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Travelling Australia: ON A BUDGET


Public Transport

There's no cheaper way of getting around, particularly if the place you are attempting to get around is a capital city. Most regional towns and centres have some form of public transport - usually buses - but it is generally geared towards the requirements of locals, and so in most cases is not an option for the visitor, particularly after dark. Such is not the case in the capital cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, where public transport can take you to just about anywhere visitors are likely to want to go. In both of those cities, and to a lesser degree in the other capitals, you can leave your car at your hotel (or if you have flown there, don't even bother hiring a car unless you want to do some serious exploring) and do all your travelling by bus, train, tram or ferry.
Avoid travelling in peak hours (7.30am to 9am and 4.30pm to 6.00pm) and late at night (for safety reasons). In most capital cities you can buy a day ticket that allows you unlimited travel across the public transport network after 9am on weekdays and all day on Saturdays and Sundays for less than $10 per person.
If you aim towards commencing your city and suburban journeys between 9am and 4.30pm, you'll find public transport easy to use, relatively stress free and unbeatable in terms of value for money.
Feature:
Oz Tracks Rail Pass

The best deal available for Australians who want to go and see their own country on a limited budget is to travel using a Great Southern Rail Oz Tracks Pass. For just $690, you get to travel in daynight seats on up to 14 sectors on the Great Southern Rail network during a six months period. One interstate capital to another is deemed a sector; if a sector is broken mid-journey for a stop at Kalgoorlie or Broken Hill, for example, that journey counts as one sector. The pass allows travel on the Indian Pacific (Perth - Adelaide - Sydney), The Ghan (Adelaide - Alice Springs - Darwin) and The overland (Adelaide - Melbourne). Thus, you can travel around a large part of Australia for less than $50 a destination.
No other form of transport offers a deal like that. I live in Sydney and using my last pass, I had two trips to Perth and back, two trips to Melbourne via Adelaide (I flew home from Melbourne each time) and went to Darwin and back with a 4-day stop-over in both Alice Springs and Adelaide - all for $690 plus $98 for my two flights home from Melbourne. The pass provided 20 nights' travelling accommodation and when it expired I still had one sector left that I didn't get to use!
The downside is that you can end up waiting for a connection at some place where you don't want to be - usually Adelaide, which is the hub of the GSR rail system - and you have to love train travel because there's plenty of it! But if you have time on your hands, and you love travelling, this is the way to do it. It is a shame that the Oz Tracks Pass does not allow direct travel between Melbourne and Sydney on the XPT, or include any Queensland destinations, but there are plenty of destinations that you can use the pass to go to for that not to be an issue.

Rail Passes for International Visitors

Ausrail Pass: If you are an overseas visitor, you have an even better rail pass available that offers the save value as the Oz Tracks Pass but with many more destinations. The Austrail Pass gives you 6 months of unlimited travel. This is an economic way to enjoy rail travel all over Australia. Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane and Canberra plus travel along the east coast all the way up to Cairns.

Rail Explorer Pass: This pass is similar to the Oz Tracks Rail Pass, however it provides unlimited travel on Great Southern Rail's trains to International visitors to Australia during a six month period.
Useful Information

Journeys: Where half the fun is getting there.

Travel Directions: Get a map and driving directions from anywhere in Australia to any other place

Travel Times: How long it takes to get from A to B

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