Australia's East Coast: The Ultimate Guide

The East Coast is a magical little stretch of coastline running from Far North Queensland all the way down to Melbourne. Now, the girls and I are only going from the top to Sydney, with the addition of Canberra (which is a fairly popular route) but you can always opt to do the full thing and go end-to-end if time and your budget allows!

So lads, the big question on everyone’s mind, and I know you’re thinking it. You’re probably saying to yourself, how did Laura and the girls manage to plan such an unreal, action packed East Coast trip without going down the route of tour packages and greyhound bus routes? ;) I know lads I know. Well, the answer to that question comes in two parts. Let's dive right in!!

1 - Transportation

This was the first thing we organised and definitely the most essential part of your trip to book in advance. Please please please book your car/camper in advance if you're going down the hiring route because they do and they will book out!! You have a few options when deciding to travel the east coast, and I will go through them all with you and how we came about settling on the campervans.

• Caravan, camper, 4WD: This option is the best way by far to get around the east coast, or any part of Australia for that matter. After working in a caravan park in WA completing my 88 days (see my blog post on my 88 days regional work) I learnt a lot about the different modes of transport people use to get around Oz, and which mode suits which route you’re wanting to take. For example, the recommendations for the east coast, due to the more or less smooth terrain, a camper van would suffice and it has proved itself 10 fold during this trip. You can buy or rent a camper/4WD but for convenience purposes we just rented this time.

• There are loadsssss of different companies that do van rentals. We went with two different companies for the two vans so I can give you a bit of help when deciding what to go with, and also I did so much research on vans I am practically van expert at this stage ;)

Personally, for value and nag for your buck I would go with Camperman They were unreal tbf and the van was a fairly high spec and in good shape and hasn’t caused us too many problems yet haha

They have automatic and manual options, it’s funny because one of the girls asked for manual but got automatic and I asked for the other van to automatic but got manual haha so I was delighted we got one auto because I loveee a little automatic hehe

We took 6 weeks which I think was a great amount of time but in hindsight, ideally you could get from Sydney to Daintree in 5 weeks, and that's taking your time! Generally speaking though people roughly spend anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks to go from top to bottom (or vise versa).

For reference we paid $5,200 for the Hi-top campervan.

• Buses: The greyhound buses is easily one of it not the most economical way to travel up/down the east coast from what I’ve heard from other travellers. A great option for solo travellers who are wanting to see the coast on a budget, while also meeting likeminded people along the way. Instead of buying individual bus tickets to different locations along the coast, you can buy a buss pass that allows you to travel freely for a certain number of days which is well worth looking into!

• So they do East Coast Whimit Travel Passes that vary from 7 to 30 days depending on how long you’re wanting to travel for and what suits your plans. They obviously vary in cost as well but range from $265 to $415 in total. I was looking into this option and was definitely considering this when planning on travelling solo.
  

✅Pros:

- Budget friendly option

- Flexibility with dates

- Pause your bus pass if unexpected circumstances arise so you have that bit of security

- Free Wifi onboard

- Top-up available

❌Cons:

- Limited to the bus routes

- No ability to go off the beaten track

- No base

• Hire/buy vehicles: You could also go down the route of a 4WD with rooftop tent or swags (any Irish who don't know what a swag is click here, I like to call them single-man claustrophobic coffin tents). This is a good option if there are only two of yee travelling together and yee really want to go off the beaten track and do some 4 wheel driving on rough terrain. Defo for the more experienced drivers and travellers as you can pick up some nasty car problems along the way on unsealed roads. Also depending on the time of year you go travelling roads can be flooded so you’ve to drive through very high water, some of which is croc infested… But don’t let that deter you at all!! If you’re well used to Aussie outback living and travelling/driving on rough ground at home I’d go for it!! I really wanna get a 4WD when doing WA as I’ve heard its the best way to go but a camper is equally as good!
  

✅Pros:

- No limitations

- Drive wherever you want and discover things you wouldn’t have the option to with other modes of transport

- Base so can unload backpack

- More or less self contained - fridge, gas stovetop, sink etc., therefore can store food, making it easier to stay on budget food wise as you can plan meals

❌Cons:

- Expensive

- Pay for damages yourself (depending on your cover/if you bought a van)

- Keep an eye on power if in camper (ie. will have to charge up fridge and lights every few days)

- Fuel costs

• Package Deals: Now if you really haven’t a notion where to start and the thought of organising a 4/5/6 week trip is giving you a headache already, then you can always opt for a package east coast trip where everything is already planned for you, all you have to do is show up!

• They work out at around $4,000 for the 5 weeks with Ultimate Travel. You’ll go with a random group of people and again there are loads of travel companies but the one that has the best reviews is Ultimate travel (linked above) it’s the one that I was going to do had I not found a group to rent a van and go down with!

• You could also use Backpacker Deals, as they compare all the east coast package deals around at the moment.
  

✅Pros:

- Great for solo travellers or people who are allergic to planning trips

- If you've just landed in Oz and want to meet great people and travel in a tight close knit group

You have a tour guide with you every step of the way

- Hostels are included and some food

- Option to add additional experiences along the way

❌Cons:

- Don’t see anything outside the designated itinerary

- Confined to the plan

- No flexibility to stay longer in places you like or move on from places you don’t like

- Not all experiences are included in the deal ie. extra for scuba diving, skydives, etc.

Once you have your transport booked and ready to go you’re already halfway there! If you have decided on a package deal then you can skip this step and rest easy knowing that your whole trip is sorted already for you. Happy days!! :))

If not then keep reading for the second part of organising your East Coast trip.

2 - Route

Planning the route is just as important as having your transport sorted before you head off on your adventure of a lifetime.

Even if it is just a rough guide outlining a few towns you’re gonna hit, that’s as good as any.

I would recommend starting with the highlights of your trip, or your trip ‘bucket list’ if you will. Make a list of everything that you would like to do, regardless of if you’re 100% gonna do it or not, just take them all down!

Example:

EC Bucket List!

• Topless jeep hire in Magnetic Island

• Whale watching in Byron Bay

• Skydiving Airlie Beach

• Sailing the Whitsundays

• 4WD K'gari (formally Fraser island)

Once you have a full list compiled, you should star them on your google maps! (If you don't know how to star something, just give it a quick Google) This is the best way to get an overview of where your highlights are taking you, and will help you put together a rough route.

Above is what my google maps looks like right now, you can make your own titles to categorise your stars eg. Pubs/restaurants, national parks, landmarks, etc.

It’s a really handy way to stay organised and I’ve become obsessed with it! Whenever I see any place on TikTok or on people's instas, I will immediately go to maps and star it so that when I am in a new place the first thing I do is go onto my maps to see if I have anything starred for that area that I might have forgotten about! You can also write a little note describing why you've starred it just in case you see it in years to come and forget why you had it saved. :)

When you get a sense of where you’re heading, you can start making a list of campsites and free camps where you can stay on your way down. I’ll have another post coming compiling a list of campsites and free camps we found decent along the way, so stay tuned for that!

So lads there you go now! I know I’m a little behind on the blogs but at least this is a start and gives you an idea of what you need to think about before diving into the trip! I'm gonna head back to drinking my wine, listening to the Pursuit of Happiness and eating my omelette watching the little kangaroos jump around the campsite. You'd think I'm taking the piss but that's just the truth to it now.

All the best and I’ll be chatting to see soon :))

Laura.