As you’ve probably heard, renting a campervan is one of the best ways to travel Australia. It means that you have the freedom to do things in your own time, and means that you get the chance to experience the unique places that the coaches don’t stop at.
As a team of travellers and road trip lovers who have fully immersed ourselves in camper life, we’ve come up with the top 10 tips for life on the road.
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1. Buy mosquito spray!
This has got to be number one as there is nothing worse than trying to sleep in a campervan whilst there is a mosquito buzzing around your head! Mozzies will be worse if you’re camping by a river or lake so make sure you spray loads on if you are, and always spray it before it starts to get dark as the mosquitos come out at dusk.
2. Make some good playlists
Your road trip is always as good as the music you play! A lot of the time you will be driving for hours without much to see or do, so make sure you have plenty of playlists at the ready to sing along to.
3. Make use of our free money saving pack – which includes FREE Campsites from Cairns to Sydney
As a RatPack reader you can get access to our favourite FREE camp sites! We’ve added our best free camps that we’ve stayed at and pinned them especially for you on a google map link – subscribe to our FREE Money Saving Pack here & we’ll send it you free of charge with a load of other useful money saving tips and tricks..
Also, make use of Wikicamps – a great app which shows you all the campsites in the area.
4. Bring things to do in case it rains
Although most of the time the weather is beautiful, sometimes in Australia it rains pretty hard, and if it does it’s always good to have something to do inside the camper to keep you entertained! Some good ideas are: a pack of cards, a laptop and hard drive with films on it and plenty of goon!
5. Get a local phone contract so you can use data for maps
Unless you are a pro map reader this one is a must. You can get a sim for 2 dollars and then just buy a pay as you go monthly contract which will cost around 30 dollars a month and gives you texts, calls and data. Just make sure you get your phone unlocked before leaving for your trip.
6. Camp by the beach at least once
There are certain places where you will be able to camp by the beach and in national parks. Take advantage of this and immerse yourself in nature as much as possible. It’s such a great feeling waking up to the sound of the ocean.
7. Always carry water and snacks
There are some long roads in Australia that sometimes you will be driving down for a while before you see a shop, so make sure you’re always stocked up with plenty of water and snacks! Most campervans will have a fridge that you can store food and drink in. At RatPack we can help you choose the campervan with the facilities suited for you for the best price (more on this in a minute).
8. Wave at other campers (especially if they have the same type of van as you!)
It’s an unwritten rule that campers wave at each other when passing each other on the roads of Australia. This rule becomes even more potent when the passing campervan is the same type as yours!
9. Try and get to your destination before it gets dark
It’s pretty hard to rummage around in the dark trying to cook food and make up your bed so try your best to get to your destination before it gets dark. Also make sure you take a torch for those nights when arriving late is unavoidable.
10. Enjoy the freedom!
You will never feel more free than when you are cruising around in a campervan and everyday is the start of a new adventure. Make the most of it and remember that this is an experience you will remember and cherish for the rest of your life!
Ready for your roadtrip experience? Here at Ratpack we are unique to any of the traditional travel shops. We compare the cheapest deals for your dates and specific requests and then discount online prices making it cheaper than going direct to the campervan company.
About the Author: Sammy
with RatPack Travel?
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From our RatPackers
Ben was amazing and went above and beyond to find us amazing deals and exactly what we were looking for. He did it all in record time too! We were very close to our travel date and Ben was doing so much for us so quickly! Definitely recommend
Mikey was fantastic from start to finish. He was so efficient and easy to talk to. 10/10 for him, would highly recommend the service. So happy I chose to go with RatPack Travel.
Friendly helpful and accommodating. Thanks Ryan. You made it all very easy.
Great service from Ben, came back with answers within minutes and walked us through the process, great experience, thanks Ben
George was fantastic, I came in very vague and he gave me the time and examples to lock in what we were looking for. He found great deals and was easy to talk to - he was able to give tips about the process without putting any pressure. Would recommend using Ratpack.
Ben made it so fast and easy for us to reserve our camper van for our trip in the fall! Excellent service!’n
I had a call with Ryan who was super nice, knowledgable and made me feel really at ease with making my decision. He asked me all about what I want to do and achieve on my trip, although I didn’t really want to pack too much in… nor gave much detail on what I want to do, he gave options and ideas for me to look into. He used his own experience as an example which was really helpful to hear and made me feel like I’m right at home with RatPack, I knew then I was making the right choice by talking to him. He answered any questions I had, even if they seemed like silly questions to ask. The booking process is really easy and straight forward, they do all the hard parts for you. Once Ryan talked me through my options, I made my selection and all I had to do was enter my card details for the deposit and I was done! Thanks to Ryan’s detailed and calm approach I knew I was booking with the right company/team. I can’t wait for the next step!!
George has been amazing. He put together the costings for our trip, and then I changed the dates completely and he redid everything and said it wasn’t a problem. I felt that he worked hard to get me the best deal, advised me which pickup town was the best deal, when was the best time to travel, and how I could save money by adding a day to our trip (yes, it was cheaper to go for 21 days than go for 20!). George sent through mountains of advice on travel destinations, camping sites etc. I would definitely recommend RatPack Travel and George.
The Ratpack team and specifically Ryan f were great for booking our dream New Zealand campervan trip. Ryan worked hard over several days trying to find the best possible deals for us and the communication was great with updates regularly. He was able to get us 2 vans that out did any other quotes that we received and we are really looking forward to our trip with Ratpack being by our side. Thanks a lot Ryan F!
Lovely people, more than helpful.
I am so stoked with the service I received from Ryan at RatPack Travel. He was so proactive and on the ball to help me with all my questions and variations. He gave me several options and gave me other things to look at to make sure I had all that I needed. Ryan did all the legwork in following up the availability of the type of van I wanted. If you are wanting to go on a Campervan holiday no matter how long or short, I would recommend RatPack Travel! They will be you support in every step of the process, in the lead up and while on the road. Thanks Ryan! You're a legend! They are a one stop shop when it comes to sourcing campervans and motorhomes from different providers! I nearly forgot to say - he got me a great deal on a newer model. ;)
Thijs and Gemma were just so lovely to communicate with and explained everything so well. Booked us our campervan seamlessly, and with a great deal too 😊 10/10 service from them both!! Couldn’t recommend more! 😊
Ben was super helpful, easy to deal with and always got back to all my questions nice and quickly, with all the campervan options out there we really didn’t know what one to go with but Ben did all the searching for us and made the whole process really simple.
Amazing and outstanding customer service, Ryan exceeded all expectations, he and his team found the perfect deal for us, if you are looking for renting a campervan in NZ or Oz, don’t look for more! Go straight to them and you’ll see you are in the best hands! 🙌
Greg was superb! We told him what we wanted in a camper van. Even with less than two weeks notice, he didn’t disappoint. We loved our camper van and it was perfect for the two of us!
