A ROADTRIP GUIDE FOR THE EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA (FROM MELBOURNE TO CAIRNS)

The last leg of our trip through Australia took us to discover the east coast from this country. In the 3-week roadtrip in a van We visit super cool cities we fall in love with, such as Melbourne, Sydney or the small and flirtatious Byron Bay. Impressive national parks such as the Blue Mountains or Kuranda. We fly over the Great Barrier Reef and rest on a tropical island. Here we leave you our guide of a roadtrip along the east coast of Australia (from Melbourne to Cairns).

We traveled a total of 5,323 km, which we have separated into 4 main stages. If you want to know more about each of them you just have to read the articles, which we leave below. In addition we have also dedicated other specific to specific places, such as Sydney, Blue Mountains, the flight over the Great Barrier, Kuranda or Cairns. Everything next 😉

Here you have some general information about the roadtrip:

• Starting point: Melbourne
• End point: Cairns
• Total days: 22
• Total kilometers: 5,323
• Type of vehicle: rented camper van (Hitop style)

Possibly the east coast of Australia Be theroute more famous To go by van. From Melbourne, passing through Sydney and continuing to the tropical Queenslad, km and km through which incredible passages, huge cities and small charming villages, forests and beaches will be crossed. The route usually takes you along coastal roads, where the majority of Australia's population is concentrated.

Here we leave you a map with our tour, divided into 4 stages:

We tell you the details of each stage, with the links to the articles to access our experience in each of the places visited.

STAGE 1: Melbourne - Sydney

• 1,510 km
• 5 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

STAGE 2: Sydney - Brisbane

• 1,136 km
• 4 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

STAGE 3: Brisbane - Magnetic Island

• 1,839 km
• 8 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

STAGE 4: Magnetic Island - Cairns (Cape Tribulation)

• 838 km
• 3 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

We opted for rent a van and sleep in places where it was allowed to spend the night free. It is true that some night we spent in YHA chain hostels, but you can actually do the whole camping camping trip for free. We must also consider that we do not include any night in Sydney, we visited her at the end of our trip. If you plan to stay at least a couple of nights, increase the budget somewhat.

The biggest part of the budget then, would be the rental of the van. Assuming that we will have the accommodations covered, and that we can cook inside, the expenses are greatly reduced. Even so, you have to keep in mind occasional whim, such as the scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef or the visit to see crocodiles in the Daintree National Park, both recommended.

Here we summarize thebudget per total person base taking as a reference a trip for two people of 3 weeks in camper van, from Melbourne to Cairns, with several nights of accommodation in Melbourne, Sydney and Byron Bay.

Flights: Although Australia is in the fifth place from Spain, very good offers can be found if we have flexibility and we are lucky. As very cheap, it would cost € 600, let's get in the most optimistic case!

Van rental: Be careful because prices may vary greatly depending on the season you are traveling. We did it in the middle season (April) and it cost us 1,291AUD, here we put the price in the low season. This only for rent, if you want to take out all-risk insurance, other assistance, etc., calculate about 25-40AUS per rental day.

Gasoline: We need a total of 590 liters of gasoline to travel 5,323 km. An average of 11.10 liters per 100 km, is not that the van is a lighter! Gasoline in Australia is cheap, so you don't have to worry too much. The total cost was 807AUS (the average price of the liter was $ 1.37, € 0.84), is € 495, where we get € 247 per person.

accommodation: As we told you, the entire trip can be done without paying a $ accommodation fee. How? there are apps like Campermate or Wikicamps where you can find enough places to park and spend the night for free. But we have included in total 5 nights of hostel, which on average can leave for about € 18 a night.

Food: It is a difficult game to calculate. We have put € 150 per person in total for these three weeks (purchase + some food and drink in restaurant and bar).

Miscellaneous expenses: in which we include the scenic flight over the Great Barrier (€ 150) and the visit by boat on the Daintree (€ 15). In addition to Iati travel insurance (€ 110) and miscellaneous expenses (€ 50).

We made the reservation through the Motorhome Republic website that compares all van rental companies in Australia and gives the best rates. We rented with Cheapa Campa a Hitop for 22 days paying 1,291 AUD (about € 1,200), not including the extended insurance price.

In this sense, it should be taken into account that the price includes basic coverage, which usually has a franchise amount (between 2,700 and 5,000 AUS), which will be the maximum you pay in case of an accident. There are always options to hire aextended coverage package, for example we with Apollo hired one of 30AUD a day that eliminated the franchise. These packages also usually include some extras, such as sheets, avoid paying the administrative fee of the franchise, etc.

The rental prices They vary depending on the season and the route you want to do, but the rental of a Hitop van can leave for about 75-90AUD a day in high season. In addition, there are discounts for long rentals (usually from the second week) and it may be cheaper if you make the reverse route.

A road trip on the east coast of Australia gives for many things. Also you visit varied places but all very impressive. And watch out for their cities: Melbourne and Sydney earned a spot at the top of places to spend a laaaarga season (even in dreams). In our top15 we give you the classification of the places that we liked the most personally:

• Melbourne
• Wilsons Promontory
• Jervis Bay and Hyams Beach
• Kiama and her blowholes
• Sydney
• Blue mountains
• Koalas Hospital of Port Macquairie
• Moone Beach Natural Reserve and its free kangaroos
• Byron bay
• Glass House Mountains
• Eungella National Park and the Happy Platypuses
• Panoramic flight over the Great Barrier Reef
• Magnetic Island
• Etty Bay and the couple of cassowaries
• Daintree National Park and free crocodiles

Up to here our guide of a roadtrip along the east coast of Australia (from Melbourne to Cairns) in camper van. We hope it has helped you and you know, if you have any questions, leave us a comment!

Video: INCREDIBLE AUSTRALIA ROAD TRIP - Cairns to Sydney, East Coast Road Trip! (April 2024).