Tips For Your Cairns To Sydney Road Trip
One of the most epic roadies and probs the most popular in Australia is from Cairns to Sydney – cruising allllll the way down the East Coast. The journey takes you to all the top spots that I’m sure most of you have on your Aussie bucket list and the scenery is beaut!
Just picture it now…cruising along in your camper, windows down, sea breeze in your hair, a wicked playlist playing in the background – pure backpacker vibes!
The benefits of travelling by camper are endless – complete and utter freedom to hit up all the hot spots down the East Coast. From Cairns down to Sydney there are a tonne of epic things to see and do and we’re about to tell you some of our fave spots as well as some off the grid bangerrrrrs.
Let’s goooooooooooooo…
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Thinking about renting some wheels for the roadie?
Attempting to find a campervan can be a long process – trawling through an endless list of very similar looking vans on the internet with no idea what the hell you’re looking for – FORGET IT! We’ve got you covered!
We can find you the best deal on a camper perfect for all of your needs. All you have to do is pop in a few details of your trip and we can do the rest!
NOTE: we only book you a camper van or car rental if we can make it cheaper than the online rate! That’s the RatPack guarantee!
Places to hit up
Great Barrier Reef – snorkelling day trip, get your PADI certificate or head off on a liveaboard pro dive.
Magnetic Island – just off Townsville, this island is the best place to spot some wildlife – did someone say koala walks and wallabies at sunset?!
Whitsunday Islands – sail around the beaut islands and crystal white sandy beaches.
Fraser Island – cruise around in 4x4s on the largest sand island in the world!
Noosa – home of a stunning national park and the chance to see some wild koalas.
Byron Bay – AKA Ratpack HQ. After swinging by to say hey – learn to surf with dolphins and trek to the lighthouse for stunning views.
Sydney – the final stop off and what a place it is to end such an epic roadie. This is your chance to be a proper tourist and take in all the sites!
with RatPack Travel?
Places to visit (off grid)
Cape Tribulation – a combination of rain forest and beaches just north of Cairns – it’s amazing!
Atherton Tablelands – this national park is waterfall paradise – the whole environment is so beautiful and untouched.
Mission Beach – the place to be to tick that skydive off your bucket list – 15,000ft with views of the Great Barrier Reef…yes pls!
Cape Hillsborough – kangaroos. On the Beach. At Sunrise. Need I say more? This place is the definition of paradise.
Sunshine Coast – check out Mooloolaba and Coolum for some chilled out suburb livin’.
Ready to hit the road?
Roadie life is awesome, but simple things like having your daily shower and going to the loo start to raise a lotta questions. So before hittin’ the road, we’ve answered the all important questions to get you roadie ready!
How do I go to the bathroom?
There will be public loos along the way or you’ll have to embrace the bush wee.
Where do I shower?
Luckily, Aussie is pretty warm most of the time, so all you’ll need is a bowl of soap, water and a flannel to give yourself a scrub down.
A load of the beaches also have showers. A shower with a sea view – sounds pretty good to me!
How much food should I get?
Stock up on food every week or so when you come across a supermarket.
Avoid grabbing things in petrol stations – they’re expensive and you’ll end up spending wayyyy more money than you should.
Is is easy to drive in Australia?
Yep, it’s SUPER easy!
Unless you’re going through a city, you’re going to be on the open road for the majority of the journey. The open roads are straight, empty and normally pretty beautiful.
They do drive on the left over there, but don’t worry about it – you’ll get used to it! Plus, there arn’t many roundabouts in Oz.
How will I wash my clothes?
Some of the campsites may have facilities to wash your clothes.
Or, you may have to stop off at a hostel every now and then for the night to use the washing facilities.
How will I know the way?
Grab yourself a local sim so you can use 3G for maps if you’re worried about getting lost. Most campers also provide you with a map – old school style!
From our RatPackers
Genuinely saved me a lot of dolla and stress, thank you so much!
Steve and I were incredibly impressed with Reuben's great professionalism and his ability to find us a wonderful deal for our upcoming N.Z holiday in 2024. Reuben was so helpful, informative and gained us a awesome JUCY Campervan package. Thank you so much for all your assistance.🤩 I would highly recommend Rat Pack Travel to all travellers. 😊Lindy Jurd.
Great service from Ben, can’t recommend RatPack enough. Got us a great price over a really busy period and got us the van we wanted. So easy and will definitely use them again in the future.
Gregg was very helpful in helping me plan my trip very last minute! Thanks so much
Jenna was a huge help getting me a camper for my trip up through the East Coast. Availability was tight and I can’t thank Jenna enough for sorting and at a great price. Definitely worth taking the stress out of searching and using these guys.
Seems to good to be true but Ratpack are everything they say and more. Helped me so much to choose a van and made the whole process so easy! Big shout out to Jenna and all her help above and beyond thanks so much!! Highly recommend
Ben from RatPack Travel was amazing!! Highly recommend getting in contact with this company if you’re unsure what kind of vehicle is best suited for your road-trip plans!
Jenna was so helpful and informative. She made the whole process of booking a camper so easy and answered any questions that I had. I would 100% recommend Ratpack travel for booking a campervan trip! Thanks Jenna 😀
Jenna was amazing! She took all the worry and stress out of booking our holiday! She was so helpful and patient, offering so much advice and securing us a lovely discount as well! Congratulations RatPack Travel - you have a winner in Jenna!
Messaged on Instagram and within a few minutes Reuben had replied, he went through every bit of detail to help arrange our east coast trip, providing the specification of the van and the true costings without any pressure. Very excited to start our trip next month, credit to the team for sure
Mikey was amazing and helped us out a great deal! Can’t recommend them enough!
Just booked a camper through Ratpack Travel with Gregg. He was super professional and talked me through the entire process with constant updates - absolute legend. One of the easiest experiences booking a camper I've had. Would definitely recommend!
Reuben was so helpful to deal with. Would highly recommend
Thanks for sorting out a camper for us Ben! I look forward to the trip and travelling in the RV you found for us
Gregg was fantastic chasing a great price and was extremely responsive - he called when he said he would, chased options immediately and was quick with follow up communication. The process was quick and painless and ended with us getting a great deal.
