Realistic budget suggestions please...

gday kylie.
when we first started camping we used to stay in caravan parks ect(4 kids 2adults about $30 unpowered) what do you get shower and toilet thats it .so we started putting away for things like porta loo and helton heat exchanger(hot water for shower)now on our way to camping spots we live in vic and like to visit qld we just stop over in truck stops legal and costs nothing and most have toilets.
cheers heres a start
you reckon your cute
richard(eskimo)
but im a lot cuter

V8 Bronco on gas isnt going to make that much difference... They are one of the thirstyest.. That will cost you heaps..

Enjoy the trip.

As a rule of thumb $100 per day when you are travelling and $10-$20 per day staying in camp. Caravan Parks cost extra for the day stay of course. See if you can pick up casual work to help out with the budget. There is always work to be had in the outback.

Cheers,

Willem

Always going somewhere

Hi Kylie

We're about to set off on nearly 4 months with 2 Adults, a 3 y/o and a 10month old. We're budgeting $60 a day / night. I figure that few places will cost more than $30 a night to camp, and hope to find plenty that are much cheaper, if not free (certain camping books cost no more than a night's accommodation, and may lead to you saving heaps). That leaves at least $30 a day for everything else.

We've worked fuel out on distance we're expecting to travel - taken road from A to B then doubled it for all of the fun investigating stuff you do - then applied our fuel economy.

We've also worked out a budget for known things we want to do (Whale sharks at Ningaloo reef, Fishing charter from Broome etc.), and also allowed an amount for car repairs etc.

Best travel advice I ever read was "pack up everything you want to take. Then unpack half of it, and take twice as much money" I've found it wise advice for wherever and however you go!!

Enjoy the trip!

Rob

You will save a fortune bush camping. If you avoid eating out and increace vegetable and pasta/rice intake and decrease meat intake there is no reason why you cannot do it on $400 per week. Some weeks will be a total blowout due to long travell distances and fuel consumption and other week will see nothong spent especially of you are a long way fom nowhere..

Having spent 2 years on the road, and being previously used to eating in resturants 4 nights per week, my wife and I soon found that ,without income, we would have to spend less to increase the holiday duration. We developed a couple of rule to help stretch the dollars. $40k spent in 2 years including 4 months renting townhouse in Darwin and a rear diff overhaul,full set of tyres and deep cycle battery for the troopy and 55000km worth of fuel

STOP IMPULSE SPENDING> Keep change in a box or the ashtray in the car. If you want a loaf of bread take $3.00 out of the tray and go to the shop and buy it. It is too easy to walk in with a $20 and ...oh we need some jam , or , lets get a packet of biscuits etc etc

Anothe tip is to camp a long way from a shop. this helps inforce the tip above too.

MAke lunch every day.

Catch fish, crabs and prawns etc.

There is no need to be stingey just spend it carefully.

taking on same journey later this year , good question , hope your takin laptop to inform us on progress. jtbrather be fishing

When travelling I do what I want and dont check the balance until I get home. Realistically though It will almost certainly cost you almost twice as much as you thought and although you worked out the distances you will travel 50% further and it will be much more worth it.

Hello Kylie,

18 months ago, we took off for a 3 month trip (not quite a year) that will give you some idea of what to expect.

We: a family of five, At the time of the trip 2 Adults, 3 children aged 2yrs, 4yrs and 6yrs.
Vehicle: A Subaru Liberty pulling a homemade camping trailer, not the sleep in it kind - but a one half kitchen and the other half packing kind.

Our budget for the first week - this will give you a guide and you can work on it to make it better with more experience...

Petrol $210 (budget $30 p/d) $309.07 (actual)
Accom $175 (budget $25 p/d) $199.20 (actual)
Food $175 (budget $25 p/d) $305 (actual)
Touring / activities $175 (budget $25 p/d) $27 (actual)

What does this tell you ...

1. You can always spend more money.
2. Petrol and Food always seem to cost more, We were not big on take aways but I was learning how to store and use "normal" food. As the time progressed I found that I had overstocked on the foods, I thought I would use and never did! These mistakes took a few weeks to iron out.
3. We overspent of Accomodation - as I was determined to get away on the day we had planned - we did but we weren't set up of camping straight away and stayed in a Motel for the first night. This extravagence was curtailed for those inevitable nights that we really couldn't bear putting up the tent (thunderstorms, kids bawling, the decision to keep on driving and to find a cabin instead!)
4. We made do with things that we could do for free and saved the "touring" money for those activities that you just couldn't say "no" to. Reef trips, Dinosaur footprints, lava tubes (we went up the Northwest NSW & QLD then across to the East coat and up to Cape Trib and then down to home (Canberra).

In the end... We actually kept to our budget of about $100 per day. Sometimes we overspent on big "musthaves" but we always made it back again by being careful. Sometimes touring money was spent on accomodation and sometimes a night out in a restaurant (not often with 3 kids!). The budget included some big tick items: reef trip; staying on an outback station; two trips to hospital for kids with ticks to be removed or rehydration due to excessive vomiting - in Cloncurry 250km round trip from the station; Undara Larva Tubes tour and accom; "Breakfast with the birds" in Port Douglas (our eldest child's "must have"; a night accomodation in a really expensive B&B for my husband and I (no kids) in Noosa hinterland; and numerous Zoo's and the like!

we had fun - but found that we had more fun in the simple places where you could feed the birds for free for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the end we were doing better than our budget. We have the tripping around now down to about $70 per day, mostly the spending is on petrol.

I would be glad to give you more info on what and how we did the trip.

Cazo