Self-catering is the simplest way to control a long Australian travel budget. The national ranges below are community-contributed June 2026 benchmarks, useful for scale but not a promise of today’s shelf price in every suburb or remote town.
Tabla de precios en 10 monedas
National community-contributed ranges updated June 2026. Brand, promotion, season, city and remote freight can change the shelf price.
| Concepto | AUD | NZD | USD | GBP | EUR | CNY | INR | SGD | JPY | KRW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milk1 litre | $1.55–$4.00 | NZD 1.87–NZD 4.81 | USD 1.09–USD 2.82 | GBP 0.81–GBP 2.09 | EUR 0.95–EUR 2.45 | CNY 7.38–CNY 19 | INR 104–INR 270 | SGD 1.40–SGD 3.62 | JPY 174–JPY 450 | KRW 1,549–KRW 3,998 |
| Bread500 g loaf | $2.19–$6.00 | NZD 2.64–NZD 7.22 | USD 1.55–USD 4.24 | GBP 1.14–GBP 3.14 | EUR 1.34–EUR 3.67 | CNY 10–CNY 29 | INR 148–INR 404 | SGD 1.98–SGD 5.43 | JPY 247–JPY 675 | KRW 2,189–KRW 5,997 |
| Eggs12 | $4.20–$10 | NZD 5.05–NZD 12 | USD 2.97–USD 7.20 | GBP 2.20–GBP 5.33 | EUR 2.57–EUR 6.24 | CNY 20–CNY 49 | INR 283–INR 687 | SGD 3.80–SGD 9.22 | JPY 473–JPY 1,148 | KRW 4,198–KRW 10,196 |
| Chicken fillets1 kg | $8.00–$18 | NZD 9.63–NZD 22 | USD 5.65–USD 13 | GBP 4.18–GBP 9.49 | EUR 4.90–EUR 11 | CNY 38–CNY 86 | INR 539–INR 1,223 | SGD 7.24–SGD 16 | JPY 901–JPY 2,043 | KRW 7,997–KRW 18,142 |
| Beef1 kg | $12–$35 | NZD 14–NZD 42 | USD 8.47–USD 25 | GBP 6.27–GBP 18 | EUR 7.35–EUR 21 | CNY 57–CNY 167 | INR 809–INR 2,358 | SGD 11–SGD 32 | JPY 1,351–JPY 3,940 | KRW 11,995–KRW 34,985 |
| Apples1 kg | $3.50–$7.00 | NZD 4.21–NZD 8.42 | USD 2.47–USD 4.94 | GBP 1.83–GBP 3.66 | EUR 2.14–EUR 4.29 | CNY 17–CNY 33 | INR 236–INR 472 | SGD 3.17–SGD 6.33 | JPY 394–JPY 788 | KRW 3,499–KRW 6,997 |
| Tomatoes1 kg | $3.50–$10 | NZD 4.21–NZD 12 | USD 2.47–USD 7.06 | GBP 1.83–GBP 5.23 | EUR 2.14–EUR 6.12 | CNY 17–CNY 48 | INR 236–INR 674 | SGD 3.17–SGD 9.04 | JPY 394–JPY 1,126 | KRW 3,499–KRW 9,996 |
Las cifras en otras monedas son conversiones automáticas de la referencia en AUD, no cotizaciones de tarjeta ni de efectivo. Los bancos y proveedores de pago aplican sus propios tipos y comisiones.
What a road-trip basket needs
Build around breakfast, portable lunches and two or three dinners that share ingredients. Oats, bread, eggs, rice or pasta, vegetables and a flexible protein waste less space than a different recipe every night.
Buy small quantities when refrigeration is weak. A cheap bulk pack is expensive if heat, ice melt or a long driving day makes it unsafe.
City prices and remote prices
Large supermarkets create more competition and promotional choice. Remote stores and roadhouses may carry fewer sizes at higher prices because transport and stock turnover are different.
Restock before remote legs, but respect interstate biosecurity restrictions on fruit, vegetables, honey, plants and other regulated items.
- Compare unit prices
- Plan fridge capacity
- Check border restrictions
A realistic weekly figure
A careful solo traveller cooking most meals might start with an indicative A$80–A$140 weekly grocery range, then adjust for diet, appetite and location. Premium meat, convenience foods and remote purchases lift it quickly.
Keep a separate allowance for coffee, takeaway and shared meals. Calling every food purchase a grocery hides the choices that are easiest to change.
The supermarket landscape
Coles and Woolworths cover the country and Aldi covers most urban and regional areas at noticeably lower prices for staples. IGA fills the gaps in smaller towns and is generally the most expensive of the four.
In remote areas the only option is frequently a roadhouse or a community store, where freight and low turnover push prices well above city levels. That is arithmetic rather than gouging.
Do the substantial shop in the last large centre before a remote leg, and buy locally in small towns for the things worth buying there. Both matter: one for your budget, the other for the town.
- Aldi is cheapest where available
- IGA fills small towns at a premium
- Big shop before remote legs
Shopping for a small fridge in heat
Campervan fridges are small and lose efficiency in Australian heat, particularly those running off the vehicle battery. Buy for two or three days rather than a week and keep raw meat sealed at the bottom.
Build meals around a shared set of ingredients so one shop covers the block. Tinned fish, eggs, hard cheese, oats, rice, pasta and root vegetables all survive limited refrigeration and cover a lot of dinners.
A discounted bulk pack is not a saving if half of it is unsafe by day three. In the tropics this is a practical daily consideration rather than a theoretical one.
- Buy for three days, not seven
- Heat cuts fridge efficiency
- Seal and store raw meat low
Seasonal produce and interstate rules
Buying what is in season locally is the largest real saving. Mangoes in the north over summer, stone fruit in the southern states, and roadside stalls in growing regions all undercut supermarkets substantially.
Roadside stalls frequently run on an honesty box and are cash only. Carry small notes, because they appear without warning and are often the best produce you will find.
Plan the fridge around quarantine borders. Running produce down before crossing into South Australia, Western Australia or Tasmania avoids buying food twice.
- Roadside stalls are cash only
- Buy what is in season locally
- Run the fridge down before borders
A realistic weekly grocery figure
A careful solo traveller cooking most meals can plan around a hundred to a hundred and seventy dollars a week for groceries, with couples achieving a lower per-person figure through shared staples. Dietary requirements, premium meat and remote purchases move that upwards quickly.
Keep coffee, takeaway and shared meals in a separate budget line. Calling every food purchase groceries hides the spending that is easiest to adjust when the total needs correcting, and it is almost never the supermarket shop that is the problem.
Shop at the end of the day where you can, since bakeries and delis in most supermarkets discount fresh items that will not keep overnight.
- Around $100 to $170 a week solo
- Couples save on shared staples
- Track takeaway separately
Lugares por el camino
Comprueba antes de salir
Las normas y las condiciones cambian. Vuelve a consultar la fuente oficial y la página de tu parque o camping concreto antes de salir.
Llévalo a la carretera
Guarda las paradas. Planifica todo el viaje.
Monta una ruta ordenada con los lugares guardados, calcula la distancia y mantén fechas, notas y tareas asociadas.