Budget travelers considering traveling around Australia are often put off by the long distances between sights and cities. It really is a vast country, and there’s a good reason why virtually all travel between the west and east coasts is done by plane:  there’s not really anything in between except desert.

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While plenty of backpackers take long bus trips or buy a cheap car and drive across the vast deserts of Australia, there’s now a more affordable way to explore the huge distances Down Under from the train. The release of the Oz Tracks Pass for travelers aged under 35 years makes traveling some of the world’s greatest train routes an affordable alternative.

The Oz Tracks Pass costs AUD$690 and is valid for six months from the date of the first trip. The pass is valid for travel on the Great Southern Railway network, which includes the Indian Pacific going straight across the Nullarbor Plain, the Ghan which goes straight up the middle of Australia, connecting Adelaide to Darwin, and the Overland which shuttles between Adelaide and Melbourne. Using your Oz Tracks Pass you can make up to 14 city-to-city trips, making the average journey cost just $50: pretty good value when you consider the distances involved.

As you’d expect, this budget fare won’t put you in 5-star comfort, but you will have an allocated seat in the Red Kangaroo Daynighter class. If you don’t plan to travel quite so extensively, but would still like to get an appreciation of the Australian landscape from looking out a train window, there are now budget one-way fares available too.

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