Australia doesn’t have a reputation as a budget destination but independent cyclists can get by as cheaply here as anywhere.
The key is that you’ll have to enjoy camping and cooking for yourself.
For a couple, we found about A$40 (€18-20 a day) in daily running expenses was sufficient – less than what we spent in some parts of Southeast Asia.
Keen cooks can eat well on very little money in Australia. How about a camper’s paella? Lentil stew? Or even a vegetable curry for a buck. Recipes for all these and more are revealed on The Cyclist’s Kitchen page of the Bicycle Fish – Adelaide site. An inspiring read that will make your mouth water and keep your wallet happy.
This is surprising on the surface but our budget rose in Southeast Asia because we gave in to a lot of little temptations that were cheap individually but added up over the days and weeks. We lived a more spartan lifestyle in Australia.
In Australia, we rarely took hotels and cooked a lot of cheap meals. Porridge for breakfast and pasta with mixed vegetables and perhaps a little ground beef from the butcher were our two staples. We did treat ourselves to a box of wine about once a week.
We visited very few tourist attractions with admission fees and always tried to access the internet for free at libraries (not always possible) or limit our paid use to about 1 hour every week. Where possible, we took advantage of Australia’s free camping sites.
Some typical costs are:
Box of wine – A$15
Hour of internet – A$6
Caravan park – A$15-30 (depending on services)
National Park campsite – A$6.50/per person
Cappuccino in a cafe – A$3.50
Loaf of bread – A$4
Pasta (500g) – A$2
Tin of tomatoes – A$1
Block of cheese (250g) – A$4
Pepperoni stick (250g) – A$4-6