How much does it REALY cost to travel Australia in 2023

G'day VanFam. In this video, we break down how much money we've spent in 2 years living full time in our caravan on the road. We also share some insights that should help you prepare for and budget how much travelling might cost you, and share insights that will help you reduce your costs on the road.
0:00 Intro
01:29 Food
02:41 Accommodation
05:06 Bills
06:54 Maintenance Repairs Upgrades & consumables
08:53 Fuel
10:33 Alcohol
11:28 Activities
12:56 Medical
13:25 Miscellaneous
13:59 How much does it cost to travel Australia
15:11 Thanks for watching

[@karenclare4631]

Finally someone who wants to give actual figures, instead of just talking about. Well done and great presentation.👏👏👏

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks, I hope our actual numbers help. We have had some feed back from other travellers and it seems we're very much on the low side of actual spending too, which I think is pretty scary. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂.

[@tadstertrolley7770]

Good breakdown but they left out a couple of big ones though; depreciation on their vehicles, and the appreciation on their house if they had not of sold it, this could be significant if others are thinking of doing the same thing.

[@droningdownunder]

Just discovered your channel and enjoy the content. We are two old farts, who due to circumstances, are travelling full time in our 16' van 17 year old with no ensuite! We are keeping our costs down by housesitting, which allows us a break from the van and have a base to explore plus get some pet therapy. We have experienced all the challenges you talk about but loved the experience. All the best.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for th lovely comment. We have looked at house sitting but we just move too fast, maybe in the future we can slow down and try that. I'd love some space and pet therapy. Safe travels and thanks for watching.

[@peterwarden7471]

I'm on the road for 8 years, with a 10 Grand Ford, 10 Grand PopTop, and camp never in a caravan park. A caravan park costs approx 1,000 bucks the month. A mobile app for free camping cost 10 bucks a year (Camps Australia Wide).

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

A fantastic explanation as to where my inheritance went! Cheers guys.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Haha 😄

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

@@SvedosTrippin I can hear your laughter, but have you ever tried typing while winding up your lap top computer at the same time. There's a skill, right there!

[@AnthonyP-ng9cr]

This is great, very detailed. Would be nice to see what the expenses are if you take out normal prices of living in a home and normal everyday bills.

[@BUY_YOUTUBE_VIEWS_455]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this channel. 🤝

[@SvedosTrippin]

Haha, thanks.

[@michaelhermans4753]

It’s amazing how everything adds up Taking your time instead of racing around the country makes a huge difference, especially fuel Great video

[@SvedosTrippin]

thanks, glad you enjoyed it and left a positive comment.

[@stevenicsadventures]

Great episode .. some real good tips that others never tell you 🤟🏻

[@SvedosTrippin]

Your welcome, thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@TheTripleDubya]

Great advice, thank you.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Your welcome

[@snoordman4831]

Really helpful guys! Well appreciated 🤙🏼

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks, glad to of helped. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂.

[@desleycasey7412]

Fantastic video. I and a friend are planning to do travel Aussie land in 2025 and quite frankly, I've realised the projected budget I've put together is nowhere near sufficient, even though I included a lot of what you were talking about. Many thanks.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Glad we could help. Thanks for watching and leaving a positive comment 🙂.

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

The greatest advice that I ever read on this subject was pack half the clothes that you think you'll need and twice the money.

[@AddzieG]

Great info thank you. The wife and I will be travelling full time in 2025 looking forward to it. Information like this really helps

[@Accolades70]

Great Vid...

[@dominiquewever2611]

Excellent. Really useful info, thank you for sharing.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Your very welcome. Thanks for watching and leaving a nice comment 👍.

[@feelinggoodrix]

Thanks for sharing, you wonderful family!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for the kind comment.

[@donnagarrett8139]

So informative well done 👏

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thank you.

[@waiheketranscend]

Very Interesting! Really good info. Thanks. 😁

[@SvedosTrippin]

Your welcome, thanks for watching and commenting.

[@john41clark]

One thing I would add to what you talked about is to make sure you have ambulance cover that will be acceptable in every state as every state is a different ambulance service thus different rules apply. Some will cover from a different state others won't and quite often you don't find out until you get the bill. If you don't have health insurance with ambulance cover , We have ambulance only cover through Bupa for when we are on the mainland as and saved money in just 1 ambulance trip. Invoice was around $1500 for a 5km trip

[@SvedosTrippin]

Interesting, our principle place of residence is QLD and all Queensland residents are automatically covered for the cost of emergency services Australia wide. I am unsure how other states work but I guess its something to chat about around the campfire next time we meet people from other states. thanks for watching and the insightful comment.

[@sandymckay7900]

Fantastic information, thank you.. honest and real👍👍👍

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thank you, it's really nice to get feed back like this.

[@susannlynchyzus8664]

Very informative Brett & well presented. Keep on living your dream🥰

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks very much, it sure was an eye opening experience.

[@RobnDi]

Well put together explanation. Our last and final trip in our van last year was Adelaide to Darwin return. We were towing a 20foot tandem van with a 2015 Pajero. We averaged 17litres per 100km sitting on approx 90kph. The most we paid for diesel was $3.20 per litre. Our food bill was minimal. I guess that comes with age. You eat less. 😊 again a great video mate.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Haha my kids eat like adults, food bills are killing us 🤣. Thanks for watching and complimenting.

[@danthe2545]

Great vid buddy

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks 😊

[@lynbond5126]

Great video Brett, such an honest presentation with lots of detail. We really appreciate you providing the info. Well done, well worth watching! Safe travels, Lyn & Corrie 😊

[@SvedosTrippin]

Glad it was helpful! Was a big eye opener for us too and well worth the effort of going through and understanding.

[@berilmurray9879]

A really useful video, thanks for sharing!! I am heading off late Feb next year, so this will help a lot.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Glad to hear it. I will put out our 3rd year budget before Feb showing what 23 cost us so stay tuned.

[@darrylmunro96]

Very informative video guys. Your authentic approach and clearly articulated costing has really helped put travel on the road into perspective. I was so impressed I decided to subscribe to your channel to show support. Wishing you all safe, healthy and many more exciting experiences on the road. 😊

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for the positive comment and for subscribing to the channel, we really appreciate it.

[@johnbates6663]

Good vid

[@timnorth7524]

Excellent video, realistic and right on the money (no pun intended). Safe travels

[@SvedosTrippin]

we do love a good pun but. thanks for watching and commenting

[@NotGreyNomads]

Great breakdown guys! I also think it's important for people to compare that to what they would be paying living their "normal" lives at home for a year. That much for a family of 4 is still probably cheaper than staying at home, and the value of the experiences you are having out there is something money can't buy!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Yes, with our mortgage on top we would have been spending alot more while living in a home. A very good point you make. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@pimeshpjp7057]

Very very nice beutifull vlog. Thanks you

[@SvedosTrippin]

Your welcome.

[@robertmackie1744]

Thank you. Lots to think about for our next trip. Fuel prices made it so hard last year and not looking this year.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Your welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@mattthambirajahpt286]

Great video! I don't think we will do a round trip anytime soon.. but this is good to know.

[@SvedosTrippin]

It won't get any cheaper, I can assure you of that. We've just done the Gibb River Road and there is a new parks pass tax on top of the already exorbitant camping fees, 😭. Seems everywhere is cashing in on these wealthy travellers, wish we were wealthy travellers and could afford the taxes...

[@rasch760]

Great vid. Really shows just how expensive Australia is.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks so much for the kind comment, Australia really is getting emout of hand with cost of living, I'm positive salaries are not even close to going up as much of cost of living so we're all just getting poorer over all.

[@brianwalker1933]

No wonder so many travel overseas, its so much cheaper. Too many ripoff businesses in Australia, in particular at holiday times!!

[@SvedosTrippin]

@@brianwalker1933 so true.

[@PavelLukl]

What an eye opener. Costs are much higher than I expected!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Yes, higher than I expected too. That's why I wanted to make this video. I've also had several people reach out and let me know that I'm doing well their spending way more than I am.

[@dontdyalusweretravelling4718]

Great topic & vid guys, couldn’t agree more with a number of your tips! We find servicing the van on the road incredibly difficult too, & as you said it’s now something that we now have to plan well in advance & just don’t even go into the subject of warranty work…..

[@SvedosTrippin]

wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole hahaha. and don't get me started on insurance hahaha

[@eprohoda]

you made interesting recording! have a good day, Svedostrippin-:))

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks for watching.

[@michaelraine4665]

I'm sure you are finding it expensive to live on the road, it's the same in a house with costs rising all the time. I believe that you are doing a great job schooling your children whilst giving them a great life. Cheers Michael

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks Michael. The cost of living is sure hitting all Aussies hard. I just saw a report saying Aussies have lost the most disposable income this year in the world, down like 6%. Meanwhile the big supermarkets posting 140% profit increase. It's a pretty crazy time right now.

[@mj_aussie_coaster_travels8310]

Great video, we’ve been on the road for a year now and the costs certainly sneak up on you. We’re in a coaster and average about 21l per 100km, the only way to make it easier on the wallet is to do it how it appears you guys are and that’s to slow down. Instead of an overnight stop, we stay 2-3 days. We just booked into a great cheap shire run caravan park, originally intending to stay one night. But they have a deal where you pay two nights and stay for three. $40 for three nights including power and water? Yep we will stay a bit longer haha. (Also, first time in 12 months we’ve seems a bath tub haha)

[@SvedosTrippin]

Haha, yeah i will take a bath when ever I can get one. Unfortunately we still have to go north and south when the seasons change so we still burn alot of fuel every 6 months or so. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙂.

[@72superlead]

Well because oil is down (which also means everybody Woodside shares..) We paid $1.75 a litre for diesel here in Darwin today.. unbelievably cheap! Heading to Katherine then Kununurra tomorrow for our first 'real' trip other than hour drives. Really looking forward to it Thanks for the vids guys, please keep them coming. We wanna be like you

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thank you, enjoy your trip.

[@72superlead]

@@SvedosTrippin Thanks mate. Enjoying so far but will list noted undesirables: 1. Pooing in public toilets next to people in dead silence not fun 2. Certain neighbours can be less than ideal 3. Air con compressor thumps at night on/off 4. Risk of high speed collision increases over most people not travelling insane highways towing 5. Pretty tight space 6. Not ideal getting up early for your partner Apart from that, it's nice to be somewhere different and not go to work. Certainly unique so far

[@SvedosTrippin]

Haha, can totally relate to toilet one...

[@frasermacquire6902]

Good stuff Brett, handy information for when Ang and I hit the road. When are you planning to do WA?

[@SvedosTrippin]

We are back on the mainland in a bit over a week, then a month in SA before we start to head to WA.

[@michaelnewell1]

Thank you for sharing that. We are empty nesters planning on hitting the road in a few months. Is it possible to get a template of your spreadsheet to refer to? Thanks again for a very informative video

[@SvedosTrippin]

If you send me your email I can send you through something if you would like 👍.

[@judithtaylor6916]

Its an eye opener. Thanks for the video. I’m selling the caravan if we spend that much a year. Fuel is expensive. I have second thoughts asking to go away in the van. Admittedly we are empty nesters and retired. Our super has suffered. It’s even harder for a young family.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Sorry if I've scarred you away from seeing the country. Fuel seems to be coming down which is helping. But if you were to travel fast and do lots of activities and eat out alot you could easily spend as much as us. Our friends the "happnin empty nesters" who would be in the same situation as you contacted us after this vid and their budget is similar to ours with out kids, but they see and do alot more than we do. 🤷‍♂️ Sorry again but this the honest truth.

[@judithtaylor6916]

@@SvedosTrippin We are guilty of staying in caravan parks more than free camping, which has to stop. Our Xmas stay in a van park in Adelaide was close to $300. Bush camps shouldn’t charge for children, when no toilet, water , power not provided. Best to see the remote sights, rather than the big town sightseeing which can be done any time.

[@craigalexp]

@@judithtaylor6916 school holidays are the worst times to stay at caravan parks. Gets expensive.

[@merinofarmeragriculturewor4623]

First comment.. awesome video guys ❤⚙️🇦🇺🍺

[@SvedosTrippin]

congratulations, I didn't think it was going to come out for another hour hahah, day light savings times messing with me. Glad you liked it, thanks for commenting.

[@merinofarmeragriculturewor4623]

@@SvedosTrippin thanks mate .. I’m happy I’m home afair 5 months on the road .. went up to the red center then Katherine & fuel up there is 3.00 per Litre ...then went to Queensland & back home in Victoria now .. your all ways welcome to come for a visit with the family to mine

[@SvedosTrippin]

@merino farmer & agriculture work thanks so much but we go west as soon as were off the boat. The price of fuel up the centre is scary cause that's where we are heading 🫣.

[@merinofarmeragriculturewor4623]

@@SvedosTrippin have fun mate . Just be careful in Alice Springs atm .. see u on the tracks

[@Accolades70]

Good breakdown of costs. Cheers. What are the future plans? how long do you intend travelling? How are you gonna support the future travels?

[@SvedosTrippin]

Hi Mark. First how's the volume for you? I've been doing my best to bring it up a bit. Future plans are SA then up the middle and into WA. We have one part time income of 3 days a week, we have enough savings to stay on the road another 2-3 years so that's the plan. The dream is that YT income becomes enough to sustain our travels so that we can continue indefinitely. But we are a long way off that being a reality.

[@krh007]

That is great info on the reality of full time on the road for family. In your case averaging cost of aprox $80k pa. How is it possible for you to generate the income required to match that when on the move and not working? You would need to generate aprox $120k gross to meet that expense level (gross less tax = net income) and it would be interesting to know how you achieve it. Aware you sold your house 2yrs ago before heading off with you collecting the net equity in cash from the sale after repaying your mortgage & Agents fees.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Truth is we don't. We have 1 part time income and a portion of our savings is funding the difference. The hope obviously is that we can build a social presence that can fill the gap before we run out of savings. If we run out of savings we either stop for work or use the remainder of our savings to settle down again. Will cross that bridge if and when we have to. Thanks for watching and commenting 😀

[@AkhonaNgquba]

America is expensive. My Monthly food bill is $140. You can call it $200 if you want, you spend more than that in a week. I have a family of 3 (with a 6 year old son who eats a lot too). No free camping here in South Africa though so we are screwed there. Super useful presentation. Never thought about jotting down my full "going out" costs.

[@AkhonaNgquba]

Just thought I should leave my comment the way it is. You keep saying Australia but here I am going on about America. 🤣

[@SvedosTrippin]

The cost of living is getting higher and higher everywhere in the world. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@wfdTamar]

I thought about all this and my solution was to buy a Motorhome in the UK (in 2019 it was A$28,000 for a 19 year old 6 metre one). Apart from the covid lockup period I fly over for 4.5 months every winter (their summer). Costs are airfare, insurance (£1000). I get basic travel insurance free with my credit card. I do 3 months in France where I never pay for camp sites, water or dumping as there are free spots all over France. The UK is harder, but it’s still possible. Fuel costs more, but you don’t drive anywhere near as far, and the motorhomes are quite fuel efficient (mine is around 10 litres /100 km). All other costs are similar or a bit cheaper. Lovely weather, interesting culturally. Far better supermarkets. It is crowded if you want to go to any tourist spot or the beaches, but away from them it’s bearable.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Sounds lovely, wouldn't mind doing something like this when we are empty nesters.

[@jamesaitken1959]

It only cost us 10.000 to do the trip and only uesd caravan park about three times 2017 to 2019

[@SvedosTrippin]

Crazy levels of inflation hey...

[@jamesaitken1959]

@@SvedosTrippin hi steve the first trip around we were both on centre link so most times we had to hold up for a fortnight till next pay came in but it was great just camping by a river and did some fishing for food trap a couple of rabbits and survived like that but its a lot diffrent now

[@frankkerwick1084]

Wow that a fair assumption good on ya 👏 👌

[@SvedosTrippin]

Thanks, hope it helps.

[@johnmathisen1167]

Good thing that you are drying out for a year because that leaves Mel more for casks

[@SvedosTrippin]

feels like she's increasing to make up for me, ahaha

[@user-ws3rz6vb9c]

$16,000 per year [single male ] and went without nothing but well set up with solar and everything on 240volt--i don't smoke or drink.

[@Wog68]

You should not have sold your home (if it was mortgage free or most is paid off or still easy to pay installments regularly without serious compromise).

[@obs2746]

Excellently put. I had planned 1000 per week but with price rises like you say, I will now budget 1500 per week. Hope to start our travels next year

[@SvedosTrippin]

Awesome enjoy your travels, glad this has helped.

[@chrisgovan6612]

Food should not really be counted in a trip expenses as you would still have buy food if you were at home sitting on the couch

[@man.i.literally.failed6772]

You will pay more for food in remote areas.

[@antoniabaker7770]

Try having 6 teenage boys. So glad mine are all adults now and im not feeding them.

[@darrel1954]

Are you spending savings or are you both still working?

[@SvedosTrippin]

We have 1 working, and unfortunately, schooling 2 kids is a second job, but that one is unpaid. We are currently burning savings. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@98.infinity]

caravan it's for me ma

[@destinyangel5]

Then there's also huge depreciation on a worn out high milage vehicle which you have now clocked up tens of thousands of klms in 12 months after road trips and now has massive ware on auto drive train .The ware and tear on your shinny brand new 80K to 130 k 4x4 is now worth half or less after 12 months , is it worth it ?

[@tadstertrolley7770]

Correct, but they also sold their home to do this, how much appreciation have they missed out on in that time, could be 100s of thousands and getting back into a house either renting or buying with another stamp duty could be a nightmare.

[@scottcox8559]

Travelling Australia is not for everyone, especially if your a tight ars. Seriously you can't put a price on experience's and quality time spent with family.

[@andrewmckay5103]

You could travel a lot of the world as a bachelor for 150k. Less thw rig and the van, so lets say, 250k.. as a solo traveller you could see so many countries and ppaces and be gone for 5 or 10 years on that much coin easy. So what Ive learnt from this video, is.. dont bother having kids.. just take your tinny and your swag and a tent and enjoy your life, fish for your food more often.. and free camp more.. or just go to cheaper countries and live for 2 years on 70k in style. Lol.

[@SvedosTrippin]

Ahhh to be young again.

[@stuarth43]

never ever use camp grounds, ever. Au is a horrible country to tour Imainly one sees gum trees red dirt I tour Eu rent a car and use a tent, see something different every day, 33000 towms and villages in France alone i bought a van here but will never use it here, i have a 2016 Disco 4 254 hp 600 nm, but nah stick Au but great insights , thanks

[@melissasvedinek850]

Oh wow honey, we need to spent less money 💰

[@SvedosTrippin]

Well yeah, we've got room from improvement, but, I've had plenty of feed back from people who have smaller families and are spending more than us, so I think we should be pretty proud of our efforts.

[@TheVeneco]

Brother that have to include the cocaine weekly expenses for sure 😂😂😂, I better go overseas and give up on that. Nah thanks I can have 10x the fun for so much cheaper around the world

[@SvedosTrippin]

Australia ain't cheap, one of the most expensive countries in the world.

[@NotYourAveargeAlien]

Greed, its all fnnn greed! We are an older couple who have been on the road for the last 3 years. We travel slow, mainly free camps and often stay for the maximum allowed time then move on. So we travel slow, no more than a tank a fortnight. Our yearly is about 25k and we dont miss out on anything we want to do. So your costs are like wow to us!

[@SvedosTrippin]

Kids are expensive. 25K a year is pretty incredible.