Telephone Direct:
| Sydney NSW | 02 9360 3622 |
| Perth WA | 08 9221 1122 |
| Subiaco WA | 08 9388 3222 |
| Fremantle WA | 08 9430 5300 |
| Bayswater WA (near airport) |
08 9370 3888 |
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Car Rental & Hire Travel in Australia
This page has been set up to give you a few tips and ideas related to traveling by rental car in Australia.
First, traveling in Australia is fairly easy and fun. There is a lot to see, particularly in the natural environment. But the cities and towns are also interesting and offer a variety of experiences.
One of the first things you need to consider when thinking about traveling by car in Australia is that the distances are greater than you may expect.
Below are facts and considerations that may make your travel easier and more rewarding.
- Basic Rental Car Travel Facts
- Australia's Natural Environment
- Cities and Towns
- Australia's BIG Things
Basic Rental Car Travel Facts
You will be driving on the left side of the road.
There are several divided highways between major destinations. But there are also many 2 lane, undivided highways. (These can be somewhat dangerous for drivers who decide to push on after they have become tired or drowsy.) In some places these are the only roads between population centres, which means you will be sharing the road with all types of vehicles.
Speed limits range quite a bit. And you may be surprised when the speed limit drops quickly around cities and towns, even before you see evidence of more traffic or people. The top speed limit in most areas is 100km. Speed limits in built-up areas, particularly around schools and hospitals can be as low as 25km.
There are speed cameras, fixed and mobile, to catch people speeding. There are advance warning signs for most of the fixed speed cameras.
Police do conduct Random Breath Tests to catch people driving under the influence of alcohol. And it doesn’t necessarily take that much to put you over the limit. (Please remember that driving dangerously or illegally may cause you to lose you damage responsibility reduction.)
Parking in the cities is not always easy. If you find a large parking station you may be able to stay there for a few hours, but be warned, in Sydney and Melbourne that can be very expensive. Parking on the streets in the central business districts (CBD) for more than an hour or two can be almost impossible - unless you don’t mind paying a fine or having your car towed away. Some of the parking meters take coins only, but there are more and more that will accept credit cards. If possible, for the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne, you are better off getting into the city by public transportation - even if you have driven to a suburb close to the CBD.
Petrol prices are between AU$1.60 and $1.80/litre, depending on what day it is and where you are buying. Bayswater Car Rental only has fuel efficient Toyotas so your petrol costs will be as low as possible.
Electronic Toll Road Payment. In cities like Sydney and Melbourne there are toll roads that only accept electronic payment or payment over the phone by credit card after the toll road has been used. If you don’t have an E-tag to pay electronically and automatically, your cost for each toll will be higher. It is much simpler and cheaper to have an E-tag for traveling around cities that have electronic toll roads. Bayswater Car Rental makes this easy and inexpensive for you by making available an E-tag for every car rented out of the Sydney office.
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The Natural Environment
Most overseas travelers stick to populated areas so you are not likely to encounter extreme weather or climate conditions. There is much more to Australia's natural beauty than just "the Outback".
However Australia is a big country. Make sure you have enough petrol to reach the next available services.
Australia is more scenic and rural than you might expect. It is easy to discover many beautiful and interesting places without having to deal with temperature and weather extremes.
One of the risks that just about every driver in Australia faces outside the cities and towns is the prospect of hitting a kangaroo or wombat. They can cause extensive damage to a car. (Of course getting hit by a car doesn’t do them much good, either.) If you see signs that warn of possible wildlife on the road, take them seriously and stay alert.
Beaches. There are more incredible beaches within Bayswater Car Rental's allowed Areas of Use than you could ever hope to see. Some of these are within the cities and towns. Some of them are quite remote. With just a bit of effort, you'll be able to find places that are just about perfect for you, whether you prefer remote and rugged or more cosmopolitan and refined. In most of the beach holiday locations there are hotels and motels to suit most budgets. With a little planning, you'll also find there are holiday homes that can be rented by larger groups or families.
Mountains and other remote areas. While Australia is not mountainous like many other continents, there are several beautiful spots that offer great activities and scenery. Even snow skiing when the weather is right. In NSW there are the Blue Mountains a couple of hours west of Sydney. And there are the Snowy Mountains that are in both Victoria and New South Wales. Bayswater Car Rental provides Toyota Corolla sedans that are allowed above the snow line in winter at no extra charge (on the NSW side of the mountains).
Wine Regions. Australia has great wines and several great wine regions. If you like wine, do a bit of research before you travel. You'll be able to find at least one wine region that matches your style and taste. More than likely, you'll be spoiled for choice.
In New South Wales, there are fine wineries in the Hunter Valley, Orange, Mudgee, the Riverina and more.
In Victoria the wine regions include Swan Hill, the Yarra Valley, Rutherglen and about 20 others.
In South Australia there are exceptional choices that include the Barossa Valley, the Coonawarra, the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale, Padthaway and many more.
In West Australia you'll find wine regions such as Swan District, Perth Hills, the Great Southern and the extraordinary Margaret River.
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Cities and Towns
Within the Bayswater Car Rental Areas of Use, you will find all the major cities and most of the towns tourists like to see when they come to Australia. These include Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, The Gold Coast, The Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Tamworth, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Surfer's Paradise, Bundaberg, Margaret River, Albany, the Hunter Valley, Carnarvon, Tamworth and many more.
Each city and town has its own character and highlights. There's a lot to choose from such as...
- The excellent food and great coffee in Sydney or Melbourne.
- Great sporting events in all the capital cities. (Australians are a bit sports-mad and love to take advantage of the outdoor-activity-friendly climate.)
- The Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge in Sydney.
- Sydney Harbour (it's beautiful day and night)
- The European style and culture of Melbourne.
- The art galleries and other unique characteristics of the nation's capital, Canberra.
- In Dubbo you'll find the Western Plains Zoo, where you can see wild African and Australian animals out in the open.
- Many people would not feel like they had been to Australia if they did not visit Bondi in NSW or the Gold Coast in Queensland.
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BIG Things
For some reason Australians love to build BIG 'things' for tourists to marvel at or be bemused by. Wikipedia claims there may be over 150 large sculpture-like structures around Australia. These are usually several meters high and tend to be located on highways or in towns, usually representative of some local activity or agricultural product. For example, in Coffs Harbour, NSW, in a prominent banana-growing region, you'll find the BIG BANANA, 13 meters long and 5 meters high.
These things are not high art. They're just high. One of them on its own may seem tacky or silly, but all 150 of them together represent something very important. They show off magnificently Australians' irreverent sense of humour and genuine appreciation of the absurd.
There are BIG things in every state. If this sort of silliness might appeal, look for the following fine examples:
- The Big Trout - Adaminaby, NSW
- The Big Cow - Brunswick Junction, WA
- The Big Ned Kelly (a very tall bushranger) - Glenrowan, VIC
- The Big Lobster - Kingston SE, SA
- The Big Prawn - Ballina, NSW
- You wouldn't want to miss the Giant Murray Cod - Swan Hill, VIC
- The Big Marino (Sheep) - Goulburn, NSW
- The Giant Koala - Dadswells Bridge, VIC
- The Big Oyster - Taree, NSW
- The Big Pineapple - Nambour, QLD
- The world's biggest sundial - Singleton, NSW
- The 12 meter high Golden Guitar, based on the Golden Guitar trophies given to winners at the Country Music Awards of Australia during the Tamworth Country Music Festival - Tamworth, NSW
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An Australian Company
Making It Easier to See Australia
Bayswater Car Rental is a true Australian company. We started in Perth over 30 years ago and have grown to a fleet of over 2500 hire cars in Sydney and Perth. We don't believe we have to try to be something we are not. We provide rental cars of great quality and do so with a constant focus on keeping our customers' costs as low as possible.
If that sounds like what you want, we're glad to be of service.
If you have any questions that we have not answered to your satisfaction on the pages of this site, please contact us directly by telephone. (You'll find our telephone numbers on every page, in the left column or click here to see the Contact Us/Locations page)
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