Hi
Sorry I should have also said:
We prefer to have our own room nut happy to share a bathroom in hostels.
In NZ we would like to hire or buy a camper van then sell it on at the end.
Thanks again Z&T
Hi,
You may want to save money on hostel accommodation by checking our weekly prices rather than booking a few days at at time. In Australia this the hostels tend to do a cheaper rate if you stay for a week or more. If you stay with a chain like nomads you may want to buy a mad card which gets you discount but that depends on how much time you spend around their hostels. The north east coast is the cheaper part if Australia for basically everything so try to spend a lot of time there- plus we found that to be the most lively and beautiful part. All g with that I would suggest booking experiences with one agent on one dy but get quotes from a few agents as they can do great combo deals. We booked our skydive and white water rafting and Great Barrier Reef diving with them and saved around $200 but as usage the more you book the more you save and most agents will beat other offers. The eat coast especially is competitive on price for everything! We also booked overnight greyhounds down the coast to save on accom when we got really stuck. Hope this helps.
We hope to stay in Australia for 6 - 8 weeks and New Zealand for 8 - 12 weeks. We're trying to work out a budget.
Please can you help advise on how best to budget for this leg of our journey and how much we should aim to budget for our time in these locations
For Australia, I usually recommend an average budget of AUD $75/day per person (which gives you accommodation in small dorm rooms, buying supermarket food to cook your own meals, and travelling by public transport). Since you want a private room, make that AUD $85-90/day per person (pick the high end if you spend most time in the big cities; the low end if you spend most time outside, where private rooms aren't so expensive).
New Zealand is a bit cheaper, both in dollars and due to a better exchange rate, and NZD $80/day per person should see you a long way along. Gas on the campervan can be a pretty hefty cost, though, and I have trouble judging how that compares to public transport. I'd guesstimate the overall cost to turn out a bit higher (so count on NZD $85/day per person when budgetting, just to be on the safe side).
These figures are very rough estimates, based on a frugal backpacker lifestyle. You can do it cheaper if you really watch your pennies, but you can also easily blow through 2-3 times as much money without having the feeling that you're splurging. Watch your actual expenses when there, and try to have a buffer; more money is always better.
For recommendations on where to go in New Zealand, see (with an emphasis on nature/hiking), which I wrote down a couple of months ago. Also: Good division of time between Australia and New Zealand!
Hey guys
Really appreciate your help and advice, this has really helped us plan. The mad card sounds like something we should reserach.
Thanks again
Z&T
Really appreciate your help and advice, this has really helped us plan. The mad card sounds like something we should reserach.
The other big hostel chains, , and (in New Zealand only) , have similar membership cards. YHA tends to be the best value (earned back most swiftly by staying at their hostels), but the one to get really depends on what type of hostels you prefer, as their discounts outside of staying at their hostels are nearly indistinguishable (most places will just tell you that you need "a backpacker card" to get a discount).
Giving a very broad characterization of the hostels in these chains (which many people will disagree with, and which will definitely be wrong for many individual hostels), YHAs tend to be modern, clean and quiet, with an older and more varied crowd staying there (still mostly 20-30 backpackers, but not exclusively) - but the bigger flagship hostels are frequently described as lacking atmosphere. VIP has more party hostels; sometimes top-notch with all the best facilities, sometimes seriously run down. Nomads tend to be a bit more alternative - not the highest standards, but frequently "comfy" (though that can trend toward "grungy"). BBH has the largest range of types of hostels - many truly unique and exceptional places amongst the more middle-of-the-road types.
Personally I tend to stay at YHAs, as I like to get my night's sleep and know what to expect (and many of my favorite hostels are YHAs), though when in New Zealand I'll stay at many BBHs without any complaints as well.
[ 04-Oct-2013, at 02:35 by Sander ]
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