Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fact, Australians regularly complain that they can fly to Asia cheaper than they can fly across the country.
Australia has four major airlines:
Qantas:
qantas.com
Jetstar
(a subsidiary of Qantas): jetstar.com
V Australia:
virginaustralia.com/au/en
Tiger Airways:
tigerairways.com
There are some very small regional airlines in Western Australia that fly routes between Perth and a few
outback destinations but are mainly used by mining companies to shuttle employees around. With only four
airlines, you rarely get rock-bottom fares like you do in Europe. There are occasional sales for routes along
the east coast that bring fares in line with buses, and you can find these fares by using the flight tips men-
tioned in Part One. However, for the most part, flights, especially going across country, are prohibitively
expensive and should be avoided.
Camper Vans
The most popular and cheapest way to travel around Australia is to drive yourself. Camper van and car rent-
als do two things: They lower your transportation costs because van rentals are really cheap and driving
yourself is cheaper than taking the bus or flying. (A camper van can be bought as cheap as $500 USD for a
used van or as much as $2,000 USD for a new one.) And they also double as a bedroom, so you can save on
accommodation by sleeping in the van instead of a hostel. As mentioned before, campsites dot the country
and are generally 50 percent less expensive than a hostel dorm bed. And because you can sleep in these
vehicles and split the costs, a lot of travelers—young and old—use this method to get around Australia. It's
the most economical way to explore the country.
If you decide not to buy a van, you can also rent one. The major companies for camper van rentals are:
Spaceships:
spaceshipsrentals.com.au
Wicked Campers:
wickedcampers.com.au
Traveller's Autobarn:
travellers-autobarn.com.au
Rentals start as low as $35 USD per day and discount cards mentioned in Chapter 8 can get you between
5 and 10 percent off the listed price.
If you don't want to rent or buy new, but would instead like to buy a used vehicle or are just looking
for travelers to share the journey with, web classifieds like Gumtree (gumtree.com.au) or hostel message
boards can allow you to find travelers looking for rides or those wanting to get rid of their car. Taking a few
travelers on to share the cost of the van and gas can cut your transportation/accommodation expenses to less
than $20 USD per day! And when the journey is over, and you don't want to be stuck with a car, you can
just sell it to a new group of travelers. It's a way for you to recover some of your up-front costs.
