Time flies! I’ve been in Australia for five months now and I can’t believe it. I’ve just about finished up my adventure on the East Coast – which is what I’ve been doing for the past 4.5 months since leaving Sydney. Last month (Month 4, July) was a very cheap month as I was doing a work exchange. Which I’m thankful for, as this month was really expensive!

I typically break down my expenses into three main categories: accommodation, gas, and food. But I spent a lot of money on costs outside of these categories in August. So, I’ve added in an additional category this month: sightseeing/other. I’ll discuss these expenses more below!

How Much I Spent in Month 5 in Australia

So, how much money did I actually spend? Here’s a budget breakdown for the month!

Accommodation: $321 AUD = £163 // $205 USD

Gas: $420 AUD = £213 // $270 USD

Food: $353 AUD = £180 // $227 USD

Sightseeing/Other: $1008 AUD = £512 // $647 USD

Total: $2102 AUD = £1068 // $1349 USD

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Australia Budget Analysis

This is the first month that I’ve needed to add a sightseeing/other category to my monthly budget. While my costs for accommodation, gas, and food might not seem high, this has been an insanely expensive month for me! And I want my budget breakdown to reflect that. Some of these were big costs on sightseeing activities/tours, some were investments in my car. Some were totally unexpected, like needing to buy a new camera after the zoom on mine broke!

For a more in-depth look at what exactly made up this category, I’ve broken things down a bit. My two-day/one-night Whitsundays sailing trip cost $360 AUD. Buying a new camera cost me $220 AUD. My scenic flight in Cairns over the Great Barrier Reef was partially sponsored and discounted, but still cost $120 AUD. My day excursion to Fitzroy Island cost $93 AUD. I got four months of my birth control prescription, which cost $60 AUD in total (the pills cost $15 AUD per month). I spent $70 AUD on materials to build the platform for the back of my car. Finally, I spent $85 AUD on my new camping stove and a few bits of camping gear. These expenses were a HUGE chunk of my budget this month!

Besides these big expenditures, there were (thankfully) few other expenses in August: my ferry to Magnetic Island, buses on the island, postcards and stamps, and a few other trivial things at Kmart. My caravan park in Airlie Beach, my hostel on Magnetic Island, and my caravan park in Cairns made up the vast majority of my accommodation expenses. The rest of my (paid) accommodation was cheap campsites in a variety of Queensland National Parks. I’m so grateful that I had a friend in Townsville, who kindly put me up for several nights before and after Magnetic Island! Melyssa and I had never met and only know each other through Instagram – I’m so so thankful not only for Instagram for connecting us, but that Melyssa was kind enough to host me!

My food budget was much more manageable this month, compared to my previous months on the road. This was partly due to finally having a stove to cook with! Most of my meals are pretty simple I’ll admit, but it’s helped save me money so that I’m not having to constantly buy ready-made (expensive) food if I want a hot meal. I also made a huge effort to plan my grocery shops in advance, strategically use up all of my food before it goes off, and not eat any meals out. I’ll be treating myself here and there coming up – but I’m pleased with my food spending this month.

This was always going to be an expensive month, as there were so many bucket-list experiences I knew I’d spend money on during this section of my East Coast road trip. The Whitsundays, Magnetic Island, and the Great Barrier Reef are world-class destinations, and I wanted to enjoy them! As always, I did my best to balance this out with free camps and lots of free hiking and outdoor activities where I could. While I obviously could have spent less money in August, I’m glad I did – it’ll cost me a lot more to come back to Australia and do those things another time! So while I did spend a lot of money this month, I’m okay with it.

I hope this post helps anyone budgeting a trip on the East Coast of Australia!

Have you traveled the East Coast of Australia? What was your budget like?

You might also like my posts:

How to Get a Work & Holiday Visa (WHV 462) for Australia in 2023

Moving to Oz on a Working Holiday Visa: How to Start Your Life in Australia

Australia Budget: Month 4 (July 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 3 (June 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 2 (May 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 1 (April 2023)

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