Perth Travel Forum

How much cash should one prepare for a family of 2 adults and 4 children a day for expenses like food,entrance fees to parks, little souvenirs etc?

It's very hard to say without knowing what you want to do and how you like to eat.
Normal household shopping for 2 adult costs me about $500 a month, that's without being mean, but not extravagent either.
Take away food ie burger meals, pizza, subways around $7 per person.
Cold drinks, $2-4 in a cafe or tourist attraction, 50c if you get a multipack from the supermarket. Coffee in a cafe $2.50-$3.50, lunch meal $10-$20au
Main course in a resturant $20 upwards
Some parks etc are free, other attractions around $50 for a family ticket, some like the zoo and Underwaterworld are more.
Souveniers, as much as you want to pay!
(Prices are in Australian dollars)

At a guess I would say a minimum of $150-200AUD per day for the family.

Col

So if I were to budget $200 a day, eat sandwiches or grab something from the supermarket for lunch, have a decent dinner, would that be sufficient?
Perhaps you could give me an idea of the cost of living- eg cost of a carton of milk, a loaf of bread,a cone of ice cream,etc
Could I also ask whether it is normal for aussies to drink straight from the tap or is it usual to buy mineral water?

milk...$2-3 for a 2 litre bottle depending where you buy it
bread...$2-4 depending on what sort you want and where you buy it
ice-cream...$2-4 depending on what and where you buy it.

large supermarkets will be much cheaper than small deli's

Mnay people drink water straight for the tap, it's chorinated and perfectly safe, but you may not like the taste, depends how fussy you are. Bottled water will be at least $2-3 a 500ml bottle if you buy it chilled from a cafe or tourist place, $1 a litre if you buy a supermarket's own brand.

On holidays I seem to always be paying for something, contrary to normal week to week living where I try to stick to my budget. Therefore 6 people will be fairly costly. Leaving out accommodation I think too that you need to allow $200 - $300 per day, some days you won,t spend much if you have a picnic for exanple, but eating out will cost over $100 for 6 of you. Pub meals are often surprisingly good and much better value than Restaurant meals and won,t cost that much, they have a Kids Menu too. If you stay in a Holiday apartment you can keep costs down by preparing meals yourself, If you would like a break from cooking the large supermarkets sell ready made salads and cooking vegetables in a microwave oven is quick and easy. A group of us go on a houseboat once a year, eat well, and it works out to $10 per day per person, but of course we cook on board. I rarely buy bottled water, as previous poster said the water is clean but the taste can be different, supermarkets sell large containers of water 10 - 30 lites, if you do have to buy some, but I think it,s an unnecessary expense. Perhaps look up the price of entrance fees to places you wish to visit, the Lonely Planet Guides are excellent and have accurate prices as long as you get a current book.
Too much money set aside is never a problem but not allowing enough money can spoil your holiday, and if your children are like most, they are usually keen to help lighten Dad,s wallet!

Hi , If you are not going to self cater and take your lunch with you , also entry fees apply to many attractions, but much is free such a beach, walking around Fremantle, Kings Park etc. However river cruises cost, also Perth Zoo. I think budget $200 per day , there are markets where you can purchase good cheap meals approx $10 each.

www.perth.wa.gov.au

good luck,
Mike