Travel Advice: Perth to Darwin?

Question

Myself and my boyfriend are currently travelling around Australia. We are in Perth and planning our trip up North, we were going to take a camper van all the way up but were informed by many travel agents that we were missing out on The Highlight of Australia "The Kimberleys". So after a bit of research we booked a 9 day trip through the Kimberleys which is costing 1400 dollars. We now need to travel from Perth to Broome, we had our hearts set on getting a campervan but now it is working out as expensive for the camper van up as far as Broome as it would have been to Darwin, around 2200, which includes a one way drop off fee of over 600 dollars, bummer I know. So has anybody any advise on best way to do this? We dont want to do bus journey as we wanted to take around 3 weeks to get to Broome, then do the 9 day trip through the Kimberleys, spend a few days in Darwin and also do a trip to kakadu, which is an additional 400 dollars. WE are just looking for some good advice

Answer 1

Why don't you buy yourself and old Ford or Holden, either a station waggon or panel van and put a foam mattress in the back and some blankets and drive yourself. Then you can sleep in the back and sell it on after you have finished your trip.
If you look in the Quokka or in the hostels you should find one fairly cheap. You could then do the same to sell it.
This is how I travelled around most of WA when I was a Teenager as it was the cheapest.

Answer 2

My fiance and I did the west coast a few years ago in a wicked camper, and it was the best experience we had in the whole of Australia, but we did indeed miss out on the Kimberley's by doing it that way. We did see Kakadu though, well worth $400.

We did bus trips also while we where out there, and although you get to see all the sights we felt too restricted by this. When we had the camper and a good guide book, we found all sorts of beautiful places, and often we were the only people there as the west coast is so remote. You can sometimes be travelling 600km between major towns and very often we pulled up and slept in laybys.

My advice would be to keep looking around for campers, we didn't pay that much, and its approaching their low season now so haggle, I have just looked on wicked campers and their May prices are from $35 a day, so see what they can do for you. Also look for cheap cars, and get a tent, we got a car in NZ for about $15 a day by pleading poverty, if they think they can get full whack from you they will, but if they think you honestly can't afford it they may do you a deal, remember they get nothing whilst its sat in the depot.

Good luck and hope you have a good time

Answer 3

Australia is really big and in Western Australia the number of people are few. Forget what you saw in the movie Wolf Creek, the reality is you can't stop on the side of the road to take a piss without someone stopping to ask if you are ok and need a hand.

A car (or motorbike) and tent will be just as good as a camper van (why do you need so much luxury). The weather is good and you can camp on the bank of any river (all river banks and beaches belong to the Australian Government and are not private property, so there is nothing stopping you camping anywhere).

Alternatively take the bus, or team up with some backpackers for the journey.

Yes Australia is very big, and travel is one of the biggest hassles for travellers. Especially as you are missing out on many other places on the way.

Answer 4

How about buying a 2nd hand camper and selling it in broome? Probably works out cheaper than hiring it and at leastyou will get some money back on it, check out the local papers for bargains and if this aint an option you could hire a car/4wheel drive\motorbike and take a tent or stay in motels/hostels/campsites along the way but as im sure you are aware sleeping on riverbanks is not a very clever thing to do what with crocs and rising tides etc. Check out the tourist offices and ask for local advice on best routes etc have great time you lucky people!

Answer 5

Long drive mate,.. but its a hella trip, and you'll love it! 1st you want to make sure you have plenty of drinking water (at least 20lt) you will want this for cooking cleaning and of course drinking if you do break down. S**t loads of people travel perth-darwin so its probably not to long to wait to see other people if you need them but if you you need repairs or similar you could be waiting for hours (maybe days - unlikey) In a new car making the next petrol station shouldnt be an issue, but you may decide to check something out on the way, and a little side trip can add 100s of KMs to the trip so i recommend that you take a Gerry can of fuel, just in case - dont use it to avoid higher petrol costs,.. thats when you find you'll need it Toilet paper is a must, unless you feel like waiting another 3hrs to get to a grubby roadhouse dunny. fold out chairs so you can stop and rest without having to sit in a hot car - gives you a great chance to just stop and take in all that space. A gas barbie is also a good idea unless you plan on buying food at each roadhouse (can get pricey) That should see you through pretty sweet!! Just remember to take breaks from driving every couple of hours, especially since this is your 1st big drive. The roads are long and straight and hypnotise sleepy drivers very quickly and hell youve got a week whats the rush ? take your time and enjoy a great drive Have Fun

Answer 6

Bus companies are not all bad. Talk to them about tickets which allow you to get off where you like and get on the next bus. This gives you the flexibility of stopping wherever you like but having the reliability of a bus to take you to the next town. Short term car hire in some of the towns on the way might be the go or you could take short tourist trips. You don't want to miss Monkey Mia or the stromatolites at Shark Bay. Read Bill Bryson's book "Down Under" for a few ideas.

Answer 7

when you have gone to australia why my go a travel agent of go into a internet. cafe and do a run through one of their search engines have a good day a enjoy the rest of your holiday in Australia my hubby and i were there about 10 years ago

Answer 8

camper vans are renown for being expensive. Often they work out far more expensive than staying in hotels!

Answer 9

Ok, and you can find more information about Darwin cheap accommodation and hotel booking at http://www.roomseeker.com.au/

Answer 10

i used to work for a car hire place in perth they pay you to take there cars from a to b so check them out it is called relocate there cars