Best tips for road trips in Australia

You're going on a road trip in Australia, and you have plenty of reasons to start get excited. In this article we'll provide you with some good general tips about road tripping in Australia, so you don't have to spend unnecessary time searching the web.

Remember, that you are travelling to a different part of the world and different rules might apply when it comes to renting a vehicle. We strongly recommend that you read the terms and condition of the contract thoroughly, so you know what's allowed and how you are covered. 

In addition, we can't recommend enough that you have a valid travel insurance before the day of departure. If you don't have a travel insurance, please get in touch with one of our travel consultants who can help you out. Seriously! 

Freedom Camping (i.e. camping in public places) is allowed in some parts of Australia. However, you will find that there are also large number of clean and well-equipped campgrounds situated in amazing locations around the country. If you do decide to Freedom Camp, you need to ensure that you are in a designated free camping zone otherwise you will receive a large fine.

Council laws prohibit camping in and around towns and cities unless you are in holiday parks, you are only permitted to stay overnight in overnight rest areas, national park campgrounds (for a small fee) and other regulated designated campsites. There’s a handy app called CamperMate that you can download which shows all free and paid camping areas and holiday parks in Australia, you can also buy a Camps Australia book which shows these along with road maps.

You can also find other great camping tips here. If you're going for a road trip in Southern Australia, we recommend you to check this app out.

Always remember to have enough petrol on the car or camper, when driving long distance as there might be few petrol stations along the way. Sounds silly however you will get knocked out of your socks when you are heading towards the outback – especially in Western Australia & Northern Territory! Petrol prices can be quite high in those areas so pop some extra fuel into your fuel can before you get there and you can sleep easier knowing you’ve saved yourself some serious $$$.

If you buy your petrol on a Tuesday you can expect to pay 5% to 15% less than on other days. If a Tuesday isn’t convenient, go on a Wednesday! So if you want to save the pennies tank up on one of those days and definitely avoid the weekends. Coles and Woolworths own a majority of the petrol stations and offer discounts on fuel when you shop with them. As long as you spend over $30 (which isn’t hard…) you can receive discounts anywhere between $0.04 cents/litre to $0.12 cents/litre depending on the promotion.

One of your biggest outgoings is going to be cost of your fuel. One of the best apps we recommend is MotorMouth. It’s really handy for finding the cheapest petrol on sale in your area.

Road toll fees apply on some roads in Australia. You will likely encounter toll roads if you are driving through Metropolitan New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.

You are responsible for paying road toll fees when driving a rental campervan vehicle in Australia. It is important to be aware of these roads before you travel as toll roads in Australia are electronically tolled, you will not be able to stop and pay cash.

You will need to set up a visitors e-pass once you have picked up a motorhome in Australia. Any unpaid tolls will incur an administration fee from us in addition to the fee owed to the tolling company. You can set up a pass for as little as $1.50 and then be automatically charged if you use toll roads. This must be done within 48 hours of travelling on a toll road.​ 

Here we'll provide you with the best tips suggestions for itineraries from each of our campervan suppliers.

Travelling in a Jucy Camper?

• Useful stuff from the Jucy Blog

Travelling in a Maui Camper? 

• Accommodation on your road trip
• Route suggestions
• General guide for travelling in a campervan in Australia

Travelling in a Britz Camper?

• General tips about road tripping in Australia by Britz
• Suggested itenaries in Australia
• The Britz Blog about road trips in Australia

Travelling in a Mighty Camper?

• Where to stay on the road trip in Australia?
• Plan your road trip like a local in Australia
• Download the Mighy Travel App here!

Travelling in a Travellers Autobarn Camper?

• The ultimate guide to road trips in Australia by Travellers Autobarn
• Download the Travellers Autobarn App with info and tips for the road

Enjoy your awesome adventure Down Under!