budgeting for Austrailia

[h3o]

I have about $3,000 and am hoping to stay 3 weeks in Austrailia. Will this be enough, including airfare, food, and diving? I also plan to do a lot of non-diving land activities, outback touring, etc. I will be leaving out of San Francisco, and my friend out of denver. He has about $3,000 as well.

We are currently planned for Roatan and Utila but are thinking of reconsidering to the austrailia.

Anyone go to Austrailia recently? Where did you go and what did you do? How much did everything cost?

thanks...

 

[Scubaroo]

Your $3000 USD converts to about $5635 AUD - and an Australian dollar has about the same spending power in Australia as a US dollar in the US. So you've got lots of money.

The airfare is the kicker - you're looking at around $1100 USD to get there, but I've seen packages for only a few hundred dollars more that include 10 nights accommodation, etc. Check out websites like Orbitz or Expedia to see what deals you can get on airfares.

Be careful buying tickets to "Austrailia" - who knows where you'd end up! It would be like that pair from England who bought tickets over the web to Sydney, and found themselves in Sydney, Nova Scotia instead.

 

[stiebs]

Hi h3o,

It all depends on how luxurious you intend your stay to be, and whereabouts you are staying. I can't say how much airfares are, but here's some guidelines for you.

I live in Melbourne, so can give you local advice, but if you're going to one of the more tropical holiday destinations, a previous vacationer may be able to provide better information.

Firstly, exchange rate is around 0.56 at the moment, so your US$3000 will buy you about AU$5500.

Accomodation can be anything from AU$50/night for basic hotel/motel accom, and will go up from there. Of course backpacker style accomodation can be cheaper, but if you've got some diving gear with you is probably not a good option.

I pay about AU$90 for two boat dives including tank & air. Full gear hire will sting you closer to AU$150.

The best eating in Australia is in Melbourne, where a good meal will cost AU$20-30 per person including a beer or two.

Don't plan on buying any diving gear over here. In most cases for me it is cheaper to buy from the U.S, even with the exchange rate.

Assuming, say US$1500 each for airfare, that gives AU$2750 each for three weeks. That should give you quite an enjoyable holiday, not having to slum it too much. Depending of course on your diving and other spending habits

 

[stiebs]

Scubaroo once bubbled...
Be careful buying tickets to "Austrailia" - who knows where you'd end up! It would be like that pair from England who bought tickets over the web to Sydney, and found themselves in Sydney, Nova Scotia instead.

And although the cheap price might seem like a good deal, a ticket to Melbourne, FL is probably not what you're after either...

 

[h3o]

thanks for all the info and advice guys, my friend and I are considering Australia and the Great Barrier Reef instead of the Honduras Bay Islands.

 

[caymaniac]

I just received a quote for round trip from the middle of Mich. to Cairns for 12 nights with 7 nights in a 41/2 star hotel for a little over 2K each.
Trip-n-tour is who gave me the quote. The U.S. dollar is good right now, and I have someone to wach my business, so, so far it's a go. We plan to go to "Karunda", the "Dain Tree" forest, and if it works out a 4 day livaboard over to "Cod hole" and "Ribbons reefs", as well as the wreck of "Yongala". From Cairns on the return we plan to do Hawaii for a week.
If you have any suggestions, I'm listening!
Caymaniac