Great Escape #1 Cost and Distances.

Distances.

Of course the complete distance you will travel on any of our Great Escape Itineraries will vary depending on what you add and subtract and what else you find interesting along the way.

But Great Escape #1 from Perth to Ningaloo and back is approx 3300 Kilometres the way we drove it, and you cannot drive it in much less if you have a good time and look around!. And we did both - looked around a lot and had a wonderful time. 

Fuel and Transport costs.

I own a Subaru Forrester (which would do this trip easily) which would travel between 9 and 11 kilometres per litre of unleaded at the speed limit and a Nissan Patrol (which is overspec'd for this simple trip) at between 6 and 7 kilometres to the litre of diesel.

So depending on which I took, I would expect this to cost me between $600 to $900 in fuel and half that person twin share if two people were in the car and I would never do this on my own - too far to drive and not as much fun anyway.  Of course if there are four people in the car it is much cheaper again.  

Of course the costs of a comparable holiday (if you are looking at air, bus or cruise holidays) will probably be quoted to you on a per person twin share basis so you should consider your DriveWA escape cost the same way.  

And in a car you can make it much cheaper by taking more than one passenger and the fun is normally multiplied by having more people with you I think and the costs are much easier to control.  And think about staying a day or two more in each place - the costs of getting there makes it worth it and these are great places to visit.

If I needed it I would buy one or more new tyres (tires for our American and Canadian friends) and of course the vehicle should be carefully checked and serviced before you leave by a professional if you are not one if you are using your own or borrowing one.  Hire cars from reputable companies should be fine but check you have a good and full sized spare tyre (tire) please.

Now you can allow part of the cost of wear and tear on the vehicle and depreciation if you want to and you can even offset your fuel consumption by buying credits if you want to and we encourage you to do so.

But don't let that stop you going - one wonders whether you do that when you use the car for work or other things and one should not penalise one's escape budget too heavily by comparison with everything else you own a car for!  It is there to be enjoyed and if you prepare it properly you should have no difficulty with this itinerary as long as you drive carefully and have a reasonable amount of good fortune.

If you are using a hire car please read the conditions very carefully.   I always recommend that people take the more expensive insurance options just in case and limit the excess etc.  Please see if you can get one with lots of kilometres in the per day price as that can save you a lot of money as well.

Please don't drive tired and have a look at our Outback Road safety video which is on the first Great Escapes page if you are not an experienced Australian outback driver as there are things to learn and be careful of out there!

You can work all these things out yourself accurately if you want to do so.  Watch out for fuel prices becoming more expensive as you get further out of Perth and fill up when it is cheaper and convenient and dont leave yourself short of fuel and having to fill when you must and not when you want to.

Accommodation and Food costs.

This would also vary too from day to day and time to time as hotel fees do these days - I checked out all the websites on the day I wrote this July 2nd 2011.   Of course it varies with the type of accommodation you chose - staying where we recommend would cost you about $1100 per person twin share in the value conscious rooms and about 15% more in the more expensive suites etc.

If you take an airline or cruise holiday you would be quoted the cost per person twin share so you should compare the cost of a DriveWA escape the same way.

Now if you had a WA Pass you could save approx $200 on the basic accommodation alone as that saving is on the room not per person so it is great value.  Some of our suppliers also give discounts in their restaurants to WA Pass holders so watch for that and make a booking in their restaurant if you want to be sure to take advantage of that so you don't miss out and watch out for early closing times in the Australian outback.

Now you have to eat and drink whether you stay home or go away and you can spend as much or as little as you like doing this.  In my experience where ever I go on holiday that costs me more than it does when I stay home.  

Sure there is a cost but it is a reasonable one and great value and heck - life is a sad experience without a great escape every now and then and we are not here for ever - this is not a test drive - ladies and gentlemen this is the real thing and you need to make sure you enjoy it whilst you can!

In my opinion this is a great value holiday and stacks up very well by comparison with others particularly if you take a well prepared larger vehicle and go with three or four people as as all the costs are much easier to cover that way and the driving is so much easier and safer with more people to share the driving.

If you have any queries about these issues please email us or contact us in some other manner!

Regards

Chris Pye Chair and CEO.