Holiday Budget: We just got back from our Honey Moon
A perfect view from atop a hill on Hamilton island, about halfway through our honeymoon.
Budgeting for holidays is a skill I still haven’t been able to master as of yet, however, it is a skill that my wife and I are getting better at.
Still went over the budget by about $1,000 though!
I have been a bit quiet over the last few weeks because my wife and I were finally able to go on our honeymoon, roughly a year after getting married.
Now that we are back, I wanted to go through how much it cost us through a day by day breakdown to travel to Queensland in 2022.
Which will hopefully help anyone who may be looking to travel to the Northern part of Queensland, which is an absolute spectacular and majestic part of the world that I would highly recommend for anyone to go to.
We splurged a bit more, due to the fact it was our honeymoon, so you could definitely do it a lot cheaper if you wanted to. However, we also could have spent a heap more as well…
Day 0 (A prelude before going away): Crown Promenade and Delta Concert
Accommodation- Crown 1 night= $378 (not worth the money in the end)
Delta Concert = $300
Food and Drink = $38
Total = $716
Let’s start with Day 1: Flights to Proserpine from Melbourne
Mantra Club Croc resort, just outside of Airlie Beach. Booked through Redeem Vacations.
Jet Star flights for my wife and I to = $299.92
Shuttle Bus to Accommodation = $44
Accommodation for 4 nights = $120 (We got a voucher through our photo booth and Redeem vacations)
Food and drink = $65
Groceries = $30.45
Taxi ride = $10.50
Total = $569.87
Day 2: Ocean Rafting and Snorkelling adventure
Standing on Whitehaven Beach, which is a pure wonder of the world, with the whitest sands and bluest waters!
Adventure = $278
Food and Drink = $88
Total = $366
Day 3: Day in Airlie Beach and Relax Day
Airlie Beach Lagoon, public swimming area, with waters just as beautiful as its bay.
Food and Drink = $51.50
Total = $51.50
Day 4: Tongarra Sailing and Snorkelling Adventure
Tongarra Sailing and Snorkelling adventure, heading back in with a sunset sail at Airlie beach.
Adventure = $300
Food and Drink = $53.50
Total = $353.5
Day 5: Hamilton Island (Loads of Free water sports/activities)
Sunset on Hamilton island was pure bliss and left us breathless from the beauty. The array of colours was amazing and the image above does not do it justice!
Taxi Ride- $11.10
Ferry (returns) = $240.50
Accommodation for 1 night at Reef View Hotel = $430
Food and Drinks = $77.7
Total = $759.30
Day 6: Car hire and travel to Townsville/Magnetic Island
Car Hire for 6 days (we also went above the KM limit) = $970
Accommodation for 1 night at the Rambutan = $143.7
Food and Drinks = $44.3
Groceries = $19.70
Total = $1,177.30
Day 7: Magnetic Island and Palm Cove
Unfortunately our only day of bad weather where it rained all morning was on Magnetic Island.
Ferry trip to Magnetic Island = $56.8
Bus trip = $6.70
Palm Cove Accommodation for 2 nights = $535
Food and Drinks = $62.50
Groceries = $30.50
Petrol = $70.51
Total = $762.01
Day 8: Palm Cove Markets and Relax Day
Peppers resort Palm Cove, where we stayed at an apartment called Palm Cove Paradise for couples.
Markets = $45.6
Food and Drinks = $84.80
Total = $130.40
Day 9: Daintree Rainforest and Port Douglas
The Daintree Rainforest, where the Rainforest meets the beach. Pure amazing sights and wonder!
Mossman Gorge Bus fare = $26
Ferry Ride over Daintree river return = $39
Daintree Discovery Centre = $71
Ice Cream = $11.10
Food and Drinks = $24.5
Groceries = $12.45
Accommodation at the Ramada for 1 night = $170.10
Total = $354.15
Day 10: SkyRail Daintree Rainforest and Cairns
Karanda Train and Skyrail = $238
Karanda markets = $27.65
Cairns Accommodation for 2 nights= $216
Food and Drinks = $55.60
Groceries = $21.35
Total = $558.65
Day 11: Atherton Tablelands and Waterfall Hunting
The Milla Milla Waterfall, has to be some of the freshest waters and amazing swimming spots we have been to!
Crystal Cave and Geode = $90
Petrol = $55.45
Food and Drinks = $32.10
Total = $177.55
Day 12: Cairns and Flight Home
Ice cream = $18.50
Food and drinks = $28.5
Petrol = $50.45
Long term Car park = $120
Flight Home = $315.20
Total = $532.65
Which concludes the holiday and brings us to the grand total of (drum roll please)…
Grand Total = $6,508.88
When I look back on the holiday and see the grand total, I was a little surprised, I thought we had spent around $5,500 or so.
However, we had also brought a few things like some accommodation and flights before we left, so I may have forgotten about a few of those that definitely add up over time.
Like I said above though, you can definitely do a lot of what we did for much cheaper, but we wanted to splurge a bit more for our honeymoon and were willing to do so.
Of course, we didn’t spend all that much on drinks or eating out, as we made our own lunch and took our own breakfast majority of the time.
You could definitely see how we could have splurged a lot more as well.
But hopefully, if you are planning on a trip to Northern Queensland, this has helped you and now you can budget for yourself and your family before going up.
Until next Time,
Take Back Control