How long would you do a VW camper tour around Australia?

[Pouche]

Fiancé and I are planning our honeymoon. We will be doing a very basic registry office ceremony followed by an extravagant honeymoon where the bulk of our money is going.

We plan to do Seychelles, Japan, Vietnam/Cambodia/Philippines and Oz over the course of 6-8 weeks (not in that order).

I was just curious how long would be too much in a camper van? We would probably do a posh hotel at some point but only for a couple of nights. I was thinking 2 weeks. But neither fiancé or I have ever stayed in a camper/gone camping. If it was torture I would feel terrible.

We are late 20s and both easy going/adventurous

Our budget is healthy but we will need to economise in places (hence camper van idea)

Re washing I would have to get some sort of gym membership for a month or so.

If you’ve never camped before then 2 weeks in a VW is probably not for you. They are pretty small inside, in some the bed is only about 6 inches bigger than a standard single.

We’ve had a VW sized camper and before that a larger one, the smaller one was a mistake as it was just too cramped/a lot of effort just to move stuff/set the bed up and there wasn’t enough space to cook even though it had a hob. We’re seasoned tent campers, too.

Could you hire a bigger motorhome with more space/comforts (a toilet being the key one for me!)?

A VW is very small, you might be better in a motorhome instead.

you need to think carefully about where you want to go in Australia as it is a large place and you will only be able to do part of it.

also, are you prepared for camp / caravan sites, communal toilets / showers etc. it is great fun, but if you’ve never camped I’d question if it is for you.

Can you do a weekend trial here and see if you like it? It's not for everyone!

My immediate thought was one night! And we're experienced campers - have had van style camper and motorhomes ourselves.

As others have said, they're really tiny, quite a faff to get set up and they get pretty hot inside. And not having a toilet can be a bit miserable.

TBH I'd question that whole itinerary. You're going to spend an awful lot of time travelling through airports and rushing from place to place.

How about spending the time in just two or three places and seeing more of each country. Have some time in hotels and doing cultural stuff, then some time relaxing on a beach with maybe a few days in a camper van?

So Vietnam/Cambodia/Philippines or Japan or Australia and somewhere relaxing and beachy, not all of them?

Also agree about trying out camper vanning closer to home before committing but would also recommend a larger van if you're going to be doing it for more than a few days.

However you'd need to check if you have the appropriate driving licences because if you passed your test after a certain date, you can't drive larger vehicles.

VWs are tiny! Spend a bit more on a motor home with a shower.

@Pouche Re washing I would have to get some sort of gym membership for a month or so

In Australia, or when the other places? If travelling around Australia in a camper then there is zero need for a gym membership for washing, you just do it at places you can get a site for the van on. You are going to struggle, not using sites occasionally due to lack of places to just pull the can over, and you will need a sites frequently.

Also, you can’t do Australia alone in a van for 6-8 weeks let alone together with the other places listed. Maybe start down in Vic with the penguins and work your way up the east coast to the Great Barrier Reef/Daintree. Even then 6 weeks would be a stretch, but doable if not having to curtail yourself with kids.

Edited as I was blathering about needing to be sited here and there for sewerage dumps and water take in’s but in re-reading see you are planning in a Kombi, so what I wrote was moot.

I did 2 months in a van in Australia (15 years ago when I was in my 20s) and didn't see half of it. So if you're doing 2 weeks you won't get very far, just in case that changes your mind.

Would you switch Australia out for New Zealand? It’s more manageable in a camper, you can see more and there’s less wildlife to worry about!

I did 6 months in Australia and made it from Melbourne up to Cairns. It’s massive.

This

Depending on the type of vw I would recommend that you complete a course in mechanics and get used to sitting by the side of the road (speaking from experience).

Ooh looks like I should find something bigger. I didnt want to have deal with a sewage hose thing.

I have found an east coast itinerary (Sydney to Cairns) that seems doable. I shouldn’t have said touring the whole of Oz - clearly not possible.

I think 5 flights over 8 weeks is fine. Dh and I did 3 for our last 2 week holiday.

Tbh, we are considering scrapping Australia all together and going on the US for a coastal road trip. Flights work out cheaper.

That seems like an ambitious itinerary for 6-8 weeks. You'll spend lot of it on flights/transit. Australia is vast so I'd concentrate on one/two areas maybe Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula with a few days in Sydney. Or Queensland or Brisbane area,

I was just curious how long would be too much in a camper van?
That's impossible to answer for another person! Can you go camping in the UK for a few nights to decide if you enjoy it? I camped (in a tent though) for 3 months in Australia and it wasn't enough because I loved it. If you hate it then 1 week will be too much.

6-8 weeks is not enough time to go around Australia on its own, let alone with the other countries as well.

If you are staying on paid campsites then they usually have great amenities - they will almost always have washing machines and dryers, so you don't need to worry about that. They usually have cooking facilities too and decent showers, so you are fine with a camper van in that sense.

Tbh Sydney to Cairns in two weeks would be a rush. You would be driving pretty much everyday and you wouldn't get to stop and enjoy all the beautiful towns and coastline.
Go to The USA and come to Australia when you have more time.

Ooh looks like I should find something bigger. I didnt want to have deal with a sewage hose thing

If you have a camper with a toilet in that you're going to use, you'll have to deal with cleaning it out, emptying cassettes etc.

If you're staying on campsites, many people try to restrict use to night-time wees rather than everything but obviously if you're wild camping, that's not possible.

You're trying to see six countries in 6-8 weeks? You'll spend a lot of time on the actual travel part between places and you'll barely see much of each country.
For your question of how long to spend in a campervan, it seems like you'll only a week or so available. In which case unless your aim is to experience the camping part of it, you'd be better off picking a couple of your "must see" places in Australia and flying between them.
You'd have a much more valuable travel experience if you cut down your locations. Spend your 6-8 weeks in Japan and Vietnam for example, enjoy getting to see the countries rather than dropping in for a few days. Or perhaps four weeks campervan around part of Australia and then stop at one other country for a week or two on the way back.

Three weeks would be great. Just plan where to travel.
Maybe just Tasmania or select places on the East Coast, or just the Southern part of Western Australia or Cairns up to Cape Tribulation and north of there..
It will be ecconomical and easier up and down hills, parking etc to go for the smallest VW van. We did similar, years ago on our honeymoon in New Zealand.
We hired a small car and had a two man tent, a small bag of cooking pots and two suit cases.
More recently we again hired a small car and toured Uk via caravan parks, Youth Hostels, air B&Bs and some lux homes.

Australia has great camping facilities (kitchens, pools, laundries, bathrooms, firepits etc) in caravan parks like Big 4. It is a large country so you really need to make sure you are not driving every hour. Plan to bush walk, swim, eat, visit tourist and picturesque places for at least half of every day.
Day time trains could be an option between some cities??

Even swapping OZ for the US: that's 6 countries in 6-8 weeks. That's approximately 1 week in each country, not including travel days between each destination. Add 3 completely different time zones into the mix and I can't imagine it's actually all that enjoyable.

2 weeks in a campervan in australia? Brisbane - cairns or Sydney - brisbane.

That is if you find a company that let's you start and stop at different places. I love "juicy" does. But honestly, a car road trip staying at hotels / air bnbs will probably be the same price (petrol will cost a fortune!) and less need to think about spiders, lizards or worse in the van or loos!

6-8 weeks is barely long enough for a couple of countries frankly. It sounds like a box ticking exercise more than an actual holiday.

There's so much to do and see, either you will be rushing desperately or you will barely see anything at all.

It's up to you, but if you must camping, I would prefer camping 2 or 3 nights, than a night or 2 in a hotel then repeat, and finish with a top end hotel. Much easier to put up with camping when it's not for a long stretch of time

Dh and I enjoy fully packed itineraries.

We will do 5 days in Seychelles more just as an immediate decompress post wedding (not that taxing as it is restaurant plus registry office).

Btw I have been unclear. Vietnam/Phillipines/Cambodia will only be one of these countries. We are still looking at hotels. Right now it looks like it will be Cambodia.

So Seychelles, Cambodia, Japan and then US or Oz.

Over 6-8 weeks depending on final costs.