Sydney to cairns

[JoeyMaynardssolidlump]

Hi anyone done the trip? Dd insisting she just needs her debit card and won’t need cash? What do you think?

My dad lives in Oz and has done this trip many times. He always takes a bit of cash and it has helped in the past. She should take some, just to be safe.

Thankyou so much that’s what I thought. How much do you think?

Definitely some cash too, a lot of places here still have minimum spends on cards. I would say $200 tbh so worse case scenario she has money for a cheap bed for the night/food/phone calls if she loses her phone and card. But maybe I'm just over cautious

definitely need cash. The major cities and satellite towns will all have eftpos/card machines but there is a whole lot of nothing going on between them and lots of places that will be "off the grid" so to speak. At least a couple of hundred would be prudent. Enough for a full tank of petrol, a night in a motel and a couple of meals at least.

Brilliant thanks guys we will b going later to get some she bows to the mumsnet jury

Depends how she is travelling and where she is staying on the way really. Greyhound/Loka- backpacker bus/hiring a car?, many places that are big enough to have a backpacker hostel will probably have an ATM but it is sensible to take enough for a couple of days in case you get stuck somewhere for unexpected reasons.
I ended up stranded in a hostel near Mission Beach because of flooding, and although they took debit cards for accommodation, cash was handy for meals and maybe the occasional (!?) beer.
I put $50 in a plastic bag and kept it in my shoe just in case anything was stolen. It might have been overkill but it did come in handy when I couldn't get to an ATM.

What for? It's a two hour plane ride.

Just to say that $50 was a few decades ago - I agree with the couple of hundred suggestion these days to be on the safe side.

Not flying outy

My dad usually takes about 200 dollars with him, but he is over cautious most trips! There is a lot of "middle of nowhere" moments on that trip!