Short answer: a Travel Mates semi-guided East Coast trip costs from $1,499 per person for the 7-day K’gari + Whitsundays combo, from $2,599 for 14 days Brisbane to Cairns, and from $4,909 for the full 33 days Sydney to Cairns. The price covers the hop-on-hop-off bus pass, every night’s bed, every headline adventure and the meals on the guided days. Flights, meals on free days and spending money are on top.
Want your own number? The free budget calculator totals your weeks, route, transport and tours from live prices.
Prices are per person in AUD, from our current listings (October 2026), and can change. Every trip in one list, sorted by today’s lowest seasonal price: Travel Mates trips by price.
Every trip, by travel month
The full-coast trips are priced by the month you start, because beds and tours cost more in busy months. Three bands, the same months on every trip:
- Standard: February, March, May, June, August, October
- High season: April, September, November
- Peak: December, January
| Trip | Days | Standard | High season | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K’gari + Whitsundays Combo | 7 | $1,499 | same | same |
| 14 days, Brisbane to Cairns | 14 | $2,599 | $2,699 | $2,829 |
| 17 days, Sydney to Cairns | 17 | $2,999 | $3,139 | $3,339 |
| 17 days, Byron to Cairns | 17 | $2,999 | $3,139 | $3,329 |
| 21 days, Sydney to Cairns | 21 | $3,099 | $3,289 | $3,559 |
| 28 days, Sydney to Cairns | 28 | $4,329 | $4,589 | $4,589 |
| 30 days, Melbourne to Cairns | 30 | $4,199 | $4,909 | $5,379 |
| 33 days, Sydney to Cairns | 33 | $4,909 | $5,139 | $5,559 |
The combo has one price all year. You see the exact price for your start month before you pay.
What the price covers
Every trip includes:
- The hop-on-hop-off East Coast bus pass for the route, including the overnight coaches where the route uses them
- A bed every night: hostel dorms at each stop, two nights beach camping on K’gari and two nights aboard the Whitsundays boat
- The 3-day K’gari 4WD tag-along safari and the 2-night Whitsundays sail on a racing maxi yacht
- A day-by-day itinerary pack, one person (me) who sorts every reservation, and a direct WhatsApp line to us for the whole trip
Every full-coast trip also includes a full-day Great Barrier Reef trip from Cairns; the combo stops at the Whitsundays. The longer trips add more guided days. The 14-day adds a Noosa surf lesson. The 17-day trips add a Byron Bay surf lesson, Magnetic Island and (on the Sydney start) the Noosa Everglades canoe. The 21-day has all of those. The 28-day and 33-day swap the surf lesson for three days at the Spot X beachfront surf camp and add an Atherton Tablelands waterfall day. The 30-day from Melbourne opens with a Great Ocean Road day tour.
Meals: the 14, 17 and 21-day trips include selected meals on the K’gari and Whitsundays days. The 28-day and 33-day include 18 meals (every meal at surf camp, on K’gari and aboard the yacht, plus lunch on the reef). The Melbourne to Cairns trip includes 13 meals (K’gari, the yacht and the reef lunch). On free days you eat where you like.
Not included on any trip: flights to the start city and home from the finish, travel insurance, meals and drinks on free days, optional add-ons (skydives, Heart Reef flights, extra dives, the Daintree), equipment-hire deposits such as a sleeping bag on K’gari, and local taxis.
Which trip costs least per day
The longer the trip, the more days each dollar buys, because the fixed-price adventures (K’gari, the sail, the reef) are spread over more nights of cheaper hostel beds. At today’s Standard prices the 30-day Melbourne to Cairns, the 21-day and the 33-day work out lowest per day, the 28-day sits just behind them, and the 14 and 17-day trips cost more per day because the big adventures fill a larger share of the schedule. The 7-day combo is the highest per day: two guided adventures in one week.
The Travel Mates prices page computes the per-day figure for every trip from the live price.
How booking works
You buy the trip now and it is open-dated, valid for 12 months. Pick any start date in that window: the 28-day starts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the 33-day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (both are timed to the Whitsundays boat’s sailing days); the other trips start any day. Every full-coast trip except the Melbourne start runs in either direction, so you can start in Cairns and run south for the same price.
From there the itinerary is set. The order of stops, the nights at each and the guided days are pre-booked and sequenced so the safari, the sail and the reef never clash. Guides run only the big adventure days; the rest is unguided free time at each stop on the set schedule. Bookings are usually confirmed within 24 hours.
Date changes are free until 3 months before your start.
Budgeting the rest
Allow roughly $50–70 a day for meals on free days, drinks and small extras; four weeks leaves more room for add-ons than two. Flights in and out, and travel insurance, are the other two lines. Our 4-week East Coast cost guide and 21-day itinerary with real costs add up the whole trip, and bus pass vs group tour vs semi-guided sets this format against the alternatives.
For how the trips are built, the stops and the full inclusions, see how Travel Mates works.
FAQs
How much does a Travel Mates trip cost?
From $1,499 for the 7-day K’gari + Whitsundays combo to $5,559 for 33 days Sydney to Cairns in a peak month. The 33-day is $4,909 in a standard month.
Why does the price change with the month?
Beds and tours cost more in busy months. December and January are peak; April, September and November are high season; the rest of the year is standard. The combo has one price all year.
What is included in the price?
The bus pass, every night’s accommodation, the K’gari 4WD safari, the Whitsundays sail, the other guided adventures on your trip, the meals on the guided days, your itinerary pack and a concierge who books it all.
What is not included?
Flights, travel insurance, meals and drinks on free days, optional add-ons, equipment-hire deposits and local taxis.
Do I have to pick my dates when I book?
No. The trip is open-dated and valid for 12 months. Choose your start date when you are ready; date changes are free until 3 months before you start.
Is a Travel Mates trip a group tour?
No. You travel solo on a set, pre-booked itinerary, and guides run only the big adventure days. Each of those runs with other backpackers, which is where you make friends along the way.
Which Travel Mates trip is the best value?
Per day, the longer trips: at today’s Standard prices the 30-day Melbourne to Cairns, the 21-day and the 33-day Sydney to Cairns come out lowest. For the most adventure in the fewest days, the 7-day combo at $1,499.
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