GUIDE TO RENT A VAN IN AUSTRALIA OR NEW ZEALAND

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Although at first glance it may seem to you that rent a van in Australia or New Zealand It is not the cheapest option to visit these countries, once you start to account, add in one place and subtract in another, you end up realizing that traveling on a traveling house has a lot of advantages. We already gave you 1st reasons to travel by van in New Zealand.

If you are already clear that this will be your travel style, now you will have many doubts. To try to solve them we have written this guide to rent a van in Australia or in New Zealand. We hope it serves you!

Obviously you have to book it online. To get the best deal there are websites that compare All rental companies and present you with the available options, with different styles of vans, prices etc. We use Motorhome Republic and it has always been good for us.

The rental companies They usually offer the best prices are: Lucky, Cheapacampa, Hippiecamper, Real Value, Wicked or Spaceship. Other more expensive are Apollo, Mighty, Jucy or Britz.

When the website gives you the results, you will see different types of vans: from the wagon style or the minivan vans that have been adapted as a camper, to the typical Hi-Top tall vans and the extra expensive motorhomes. The small and medium ones will not have a bath or shower, the biggest ones will be a privilege!

Which one to choose? Well it depends on three things:

Travel style and duration: If you manage with a bed, a storage space and a small table where you can cook, the cheapest wagon style can be worth it. Now, for rental periods of several weeks, where in the end there is a lot of life inside, it is better to pay a little more and get a bigger one.
Number of people: If you are two and you are not too disastrous, in reality anyone is interesting. However, if you are more, you will have to opt for the larger ones, for convenience and for needing approval for more people.
Budget: If you have a high budget and you can afford a luxury, we do not doubt it: go for one with a bathroom! It doesn't have to be a motorhome, there are intermediate options, huge vans that are perfectly equipped as a home. We rented the Sprinter and it was milk!

Conclusion: our favorite, for price and comfort, is undoubtedly the Hi-Top. Enter within an accessible budget but it is very comfortable to make life inside. It also does not consume as much as motorhomes and driving is simple.

The price is always calculated per rental day and can leave for about75-90 AUD a day in high season, the Hi-Top model. The most basic models are obviously cheaper, and those with a better bathroom do not even comment. Certain aspects must be taken into account:

Eye to the high season: Prices are more expensive between November and March, if you travel in another era, you can have very interesting offers, or even relocations!

Different prices depending on the route: we found that on the route from Perth to Melbourne, less touristy, the prices were somewhat higher than a rental from Melbourne to Cairns. In the same way the direction you take also influences, Apollo offered us a huge discount for making the Cairns route to Melbourne, instead of the opposite. And they need to lower those vans in some way.

Sometimes you have to pay a one-way rate for delivering the van to an office other than the pick-up (which will increase the total to be paid). This is specified in each company when you make the comparison on the website of Motorhome Republic.

The price is usually reduced if the rentals are long lasting (from two weeks).

Prices do not include full insurance, which you can optionally hire at the office, or on the website itself when making the reservation. At the next point we count more.

Nor do they include others Additional features such as tables and chairs, GPS, gas bottle, etc.

What if they usually include They are the kitchen utensils, sheets and towel, bucket and hose (if you have a kitchen).

The prices we paid were these:

From Perth to Melbourne, for 22 days in February: 1,800 AUS
7 days in Tasmania (pick up and delivery in Hobart) in March: 550 AUS
From Melbourne to Cairns, for 22 days in April: 1,300 AUS

First, enter the website of Motorhome Republic. To make it easier, you can change language and currency, in the upper right.

In the main box you will have to select the country, the city of collection and delivery, the dates and your country of origin. For now, in the type of vehicle, leave all.

Then all the options will appear. On the left side there will be different filters, such as the exchange rate (manual or automatic), type of gasoline, if you have a bathroom, price range, score, etc. At the top we can also filter by the number of berths.

There will be many different options, sorted by the total amount (consisting of the rental amount plus an extra, which is usually the one-way rate and / or some administration fee). You can be guided by the image of each one to know the type of vehicle it is. We make the filter of 2 berths, automatic, and we go through to enter the type of vehicle, which is the Hi-Top, with high roof, of the company Cheapa Campa (the subsidiary of Apollo).

As you can see, most of the options do not have an immediate reservation, but you have to making a request and within 24 hours we will receive confirmation by e-mail. The next step would be to select SEE in the one that interests us.

On the next page, we see in the central part the description of the vehicle, with the equipment it carries and the rest of the technical information. On the right we have the total rental amount and the concepts.

In our case, being a 15-day reservation, we are charged a lower rate from the second week. We also see that they apply a discount for a special promotion and extra fees, which in our case would be the one-way and administrative fees.

Finally, we will have to select the collection and delivery schedules of each city, and choose if we want take out extended insurance and the Additional features. An option to contract cancellation insurance also appears below, to save penalties in case we finally cancel the reservation.

All this is quite personal, although as we said at the beginning we in the last rents have always contracted the full insurance. We will also see what the amount of the franchise (or deductible) and the amount of the deposit to be charged to the credit card when picking up the van (which is usually the same).

You can see all the information about what the extended insurance if you click In our case, it completely eliminates the franchise (we will not have to pay anything in case of an accident), reduces the deposit of 3,500 AUD to 250 AUD (which is what will be blocked on the credit card and will be released at the end of the rental) , you also save 3% of the administration fee and include a series of extras such as chairs, table, gas bottle or additional driver.

The final step would be to check every detail of the rate. If we agree, then we fill in all data from the driver, from the reservation holder, from the means of payment ... In this case, it is not necessary for the payment to be made by credit card, it is worth a normal debit card. A first payment will be made when the reservation is confirmed, and the rest in the days before picking up the van.

Therefore, the reservation will be paid in full, with the exception of the deposit that will be applied to your credit card once you arrive to pick up the van at the office.

Rentals include standard insurance with a amount of "excess" (franchise) and general coverage (to third parties, civil liability, etc). The franchise is the maximum that has to be paid in case of accident or damage. In case you want to reduce that amount, companies offer options to take out extended insurance, which has a price per day of rental.

It is necessary to know that, if an additional insurance is not contracted, when picking up the van it will be necessary to leave aDeposit, normally with the amount of the franchise. This amount depends on the company, from 2,700 AUD in Cheapa Campa to 5,000 AUD with Go Cheap. Keep it in mind to increase your credit card limit.

There are different insurance options, the cheapest one reduces an important part of the excess, and the most expensive one eliminates it directly and can include some other extra, such as chairs and tables, administrative fees, gas, etc. The prices per day are between 20 and 40 AUD.

But none of them includes the service of roadside assistance and wheel and moon protection: This coverage must always be contracted apart from insurance and usually costs about 6-8 AUD per day.

Our recommendation: In the last trips we have always chosen to take out all-risk insurance, call us carcass, but it gives us peace of mind that you don't see!

In the total to pay for a rental of a van or campervan in Australia or New Zealand should appear these concepts:

Total rental price: detailed by daily price, you know, for long rentals apply interesting discounts. Between 75 and 90 AUD in high season.

One-way rate: Sometimes it does not apply, or only included for rental is long-term (from three weeks). If this is not the case and you are charged, it should be indicated. The price ranges from 150 AUD to 500 AUD.

Fee for franchise reduction and coverage extension: It is usually charged per day in different packages. The price is usually between 20-40 AUD per day.

Administrative and government fees: between 2% and 3% of the total rent.

Other types of special rates: are to collect or return the van on holidays, a% of the total amount of the deposit, etc. We had to pay AUD 100 to pick up the van on Easter Monday!

Other extra expenses: here they would come if you have chosen to pay a gas bottle in advance, if you want to rent a GPS, the sheets and towel package, etc.

Finally, we give you a few tips to finish clarifying the issue further:

Automatic VS manual. We have rented both manual and automatic vans, and it becomes much more comfortable to drive the latter. Think that the shift lever will be in your left hand and you will not be used to it. The changes, by the way, are in the same position: that is, the first one on the left, the second one below, etc ...

How much bigger and older is a van more consumption will have. In Australia or New Zealand, gasoline is not expensive, but it must always be taken into account.

Look at that all fees are included, one way, card, etc ...

Carry one credit card with sufficient limit, otherwise they will not be able to retain the amount of the deposit.

We always recommend carrying the international card of driving.

If you want to take out theinternational traffic license just go to a traffic office with your driver's license and a photo (remember to make an appointment), fill out the appropriate form (in a minute it is done), pay the fee in cash or by card (about € 10) and ready! That easy. The international card is valid for one year.

In Australia and New Zealand, gasoline is very cheap (on average 1, 45 AUD per liter, less than € 1). Obviously these vans consume much more than a car, but you will still see that it is worth it. We got an average of less than 10 liters per 100 km.

To know the price of gasoline in different areas of the country we use the app Fuel Map Australia.

Both Australia and New Zealand are countries very prepared to travel by van. There are areas enabled to spend the night, with bathrooms, barbecues, green areas, etc. Although there are also others that are very basic, but at least you can!

You have to take a lot of attention to the signs, in some places they prohibit spending the night with the van and if the cops catch you, they will give you a warning or directly the fine.

To avoid these scares, we rely on two very useful apps: Wikicamps Y Campermate. They will be your best travel friends!

These are the Basic tips for renting a van in Australia or New Zealand. We are sure it will be a wonderful experience! Have you already lived it? What are your recommendations?