Campervan hire from Melbourne to Perth

by Sagar
(Auckland, NZ)

We are a group of six people wanting to travel from Melbourne to Perth by road and the duration of our trip is 15 days. (I know it's very short!)

We checked a few campervan hire websites (Britz & Maui) and we were shocked to see the deposit they are asking - around A$7500.

Is campervan hire that expensive in Oz?? Is there any options we have so that we can cut down costs here on travelling around as we are on a shoe string budget and can't afford to pay such copious amounts! But we would definitely love to explore the outback by road.

Campervan hire from Melbourne to Perth

Hi Sagar,
I don't think campervan hire in Australia is expensive. No more than elsewhere anyway. The trip overall will be expensive because of the long distances and the fuel costs.

I just did a quick search for a van for 6 people in June and was quoted $1785, plus a $220 one way fee, plus a $50 admin fee.

All up you are still under $400 per person for over two weeks. I don't find that unreasonable.

The deposit I was asked to pay to complete the booking was $363, so I am not sure what kind of deposit you are talking about. Possibly a security deposit that you get back at the end of the trip?

(If you crash the van yo will have to pay the first $7500 of the damage yourself, unless you take out additional insurance. Maybe that's where you got the number. I suggest you don't crash it.)

If you camp on the way, especially if you opt for free campsites, then you save a lot of money on accommodation, so it all evens out.

I'd say for six people travelling together hiring a campervan and using cheap/free campsites is the most economic option to get from Melbourne to Perth and see something on the way.

(Hope you'll still be friends after being crammed into that van for 15 days...)