Trip To Australia - Money-saving Tips

dunx

Hello All,

Myself and OH are planning a trip to Australia in the autumn and everything is looking pretty expensive so far. Of course the exchange rate isn't helping, but there must be some deals available somewhere . . .

We need to fly out to Sydney via Bangkok (staying with friends), and return any route from Melbourne. Best price we're getting is around £1k each. Any tips for an agent / broker with a good track record of finding good deals ?

Also, is anyone aware of any sort of promo deals for hotels & car hire in Oz ?

Thanks in advance,

D

claire16c

I found few deals in Oz last year using this website

http://www.wotif.com/ Although that was mainly in Queensland as people were scared to go there after the floods and hurricane so there was a lot to be found.

We saw a tv report where they interviewed tourists who said they could not afford to do all the stuff they wanted to do due to the rate - which does then lead to some deals such as some of the trips in Sydney like the ones around the harbour we found were marked down to half price after lunch, so dont go there first thing.

The exchange rate is the worst in years and so everything is so expensive there. We were backpacking and no joke we couldnt even afford to eat properly there, sometimes we had to share half a sandwich and drink! And couldnt buy any fruit, especially not after the floods. £3 for a couple of bananas anyone? Hopefully you wont find it quite as bad as you wont be on so much of a budget.

You could try Travelbag, Trailfinders. But sometimes just booking direct is the cheapest.

We used Jet Star to fly between Sydney and Melbourne, their prices were pretty good. Infact the only thing that was cheap in Oz, even with the exchange rate, was public transport! Trains were great value.

dunx

Thanks Claire - I'll follow up that link. That's just the sort of thing I had in mind. I am hoping that the Ozzies, and particularly the tourist office, will take pity on us whingers, and promote plenty of good discounts to entice us over.

We'll probably join the YHA as we've noticed that rural B&B's can easily equate to £120+ per night. Good point about the trains. Sydney to Melbourne is a good price, so we'll do that bit by train.

No bananas for us though!

Ta,

D

mgdavid

I'm soon off to Oz - best car hire in Sydney I could find was with East Coast Car Rentals.

spottydog

Bananas are often 99c a kilo again now

For hire car around Sydney check out bayswater car rental (nobirds.com.au I think) not at the airport but generally the cheapest in Sydney.

For rural areas if you are staying for at least 2 nights check out stayz.com.au, house rentals are generally more common that B&B's here and also camp sites often have fixed caravans which can be quite cheap for a short stay.

dunx

Thanks folks, I'm onto those links now - will definitely be hiring a car. Seems like petrol is cheaper there than here, just as well with the distances involved. I've noticed on one petrol prices website that they show a 'today' and 'tomorrow' price, with a fairly large difference. Do they really change the prices on a daily basis like that ?

Great news on the banana front !

Cheers,

D

Almo

Yes, petrol prices change considerably over the week. The cheapest day is usually Tuesday, I think. Petrol is a lot cheaper on a cost of living basis but given how poor the exchange rate is for you guys, I don't know whether you'll find it that cheap after all.

Bananas have come right down to pre-flood prices so you don't need to worry about that!

joess

We always use Britz when we hire cars/motorhomes.

Alexd_2

Almo wrote: »

Yes, petrol prices change considerably over the week. The cheapest day is usually Tuesday, I think. Petrol is a lot cheaper on a cost of living basis but given how poor the exchange rate is for you guys, I don't know whether you'll find it that cheap after all.

Bananas have come right down to pre-flood prices so you don't need to worry about that!

Care to expand on why the petrol price differs so much. Im assuming its something to do with shipping.

spottydog

Alexd wrote: »

Care to expand on why the petrol price differs so much. Im assuming its something to do with shipping.

Because they can, prices can change on an hourly basis so not directly related to anything. Tuesday evening used to be the cheapest but I think it's now Wednesday evening (although don't quote me on that are I don't use my car frequently enough to care). Veg prices can also change daily, sometimes I've paid 50c for a telegraph cucumber only to go back to the same store the next day and found them at $2.49!

Jeff_Bridges_hair

If your in sydney then head to the blue mountains (Katumba) and stay in teh flying fox hostel. really nice place to stay and cheap too.

the train is great from melbourne to sydney I done it over night seated but iot was amazing watching the sun come up over the wildernesss