Cheap Car Rental in Geelong

Car Rental in Geelong: easy access to the Great Ocean Road

While Geelong is an excellent city to visit in its own right—with good food, comfortable shopping experiences, and plenty of historic architecture—it is perhaps best known as the gateway to the Great Ocean Road, which parallels the gorgeous southern coast of Victoria. We can’t think of a better use of your time in and around Geelong than renting a car and heading out west on a road trip. Make the most of your visit by booking your rental car today.

Spring is the most popular time of year to visit Geelong, spanning from September to November. Summers are comfortably mild, however, making both seasons excellent for road trips.

The de facto official language of Australia is English, which is also the language spoken by the majority of Geelong’s residents. Wathaurong is the major Aboriginal language spoken by the Kurin nation in and around Geelong.

Geelong is in the Australian Eastern Standard Time Zone, UTC+10 or +11 in the summer Daylight Savings Time.

The currency is the Australian dollar and credit cards are widely accepted throughout the country.

Car hire is available in downtown Geelong.

From Geelong, Torquay is the next stop along the Great Ocean Road, located just 22 km to the south. The mid-point of the Great Ocean Road, the Cape Otway Lighthouse, is about 3 hours constant driving from Geelong. For a shorter trip, head out to Bellarine, 25 km west of Geelong, and enjoy the wineries that populate the Bellarine Peninsula.

Visa Regulations

All visitors to Australia require a visa to enter the country, except those coming from New Zealand. Depending on your country of citizenship, you can apply for these visas online for a fee of $20 to $130; be sure to only visit government websites for these applications in order to avoid surcharges and other fees. Some nationalities will have to apply for a visa via a paper application at an Australian embassy. Double check regulations for your nationality before you confirm your travel plans.

Driving in Geelong

Particularly if you’ve started your tour of Victoria in Melbourne, you’ll find that driving in and around Geelong is much more comfortable than driving in Melbourne. In fact, many experienced travellers start their trip along the Great Ocean Road by commuting by train from Melbourne to Geelong and picking up their car in Geelong directly.

Left-Hand Driving

• Traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road throughout Australia.

Speed Limits

• In the city: 50 km/h
• On the highway: 100 km/h
• Many people who work in Melbourne live in Geelong, so you’ll want to avoid leaving Geelong between 5:30 and 8:30 am and returning between 3:30 to 6:30 pm in order to avoid traffic congestion.

Other Regulations

1. Parking in Geelong typically costs between $1.70 and $2.00 an hour, and most street parking will also be limited by time.
2. If your domestic driver’s license has been issued in a language other than English, an international driver’s permit will be necessary to rent a car in Australia.
3. There are two tolled highways in the state of Victoria, both in Melbourne. Day passes are available for purchase online or over the phone. If you inadvertently travel along these tollways, you can still buy a pass up to three days afterwards, which is highly advisable, as failure to do so will result in even higher fees issued through your rental agency.
4. The minimum driving age in Victoria is 18 years, though most rental companies will require that you are at least 21 years old to rent a car, and you are likely to face young-driver surcharges until the age of 25.

Cheap Car Rental in Geelong

Car hire in Geelong typically starts at around $30 a day. Here are some of the best deals in Geelong:

• Toyota Yaris or similar (economy class) – $31/day
• Toyota Corolla or similar (compact class) – $32/day
• Ford Focus or similar (intermediate class) – $36/day
• Mitsubishi Lancer or similar (standard class) – $39/day
• Holden Commodore or similar (fullsize class) – $41/day

Note that prices vary depending on the availability of each specific car and the season in which you rent. For the most accurate offers, use the search bar above.

Tips for Renting a Car Inexpensively in Geelong

There is some seasonal variation in price for hire cars in Geelong, where prices can sink as low as $22 a day in the off-season. $28 to $30 a day is the more typical rental price throughout the spring, summer, and fall. For the cheapest prices in Geelong, be sure to book your rental car within 1 to 11 months in advance of your arrival.

Thrifty is the car rental agency that typically offers the cheapest prices in Geelong. Particularly with the help of discounts of around 17%, Thrifty keeps car hire cheap, often beating the prices of the competition by around $10 a day.

You can also typically save around $4 a day by extending your rental period to over a week.