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My trip to Sydney on a student budget still makes me laugh out loud, over a decade later. I write this story to you today on how to explore Australia cheaply, because let’s face it, Australia was expensive when I went, and I imagine it hasn’t changed much in the last 10 years or so. If you want to see Sydney on a student budget, you are going to have to make some serious adjustments and be ready for some serious character building. Because although I enjoyed this trip to Australia. It certainly started out a little painful for me.
I travelled to Australia during the Easter break, while I was studying in Singapore at the National University of Singapore (NUS). My friends had left the night before because they planned their lessons to fall between Tuesday and Thursday. I on the other hand, had all my lessons on the Friday, so I left the day after from Singapore and arrived in Australia alone. It was the first time that I had been questioned at the airport. There were lots of questions and statements like:
“You have a lot of stamps in your passport”
“Why are you living in Singapore?” ….
Despite my student card, I was clearly taken by surprise. They took me to another area of the airport, which not only scared me but also was super embarrassing, where they asked me what I was coming to Australia for. I was like, my friends are here, and we are just coming as tourists.
They emptied my bag and found a feather earring and said that it wasn’t allowed in the country. I mean, a feather earring, come on. Anyways I was left to go once cleared. I got the train into the district, and once I met my friends, the rest of the trip seemed to go well.
However, on the way back through airport clearance, I had packed a full bottle of MAC foundation in my carry-on, well over the 100ml limit. They did the unthinkable and threw it straight in the bin. My heart genuinely ached. That NC45 MAC foundation had cost me £22.50, which at the time was not small money you know.
That was the day I learned one of my very first travel lessons.
Never, ever travel with liquids over 100ml in your hand luggage. Although ten years later, things are changing with Heathrow airport scrapping the 100ml rules.
There’s more on how I managed to explore Sydney on a student budget; keep on reading. This post shares the realities of travelling broke and with a few things to do when in Sydney.
Related post – Budget Travel: 7‑Month Journey Through 15 Countries
About Sydney, Australia
Australia is both a country and a continent, making it one of the most geographically unique places on earth, with landscapes ranging from rainforests and beaches to deserts and coral reefs. Sydney is the largest city in Australia and the capital of the state of New South Wales, sitting on the country’s southeast coast along one of the most famous natural harbours in the world.
The city is known for its relaxed lifestyle, outdoor culture and strong connection to nature, with more than 100 beaches in and around the city and a climate that allows people to enjoy the outdoors almost all year round.
And of course, Sydney is home to two of Australia’s most iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge both of which have become global symbols of the country.
Travelling as a Student in Sydney
At the time, this was one of my first proper experiences of travelling on a real budget. Not “budget” in the aesthetic Instagram sense. Real student budget. The kind where you count every pound. But I still made it bougie. I had my long champ bag. A Guess suitcase but I was still staying in hostels. In fact Australia was the most expensive one. Me and my friends stayed in a hostel in the city district, paying £25 a night.
£25. In Sydney.
Which, even now, feels wild to say out loud.
The location itself was actually perfect. We were central, close to public transport and within walking distance of so many places. On paper, it was a great decision. In reality, the hostel life humbled me more than I anticipated.
Hostel Life In Sydney on A Student Budget
I couldn’t even tell you the hostel we stayed in (because I don’t remember and I wouldn’t recommend it), but what I do recall is one of my friends’ tooth brushes getting stolen, while she was in the shower. Tacky I know. To this day I still don’t understand why anyone would steal a toothbrush, but that was hostel life for you. Shared rooms. Shared bathrooms. Shared chaos.
And then there was my bed. LMAO. I can’t believe I am really sharing this story with you because this was really Sydney on a student budget life.
The first night I stepped onto the bunk and the entire bed dipped underneath me. Not gently. It dropped. For a moment, I genuinely thought the whole thing was going to collapse. I remember standing there thinking, God, please don’t let this bed break on me in front of strangers.
This trip wasn’t luxury. It wasn’t pretty and it definitely wasn’t comfortable.
But it was all we could afford. So at that time it actually made a lot of sense for us to stay there. Looking back now, I know we wasn’t worried about that we were more concerned with chasing the experiences.
What to Do in Sydney on A Student Budget
What I loved about Sydney is that even on a tight student budget, the city gave us so much. Some of my favourite memories from that trip cost me almost nothing. Here are a few things we did while in Sydney on a student budget, which I would say are affordable things to do in Sydney:
- Take the ferry over to Manly Beach. We spent the whole day there walking, swimming, talking and watching the sunset. I was almost three shades darker.
- Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House. I went there the day I arrived and could’t believe that I saw something in real life that I have always seen on tv.
- Visited the Sydney Zoo. I had never seen kangaroos and learnt about how they carried their babies. I also saw koalas and other native wildlife. What an experience.
- After being in Singapore for four, five months one of my friends was kind enough to find us a Nigerian restaurant to go and eat at. I had jollof rice and stew chicken. Really helped with the cravings and somewhat missing home.
- If you are there during Easter like I was you can also head to the Hill Song for a service.
What Budget Travel Taught Me About the World
Looking back now, I don’t regret a single part of that trip. Not one. Some of these trips like these along with Laos, Thailand, and some other’s where some of the best trips I have had in my life. And I write this with real generosity. I am so proud of myself for really going out of my comfort zone. I did it with style when I could, but I have lived.
Today I reflect back on my budget trips around the world (mainly Southeast Asia) and my more luxurious travels now and I know that I am travelling because this is my passion and I am very blessed to be able to travel the world and do it the way I want too.
Because that trip taught me something that has stayed with me for the rest of my life. You do not need luxury to travel the world.
You need courage and a whole heap of curiosity. And a willingness to start where you are and to not worry about others and what they are doing.
At that point in my life, I wasn’t rich. I wasn’t sponsored. I wasn’t a content creator. And I wasn’t on brand trips. I was just a student living in Singapore who wanted to see the world.
And somehow, with character development and patients I really did see the world and will continue to do so.
Final Views
So tell me, is there anything you have learned today from my Sydney on a student budget stories? Wooow. I can’t believe I am closing this. This post has been sat in the drafts for years (and I mean years) simply because I was worried about being judged. But now I don’t care. I think it’s important to show my audience that I too once started out as a budget traveller and I’m proud of it. There are things I have taken from those trips that still stick with me even till today.
And if you’re reading this now and thinking you’ll travel later, or you are too late to travel because you don’t have more money, more time or more confidence, let me tell you something.
I started with a £25 hostel and a stolen toothbrush.
And I still made it to the other side of the world.
Trust in yourself. And create your own memories, because they will live with you for a lifetime.
Speak soon,
MBV xxx
