Cheap Car Rental in Melbourne

Car Rental in Melbourne: Australia’s capital of Arts and Culture

Melbourne is Victoria’s capital and southeastern Australia’s metropolis for excellent shopping, fine dining, and multicultural arts activities. While the city can certainly keep you busy for weeks with its gorgeous architecture and exciting nooks, your visit to Victoria is nothing without a road trip into the gorgeous Australian outdoors. Make the most of your visit to Melbourne by hiring a car. Book yours today!

Melbourne has a fairly temperate four seasons: winters are chilly but rarely freeze and summers tend to linger just above room temperature with the occasional heat wave. October is typically the rainiest month.

The de facto official language of Australia is English, which is also the language spoken by the majority of Melbourne’s residents, though a full third of these English speakers speak a different language when they get home. In fact, the city’s residents speak 251 different languages altogether! Woiworrung and Boon Wurrung are the major Aboriginal languages spoken by the Kurin nation in and around Melbourne.

Melbourne 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.

Cheap car hire in Melbourne is available in over 15 locations throughout Melbourne, including Melbourne Airport (MEL), downtown, and in Southbank.

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 Melbourne

In all of Melbourne’s neighborhoods, with the exception of the central business district, a car significantly improves your visit. If you have to head downtown, consider parking your car at a railway station and commuting like many of the locals. Be sure to plan some road trips during your stay. So much awaits you beyond city limits and the best way to explore it all is truly via rental car!

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

Other Regulations

1. Parking can be difficult to find in downtown Melbourne and is typically quite expensive. Street parking costs around $3.50 an hour!
2. If your domestic driver’s license has been issued in a language other than English, an international driver’s permit will be necessary for car hire in Melbourne, Australia.
3. Melbourne has two tollways, which are marked by blue and yellow signs, and both of which require the purchase of a day pass online or over the phone. If you inadvertently travel along one of 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.
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 Melbourne

Car hire in Melbourne starts as low as $15 a day. Here are some of the best deals in Melbourne:

• Hyundai I20 (economy class) - $16 per day
• Kia Cerato (compact class) - $20 per day
• Hyundai Accent (intermediate class) - $21 per day
• Honda Accord (standard class) - $22 per day
• Toyota Camry (fullsize class) - $24 per 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 Melbourne

There is no significant seasonal variation in price for rental cars in Melbourne, but you can still save on your rental car by booking from the right location. Agencies at both Melbourne Airport and downtown offer excellent prices year-round. At the airport, Bargain Car Rentals and Carhood Car Rental typically offer rental cars at less than $30 a day. While agencies like Thrifty can typically match these prices downtown, be sure to check the prices for your given rental period at the airport first; oftentimes the prices are between $1 and $15 less expensive.

Keep an eye out for the occasional discount of around 17% as well, which makes prices for car hire in Melbourne even cheaper.

You can also often save around $5 a day by extending your rental period to over a week, depending on the agency from which you rent. Be sure to check prices for shorter and longer rental periods, however, because you may find that longer term rentals are actually cheaper, which is convenient if you plan on staying in central Melbourne for more than a day or two.