With fuel prices going up, caravan parks getting more crowded, and RVs getting bigger, some grey nomads are taking extreme measures to keep traveling Australia in a relaxed way … they are staying in motels!
Anthony and Trace Beilby have been caravanning for more than 30 years, but say they’ve hitched up for the last time.
The couple have seen the ‘Motel Vacancy’ light, and claim the initial cost of buying a van, the static costs per year, high park fees and towing costs, as well as crowded parks, made the decision an easy one.
“The reality of staying in a park is often noisy neighbours, kids running wild while their parents relax by the pool with a cooler full of beer, vans with barking dogs locked in while the owners enjoy a day out, and cigarette smokers next door,” said Anthony.
Anthony and Trace say their vanning days are now behind them.
“We prefer the carefree approach … two bags in the vehicle, the 40-litre Engel, and eating out at the RSL or pubs for dinner, before checking out of the motel or cabin and moving on.”
The pair have travelled widely in the US using this approach, and say it has convinced them it’s the best way to see Australia.
Is staying in motels the best way to see Australia?
“We sold our caravan and will experience first-hand road trips utilising motels/cabins in Australia for the next couple of years,” said Anthony. “I would anticipate a noticeable percentage of caravanners now realising the cost does not represent value in terms of a carefree road trip.”
The Beilbys travel in a LandCruiser 300 and say it’s comfortable and fuel efficient, especially when not towing.
“I see caravanning as more of an expensive hobby as the figures just don’t add up,” said Anthony. “Obviously, travelling for 6-12 months requires a caravan but we have done that many times and now prefer the four-week road trip scenario.”
The couple say they are aware that many nomads will argue that motel life – which they concede is slightly more expensive – cannot recreate the camaraderie found in caravan parks.
“I guess it comes down to how an individual wants to spend their time, actually seeing sights or seeking company of others,” said Anthony. “For us, seeing sights is why we travel as opposed to spending our day wandering around a caravan park looking for conversation or waiting for Happy Hours to arrive.”
Anthony stresses he is well aware that the ‘motel nomad’ lifestyle is not for everybody.
“I certainly don’t want to criticise what others are doing … it’s their life not mine,” he said. “However, we are fortunate to have lived a life of travelling, and now choose to travel Australia in a more carefree way.”
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For health reasons, we have also made the change. Loved our van and travelled for 3-4 months every year for 4 years, but have given the van to family and were looking forward to other ways to travel, including road trips and cabin/motel stays.
We are seriously considering motels / bnb’s rather than caravanning..Escalating fuel cost, potential unavability of petrol / diesel, ripoff caravan parks, uncontrolled brats, very marginal tow vehicle legality and safety issues are all concerns. By going the alternative way qe can use an EV (which we both prwfer to drive anyway) and which results in ‘fuel’ costs dropping to a quarter of what it costs with dinosaur juice. Whilst there are a couple of EV utes on the horizon, they will have marginal range when towing a 2 tonne van .. ok for east coast but not really practical for a big lap.
I have travelled with a campevan and loved it! Circumstances led me to sell it, and now like you I use motels when I travel. Its easy, there is always someone to help (motel staff) if you need info or something goes wrong. I also like the security aspect as a solo traveller.
Hubby and I totally agree although we prefer apartments to motels. Then you get your own kitchen if you dont want to eat out all the time. It is more expensive per night than a caravan park, but certainly more private and you have your own bathroom and a lounge to relax in.
We will book a place for 5 to 7 nights then we can unpack and do short day trips to exlore an area or just relax and enjoy the facilities. It will take a lot of these trips to spend the cost of a new van and car to tow it!
Well it was good enough for 30 years
We have done this and would rather still be travelling and doing Road trips if not Caravanning than just sitting home. We travel each year from Adelaide to Burleigh Heads and vary the direction and towns we stay in. Luckily for us we have a wonderful group of ex and current caravaners that we catch up with for 4 wonderful days each March in Echuca. Lots of the group are getting older and are not in a position to be towing so rather than not connect with each other we gathers to share memories and make new ones…… enjoy your new style of holiday in, perhaps we will meet along the road sometime. Just remember even cabin stayers are welcome at the camp fire.
Yes, I agree……we sold the motorhome and bought an EV……..so easy travelling and we can afford to stay in upmarket apartments! soooo good charging not an issue anywhere in Australia and at the moment hotels and apartments are a bargain when you factor in renting an apartment or hotel room for $150 to $200 per night…..caravan parks at say average $70 per night for a tiny bit of dirt. They have out priced themselves
very little fuel costs and very little total outlay and maintenance miss the stop anywhere attitude but not driving 4500kgs does have its benefits
Worked this out 15 years ago and very happy without the stress
Hi there Happy travellers, We tried the motor inn/motel, resort, cabin/Bungalow stays from Jan 20th til March 20th 2026 And what we found were inconsistent prices at hotels/motels when you tried booking online thru those annoying hotel sites, all fighting for your money whilst offering nothing really, maybe 10% off of your stay. We did find a mish mash and tried to get into a rhythm of booking 2wks in advance, that was where some were offering Great midweek stays (WE SAW THEM IN ABUNDANCE) and the STAY 4 nightes PAY for 3… NRMA and other services, Pay first PERKS LATER (Even then, they are selected, too far away, interstate, or for families) We often found calling the resort or motor inn first you could get a better rate – sometimes!! The convenient and budget purposed Motor Inn’s and Motel Chains Are mostly GONE, taken over by Big companies. And yes, we agree the highway robbery going on at caravan parks is ludicrus. They must be THE MOST EXPENSIVE REAL ESTATE PLOTS (over time) Taking in over $20 per night When Showgrounds stays offer just as good accommodation, more room, events, friendly towns… It roughly cost us FIVE GRAND FOR the 2months…. 5K.
It is now May and paying $20 per night at Kilcoy. Somerset Lake NRMA holiday park has great midweek stay prices, there are plenty of free camps, state forests and National Parks to stay at, not crowded towns… Coastal stays, well they are all greedy, price hiking, offer little except free WIFI woopdie dooo, A/C it’s QLD 2026 not the 1800’s, The rooms should be provided with A/C !! Bigger fridges (Bar fridges with tiny freezers) are a pain in the butt. A microwave!!! Wow… Most of these places do not have restaurants in them anymore either, so yeah RSL dinners & lunches are great, filling and affordable but we have now joined 6 RSL clubs costing anything from $5 to $10 to join. We join if it’s worth it, we don’t drink or gamble, so it’s just a nice atmosphere and roast or chicken snotty dinner is a nice break. Lots of Hamburgers, take aways Fish & chips etc on coast, Prices are ludicrus though $16.50 for burger & chips (WHAT!!??) everyone price hiking… But we love travel, looking at selling the 27′ van and Pathfinder and getting a Coaster…. Pull up anywhere…. At the beach, near a river…. Much easier than restrictions on car and caravan. Plus the caravan parks we have stayed at have limited spaces for longer vans. Hate getting squeezed in next to people with little space between. Men snoring loudly, elder people up early pooling around bored, no consideration people who get up and open and close every door on their 4WD for half an hour, loud conversations right in front of your caravan, people with pets walking all around your site, past people who had pets leaving dog wee all over the site and the smell of meat left at sites, people who leave fire pit rings and their ash everywhere, so, so many inconsiderate people we find it more and more these days. And our pet hate, amenities blocks left filthy by past users who make a mess and leave the mess for others…
I’m not sure if this couple have booked a cabin or motel lately but cabins especially are very very expensive.
We’re exactly the same.We spent many years travelling around Oz, first with a tent and then an off road camper trailer. Now we just go back to favourite places
for four or so weeks and love it. We were never into the social side of caravan parks and camp grounds anyway and not having to set up every stop is a joy!
We have been travelling -Eastern Australia using cabins and motel—
Works great—we are planning to travel across Nullarbor—up WA coast down thru NT to SA—not sure there will be Motels/cabins available on these routes—Love to c your thoughts—
Done the Nullarbor there and back. Only once in the middle had a problem and I swear the lady gave up her own room for us after we told her we had no other options. The people all over the middle of Australia are the nicest people we’ve met travelling the world. You’ll have a ball.
I guess there are all sorts of pros and cons and perceptions will be as different as people themselves are. Where we park our van, usually in free range quite isolated spots, you’re never going to get a motel room with the type of atmosphere, view and surroundings. We rarely do commercial parks but the description of kids, dogs and thoughtless neighbours, from our experience is the extreme worst case scenario.
Resisted getting a caravan many years ago and became a “Grey Nomad Road Runner” and have travelled around Australia (Including Tassy) on more than one occasion. At first it was daunting but once you have set the car up then it is “wind in your hair and travel anywhere” stop anywhere there is accomadation and with the various booking aps you can plan and book before you go or book on the road.
We did around Australia in 4 months (with 7 to 10 day stops in big citys and towns using serviced apartments) and motels and roadhouse accomadation and cabins in smaller places as well as travelling between places .
Total (fuel/meals,food/accomadation/car servicing and 4 tyres) $30,500.00 (8 years ago). I know this is awhile back and is only a guide that you can do it quite comfortably and travel long distances and stop to look and explore as well.
Definately have a 18-30 litre Fridge/Freezer as this makes a big difference to meal times and cost.
Just one point that regular Grey Nomads have is the Happy Hour at the end of the day? Yes that is missing, however you do meet up with fellow travellers from all countries and walks of life at the various places that you stay and they can be very interesting to talk to.
My wife and I have been travelling Australia without a van (never owned one) for the past 15 years. Our journeys run from 2 weeks to 3 months and have covered this Great Southern Land.
We began with a Nullabor crossing in 2010. My wife was concerned with boredom so I compromised with the Indian Pacific on the way back to Adelaide. On our return she told me ” next time we cross, we’ll drive both ways”!!! What a win.
Since then we have done the Savannah Way, cape York twice, the Oodnadatta Track, part of the Tanami and Binns tracks, the Flinders Ranges, the full circuit of Australia, the Longest Shortcut and the circle of Tasmania.
We went through the same process of comparing a caravan with caravan park cabins and motels. We bought an electric car frig which fitted well in the back of our 2012 Nissan Xtrail diesel and thiseliminated motels.
Since then we have stayed in caravan park cabins, farm stays, dongas, guest houses, pubs and the occasional motel.
The big thing is planning your trip and pre booking where possible. Although this restricted us in some cases we travelled quickly, off the beaten track and a big saving on fuel and extra repairs.
I have attached a map of our travels and although I just turned 70-11, I want to add a few extra.
We feel the same ,have been caravaning for 35 years ,been caravan club members for 18 years and still are but gave up our van last year and stay in cabins or motel rooms, still travel with the club but also go places on our own ,instead of towing the van we now fly north and hire a car or drive up the coast ,much easier than dragging the van out ect .we have enjoyed the life but are now spending more time doing short trips .
The one thing that defined caravanning for us ,was we slept in our own bed . I’ve had a few bad experiences in accommodation . Some not cheap ,. We stayed at a resort ,they came daily and changed the linen On the last morning ,I decided to strip the bed for them . Oh dear ,everyone’s sex life was on the mattress cover, it looked like years old . Why , oh why would you leave such filth ,but change the sheets daily .
My wife and I have been doing this for many years now, all states except NT. We have a van for 2-3 day jaunts here in Tassie..
We too have camped in a tent around Australia then moved into an off road camper which is very comfortable & stayed in fantastic places and met wonderful people, but I agree with this couple. I’d be happy to travel less and stay in Motels which are fabulously diverse and I imagine you don’t have to step into a big mud hole when the rains falls. We too are travelling to see the sights, swim in oceans and rivers, hike 10-20km when we wish and have no need to sit at the site all day having a yarn. Plenty of great air b and b choices out there too which are off the grid. I’ve worked out at 70 we wouldn’t come in at a loss with the savings this couple mentions. Great idea now let me convince my husband….
Absolutely my wife and I have travelled every state of Australia doing this. I haven’t done an exhaustive cost analysis but I think we coming out at least equal and almost certainly ahead in price.
Unless I have money to burn to spend up to $100 per night in a motel/cabin and spend up to $60 (that’s being conservative if you don’t factor in drinks) a day at pubs/RSL’s for food…no way! I’ll stick to my caravan where I can cook and prepare my own food, do my own laundry, sleep in my own bed (lord knows what germs are hiding in motels ), stay in low cost or free camps with my ‘barking’ dog and hubby (he doesn’t bark) and enjoy the SPACE around me with no noisy neighbours, smokers and barking dogs.
You meet the best people this way and we’ve made good, life long friends.
In a motel, or cabin, you’ll still have smokers sitting outside your room, kids running around.
But, if theyre going to drop a bundle of cash, best to do it in country towns where the money is sorely needed.
Fully agree, so much more space and time and care free. Pull up to a motel/ cabin door, 15 minutes later either kettle on or out around town. Also the space at night to vist the ensuit. Have done many, many 4 to 6 week trips throughout Australia that I dont believe you would do consistenly with a van. Its always fresh and somthing to look forward to, Cheers.
We have a caravan & are considering selling it in a couple of years & travel in our car the same as this couple, we used to hire a motorhome when we visited family in NZ, last 2trips they were too expensive for a 4wk hire or booked out on our dates, so now, we hire a comfortable mid sized suv, take our chilly bin (ESKY to you) visit & stay with family when possible & go off for a few days by ourselves, staying in country 3-4star pubs, we meet people in these places, food is good, get discounts for extended stays, we use them as a base to come & go from. Win win
I totaly agree with the Beilbys. My husband and I love doing road trips and mixing up the accommodation. We have a small very comfortable awd suv, so fuel cost are low and we can venture on to roads that aren’t suitable for caravans. We are very eclectic with where we stay, from cheap motels and cabins, to farm stays, bnbs and 5 star resorts. It all adds to the adventure.
I’ve often had the very same thoughts as this couple. Whilst I’m not a Grey Nomad, I’ve often thought about how it would look, and instead thought I would do a ‘lap’ but would stick to cabins or motels, as I really couldn’t see all the pros of towing a van. Of course we’d pack a light tent and some supplies for if we got stuck on the road for any reason. Whilst motels don’t have the relaxed ambience of caravan parks, I think you would strike a nice balance of social interaction. I’ve met some lovely people in motels. Good for you, that’s how I’d do it!
Well i have a 7×4 boxtrailer with a lockable cage and a roof top tent, and free camp and this for under $2,000.00 and have a red arc charger and a 300w solar pannel on top of my ute cannopy with 2x kings lithium batteries 120 amps each, a deepfreezer and fridge in canopy, storage under floor a tv and and a satalite dish powered by lithium batteries and never run out of power at all, i can lie in the rooftop tent at night and watch tv anywhere theres a clear sky, have a 3,000w generator in trailer and have oven and airfryer and magnetic stove tops and 2 x 4kg gas bottles on front of box trailer pull. Why would i want a caravan, b4 that i had a ldv g10 motor vehicle van, had duel batteries tv solar pannel and red arc, fridge, and food under floor and bed inside which was the best for camping just pull up and open the door and bed inside and watched tv at night, for just on 3 yrs then some clown broke into our home and stole it to carry the house goods away and took it a kilimetre up the road and burnt it with $15,000.00 worth of prospecting gear all burnt as well as 6 weeks supply of food under the floor , knew who he was but could not touch him as no finger prints or dna
We have just sold our van .We are doing Tassie next staying in hotels and cabins.Alot more cost affective than putting a van on the spirit.Do not miss the hassle of owning a van and and the further depreciation and fuel/ insurance costs Diesel tow tug purchases are in steady decline also.
Thank you for this enlightening article – we have not started our serious travels yet but have been concerned about caravan costs compared to cabins or motels. I think I know what we will choose! The only concern is not being able to cook for ourselves – but maybe the RSLs and pubs are the way to go.
i don’t believe that your comparing apples with apples….