One of the most epic roadies and probs the most popular in Australia is from Cairns to Sydney – cruising allllll the way down the East Coast. The journey takes you to all the top spots that I’m sure most of you have on your Aussie bucket list and the scenery is beaut!
Just picture it now…cruising along in your camper, windows down, sea breeze in your hair, a wicked playlist playing in the background – pure backpacker vibes!
The benefits of travelling by camper are endless – complete and utter freedom to hit up all the hot spots down the East Coast. From Cairns down to Sydney there are a tonne of epic things to see and do and we’re about to tell you some of our fave spots as well as some off the grid bangerrrrrs.
Let’s goooooooooooooo…
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Thinking about renting some wheels for the roadie?
Attempting to find a campervan can be a long process – trawling through an endless list of very similar looking vans on the internet with no idea what the hell you’re looking for – FORGET IT! We’ve got you covered!
We can find you the best deal on a camper perfect for all of your needs. All you have to do is pop in a few details of your trip and we can do the rest!
NOTE: we only book you a camper van or car rental if we can make it cheaper than the online rate! That’s the RatPack guarantee!
Places to hit up
Great Barrier Reef – snorkelling day trip, get your PADI certificate or head off on a liveaboard pro dive.
Magnetic Island – just off Townsville, this island is the best place to spot some wildlife – did someone say koala walks and wallabies at sunset?!
Whitsunday Islands – sail around the beaut islands and crystal white sandy beaches.
Fraser Island – cruise around in 4x4s on the largest sand island in the world!
Noosa – home of a stunning national park and the chance to see some wild koalas.
Byron Bay – AKA Ratpack HQ. After swinging by to say hey – learn to surf with dolphins and trek to the lighthouse for stunning views.
Sydney – the final stop off and what a place it is to end such an epic roadie. This is your chance to be a proper tourist and take in all the sites!
Places to visit (off grid)
Cape Tribulation – a combination of rain forest and beaches just north of Cairns – it’s amazing!
Atherton Tablelands – this national park is waterfall paradise – the whole environment is so beautiful and untouched.
Mission Beach – the place to be to tick that skydive off your bucket list – 15,000ft with views of the Great Barrier Reef…yes pls!
Cape Hillsborough – kangaroos. On the Beach. At Sunrise. Need I say more? This place is the definition of paradise.
Sunshine Coast – check out Mooloolaba and Coolum for some chilled out suburb livin’.
Ready to hit the road?
Roadie life is awesome, but simple things like having your daily shower and going to the loo start to raise a lotta questions. So before hittin’ the road, we’ve answered the all important questions to get you roadie ready!
How do I go to the bathroom?
There will be public loos along the way or you’ll have to embrace the bush wee.
Where do I shower?
Luckily, Aussie is pretty warm most of the time, so all you’ll need is a bowl of soap, water and a flannel to give yourself a scrub down.
A load of the beaches also have showers. A shower with a sea view – sounds pretty good to me!
How much food should I get?
Stock up on food every week or so when you come across a supermarket.
Avoid grabbing things in petrol stations – they’re expensive and you’ll end up spending wayyyy more money than you should.
Is is easy to drive in Australia?
Yep, it’s SUPER easy!
Unless you’re going through a city, you’re going to be on the open road for the majority of the journey. The open roads are straight, empty and normally pretty beautiful.
They do drive on the left over there, but don’t worry about it – you’ll get used to it! Plus, there arn’t many roundabouts in Oz.
How will I wash my clothes?
Some of the campsites may have facilities to wash your clothes.
Or, you may have to stop off at a hostel every now and then for the night to use the washing facilities.
How will I know the way?
Grab yourself a local sim so you can use 3G for maps if you’re worried about getting lost. Most campers also provide you with a map – old school style!
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!
