Touring Australia by motorhome

An RV in Australia

Have campervan, will travel—an RV is your vehicle and lodging all in one

I love campervans.

I grew up traveling in various home-rigged ones my dad converted out of big vans (though for about 18 monhts in Europe there, we had an actual campervan, a VW Westfalia with the pop-top tent roof). I even rented a motorhome in New Zealand for my honeymoon.

The wide open spaces, long roads, and friendly attitudes of Australia are custom-made for RVing. And it's cheap, too: most campsites range from $5 to $35 (and plenty of free ones abound; see below).

Resources for renting a motorhome, campervan, or RV in Australia

RV Swaps
Already own an RV? Want to hit the road in a camper in Australia without having to pay high rental fees? Find an Aussie motorhome owner who's willing to swap his for yours and you can both vacation for free (uh, plus gas):

• icacaravanning.org
• Motorhomeholidayswap.com
• UKmotorhomes.net/exchange.shtml
• lsinzelle.free.fr/Echange.htm

How to find campsites in Australia

There are three main types of places where you can park a motorhome for the night in Australia: Holiday Parks, National Park campgrounds, and free campsites.

General resoruces to find campgrounds in Australia

www.ozholidayparks.com.au
www.exploreaustralia.net.au
www.camping.com.au
environment.gov.au and australia.gov.au (for National Parks)

Campground resources and Holdiay Parks chains

Free camping in Australia

There is also plenty of free camping and free places to park your motorhome (boondocking) all across Australia. Just be sure you find one that is free and legal. Don't simply pull over by the side of the road; you can get fined up to A$200.

Yes, you can research much of this online these days (sites listed below), but I recommend picking up a print guide to them once you are over there so you have it handy whiel you epxlore. Your rental place will likely have copies, or you can just hit a bookstore. Two of the best are put out by Camps Australia Wide (www.campsaustraliawide.com) and Free Camping Australia (www.free-camping-australia.com.au).