3km.
Taking all the above into account, a budget of about £17-£22 per day should cover you for state-to-state, and inner-city transport over 6 weeks.
What will It cost to enjoy two weeks in a Campervan
Travelling by campervan is a hugely popular, accessible, and great way to see the best of Australia. This option doubles up as your transport and accommodation in one so it’s a very economical way of getting around and you can travel at your own pace.
Remember, you can’t just ‘camp’ anywhere in your van as you will usually need to pay to pitch up in an official spot for the night. Park anywhere, and you’ll risk an early and unwelcome wake-up call from the police and a hefty fine.
Estimated cost per person of a two week trip from Brisbane to Cairns (1065 miles) in a 3-berth camper:
Campervan from £185 each (based on a 3-berth camper fr £41 per day)
Petrol cost from £50 each
Camping ground hire from £100 (roughly £21 per night per campervan)
The total cost to hire a campervan for two weeks equals £335
Cost of travelling around in New Zealand
Your eight weeks in Australia is over, and you’ve landed in the adventure capital of the world, New Zealand. Although tiny in comparison to the beast that is Australia, this place still has so much to offer in its small space.
Domestic flights are cheap as chips here. A one-way flight from Auckland in the North Island, to Christchurch in the South Island will cost you around £40.
But it’s the hop-on hop-off bus passes that are in my opinion the best way to see New Zealand. If you’re spending 3-4 weeks here, grab yourself a Kiwi Experience pass I did and I still label it as one of the best holidays of my life. Most passes will take you around both islands, and although you could probably save some money arranging your own transport, you’ll miss out on some awesome experiences that only the guides will know and not to forget the awesome people that you meet. I’m still in touch with people 15 years later!
The Zephyr Pass costs £665 and requires at least 21 days to complete. Perfect if you’re spending a month in New Zealand as you can stay longer in a couple of places.
How much does accommodation cost in New Zealand?
Kiwi Experience passes don’t include accommodation, and you’re free to book up wherever you want at each stop but they do have preferred providers. Dorm rooms are a little cheaper than Australia and average around £17 per night. For a private room you’re looking at £25.
28 nights at £17 per night totals £476.
Cost of food and drink in New Zealand
If you’ve ever met anyone that’s been to New Zealand, chances are they’ve mentioned Fergburger and Hells Pizza. Fast food here is fantastic, so be prepared to part with a little more cash than in Australia.
Kiwi Experience is known for its party nights, so take a dose of willpower and try not to blow your budget entirely on alcohol. It is hard to stay inside most nights though.
How much does it cost for food and drink in New Zealand?
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant: £7
Sit-down meal for 2: £44
McDonalds meal: £6
Bottle of 500ml water: £1.41 (New Zealand tap water is safe to drink)
Can of Coke: £1.55
Beer: £4.50 – £7.00
Roughly £20 per day is a realistic amount, and would keep you covered for grabbing food on the go and stocking up on essentials. Keep the costs down by whipping up some decent sandwiches in hostel kitchens whenever you can.
Total food and drink costs for four weeks totals £560.
Cost of Adrenaline Sports in Australia and New Zealand
You can’t always put a price on fun, and although there’s lots of free fun to be had in Australasia, there’s also a lot that’ll burn a very deep hole in your pocket. But believe me, it’s worth it, you have to do something here that you will remember forever.
The type of activities you choose depends on the person you are, so it’s impossible to estimate how much you’ll spend. What I will do here is list six of our top-selling activities in Australia and New Zealand, so you can get a rough idea of how much the good times could set you back.
1. Learn to dive on the Great Barrier Reef from £510
2. Byron Bay surf lesson from £40
3. Official Neighbours tour from £38
4. Skydive in Taupo, New Zealand from £130
5. Bungy jump and bungy swing, Queenstown from £90
6. Hike the Fox Glacier from £50
This all adds up to £858, but I’d recommend rounding this up to £950 for activities as there are other smaller ones you will want to try. I didn’t even intend to climb the Fox glacier but here I am…
So there you have it, I hope that answers the question of how much money you will need to travel Australasia for 3 months – Allowing for some enjoyable food and drink experiences it will cost you around £5,000.
This is just for accommodation, transport, food, drink and activities, and doesn’t include money for miscellaneous items. Remember, this isn’t a stab at getting by on a minimum budget, it’s a realistic and general estimate. You can definitely save more with campervan options and shopping around on food and accommodation.
Does that sound like a lot? If so then maybe check working holiday options in Australia and New Zealand, and earn some cash while you travel, which is exactly what I did and loved it. You can work for a few weeks or months and save for your next 1-2 month travel so you extend your overall trip but you will create more memories along the way.