When it comes to must-do, once-in-a-lifetime, don’t-die-before-you-experience trips around the world, diving the Great Barrier Reef and exploring the ruins of Angkor Wat usually make the top ten.
Which is kind of convenient for Aussies, as both experiences lay within our little corner of the world.
But hey, get this: immersing yourself in the colourful underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef and getting your Tomb Raider on in Angkor Wat are actually two of the best value destinations for Australian travellers – and we all know how important value is to a potential holiday destination.
And this revelation isn’t coming from some random dude on the train wearing a Magpies cap, nor from that aunty who thinks she’s a total expert on travel after a few trips to Bali (and a few chardonnays…).
No – this is coming straight from TripAdvisor, the leading travel planning and review website. So yeah, you can bet your bottom dollar these guys know what they’re talking about.
TripAdvisor’s inaugural TripIndex Experiences of a Lifetime, which was conducted in partnership with independent firm Kantar TNS, found that ticking off diving in the Great Barrier Reef cost just $1,162 per person (or $2,109 for two) including flights, transfer, dinners, hotels and tours.
Slightly more expensive, much still offering tons of value, was getting your Tintin on in Siam Reap and visiting Angkor Wat, which cost around $1,392 per person (or $2,663 for two).
The research also found that, when flights weren’t factored in, the cheapest once-in-a-lifetime experiences for Australians to tick off their bucket-list were visiting Angkor Wat ($362), going on Safari in South Africa ($486) and visiting the Galapagos Islands ($623).
At the other end of the scale, chilling in Santorini ($1,038), seeing the Northern Lights ($1,081) and trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu ($1,545) were found to be the most expensive.
But hey hey, the same study also found that it’s possible to save up to 83 percent on tours and hotels by booking ahead – something all of us that have worked in travel take as a fundamental law of the universe.
“This TripIndex price comparison study helps travellers set out lifetime experiences we all dream of and shows that it is possible to achieve them by using TripAdvisor, which can dramatically reduce overall costs by up to 83% with highly-rated hotels and tours that are available for booking.”
Joanne Kershaw, TripAdvisor Spokesperson.
“Travellers interested in holidaying closer to home can also use TripAdvisor to discover destinations and highly-rated bookable experiences that are just as dream-worthy,” Joanne said.
Check out the table below that collates all the research findings into one space:
Credit: TripAdvisor.
