Holiday Car Hire in Australia

Travelling to Australia is quite simple and usually involves taking a plane. However, once on land getting around takes a bit of arranging. When looking into holiday car hire in Australia there are several things to consider. Continue reading below about renting a car while on holiday in the beautiful country of Australia.

Your License and Your Age

First and foremost, take note of any age restrictions that the car hire company may have. Most rental agencies require that valid drivers are at least 21, although some rental companies have a higher minimum age of 25. There may also be age restrictions preventing younger drivers from renting all-terrain or sports vehicles.

The next thing to ensure before renting is that your license will be acceptable. In Australia European and American driver's licenses are valid, but the law states that original documents, if not English, must be accompanied with a translation. This is imperative to have because visitors will be fined for this violation.

Your Credit Card and Insurance

Before booking your car hire in Australia you will want to check with your credit card company about rental car insurance. Most major credit card providers have this coverage for their credit card carriers. If this is the case, when booking your vehicle you do not have to acquire the rental company's insurance coverage. Upon checking with your credit card company and informed you do not have insurance coverage, then you will need to do one of two things. Either check with your car insurance company to see what they have available for car hire or accept the rental company's insurance coverage. No matter what insurance coverage is chosen it is valuable to have coverage because there is no certainty that you will not get into a wreck or have car trouble.

Your Vehicle and Your Savings

With all of the paperwork and details out of the way, it is time to determine what kind of vehicle will be needed for your holiday. Depending on where you will be going and what you will be doing is a huge deciding factor. For sightseeing on the coast or just getting about in the major cities, a standard two-wheel-drive car will be all you need. However, if you are planning to go off the beaten path towards the interior, then expect to rent a four-wheel drive. Although more expensive, this type of vehicle is necessary to traverse the roads outside the major cities. Also, for travelling into the interior visitors are encouraged to make sure the vehicle is in top running condition and carry maps. If you do break down, know what to do beforehand because the Outback is no place to get stranded.

With the vehicle chosen, be sure that it's understood where the vehicle is being picked up and dropped off. Most often there's a discount for returning the vehicle to the same place it was hired from. Also, there may be savings for choosing an off peak day or month to rent the car. As stated above, always inspect the entire vehicle inside and out before driving off. Make note of any dents, dings, or scratches, because these are things you don't want to be blamed for when returning the car.

Road Rules and Laws

Australian vehicles are right-hand drive, and most are manual. Also, everyone drives on the left side of the road, which can be daunting at first but easy to adjust to. Another thing to note in Australia is that there are strict laws in place for drinking alcohol and driving. Visitors need to understand that a police officer can and will stop a driver in order to perform a breathalyzer test. Note that the current legal limit is 005g/100ml.