Our edition · Australia
Australia on Your Own
“Australia on Your Own” is the complete ebook that plans your trip from A to Z. XXL van life along the East Coast, the Red Centre and the wild West: rental, itineraries, outback, budget.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
10 chapters · 10,000+ words · instant download · 14-day guarantee
You're planning your first independent trip
The guide starts from zero and turns every unknown into a simple procedure: rental, first roads, first bookings. The method behind our Namibia guide, applied to Australia.
You want to avoid the expensive mistakes
Misunderstood insurance, the wrong season, overrated stops, an underestimated budget: the classic traps are well known — and all avoidable when you know where to look.
You don't have 60 hours to cross-check everything
Contradictory forums, dated blogs, sales brochures: we did the sorting and the checking. You get the ordered, actionable digest.
Table of contents
The contents, chapter by chapter
10 chapters that follow the real order of your preparation: decide, book, drive, live the trip.
- 01
Why Australia by Van
A country built around the road trip, the three truths to accept before booking, and the founding choice between van, 4WD and motorhome.
You don't 'do' Australia: pick one piece of the continent and give it 2-3 weeks · Distance is your biggest budget line — and your biggest danger · Van, motorhome, 4WD or buy-and-sell: the choice everything flows from · How to use this guide depending on your profile
- 02
When to Go: Three Climates, Month by Month
Temperate south, desert Centre, tropical north: the full calendar, the natural events (whale sharks, humpbacks, stingers) and the trap of Australian school holidays.
The month-by-month with the regions to target and to avoid · Whale sharks, humpbacks, WA wildflowers, cyclones: the wildlife calendar · The 4 school-holiday windows that double every price · Our recommendation by itinerary, and when to book what
- 03
Renting Your Van: Categories, Insurance and Traps
The chapter that pays for the guide: the 8,000 AUD excess, exclusions calibrated for tourists, $1-a-day relocations and buy-and-sell without illusions.
Industrial fleets, backpacker specialists and Camplify: 2026 prices per category · Excess, liability reduction and third-party cover: the 3 strategies with numbers · The 5 exclusions that cost thousands (night-time animal strike, rollover, unsealed roads…) · Tolls, fines, one-way fees: the side clauses that sting · The filmed condition report — and an honest word on buying a van
- 04
Driving in Australia: The Golden Rules
The core skill of the trip: never drive at dusk, 53-metre road trains, straight-line fatigue and the fruit quarantine between states.
Rule #1: parked at camp before dusk — and why it's also an insurance clause · Brake hard and straight, never swerve: the animal protocol · Overtaking (or not) a 53-metre road train · Invisible speed cameras, 0.05 BAC and 'If it's flooded, forget it' · Fill up at every chance, and empty the fruit basket before state borders
- 05
The Itineraries: East Coast, Wild West, Red Centre
Three proven day-by-day circuits with real distances: Sydney–Cairns in 21 days, the Perth–Ningaloo loop in 15, the Red Centre in 8.
East Coast, 21 days: Sydney → Cairns (~3,300 km, one way) · The West, 15 days: Perth → Ningaloo loop (~3,400 km) plus the Karijini extension · Red Centre, 8 days from Alice Springs (~1,650 km) · Tasmania, Great Ocean Road, Explorers Way: the other pieces · The guardrails: 500 km/day max, a buffer day, camp before dark
- 06
Sleeping: From Free Camp to Holiday Park
The full typology of Australian camping, the WikiCamps method, the truth about wild camping, and the 50/30/20 formula that cuts the bill by two-thirds.
Free camps, showgrounds, national parks, stations, holiday parks: 2026 prices · WikiCamps: the bible, and how to use it every day at lunchtime · Wild camping: fine in the outback, fined in Byron and Noosa · The 50/30/20 formula: ~400 AUD of accommodation over 21 days for two · What to book ahead — and what you really shouldn't
- 07
The Full Budget, Line by Line
Every cost in AUD and euros, fuel calculated per itinerary, and three complete profiles for 2 people over 3 weeks.
Flights, van, fuel, groceries, activities: the 2026 ranges · The 3-profile table: ≈ €3,200 / €4,950 / €8,460 excluding flights · The headline activities (whale sharks, Whitsundays, the Reef): the line everyone underestimates · Where to save without gutting the trip — and where never to · Money day to day: a cashless country, zero tipping, legal surcharges
- 08
Outback and National Parks: Permits, Fuel, Water, Signal
The signature chapter: eight state park systems, fuel and water autonomy, Telstra and offline maps, and the 'leaving the coast' checklist.
The state-by-state park permit table (QLD, WA, NT, Tasmania…) · Book park campsites ONLINE before arriving — there is no signal out there · Fuel range, roadhouses, jerry cans and FuelMap · 4-5 L of water per person per day, and why you stay with a broken-down vehicle · Telstra, PLBs and the 8-line outback checklist
- 09
Paperwork, Health, Safety
The free eVisitor, the international driving permit, the essential medical insurance (no reciprocal agreement with France) and the honest hierarchy of Australian dangers.
eVisitor 651, international driving permit and biosecurity on arrival · No vaccines required, but insurance with €300,000+ medical cover · The real danger ranking: sun, rips, stingers, crocodiles — snakes far behind · Bushfires: the state alert apps and total fire bans · Triple zero (000), dry communities and everyday safety
- 10
The Final Checklists
The chapter to print: from 6 months out to handing the van back, every actionable list in chronological order.
6 months out: the decisions (piece of continent, van, insurance, bottlenecks) · 1 month out: the paperwork (eVisitor, permits, park bookings) · Day 1: the van pick-up in 6 filmed checks · The daily routine and the 'leaving the coast' checklist · Hand-back: video, bond and toll account
Sample pages
Judge for yourself
Chapter 3 — Renting Your Van
The exclusions nobody reads
« Even on maximum cover, most Australian contracts completely exclude animal collisions between dusk and dawn. It is THE Australian exclusion: a 60 kg kangaroo destroys a front end, and at night it's on you. It turns the 'no driving at dusk' rule into a financial clause. Add the single vehicle rollover, driving on unsealed roads — forbidden in 2WD vans, insurance void and towing at your expense —, overhead and underbody damage, and water, an absolute exclusion everywhere. Read those lines twice before signing: they are calibrated for exactly what happens to tourists. »
Chapter 4 — Driving in Australia
The animal protocol
« As soon as the light fades, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, emus and cattle take over the bitumen. A kangaroo doesn't cross: it erupts, diagonally, sometimes towards the car — its bounds are unpredictable by design. The protocol if an animal appears anyway, learned from every outback driver: brake hard in a straight line, NEVER swerve. The run-off or head-on that swerving causes kills; the animal strike almost never does. It's counter-intuitive, and worth repeating out loud before you set off. In practice: plan every leg so you're at camp one hour before sunset. »
Chapter 8 — Outback and National Parks
Water, the only true survival question
« The Australian desert still kills travellers — almost always through the same mistake: leaving a broken-down vehicle to look for help, without water. The non-negotiable rules once you leave the coast: 4-5 litres per person per day of capacity, independent of the van's tank; an untouchable 20-litre reserve for two in the Centre and the West. And if you break down, you stay WITH the vehicle: it makes shade, it can be seen from a plane, it holds your water. Nobody has ever regretted waiting in the shade; the opposite fills the news reports. »
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The complete guide
Guide « Australia on Your Own »
XXL van life along the East Coast, the Red Centre and the wild West: rental, itineraries, outback, budget
29 €
- 10 chapters, the complete method
- Day-by-day itineraries
- Printable version (PDF via Cmd+P)
- Complete checklists
Secure payment by Stripe · Instant download · 14-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
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Before you go
Readers' questions
What format does the guide come in?
Right after payment you receive a download link: the full guide in HTML, readable on any device and printable to PDF in one click (Cmd/Ctrl+P), plus the chapters in Markdown to read wherever you like. No proprietary app, no subscription.
Is the guide available in English?
Not yet: the guide is currently written in French, and an English edition is in the works. Prices, routes and checklists are of course language-independent — but if you don't read French, we recommend waiting for the English edition.
Is it up to date for 2026?
Yes: the price ranges, local rules and advice reflect the 2026 situation. The fundamentals — itineraries, driving or transport, logistics — change very little from year to year.
What if the guide isn't for me?
A simple guarantee: 14 days, money back, no questions asked. One email to our support is enough — full refund within 48 hours. We'd far rather refund you than leave a disappointed reader.
How is this different from the free pages?
Our free pages (the Australia country page, destinations, field notes) give you the panorama. The guide gives you the complete, ordered method: day-by-day itineraries, a line-by-line budget, detailed driving and logistics, and every checklist. It's the digest we wish we'd had before our first trip.