A day trip doesn’t have to mean a big budget

With the cost of living still shaping how Australians spend their weekends, a change of scenery doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. Whether you’re craving a beach escape, a country drive or simply a day out of the house, there are plenty of places across Australia where you can get away without watching the dollars.

To find out which destinations offer the most affordable day out, ROLLiN compared a standardised day out for two adults across 73 destinations, measured from their respective capital cities. Each destination was priced using the same basket of costs, including food, attractions, park entry and fuel, with fuel calculated using the average petrol and diesel price in each state at the time of data collection. All costs are estimates and may vary.

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And because spending a little more can sometimes get you a lot more, we also looked at which destinations offer the best value for money, considering time at the destination, free activities and natural attractions, weather, affordable food options, and the rating and reviews of the main attraction.

If you’re looking for a day out that won’t put too much of a dent in the budget, these destinations are a good place to start. All 10 of the most affordable day trips had an estimated cost of less than $100 for two adults under our methodology, with Williamstown in South Australia taking the top spot at a possible $66.04 for the day. Perth Hills (Kalamunda, WA) comes in a close second at an estimated $72.15, helped by its particularly low estimated petrol cost of $8.68 thanks to its short 1h 06m round trip.

There’s plenty to do once you arrive, too. Williamstown offers an easy escape from Adelaide, with the Whispering Wall and nearby Barossa Valley adding plenty to explore. Perth Hills (Kalamunda) combines walking trails, waterfalls, lookouts and the Kalamunda village with a low overall cost. Warburton is another affordable option for getting amongst the Victorian bush, ranking third with a potential cost of $72.23, while Bribie Island, QLD and Goolwa, SA provide coastal escapes without the higher price tag.

Free attractions and park entry help keep costs down across the majority of the top 10, with Huon Valley (Huonville, TAS) the only destination where the main attraction, the Wooden Boat Centre, comes at a price of $32 for two. Even with the added attraction cost, Huon Valley comes in at around $93.78, keeping every destination in the top 10 under a possible $100 for two.

Sometimes the cheapest day trip isn’t necessarily the one that gives you the most to see and do. So we also looked at which destinations offer the strongest overall value for a trip from its capital city, balancing the cost with the amount of free activities, natural attractions, time at the destination, and other factors that can make a day out worthwhile.

McLaren Vale, South Australia has the highest Value Index score at 73.96 in our study, costing an estimated $127.76 for two while giving visitors almost nine hours to explore and 39 free activities. It also has 38 natural attractions to visit, alongside its main attraction, the d’Arenberg Cube, which costs $40 for two.

Geelong, Victoria follows at around $104.83, with seven beaches, seven lookouts and nine walking trails, while Wollongong in NSW could cost just $102.29 for two and has 44 natural attractions to explore. Katoomba, NSW offers even more natural scenery, with 68 natural attractions including the Three Sisters, while Perth Hills (Kalamunda, WA) combines 29 natural attractions with almost nine hours at the destination for a possible $72.15.

Food can also make a difference to how far your budget stretches. Around 30 per cent of the food venues looked at in Geelong (VIC), Wollongong (NSW), Perth Hills (WA), Bendigo (VIC), Victor Harbor (SA) and Kiama (NSW) have a Google Maps price range of up to $20 a head. So whether you’re after beaches, bush walks, big views or a good feed, these destinations show that a slightly higher day-trip budget can still give you plenty to see and do.

The Entrance takes the crown for Sydneysiders on a budget, with a day out for two possible at just $89.04. Free entry to its main attraction, Memorial Park, along with other attractions such as the Heritage Walk and ocean baths, helps keep the costs down, leaving petrol and food to make up most of the bill. Kiama and Wollongong aren't far behind at estimated costs of $102.23 and $102.29, think the Blowhole and coastal walks, or beaches and the Botanic Garden.

Katoomba ($123.33) and Kangaroo Valley ($149.09) sit further up the list, but neither charges for its main drawcard: the Three Sisters and Echo Point are free, while Kangaroo Valley’s Hampden Bridge and surrounding river views offer another free way to take in the scenery. With most destinations keeping their main attractions and park entry free, you can spend more of your budget on the journey and a good feed.

Highest-value day trips from Sydney

For overall value, Wollongong comes out on top, scoring 70.76/100 on our Value Index. At around $102.29 for two, it offers 14 beaches, 12 lookouts and 18 walking trails, plus the Wollongong Botanic Garden. Katoomba and Kiama follow, while Nelson Bay has plenty to see with an impressive 60 natural attractions. However, its main attraction, Toboggan Hill Park, costs $90 for two, while the five-hour-plus round trip possibly adds another $61.58 in petrol. Together, these costs pushed the day out to $224 in our study, bringing down its overall value score despite the wealth of attractions.

Bribie Island comes in as the most affordable of Brisbane’s day trips we compared at an estimated $76.59 for two, nearly $40 cheaper than the next option, Toowoomba, at $115.64. It’s one of only four destinations where both the main attraction, Bribie Island National Park and Recreation Area, and park entry cost nothing, so petrol and food are the only expenses. Coolangatta sits at the opposite extreme, possibly the most expensive Brisbane destination in our study at $253.98, driven by a $140 attraction fee and an estimated $83.19 food bill. Attraction costs matter across Brisbane destinations: seven of the 11 charge an entry fee, with Caloundra standing out as a relatively short 2h 38m round trip but costing around $193.98 once its $106 attraction fee is factored in.

When it comes to what you get for the cost, Surfers Paradise comes out on top among our Brisbane day trip destinations, scoring 65.61/100 on the Value Index. While it could cost around $166.22 for two, you get more than eight hours to explore, with 13 lookouts, 14 walking trails and 39 natural attractions. Tamborine Mountain and Toowoomba follow, while Bribie Island shows that the cheapest option isn’t always the highest-value one, ranking as the fourth highest-value trip from Brisbane, despite its cost being estimated at just $76.59. At the other end, Dalby has the highest share of good-weather days among the Brisbane destinations at 83% but fewer free activities and no natural attractions recorded in the study.

Warburton claims the top spot among Melbourne's day trips, estimated at $72.23, and it's got company: Torquay ($93.40) and Queenscliff ($96.19) make up the top three, and all are estimated to come in under $100. Whatever you're after, there's a cheap version of it nearby: forest walks and mountain views at Warburton, coastline at Torquay and Queenscliff, or gardens and history in Bendigo. Nine of the top 10 charge nothing for their main attraction, so most of what you're paying for is fuel and food.

Costs climb further down the list: Daylesford ($114.30), Lorne ($116.04), Apollo Bay ($119.96), but nothing compares to Ballarat's possible $239.88, where a single $136 attraction fee accounts for more than half the day's cost. Halls Gap, the Dandenong Ranges and Healesville also had estimated costs of more than $200 for two adults, showing how much one paid attraction can shift the total.

Highest-value day trips from Melbourne

Geelong has the highest Value Index score among the Melbourne destinations we compared at 70.98/100. At a possible $104.83 for two, it offers nearly eight hours at the destination, with 23 natural attractions, 27 free activities and seven beaches. Bendigo follows at 64.24, with 26 free activities and 20 walking trails, while Torquay ranks third with 41 natural attractions. Interestingly, Warburton, Melbourne’s cheapest day out at around $72.23, ranks tenth in our study for overall value, while Ballarat ranks sixth despite its possible $239.88 cost.

Day trips from Adelaide keep things consistently cheap: Williamstown leads our study at a possible $66.04, the lowest estimated figure anywhere among the studied destinations, followed by Murray Bridge ($73.41) and Goolwa ($86.24), enough to put all three among Australia's ten most affordable trips in our study. Free attractions and park entry across the top five mean petrol and food carry most of the cost. Even the most expensive destination from Adelaide, Victor Harbor, only reaches around $140.92 for two, including a $60 fee for its main attraction, the Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tramway, and it's one of just three destinations that charge for their main draw at all. Seven of the ten keep that cost at zero, making the trip list particularly budget-friendly.

Highest value day trips from Adelaide

McLaren Vale’s appeal goes beyond its possible $127.76 price tag, with 39 free activities, 38 natural attractions and almost nine hours at the destination contributing to the highest Value Index. Victor Harbor follows at 63.30/100, with 13 beaches, 20 lookouts and 39 natural attractions. Despite ranking 10th for affordability at around $140.92, it ranks second for value, showing that a higher-cost day out can still be worth the money. Williamstown ranks third at 59.71. Tanunda and Goolwa round out the top five, both offering more than seven hours at the destination.

Perth's most affordable days out are relatively close to the city, with Perth Hills (Kalamunda) leading at an estimated cost of $72.15, $23.63 less than second-placed Mandurah ($95.78), helped along by the lowest petrol cost of any destination in the Perth list at $8.68. Head further south, though, and the numbers climb fast: Busselton reaches around $141.01, Bunbury Geographe $170.39, and by the time you're at Dunsborough or Margaret River the total could pass $200. Fuel is the biggest driver of that gap, rising from around $8.68 in the Perth Hills to approximately $81.33 for the drive to Margaret River, while Dunsborough’s main attraction, the Ngilgi Cave Ancient Lands Experience, adds $64 for two to the cost.

Highest-value day trips from Perth

Perth Hills also has the highest Value Index score, combining a possible $72.15 day out with almost nine hours at the destination, 29 natural attractions and 10 free activities. Busselton follows at 65.56/100, with 29 free activities and 20 lookouts, while Mandurah ranks third, offering 11 beaches, eight lookouts and more than eight hours at the destination. Further down the list, Margaret River has the most free activities with 42, but its longer 5h 41m journey and possible $208.78 total cost bring its overall value score down.

The most affordable day trip from Hobart is Ross, at an estimated $77.25, good enough for sixth place nationally. Huon Valley follows close behind at around $93.78; its short 1-hour journey does most of the work to keep costs down. Bicheno and Deloraine both hover around the $120 mark. Past that point, park entry fees start to bite: Tasman National Park costs around $131.43 including $49.15 for entry, and Freycinet climbs to a possible $185.06 with the same fee attached to a longer, 5h 01m round trip.

Port Arthur is the highest-cost destination on our Hobart list at $210.41, with entry to its main attraction, the Port Arthur Historic Site, accounting for $110 for two. The historic site makes up more than half of the total day-trip cost, reflecting the higher entry fee associated with one of Tasmania’s best-known heritage attractions. However, eight of the ten destinations still keep their main attraction free, so for most of the trips from Hobart it's really petrol, food and the odd entry fee doing the damage.

Highest value day trips from Hobart

Launceston leads on the Value Index, with a possible $143.22 day out, more than five hours at the destination, 33 free activities and 19 natural attractions. Huon Valley follows at 51.88/100, offering almost nine hours to explore for an estimated $93.78, while Tasman National Park ranks third with 23 natural attractions, including eight beaches and eight lookouts. Ross was our cheapest day out at around $77.25 but ranks fourth for value, while Port Arthur reaches fifth on our list despite its possible $210.41 cost, with 33 natural attractions and more than seven hours at the destination.

Brendan Griffiths, Executive Manager at ROLLiN’ comments:

"Our findings from Australia's Most Affordable Day Trips research show that the cheapest day trip isn't always the one that offers the best overall value. Free activities, natural attractions, weather and time at the destination all play a part in shaping the experience. For some people, a lower cost will be the deciding factor, while others may be willing to travel a little further for more to see and do."

"One of the best things about a day trip by car is the freedom it gives you. Choosing a destination that suits your budget, planning your route, scheduling regular breaks and making sure your car is ready for the drive will help make the journey just as enjoyable as the destination."

About the Data

Australia’s Most Affordable Day Out prices one standard day trip for two adults at 73 destinations within driving distance of an Australian state capital, and ranks them from cheapest to dearest. Every figure comes from a named published source collected between 8 and 17 September 2026, from government fuel price sites and the fuelradar.com.au price tracker to attraction operators' ticket pages and the per-person price ranges on Google Maps listings, so each total traces back to a source and a date. All costs are estimates for comparison, built from prices published at the time of collection (10th September 2026). They are not quotes, and what any one traveller pays will vary. A second measure, the Value Index, considers the cost of the day alongside travel time, free activities, natural attractions, weather, food options and the main attraction.

How the Destinations Were Chosen

Destinations were drawn from the official listings published by each state tourism board, so the study covers the places those boards promote rather than a hand-picked list. From that frame, 73 destinations were measured across the six states: 19 in Victoria, 17 in New South Wales, 11 in Queensland, 10 each in South Australia and Tasmania, and 6 in Western Australia. The territories are not included. The Australian Capital Territory’s tourism board lists Canberra neighbourhoods rather than day trip destinations, and the Northern Territory’s destinations had too few nearby venues publishing a price to support a reliable food figure.

Four rules narrowed the frame. Each destination sits between 30 minutes and 3 hours 45 minutes’ drive of its capital, because anything closer is not a day trip and anything further leaves too little of the day at the other end. Two listed destinations within 15 kilometres of each other by road were treated as one, so a single stretch of coast could not fill the table. No more than four were taken from any one tourism region, so heavily promoted areas do not crowd out the rest of a state. A floor of ten per state was applied wherever the board’s own list could supply them.

Each destination has a single map point. The drive is measured to it, food venues are read within 5 kilometres of it (15 kilometres by road where fewer than ten publish a price), and attractions are selected within 10 kilometres of it, so every component describes the same place.

What a Day Out Includes

The basket prices one day out for two adults travelling together in one car: getting there and back, eating while there, and seeing the destination’s main draw. It excludes parking, accommodation and shopping. Most councils publish no parking rate, so parking is left out rather than estimated, and accommodation and shopping vary by traveller rather than by destination. The basket assumes a petrol or diesel car, so electric vehicle charging costs are not included.

The basket has five components:

• Fuel: return distance on the route driven, priced at each state’s average pump price and the fuel use of its most popular new cars, weighted across petrol and diesel. Sources: Google Maps for distance; FuelCheck NSW, FuelCheck Tasmania and fuelradar.com.au (VIC, QLD, WA and SA) for pump prices; the Green Vehicle Guide for fuel use; VFACTS via CarExpert for the most popular models; and the ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use for the petrol and diesel split.

• Tolls: tolls on the return drive, counted only where the tolled route saves at least 15 minutes. Sources: Linkt and EastLink for prices; Google Maps for the time saved.

• Food: the average Google Maps price range per person at nearby cafes and restaurants, doubled for two. Source: Google Maps.

• Main attraction: adult admission to the destination’s most reviewed attraction, doubled for two. Sources: Google Maps for selection; operator websites for the price.

• National park entry: the published entry fee where the destination sits inside a fee charging park. Source: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.

The main attraction is whatever is most reviewed near each destination, which keeps the choice consistent but means comparisons are not necessarily like for like. For example, at Ballarat it is Sovereign Hill, a full day at $68 an adult, while at Williamstown it is the Whispering Wall, a free, short stop. The ranking therefore shows what a standardised day-out basket costs at each place, not what the same day out costs in different places.

How the Costs Were Calculated

Distance and drive time were measured from the GPO in each state capital on the route Google Maps recommends for a Saturday arrival at 10am, in both directions, so the figure reflects the traffic a day tripper meets rather than an empty road. Fuel consumption is the average combined rating of up to ten of the most popular petrol models and ten of the most popular diesel models sold in each state, from the Australian Government’s Green Vehicle Guide ranked on 2025 VFACTS new vehicle sales. Pump prices are each state’s average price for regular unleaded (91) and diesel on the 10th of September 2026, taken from FuelCheck NSW, FuelCheck Tasmania and FuelRadar. They are a single-day snapshot, not an average over time.

Because not every car runs on petrol, each drive is priced on both fuels and the two costs are combined using the share of passenger vehicle kilometres each fuel carries in that state, from the ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use. That share ranges from 84.9 per cent petrol in New South Wales to 80.6 per cent in Queensland, which is why an identical drive is priced differently in two states. A toll is counted only where the tolled route saves at least 15 minutes, since drivers avoid a toll that buys them nothing; on that rule 7 of the 73 destinations carry one, all in New South Wales. Where a toll is not counted, the distance, fuel and drive time for that leg are taken from Google’s toll-free route, so each day out is priced on the road actually driven.

Food is the average per person price range Google Maps publishes for cafes and restaurants within 5 kilometres of each destination, doubled for two, with a $1 to $20 range counted as $20. Where fewer than ten venues publish a price within 5 kilometres, the search was widened to 15 kilometres by road, the same distance the study uses to treat two destinations as one trip, and four venues with no Google price range were placed in the Google price band that contains the median main course on their own menu. Venues rated expensive or very expensive were set aside first, because fine dining is not what a standard day out looks like. The main attraction is the most reviewed attraction within 10 kilometres, whether it charges or not, with adult admission taken from the operator’s own website; selecting by review count keeps the choice consistent across all 73 destinations. Where the main draw is free, the destination records zero rather than being given a paid substitute, which applies to 45 of the 73. National park entry is added only where the destination itself sits inside a fee charging park, which applies to 2, Freycinet and Tasman National Park in Tasmania, each at the $49.15 daily vehicle pass.

The Affordability Index Score

Each destination’s components are added to a total for the day, and that total is placed on a 0 to 100 scale, with the cheapest day out scoring 100 and the most expensive 0. Nothing else enters the score, so a destination’s rank and its score always agree. Totals run from $66.04 at Williamstown to $253.98 at Coolangatta, so the most expensive day out costs about 3.8 times the cheapest.

The Value Index Score

Cost alone does not say whether a day out is worth taking, so a second index scores the same 73 destinations on what the day offers. Nine measures are grouped into seven equally weighted components, each scaled 0 to 100 before being averaged, so no single measure dominates and nature is not counted three times over for having beaches, lookouts and walking trails.

Each of the seven components carries an equal weighting of 1 of 7. A lower cost scores higher; for every other component, a higher figure scores higher.

• Cost: total cost of the day out.
• Travel payoff: hours at the destination per hour spent driving.
• Free activities: count of free things to do.
• Natural attractions: beaches, lookouts and walking trails within 10 kilometres.
• Weather: share of days over ten years that are dry and free of temperature extremes.
• Food: share of venues priced up to $20 a head, and their average rating.
• Main attraction: its rating and how many people have reviewed it.

Counts are capped at the 95th percentile before scaling, so one unusually well mapped destination cannot flatten the scale for everyone else. The food rating is the average Google Maps star rating of all the cafes and restaurants used for the food price, not just the best rated, and the main attraction rating is that attraction's own Google Maps rating. Both were collected between 14 and 17 September 2026. Ratings are scored absolutely, where 5.0 stars is 100 and 4.0 is 50, because a 4.1 rated attraction is a good attraction and should not score zero for being lowest in a strong field. Where a measure is missing, it is dropped from that destination’s average rather than counted as zero.

Weather is measured from SILO climate data, which interpolates Bureau of Meteorology observations onto a 5 kilometre grid. Ten years from 2016 to 2025 were tested for whether each day was dry, under 1 millimetre of rain, and free of extremes, with a maximum between 5 and 38 degrees. Free activity counts come from Tripadvisor, and natural attraction counts from Google Maps, limited to beaches, lookouts and walking trails. Hours at the destination assume a ten-hour day out, door to door, less the return drive.

Limitations

Prices are point in time, collected between 8 and 17 September 2026. Fuel prices move week to week and admission prices change with seasons and school holidays. Fuel is priced at each state's average pump price on 10th September 2026, so the fuel figure is a common basis for comparing destinations rather than the price on the day anyone travels.

The food figure is an indicative local meal cost drawn from published price ranges, not a basket of named items. It is least reliable in small towns: even with the search widened to 15 kilometres, fewer than ten nearby venues publish a price at seven destinations (Kangaroo Valley, Williamstown, Port Arthur, Bay of Fires, Derby, Ross and Tasman National Park), so their food figures are indicative and their share of cheap eats is left out of the Value Index. Four venues without a Google price range were placed using their own menus, one of which (Derby) is dated December 2024.

Attraction and natural attraction counts reflect how thoroughly a place is mapped and reviewed online. A low count in a remote area may reflect a data gap rather than a true absence. Fuel consumption ratings are laboratory figures for popular new cars. Real-world use is typically higher, so the fuel component is best read as a consistent basis for comparison rather than a prediction of any one driver’s bill.

Western Australia contributes 6 destinations, short of the ten applied elsewhere, because its tourism board lists fewer places within the drive window. The territories are not included. The Australian Capital Territory’s tourism board lists Canberra neighbourhoods rather than day trip destinations, and the towns within a day trip of Canberra are in New South Wales, where the New South Wales board already lists them. The Northern Territory was measured but left out, because seven of its eight destinations had too few nearby venues publishing a price to support a reliable food figure.

The study measures what a day out costs and what is on offer, not how much anyone enjoys it.