Australia Travel Expenses

Australia was a fun time for us that felt like a break from our normal travels. Staying with friends really changed the whole experience of being somewhere. It was fun to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in years and I felt like we were getting all the local insights to everywhere we went. It was a different pace. We didn’t feel the need to run around everywhere and take in the sights. We were happy to just hang out and catch up. But, our friends, being the awesome tour guides they were, made sure we got around to all the big (and small) attractions in their area.

We spent roughly a week each in Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne, followed by a few days in Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef on our own. Our typical spending habits were thrown out the window in Australia because we were spending more money on social activities like eating and drinking and significantly less on accommodations thanks to the graciousness of all our hosts. That being said, we still managed to overspend on our target budget, coming in at $113 a day. To be honest, we don’t really care that much. We were having a great time and if we’re to spend money anywhere, we’d rather spend it with friends.

Restaurants: This is at the top of our spending list for the first time. Prices are like home, so going out to eat anywhere isn’t exactly cheap but it is a great way to hang out with people. We did have a lot of inexpensive meat pies when we went looking for a quick bite.

Transportation: We used award travel to get from Auckland to Sydney, but it still cost us $90 in fees. We also bought a bus ticket to go from Sydney to Canberra, a train ticket from Canberra to Melbourne, and a flight from Melbourne to Cairns. The public transportation around Sydney and Melbourne were awesome, but we spent a good amount of money topping up our public transit cards.

Drinks: We spent a lot more here than typical, but again who wouldn’t want to go out to the bars with your friends? We also spent a good amount of money on our winery tours outside of Canberra and Melbourne. The tours were free, but we picked up many bottles of wine to share. Thanks for driving Tim and Jenny!

Grocery: We got groceries when needed. We also cooked dinner a few times too.

Other: This includes a few small gifts for our hosts, mailing a handful of items back home, getting a much-needed haircut, and buying new pants and shoes to replace worn out ones. Australia also required us to apply for a visa. It’s quick and easy to do online if you have a US passport, so I think all they really want is their $15 a person.

Tourism: These were all water-related activities. We rented kayaks and paddleboards in Canberra and our Great Barrier Reef tour cost us $240 (ouch).

Accommodations: We stayed with friends for free! We only needed our accommodation in Cairns for four nights at $41 per night. This was one of the cheapest options we found for a private room. I can’t imagine if we had to pay accommodation prices like that for the whole month that we were in Australia.

I’m glad Travis was able to show me his old stomping grounds in Sydney. Travis had written a law school application essay about losing his wallet on a Sydney beach. I spent a lot of time revising it and he worked on it for what seemed like forever. It got him into law school, so I think it turned out pretty well! While in Sydney we walked through UNSW and ended up at Coogee beach where we were hanging out for a bit. All of a sudden, I realized with excitement that this was the beach where Travis had lost his wallet all those years ago. It was like all those experiences he told me about instantly became more real to me. The trip was worth it for that alone. So being able to catch up with everyone as well, made the trip all that much better. We are indebted to everyone who let us stay with them. When we get back home you all have a home with us wherever we end up!