Visiting Australia Soon? 10 Saving Tips to Read Before Embarking
Australia to most people might be the developed country with a high standard of living costs. Everything looks expensive but it can be much cheaper if you know the tricks to cutting down on expenses when you holiday in the Aussie land. Here’s some personal tips to go with:
Saving Tip #1 : Look for freebies
Hey, definitely when it comes to cutting down on costs, the first thing you got to do is check out for freebies. Australia will not let you down with tonnes of free admission to attraction such as museums and gardens. Although it maybe free admission, one will be amazed with the quality of the exhibits or the bunch of beautiful flowers in the garden. Some free places includes Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Tasmania Royal Botanical Garden, Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens and many more!
One of the free museum I had visited, Tasmania Museum located in Hobart.
However, just bear in mind that most visitors would put in a small donation at the end of the visit. There will be a donation box at the exit door. If you are on a saving spree, no one will fault you for not donating if you do them justice by taking many photos and admiring the exhibits!
Saving Tip #2 : Bring along Student Card
That’s right. It doesn’t matter your actual age, if you look young or rather feel young at heart, flash that student card of yours at some attractions & you are on your way to greater discount! If you are about to graduate from say a tertiary institution, don’t discard away your student card. This will come in handy, bring along to your Australia trip!
If yours have a validity date printed on your card, just use a plain sticker to type over the expiry date and paste it over! It works for me! And the reason should they ask would be: “I didn’t pass the exams and had to retain my schooling period. Hence, the sticker was paste over it” . But most often, they couldn’t ask as long as you show them your student card with your face in it!
Saving Tip #3 : Go grocery shopping
In Australia, most cafe/ restaurant food are expensive. The best way to save up some bucks but yet enjoying the freshness of what Australia food provides would be head down to the supermarket! You can save a huge bit! Don’t worry, most motels and holiday home which you will be staying allows cooking.
Coles Supermarket in Australia
The cutlery and frying pans are all provided at no extra costs! The most important thing you would need is Butter which can be used as your oil and for your bread spread the next morning breakfast!
Saving Tip #4 : Purchase National Park Passes
Should you be planning to visit more than 1 National Park during your entire trip in Australia, go ahead to purchase the National Park Car Passes. This allows you to not only save money but the hassle too of purchasing each time you visit the National Park! The best thing is it allow you to visit the National Parks unlimited number of times within 1 month period.
Saving Tip #5 : Save on fuel costs
That’s right! Save on fuel costs when one shop at major supermarket such as Coles. You will likely rent a car during your self drive holiday in Australia. The next thing you know, your car need fuel! This is unavoidable and definitely some form of savings comes in handy.
Keep the receipt of your recent Coles supermarket and present it at participating petrol station to enjoy the discount!
Saving Tip #6: Less one people when booking accommodation
I feel bad when saying this. In Australia, most motel/ holiday park charges goes by the number of people living in the cabin. Each person would be around AUD40 a night for a decent room. Let’s say you have 5 people travelling together. Just tell the rest to stay in the car and one person will do the booking/payment for the night room. At the reception, tell them you have 4 person travelling. The rooms are usually huge and may have extra bed. The Aussies are very trustworthy people. So, unless you are serious on saving costs,don’t do it so often. This doesn’t apply when booking hotel rooms in city where there is strict policy due to safety reasons.
Saving Tip #7: Look for discount coupons often found in brochures/ Visitor Center
A good practice when arrive in any Australian town/city would be to visit the local visitor center and check out for any discounts available. Discount coupons to be used in the town could be found in the tonnes of brochures.
Saving Tip #8:Travel for free!
Yes, for free! Absolutely not a single cent needed. Some cities in Australia allows free travel within the city. Perfect example would be the buses on selective route in Melbourne Tram, Perth, Adelaide etc. Sydney also offers several free shuttles.
Saving Tip #9: Book Early for your trip!
When booking for bigger expense items such as overnight cruises, car rental, flights, always ensure you book at the right time! When we say booking at the right time, it mean do the booking during travel fair which is happening in your own country or when you are able to take advantage of discounts online.
One of the trick would be to book early too! Most car rental companies allows you to enjoy discount if you book 3 months in advance! Make use of it once your air tickets have been booked. The early bird catches more discount!
Saving Tip #10: Book last minute tour.
One could enjoy major discounts at time, subject to the season. The best time to travel would be during shoulder peak season. You can get to see nice scenery, enjoy good weather and yet having tours at discounted prices.
Last minute tours are also common in Australia cities. Walk into the visitor center and if they might offer you the last few seats on the bus tour at a heavily discounted price. Or like what I did when I visited Port Arthur in Tasmania, we arrived late afternoon and purchase the afternoon pass. The attraction closes at 6pm and 2-3 hours before it close, they will reduce the price so as to entice you to visit it. Why not grab the opportunity, you can cover the major point within the time limit if your fitness allows.
Last but not least, enjoy visiting Australia! For more general travel tips, you may like to read : 5 Travel Tips to Being a Smarter Traveller
Categories: Oceania Region, Travel Tips
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