Sydney is a must see stop off point for any East Coast Roadie. The city is iconic, very beautiful and well, world famous but this comes with a price – Sydney is pretttyyy spenny (believe me) – you’ve gotta make that money last.
We’ll be sharing with you…
- The ultimate hacks to visit Sydney as a BackPacker
- Where to get EPIC freebies
- How to avoid those ‘city’ food and drink prices
- how we can save you money with our discounts..
- AND, OF COURSE a brilliant way to book your campervan hire sydney for less!
So, here are some tips and tricks for exploring the city on a budget….
Click images to see more.
Sydney on a budget
Free walking tours
The best way to see all of Sydney’s ICONIC sites, rolled in to one is to hop on a FREE walking tour…amazing!!
These tours are also a great way to meet fellow travellers.
Hostel freebies
When booking your accommodation, keep an eye out for hostels that offer meals. They’re usually a fraction of the price you’d pay eating out and are a great way to mingle and meet people. Some hostels may also provide free brekkie!
There is also always the ‘free shelf’ in the kitchen – sounds super cheap – but you can actually find some decent stuff in there (we said this would be budget friendly ;)).
Getting around
In Sydney, you’ll need to purchase an Opal Card to use on public transport…
All day on SUNDAYS you can travel on the metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services for $8.40 a day – so Sunday is a good day for exploring the ins and outs of the city.
Free events
Sydney pretty much always has something going on – it’s a big ol’ city that has to cater for everyone.
If you search ‘Sydney free events’ I am sure you’ll find a list of things to go and try out…
Check out: Markets, music events, museum events and if you’re there over NYE you cannot miss out on the fireworks!
Places to explore
Sure, the centre has got it all going on – and it’s great fun – but Sydney has so much more to offer.
Why not get off the beaten track and head a little further a field:
- Surrey Hills – cool vibes and great cafes.
- Newtown – hipster, cool, artsy vibes.
- Northern Beaches – check out Manly and Curl Curl.
Backpacker bars and nights out
If you’re keen to take on the true backpacker lifestyle, I’m sure you’ll find yourself on some sort of bar crawl/night out…There are quite a few backpacker bars in Sydney, so grab a tinny and let the night begin yeewww…
- Scubar – bar come club
- Sidebar – party party!
- Scary Canary – Great food and drinks
- Darling Harbour – Head to Pontoon and home club. There are also LOADS of happy hours and food deals going on at the many restaurants and bars around the harbour
- Opera bar – Not a backpacker bar BUT abit of a treat and a memory!
Beach Day
THE best activity to do for free – lounging on a beach with a book in your hand – it really doesn’t get better than that!!
I’m a proper water baby and absolutely LOVE the beach, so here is a lil list of my faves:
- Shelly Beach, Manly – paradise (my fave)
- Bronte Beach – surf
- Tamarama
- Watsons Bay
- Curl Curl – Northern Beaches
- And of course, you gotta check out Bondi Beach (check out the walk to Coogee!)
Freebies!
The one you’ve been waiting for…FREEBIES – gotta love em (lol).
So here goes, my little list of freebies to check out in Sydney:
- Harbour Bridge and Opera House – free to look at
- Royal Botanic Gardens
- Mrs Macquarie’s Point – epic viewpoint over the harbour
- China Town – cool at night
- Beaches – lying on a beach is the best thing to do for free!
- Hyde Park – grab a picnic and chill
- Art Galleries and Museums – there are tonnes
- Bondi to Coogee coastal walk
- Luna Park – free entry (pay per ride)
- Manly to Spit walk
- North Head look out – insane views of the city
About the Author: Sammy
with RatPack Travel?
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From our RatPackers
Ryan did an amazing job and guided me through the alternatives of different campervan rentals and helped me to find what suits me for my trip
Planning a huge trip is always a daunting experience but George managed to make the whole experience stress free and enjoyable. Everything from start to finish was personal and easy! Booking with RatPack is like being on the phone to a mate. Super informative, really friendly and we got an amazing deal. All you can ask for really. Thank you RatPack!
Huge thank you to RatPack Travel! We left it pretty late to book our campervan for Tassie and couldn't find many affordable options ourselves. I spoke to Gregg from RatPack on Whatsapp and within 10 minutes he had found us a great vehicle at an amazing price. We've just landed in Hobart and found out we've been upgraded to an even better van at the same price!! Will definitely be recommending RatPack to everyone I know who is planning to travel and see Australia the proper way! Thank you Gregg! ❤️
My booking experience was such a pleasure and quite unique. I assumed I’d be dealing with computer generated prompts but instead had 2 calls with the lovely Anna who worked with our tricky time difference (I’m in Qatar) . Within 24 hours she secured me a great deal on the van that would work best for me. Can’t wait for my December adventure and couldn’t recommend RatPack Travel enough!!
Ryan was very helpful top bloke 👍👍
Super schnelle und gleichzeitig sehr persönliche Abwicklung der Buchung. Anna war sehr freundlich und bei Fragen stets erreichbar. Macht das buchen super easy, sehr guter Service!
I had an incredible experience renting a van with them for my road trip in New Zealand. Ben was exceptionally helpful and made the whole process smooth and enjoyable. We had a pleasant chat, and they were accommodating when I needed to make changes to my booking. Highly recommend this rental company for anyone exploring New Zealand! Can’t wait to get in the road.
Cannot recommend these guys enough!! We recently booked our 3 week holiday in NZ. We would be lying if we said the process of looking for a motorhome/campervan was easy. We spent days tossing up options that hardly met our budget. After a few days of stressing out like a pair of lunatics we came across RatPack Travel, lo and behold they were the saviours we desperately needed! We hopped on a call with Chris and got chatting. Within the hour we locked in a spacious motorhome (with insurance) that met our budget - WE’RE SO STOKED!! We wholeheartedly recommend RatPack Travel to any future holiday makers out there looking for a fast, reliable and friendly service! THANK YOU CHRIS!!! ❤️🔥
Haven't started my journey yet so can't say much but so far the customer service specifically from Ben has been incredible and he was able to find me a great deal and I'm very excited.
A huge thanks to George and Jenna for a great service! Kind, accomodating, and effective!
Anna has been really helpful and made sure I got the best deal for my last minute booking. She made it really easy as I had nothing to do, except for answer questions and review the details to confirm the booking. She was very professional and also answered my questions and gave me tips. The service is free for users as they get paid by the rental company. Thank you to Sammy and Tammy as well for finding a solution for me :). Will recommend your services.
Super helpful and friendly staff. They helped me plan an adventure with my dog in a rental camper and got the best deals. Thank you Ryan F and RatPack.
George was super helpful. He got us the absolute best deal and saved us so much money on our van!
Gregg was great to work with! Made the process so smooth and effortless!
These guys are lifesavers! Needed to book a van for ten days right before arriving in Australia and they did all the heavy lifting finding the van! Huge thank you to Anna for being incredibly friendly and helpful - RatPack is the best!
