One of the most popular ways to explore Australia is through a road trip. Especially through a campervan road trip! The scenery this country has to offer is just incredible. You can be driving on a deserted road, and if you look close enough, you might even spot koalas on the trees.
Before you get to explore this magnificent land with your campervan, there is still some planning that you need to do. In this article, I will share with you everything that you need to know to prepare for an incredible adventure. The topics I will cover are:
- Car vs. Campervan? Which one is usually cheaper and better
- Money & Costs
- How campgrounds and free camping work in Australia
- What clothes to pack for your adventurous road trip
- Do you need an International Driving Permit
- Sydney's Toll system
- Weather & when to go
- Visa for Australia
- Insurances
- Our recommended time for you to spend on this road trip
- Miscellaneous things like how to buy alcohol, firewood, groceries, and a local sim card
Car vs. Campervan?
Although Australia is a hotspot for campervanning, it is common to have the question of whether renting a car and staying at hotels/Airbnbs might be cheaper or better, which is a valid question.
We have researched for you, so you don't have to. You can find our answer and recommendation in our article: 'Car or Campervan: What Is Better and Cheaper?'.
Money & Costs for an East Coast Australia Road Trip
Rating: Mid-range. Average per person AU$2842 for 18 days (excluding flight)
Costs of renting a campervan in Melbourne
The daily rate for renting a campervan in the low season is AU$76 and AU$113 in high season.
For our 18-day campervan rental from Melbourne, we paid a total of AU$1,735. This price includes full insurance and unlimited kilometers.
We chose to rent from Spaceships in Melbourne because of the following reasons:
- No extra fee for one-way rentals. We dropped the van off in Brisbane
- Unlimited kilometers included in the rental price
- The bedding kit and kitchen kit are included in the rental price
- 24/7 drop off
We were very happy with our campervan rental, and we would rent from them again. We have created a curated list of all campervan rentals in Melbourne to help you compare them easily and be able to pick the rental company that best fits your needs.
Fuel costs for an 18-day campervan road trip along the East Coast of Australia
👉🏼 We spent a rough total of AU$563 on fuel to drive 3,412 km / 2,120 miles.
Campground/Holiday Park costs on the East Coast of Australia
Although the campground network on the East Coast of Australia is big, there are not so many National and State Park campgrounds to choose from. However, the vast majority of privately owned campgrounds offer a great place to spend the night. They are mainly called Holiday Parks and the average price per night is AU$43.
On our trip, we experienced the Wilson Promontory National Park in the state of Victoria to be our most expensive night with a price of AU$65 (which also included the National Park permit). Our cheapest night was at Pebbly Beach, another National Park Campground, at AU$25.
What about free camping? It is possible to free camp in Australia, although the spaces are hard to find. The spots are usually in the hinterlands and not so close to the coast. If you are interested in knowing where these spots are, make sure to check out the Spaceships App, which does a great job in showing you where free camping is allowed (marked with green pins).
Food costs for a campervan road trip along the East Coast of Australia
The budget you should have for food is always a bit tricky to determine. Mainly because it highly depends on your eating habits, diet, and preferences. So in this section, we will share with you our experience, so you may take that as a reference when budgeting for your trip.
While staying at campgrounds, we cooked every meal ourselves, and we ate three times a day (with some snacks in between). We only ate out in cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay, and Noosa.
We spent about AU$698 on supermarket purchases for two people, and AU$627 for dining out and drinking at bars.
Costs of activities on a road trip along the East Coast of Australian
On our 18-day road trip, we spent a total amount of AU$445 on activities for two people. The break down for this amount is:
- Entrance to Cape Otway: AU$39.00
- Kayak in Sydney: AU$250.00
- Swim @ Icebergs Pool: AU$16.00
- Rent bikes @ Brisbane: AU$18.00
- Rent a surfboard @ Surfer's Paradise: AU$50.00
- Surf Lesson @ Noosa: AU$72.00
Total Cost for an 18-Day Campervan Road Trip Along the East Coast of Australia
*based on our trip in April 2019
The Lowdown on Campgrounds on the East Coast of Australia
First and foremost, you need to know that campgrounds in Australia are generally called holiday parks. Most of these sites have full amenities like pools, game rooms, playgrounds for children, kitchen area, and more. A lot of holiday parks are quite big and can get quite crowded.
The campgrounds located inside of National Parks are generally less luxurious than the holiday parks, which means that they have fewer amenities and are a bit more rustic.
Self-check-in is not common practice. During our road trip, we were able to self-check-in in only one campground. Therefore, if you just want to show up at a campground without a previously made reservation, you should do so during their reception opening hours. Otherwise, you will not be able to get a spot.
If you are into campfires, which, who isn't? 😉 don't be surprised to notice that fire pits are not a standard to have on your campsite. In our experience, none of the spots we stayed at had a fire pit installed. The way locals do it is to bring their fire pit from home or find fire pits other campers have left behind. At some campgrounds, though, you will be able to rent a fire pit and buy firewood for an additional fee.
Unfortunately, we were only able to enjoy a campfire two times during our 18-day road trip.
If you would like to learn more about how campgrounds work and what to expect when you visit them, check out our article: 'How Do Campgrounds Work - a Quick Guide on How to Find, Book and Stay'.
What clothes to pack for your epic road trip along the East Coast of Australia
If you are an active traveler, like us, and are planning on doing some hikes or any other outdoor activities, it's important that you pack the right clothing to feel comfortable during your activities. Especially, considering the different climates you will experience. The Southern East Coast in Victoria can be very rough, windy and chilly, while the East Coast north of Sydney is perfect for shorts, t-shirts, and your beach outfit.
We prepared a whole article to help you out on what to pack for your next active adventures.
How does the toll system work in Sydney?
The Australian Toll System is 100% electronic, so unlike in Europe, you cannot pay it before you enter or after you exit the toll area in cash or with card.
Check with your rental company at pick up, whether your campervan has an electronic tag to capture the toll road usage. If it does, you should be invoiced for toll usage directly by your rental company, and you have to take no further action.
Should your campervan not have an etag, you will need to get your own electronic pass.
There are different providers for each state, and generally, you cannot use a toll pass for Victoria in New South Wales. The only provider that issues countrywide passes is Linkt.
You can pay quite easily online via Linkt and need your license plate number and the state of registration. You should pay the latest three days after you have used a toll road.
You can either pay with a one-time online payment or via an app to keep track of your charges. With the online payment, you will purchase a 30-day pass.
Either way, just make sure to contact Linkt via email or phone before you drop off your campervan to deactivate your pass so that the use of future renters won't be charged to your account.
In conclusion, try to stay away from toll roads to save you the hassle!
International Driving Permit for Australia: yes or no?
Yvonne has a German license, and I have a Guatemalan one. We asked our campervan rental company if an international driving permit was necessary, and they informed us that it wasn't. They also told us though that, should we have an accident or get pulled over by the police, they might ask for an international driving permit and we might get a fine by not having one. But most importantly, the insurance from the campervan rental company would cover without an international driving permit, so we didn't have one.
We would recommend you double-check with your campervan rental company before you travel to be sure and have all the necessary documents with you.
Weather & When to Go
The southern part of Australia is cooler than the northern part. So depending on which route you are doing: south to north (or vice versa), be sure to pack for really hot and a bit chillier days.
The best time to road trip the East Coast of Australia is during the shoulder season: spring and fall. This way you avoid the crowds, high season prices, and the heat.
The Boring Stuff
Visa for Australia
Everyone, except for New Zealanders, needs to apply for a visa online before leaving their home country. We recommend you to apply for the visa at least 1.5 months in advance.
When Yvonne visited Australia for the very first time, she got the visa almost immediately (the next day). However, when she and I applied for the visa for our campervan road trip, the process took a little over a month! We applied on the 15th of January and got it on the 18th of February. For both of us (German and Guatemalan passport), the online tourist visa was free.
Insurance for a campervan road trip along the East of Coast Australia
Road tripping is an adventurous journey. Anything could happen while you are on the road, at a campground, or out exploring some cool jungle. We highly recommend traveling with insurance to have some peace of mind while you are out there discovering the world.
We like to break down the things that need to be insured into four categories:
- Your health
- Your valuable stuff
- The campervan you are renting
- Third-party vehicles and people you might injure in an accident
We wrote a whole article talking about insurance and provide some advice that will help you better plan your trip.
How Much Time to Take for a Road Trip along the East Coast of Australia
We recommend the perfect amount of days for this road trip to be between 2.5 and 3 weeks. This does not mean, by any means, that anything less than that would not be worth traveling for. You will, of course, have less time to explore and should maybe shorten the route a little bit. However, Australia is so rich with nature that whatever you will see will definitely blow your mind away.
If you are super lucky and have more time on your hands to explore this beautiful country, you could spend months driving along the East Coast of Australia and maybe even continue up north to Cairns.
So many Europeans often say it is not worth visiting Australia just for two weeks. I strongly disagree. We were happy and satisfied after one week, and it felt like we had been on the road for two weeks already. So don't let arguably too little time stop you from discovering potential dream destinations of yours. It is always worth it if you make it worth it!
Miscellaneous Things You Need to Know for Your Road Trip
Alcohol - how and where to buy it
Each state has different regulations. For example, in New South Wales and Victoria, supermarkets are allowed to sell alcohol, however they usually don't have a big selection.
In Queensland, supermarkets are not allowed to sell any alcohol. Your best bet at getting your booze is from what the Aussies call 'bottle shops' - Dan Murphy's is one of the most popular ones.
Firewood - can you buy it anywhere?
No matter where you travel in the world, it is highly recommended for you to buy your firewood locally and not transport it from one region to another. This is because firewood has some living bacteria and parasites that are local to the area they come from. So transporting it to another region might cause harm to the environment.
As mentioned above, fire pits are not installed in campsites. Therefore, the campgrounds which will rent a fire pit out will most definitely also sell some firewood. Our advice would be for you to purchase the firewood locally to where you will be enjoying that evening campfire.
Aldi - a great option to purchase your groceries from
Aldi is a German supermarket chain, which is famous for its high-quality products and low prices. Aldi arrived in Australia in 2001 and has become a budget-friendly option for a lot of Aussies. We highly recommend you to purchase your groceries from Aldi, since their prices are a lot cheaper than other supermarket chains out there.
Where to buy a local sim card in Australia?
We highly recommend for you to get a local sim card (if your phone permits). It just makes road tripping so much more comfortable. We bought our local sim card at Melbourne International Airport from Optus.
The pre-paid sim card cost us AU$30 and it brought 35 GB for surfing the internet and unlimited local calls and SMS messages. This was more than enough for our trip. We used our phone daily for navigating with Google Maps, looking for campgrounds, and checking in with our families back in Germany. We did not top up our card once during our 18-day road trip. It was a great deal!
