For anyone living on the East Coast of the United States, Australia is not only a very time-consuming destination (20 grinding hours in the air, plus at least one layover), it is also a very expensive one. Round-trip plane fare alone can creep toward $2,000, and because Australia is so vast the only practical way to travel within the country during short visits of, say, anything less than a month, is to fly, at additional expense. Because my husband, Hansi, is a teacher, we were eligible for a United Airlines reduced fare to Sydney of $1,310 apiece. Since we planned to visit several other cities, we also needed a Qantas Boomerang Pass, which is like a Eurail Pass for the sky. Cost per person: $844.
A cursory session of number crunching made one thing distressingly clear: It would be the most expensive vacation we had ever taken. Air fare alone would exceed $4,300. Including food, accommodations, a few car rentals, and miscellaneous expenses, the three-week trip could easily top six grand, and might even hit seven. That may be a typical vacation cost for some travelers. But we were appalled.
The idea seemed so stunningly extravagant that we nearly abandoned it entirely. Then we considered what would await us: the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world; the east coast rain forest, a cherished World Heritage site; the desolate, alluring Outback. And the timing was ideal; my youthful, adventurous in-laws, who are marvelous travel companions, would be in Australia for a conference.
Where could we cut costs? Lodging. Some vacationers value high-thread counts and in-room Jacuzzis. All I want is safe and clean. So why spend $100 a night or more -- as we easily could have -- on rooms that would serve mostly as refueling stations for the next day's outing? Since we would be doing a lot of flying, we needed to travel light, so camping and all the gear it entails were out. We had already vowed to eat cheaply and generally spend as sparingly as possible with the aim of keeping total expenses close to $5,500. Could we also rely on Australia's extensive network of hostels, which are open to all ages, and never spend more than $40 a night, without sacrificing safety or cleanliness?
