Hi all,

I'll be on Reefs and Rainforests this month. I was wondering how much actual cash I should be bringing along for my trip.

I understand from reading some of the other posts that I should be budgeting about A$100 per day. I hope to be able to pay for my optionals, large purchases, and hopefully, most meals, via credit cards. However, being non-Australian, there will be some exhorbitant bank charges if I withdraw cash via ATM, so I hope to not do so. In the circumstances, how much in actual cash should I be bringing along?

Grateful for any help I can get. Thanks!!

Ming

Hey Ming Just got back from this tour yesterday...It was a blast you are going to have so much fun...I did bring most of my money in cash and regret it...Some places are hard to exchange funds and have to do it at banks which randge in a fee of $8.00 - $10.00...I used the ATM there and my bank only charged me a $3.00 fee which was better then what other places were charging...There are some places that don't but those are hard to find....Every where takes a debit/credit card as well but always good to have some cash on hand...For optionals the tour manager can take cash or debit/credit card as well...How much it will cost you? all depends on what you choose to do...I did a lot which optionals randge from $15.00 to $350.00 each but most are about $60.00 - $80.00 so it all depends on what you plan on doing and remember that your not forced to do the optionals...Hope this helps

I took out $500 AUD at a shot from the ATM's to lower the ATM withdrawl fees. I spent about $100 USD a day excluding optionals, and that was with a complete disregard for money. If you are on a budget and watch what you spend, you could get away with a bit less.

Also with optionals, the ones I went in intending to do ultimately weren't the ones I chose. Either because they weren't being offered at that time, or we found something better to do outside of what contiki had (usually free). So you could probably half the amount budgeted for optionals once you add it up.

For example, some people opted instead of doing the half/full day 4wd tour on Fraser Island opted to walk to Lake Mackenzie than walk back along the beach. took about 4-5 hours but they said it was a much more amazing time. And it saved them like $50 USD

Hi ming,

I don't know if you want to bring cash, maybe bring a few hundred dollars, but remember most things can be purchased with a credit card. It's much safer and you have no liability if the card is stolen. I had money to pay it off when I got home, but bringing my credit card was the best because it wasn't a hassle. You are able to pay for your optionals via credit card or cash. The only thing you may want cash for is food which I don't think would be that much i would say maximum $75 per day for food, this is so high because depending on where you are from the food may seem expensive, i know for me it was extremely expensive being from Canada which the food doesn't cost that much here. Hope this helps.

Trina

All, thanks for your advice. Just got back a week ago and had a fantastic time!!