Campervan Hire – Trip Planner

Bartrak would like to assist in making your holiday as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.  

In order to make sure that you get to do all of the things that you want to do and see all of the places that you want to see within your time frame, a little planning is involved.

One issue that we occasionally see (especially with first time visitors to Australia), is that it is very easy to underestimate how big Australia actually is and some of the distances involved.  

Whilst travelling across Australia is certainly part of the adventure, a little bit of planning is required so that you do not end up having to rush towards the end of your trip.

Test your knowledge with the following question!!

Which is the longest distance to drive?

a)  Perth to Sydney?

b)  Lisbon (Portugal) to Moscow?

c)  Melbourne to Cairns? 

d)  Los Angeles to New York?

e)  London to Edinburgh 7 TIMES

 

ANSWER

All are roughly the same (approx 3,500km)

 

As you can see on the diagram to the right, the land mass of Australia is roughly the same as the total land mass of Europe or USA.  

 

Bartrak DOES NOT recommend having each and every night and stop pre-planned.  Motorhoming is all about being flexible and making your decisions along the way (this is all part of the adventure).  

However, Bartrak DOES recommend that you have a rough itinerary planned and you should work out where you should be at the end of each week or 2 week period.  Eg.  If travelling for 4 weeks, before you start, you should have an approx location that you should be at by the end of the first week, and then an approx location that you be at by the end of the second week, and so on for the end of the third week.

 

When planning your trip (or while travelling) do not drive after sunset or before sunrise.  In country areas (especially across the "outback"), kangaroos, unfenced cattle, wombats and other wildlife are a serious problem.

Due to the vast distances involved, we strongly suggest that a very important exercise in planning your route (before booking your vehicle), is to sit down with a map of Australia and calculate the total distance that you wish to travel. 

Then divide this total distance by between 150 - 200 km per day (180 is the figure we generally use). This will give you the minimum total days required for your itinerary. Add extra days if you plan to stay in any particular location/s for several days.

Eg. How long should we allow if wanting to travel from MELBOURNE to CAIRNS?

Total distance via coast road is approx 3500 km
3500 km divided by 180 km/day = 20 days
+ 4 extra days at Gold Coast + 2 days in Sydney
= TOTAL 26 days

To do this trip in any less than 26 days means that you will miss out on sightseeing, relaxing and the general enjoyment of motorhoming.

 

For questions regarding where to camp at night, please visit our FAQs page and see the section headed "Do we have to stay in a caravan park or can we camp on the side of the road?"

 

When requesting a quotation, feel free to use the "Comments" box at the bottom of our Ask for a Quote page for any additional questions regarding planning your trip.  If you are not yet ready to ask for a quotation, feel free to use our General Enquiries page.