In Australia, we love a camping holiday. In fact, we love it so much that Australians took nearly 15 million overnight camping trips in the past year!* One reason caravanning and camping is so popular among families is the value-for-money it can offer over other holidays options. But sticking within your desired budget and keeping costs down still requires careful planning, whether your holiday is for 6 days, or 6 months!
For budget-conscious families, we have a number of important tips and tricks to help you get the most ‘bang for your buck’ out of your next family camping adventure! Check them out!
To help keep costs down on your next family adventure, decide on your travel budget and plan accordingly. We recommend breaking this overall budget down into a rough daily expenditure too, to make it easier to track and adhere to. Without having a pre-determined budget, your holiday spending can quickly spiral out of control.
The importance of planning ahead for a budget-friendly holiday really can’t be understated. By booking in advance you can avail of special offers, early-bird discounts and more great deals. This is especially important if you are planning on travelling during ‘peak season’ times such as school holidays. However, booking in advance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still shop around for the best prices. Research the area you’re looking to visit, check out the nearby caravan parks and make an informed decision about which is the best value for the family adventure you want.
Find a list of caravan parks in your state here.
This isn’t an option for everyone but if it is for you, you can make a big saving by planning your holiday outside of peak times. In Australia, most states and territories have slightly different school holidays, which can drive up prices for over a month around peak winter, summer and Easter breaks. Taking your trip even a few days outside of high-travel periods, can help your budget go significantly further.
Australia is full of free events, festivals and activities that families can enjoy all year round. Tourism bodies for each state and territory will regularly post fun and free upcoming events on their websites, so always have a look before booking an expensive excursion. As well as this, Australia is home to hundreds of beautiful national parks, beaches and nature areas where you can walk, bike, swim and more for free.
If you are looking to enjoy some popular paid activities while on holidays, look for discount passes or coupons online. Many booking sites will offer deals and special offers throughout the year, so shop around for your activities too.
Eating out as a family can often be a budget killer on holidays, especially if you are bigger than a family of 2 or 3. There are plenty of great, nutritious meals you can cook at the campsite and campfire cooking can even become an activity for the whole family to enjoy. For some campfire meal ideas, check out our campfire favourites article here.
When heading out for a family activity or a day of fun-filled excursion, pack lunches and bring water bottles and snacks with you for the day. Purchasing food and drinks on a day out are the little costs that add up and push a family holiday over-budget. Go prepared and you’ll have the budget leftover to do the fun family activities you enjoy on your holiday.
Caravan and camping holidays are a great way to spend time with family, explore the beauty of Australia and do it all on a budget! Keeping these tips and tricks in mind, you should have no issues planning the perfect, budget-friendly family adventure.
*Caravan & Camping Visitor Economy Monitor, Caravan Industry Association of Australia
If you need some travel inspiration for your next family adventure, check out these articles!
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