Money Saving Hacks for Your Working Holiday Visa in Australia
Aussie Working Holiday Visas are the ultimate way to properly explore Australia {as its massive} and earn some money in the process. You’ll hear that Aussie is expensive, but we’ve pulled together all our knowledge to give you our best money saving hacks. From beautiful beaches to quaint and quirky towns and never-ending sunshine (most of the time, depending on where you are… haha), Australia has so much to offer.
We’ll be sharing with you:
- How to be savvy whilst you are travelling
- Our tips and tricks for your working holiday visa
Travelling Australia can be made easier if you budget and be pretty savvy and plan ahead. Here’s a few RatPack essential travel hacks to help you save money $$$ on your working holiday in Australia.
Click images to see more.
Wallet-friendly accommodation
Hostels are THE place to stay when you’re starting out as you’ll get to meet similar travellers and of course, if you’re happy to bunk up in a dorm room you can save a money on accommodation compared to private rooms or hotels. Dorm accomodation is the way to make friends, have banter and learn how to sleep through someone snoring. Not only are you saving cash but you’re getting the actual backpacker experience, you’ll learn great travel tips and will make memories that will last forever.
Another option if you’re a solo traveller and only staying in a city or town for a few nights or more long term is staying in a room through Airbnb. This is a great option as you can meet locals and expats, get a taste for what it’s like to really live in the place and you’ll be with people who could help you find your feet quickly.
If you’re feeling a little more like getting the true aussie outback experience and planning on being in more regional areas, you could give camping a go. This will save you some serious dollaaaaar and you’ll get to enjoy some time in the famous Australian bush…
Just be careful and make sure you’re prepared as we all know Aussie’s wildlife are not always friendly.
Food and Drink
Cook your own food before adventuring for the day
Bring some home cooked food or enjoy the free public BBQ facilities at parks. To enjoy the facilities at the park, just bring some meat and veggies and start grilling! It may not be fancy but it helps you save money. Get some sandwich ziplock bags or tinfoil and you could bring along a packed lunch {your mum will be proud ahah}.
Bring out the Bevvies
Get your share of booze at the “Bottle-o” aka “bottle shop” aka “liquor store” aka “wine shop” or the good ol “off Licence” for the brits amongst us ‘the offy’. Alcohol at the bottle-o is way more reasonable than at bars so starting your night off at the hostel or your house will save you a ton of cash. And no doubt, you’ll learn about the world famous ‘Goon’.
Here’s a proper RatPacker tip for you: Goon is a common choice for the ultimate budget drinkers. It is wine packaged in a box. Its cheap and does you the same justice as any other alcohol drinks but for less cash. WINNING! Warning – goon causes great {terrible} hangovers and if you mix it with juice it will taste WAY better.
with RatPack Travel?
Venture around Australia by Campervan
If you are traveling in a group or solo travelling around Australia, then here’s a little tip for ya: get yourself a campervan to drive, relax and enjoy the beauty of Australia. For example, if you fly into Sydney you can buy a campervan with your savings, you now have a mobile home and somewhere you can call your own. You’ll save a heap load of cash on accommodation, transport and you’ll be able to participate in car pooling where other backpackers will share your fuel cost in return for a ride.
Of course driving across Australia will take more time but there’s loads of opportunities to find work across the country and experience amazing activities like learning to Surf, Sailing the Whitsundays, Bungee Jumping and 4WD on Fraser Island.
An Aussie roadie is a great way to travel the country, save money and make the most of your working holiday visa, a year will go faster than you can imagine!
Get to work
You might be thinking we’re mad when we say you can actually leave Australia with more money than you arrived with but savvy backpackers will finishing up their working holiday in Australia with some extra cash in the bank.
If you complete your farm work you’ll have a whole extra year ahead of you so earning is the one! Another great tip here is to buy a camper or decent size car or van that you can live in while on the road.
This will save you a load of cash on accommodation and transport and you can sell it when you’re gone. The final stage of the money saving guide is to secure your superannuation refund when you leave Australia.
If you’ve already left Australia or if you have a friend who’s left recently, check out the RatPack’s Super Refund page, fill out your details and we’ll find out how much cash you’re owed then you can start planning your next trip yewwwwwwwwwwwwww.
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.
