Working Holiday Road Trip Budget in Australia 2026: Cost Per Week

The weekly number for two people

The table adds three lines for seven nights: fuel for 1,000 km in a petrol van at 12 L/100 km, groceries at $85 each for the core staples in the grocery prices guide, and the camping nights. Camping prices come from published tariffs in the camping fees guide and one showground tariff, not from an average of holiday parks, because the big chains show a price only after you enter dates.

Each total is arithmetic on those inputs for one week, so treat it as a starting point and replace the numbers with your own.

Fuel: the line that moves most

The government's Fuel Plan page showed average retail prices in the five largest cities on 14 October 2026 of about $2.41 a litre for petrol and $2.80 for diesel. NRMA's weekly report for Sydney on 19 October showed regular unleaded at 239.8 cents and diesel at 280.1 cents. The fuel cost guide's examples use the Australian Institute of Petroleum averages for the week ending 1 November 2026, so use the dated figures here when you compare.

Distance matters more than price. Halving the kilometres halves the bill, and remote roadhouses charge more than the city averages.

Campsites: what the published tariffs say

Queensland charges $7.75 per person a night or $31 for a family, Victoria's campgrounds are half price from $16 a site until July 2027, and Western Australia and the Northern Territory charge $10 to $20 per adult, as the camping fees guide sets out. Parks Victoria says the half-price fees were reintroduced on 1 July 2025 for two years.

For holiday parks, Exhibition Park in Canberra publishes a tariff of $40 powered and $35 unpowered a night until 1 November 2026, rising to $45 and $40 from that date. The big chains show a price only after you enter dates, so get a quote for your own route and season.

Food

The grocery prices guide puts a solo week of core staples at about $85 on Numbeo's community-reported prices for October 2026, which is $170 for two. Eating out adds quickly: the eating out guide shows an inexpensive restaurant meal at $20 to $45 a person in Sydney.

A small campervan fridge limits what you can carry, so budget for restocking every two or three days instead of one big shop.

What the weekly number leaves out

The vehicle comes first. A 14-day Apollo or Maui hire with High Road cover, a one-way fee, an extra driver and a kit adds $1,349 before the daily rate, as the hire cost guide works out. If you buy, Queensland's published 12-month registration and compulsory third party cost on 1 October 2026 was $864.50 to $880.50 for a four-cylinder light vehicle, and the buying guide covers transfer duty.

Then add travel insurance, a phone plan, activities and a repair reserve. The campervan budget guide recommends holding money for a tyre, a windscreen or a changed ferry, and a working holiday visa has its own application charge and funds requirement on the Home Affairs website.

Budget around work stops

Home Affairs says that on a working holiday visa you can only work for the same employer for a maximum of 6 months, with exemptions that include plant and animal cultivation work anywhere in Australia and some industries in northern Australia. Plan a break in your budget each time a job ends, because travel between jobs earns nothing.

The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes the national minimum wage and casual loading, and it changes each 1 July, so check its page for the current rate before you plan your weekly income.

Ways to lower the weekly number

Drive fewer kilometres, because fuel scales with distance. Use free camps only where the land manager allows camping by sign or standing rule, and read the state rules in the free camping guide. Pair two or three low-cost nights with one serviced night for showers, laundry, water and charging, which the campervan budget guide recommends.

Check each park agency's fee page before you book, because the half-price Victorian fees end in July 2027 and fees can change each 1 July.

Price the nights in AussieCamps

AussieCamps lists 1,838 campgrounds and 745 national parks from the state park agencies, plus 5,552 rest areas from road authorities, with each place's facilities, fees and rules as the agency publishes them. You can filter by cost, including free sites, and read reported camping prices on a place page.

Holiday parks and motels listed by BookEasy can be booked in the app with their address, hours and a Book now button. Build a trip with ordered stops, dates, notes and route distance, then use the distance in the fuel formula above. Place details work offline; map tiles, routing, weather and photos need signal.

Places along the way