Australia is known as one of the great driving destinations. With so much space, it’s a country that deserves some time behind the wheel. Here are our top tips for driving in Australia and for hiring cars here too.
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There’s nothing quite like hitting the road and seeing the sights change as the city dissolves into wide open spaces, which in turn evolve endlessly around you. Driving holidays not only give you freedom, they encourage adventure.
And as proponents of slow travel, and of travelling independently, road trips suit us so well.
We’ve driven around a lot of Australia, from the bucolic beauty of Tasmania to the rugged landscapes of Kakadu in the Northern Territory to the endless coastal roads of WA.
Most of this driving we’ve done in rental cars, flying to a destination rather than driving across this vast country to get there.
But even when we’ve been on driving holidays from our hometown of Sydney, we’ve often hired a car to explore NSW — check out our favourite 15 country towns in regional NSW here.
Every time we’ve hired a car here, there’s always something new to learn.
Couple that with a myriad of nuances of driving Australia’s 817,000km of roads and you’re facing quite the set of challenges.
So here are our top tips for having a hire car in Australia and some of our favourite idiosyncrasies of driving here too.
Top tips on car hire in Australia
Hiring a car in Australia is pretty straight forward. If you have ID and you’re over 25, it’s a cinch. If you have an Aussie driver’s licence, that’s all you need for ID, otherwise your passport is best.
People under 21 can’t hire a car in Australia. If you’re between 21 and 24, a ‘young driver surcharge’ will be added per day to your rental. You also won’t be able to reduce your excess by as much.
Which car hire company should you go with?
This is a question we’re asked all the time, which is understandable, especially as the cost of hiring a car is important to your travel budget.
Unfortunately, there’s no absolute answer.
However, we generally prefer to use Budget Rentals simply because they have a garage near to us and their cars are all unmarked. Many car rental firms have their logos all over the vehicles, which kind of singles you out on the road and in car parks.
For the best deals and to be able to compare prices across multiple rental companies, you really can’t go past DiscoverCars.com.
The rates we’ve found here are very competitive, and not just in Australia. Renting a car in the UK is notoriously expensive, but this site has some surprisingly reasonable prices.
I really like the search results page too. You can easily look at different categories of car simultaneously and the filter on the left shows things like number of seats, special offers and e-cars.
You can also specify suppliers, so if we only want to rent from Budget, one click sorts the results.
So in short, check out DiscoverCars.com.
Save money — where is the hire car pick-up location?
If you have time, don’t pick up your car straight from the airport. As airports are considered ‘premium locations’, they often attract surcharges.
Most car rental websites’ search pages give you the option of searching ‘All Locations’ in a city, which can yield some big savings.
Also, if possible, have the same pick-up and drop-off location. Car rental companies usually have an extra charge for different drop-off points.
Go go auto!
Don’t expect to be able to hire a manual transmission car in Australia. Unlike the UK and mainland Europe, autos are much more common in Aus to the point where many people can’t even drive manual cars here.
If you do find a rental company with manual cars, expect to pay more for them, which is also the opposite to the UK, where you’ll find autos more expensive.
Should you buy extra insurance for your rental?
It’s important that you have good insurance when you’re renting a car, but you don’t necessarily have to use the one the rental company’s selling.
Rental cars in Australia have third party insurance built into the pricing, so if that’s enough for you, don’t worry. Also, if you have good home insurance or travel insurance, you may be covered under this.
As for paying for excess reduction, your travel insurance should cover this too. If you’re looking for great travel insurance, check out Cover More.
What damage should you look for and what’s just ‘wear and tear’?
It goes without saying that you should always check your car for damage and confirm with the car company before you leave the premises.
Obvious damage should already be marked down on the report and cosmetic scratches — especially on the edge of the boot or around the door handles — will be considered wear and tear. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring it to the company’s attention. Always report it. That way you’re covered.
This is definitely not wear & tear, but was not listed on our report when we picked up the car in Nice, France. We logged it with the company and there was no problem.
Importantly, take photos of the roof, windscreens and wheels, as these are not covered under wear and tear, and less scrupulous companies have been known to charge for this.
We once had to return a (completely undamaged) car in a hurry to Melbourne Airport. They tried to bill us for a cracked windscreen. Outrageous.
Which side is the petrol on?
One of my favourite tips for renting cars is the magical arrow on the fuel gauge. If you can’t remember which side the fuel’s on, look for the little black triangle or arrow. It’s on every vehicle, not just rentals and points to the side the petrol’s on!
For more general tips on hiring cars, check out our story 11 Secrets To Winning At Car Hire
We’ve also got tips on driving and staying safe in Mexico, driving tips for California, and hiring cars and driving in Japan!
Hot Tips on Driving in Australia
I could talk about driving in Australia for years, but here are the top-line top tips for surviving on the roads here. I grew up in the UK, which you’d think would be very similar to Australia, but there are lots of little differences.
If you’re visiting Australia, these tips will be really helpful and if you’re from here, you might find them interesting. 🙂
Watch out for speed cameras
Especially in NSW, speed cameras are everywhere. Don’t mess around with these guys, they will punish even the slightest speed indiscretion.
The good news is they’re well signed.
If you see a signpost for a camera with the speed limit next to it, take it seriously. You’ll see two more after this and then the camera itself, and it may be on the other side of the road.
Fines for speeding are hefty and you also get points (not in a good way) on your licence.
Even worse, watch out for red light speed cameras
Many traffic lights now have cameras that not only catch drivers that run red lights but also who are speeding. So if you hit the gas to get through a red light, expect to pay for it!
Signs for these aren’t as clear, so take it easy at the lights.
Also, during public holidays in NSW, fines go up as do ‘double-demerits’ punishments for driving infractions.
Beware the school zones
On certain streets at certain times of day — usually 8.00am–9.30am and 2.30pm–4.00pm — speed limits change down to 40kmp/h. These are usually near a school, but not necessarily.
These zones are well signed, but keep an eye out for them. Failing to slow down during school zone times (during school terms) will result in — you guessed it — a hefty fine.
Understanding the special language of parking signs
Finding a space on the street is just the beginning when it comes to the challenges of parking in Australia.
You then need to work out how long you can park there (if at all) and then how much it’ll be. ‘P3’ means you can park for a maximum of three hours, but then you need to carefully read the small print telling you the times of day and days of the week this includes. Here’s a great explanation of the secret code of parking signs.
Christina is fluent in parking sign language, but even she’s had trouble in the past, so take your time. If in doubt, look for another space.
Park the right way round
In addition to parking signs, you can only park in the direction of traffic. In other words, if you see a space on the other side of the street, you need to drive past, do a U-turn and park that way round.
The fine you get for parking the wrong way is — I’ve heard — for ‘parking too far from the kerb’.
Getting gas (or ‘petrol’ if you prefer that!)
When you pull up to the petrol pump (or ‘bowser’ as Australians rightly call it), don’t expect anyone to help you. There’s no such thing as full-service petrol stations here unlike the States.
Also unlike America, you don’t have to put in a postcode or zip code to buy petrol here. You just pay inside the shop — some servos (‘servo’ is Strine for ‘service station’ or ‘services’) have pay-at-the-pump options too.
Traffic light sensors to trigger the lights
If you’re the first car to stop at a red light, make sure you drive right up to the line. There’s usually a grid of pressure sensors in the road that trigger the lights to change.
If you’re not on the sensor, it’ll take ages for the light to go green.
Watch for pedestrians when turning left
When your traffic light goes green and you want to turn left, just remember pedestrians wanting to cross the road you’re about to turn down get a green light to walk at the same time.
You can turn a little bit into the road, but don’t go too far or risk stinkeye from the people crossing.
Melbourne’s famous hook turn
Driving in Melbourne is much the same as driving in most Aussie cities — other than drivers being polite than in Sydney — apart from one major difference: the Hook Turn.
To avoid being crushed by trams or less dramatically, to avoid slowing trams down, cars turning right don’t use the right-hand lane where a tramline runs.
Instead, you’re expected to go into the far left lane marked with a huge right-hand arrow and wait for the light signal. You then turn all the way across the other cars on your side of the road. It’s terrifying, but somehow it works.
Don’t mess with road trains
Our last piece of advice for driving in Australia is about the road trains. These gargantuan trucks, which are often loaded with three or three and a half containers on the back of their prime mover, are the boss of all roads.
Only usually spotted on outback roads, these massive vehicles won’t (and can’t) stop if you’re in the way.
So if you see one coming towards you, just move over a bit.
If you see one behind you, speed up or pull over carefully. And if there’s one in front of you, overtake with extreme caution. Good luck!
