A Curated Comparison of 4 Campervan Rentals in Melbourne

Australia, or 'The Land Down Under', is one of the most beautiful countries to go road-trippin' with a campervan.

There are so many routes you can take, but by far, two of the most popular ones are the East Coast and The Great Ocean Road.

East Australia offers pristine beaches, natural habitats for kangaroos and koalas, and the chance to discover one of the most famous cities in the world: Sydney.

In this guide, you will find a curated comparison of 4 rental companies that rent out small converted vans in Melbourne. After reading this article, you will feel more confident in choosing the right campervan for you. We will also reveal which campervan company we chose for our road trip adventure.

If you're a first-time vancationer and are unsure of what type of RV to rent, make sure to check out our article: 'Which Campervan to Rent for Your Next Road Trip'

Campervanning season in Eastern Australia

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you are used to having summers from June - August.

In Australia, as you will discover, everything works the other way around.

• High season: December - February
• Low / shoulder seasons: March - May, and September - November
• Off-season (winter): June - August 

Since everything works the other way around, you have to keep in mind that Southern Australia is colder than Northern Australia.

When we planned our trip, we decided to start in Melbourne and finish in Brisbane. This way, we would be traveling from cold to warm.

We traveled over Easter (April). We saw some spikes in prices during Easter week, but before and after that, prices were not as high as in high season.

Tips for driving in Australia

Tip #1

Australians drive on the left side; this means that all the vans you will see in this comparison have the driver's seat on the left side. It's not all that dramatic.

We recommend that once you get your rental, you take a few minutes to drive around the block to get used to the idea of turns and blinking.

No matter how much you practice, though, you will sometimes turn on the wipers by accident 😅.

Tip #2

Australia has an amazing wild life living inside the forests that are next to roads. Because most of the roads are empty, it is not that uncommon to see a wombat crossing the street at broad daylight. 

This leads to our second tip: try to avoid driving while it's dark.

Most rental companies indicate that if you hit wildlife while it's dark, you are responsible for damages caused to the vehicle since most insurances don't cover these types of 'accidents'.

Criteria for this comparison

If you google 'campervan rentals in Australia' or 'campervan rentals in Melbourne', you will find 60+ results in Google Maps.

So, how come we only have 4 rental companies in this comparison?

Here are our criteria:

1. The van is big enough for two people to sleep in it.
2. The van does not have a fixed toilet inside.
3. The campervan is a converted car or family van, as the generally warm climate doesn't call for the need for a built-in indoor kitchen.
4. Find the companies that we would genuinely recommend to friends. 
5. The campervan can be parked on a tent site.

There are three companies that got through the first filter, but did not make the list.

• Lucky Rentals: Their reviews on Google and Tripadvisor seem to be very negative. Upon researching a bit more about the company, I stumbled across several articles indicating that the vehicles rented out are not the safest. After reading so many negative reviews, I don't feel comfortable recommending this company.
• Wicked Campers: this company is a bit too rustic for our taste, plus they have terrible reviews on Google and TripAdvisor. Also, they don't offer any bedding kit for rent. This is definitely a no-go for us.
• Rouge Rentals: This is a sister company from Wicked. They offer newer vehicles, and their reviews are good. So at first glance, it seems like a good candidate for this list. But, just like with Wicked, no bedding kit is available for hire. 😒

In this article, we will compare 11 different factors amongst the 4 companies:

1. Location: how far away is the car depot from Melbourne International Airport.
2. Opening hours: days and office hours, as well as if after hour pick-ups and drop-offs are available.
3. One way rentals: If they are possible, and if a fee is required.
4. Basic rental price: How much does it cost to rent a campervan in Melbourne for a week without any extras or insurance. For example: from Saturday - Saturday.
5. Mileage: The amount of km/miles, if any, included.
6. Included in the rental price: Items that are included in the basic rental price.
7. Available for hire: Extra items that the company offers for hire.
8. Discreet: Can the car blend in, or does it scream 'tourists on board'?
9. Local: Indicates if the company is a local business.
10. Minimum age to rent: What is the minimum age a driver needs to be and if there is a young driver fee.
11. Website: Does the site provide all the information a potential customer needs; also if it accepts bookings directly.

Companies that rent small campervans for 2 people in Melbourne

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‍Disclaimer: The list is not in any particular order. We put prices, to give you an idea and a comparable tool. They are of course subject to change by the rental company.

1. Awesome Campers

2. Spaceships

3. JUCY

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4. Travelwheels

Which company did we choose?

We chose Spaceships Rentals for 4 reasons:

1. 24/7 drop off. This allowed us to drop the van off on a Sunday without any extra hassle or fee.
2. There is no extra fee for one-way rentals. We picked up our van in Melbourne and dropped it off in Brisbane without any additional costs.
3. Unlimited kilometers included
4. Bedding and kitchen kit already included, we just got their summer pack as an extra. The summer pack includes 2 camping chairs, 1 camping table and a solar shower (we never used the shower).

The one thing we were not so sure about when renting this van was the fact that it does not have a sink. We got so used to the idea of having a sink during our road trip in the US that we were a bit hesitant. 

Australia has so many clean and well functioning public restrooms everywhere that we did not miss a sink in our van at all.

Additional to this, we were able to find clean showers in most of the campgrounds we stayed at, and the one time we dipped into the ocean spontaneously, we found public showers on the sidewalk. So there was no need for us to use the solar shower.

What about hitops?

Hitops are also a very popular choice in Australia. These types of RVs are an excellent choice if you would like to have some space within the van to chill and roam around.

Also, if mornings and evenings are a bit chillier than what you are used to, you can cook and eat your meals in the comforts of a cozy space.

In case you are more interested in hitops, we have gathered the rental companies in Melbourne for you. Again, the list below is in no particular order.

• Let's Go Motorhomes
• Apollo Camper
• Camperman
• Cruisin' Motorhomes
• Travel Wheels
• Calypso Campervans
• Mighty Campers
• Skippy Campervan Hire

Questions about campervanning?

If you are planning a road trip with a campervan and are still nervous about some topics, be sure to check out our campervanning 101 articles. In this section you will find articles like:

• What Type of Insurance Should You Get for Your Campervan Rental?
• The 4 Best Approaches to Stay in a City With Your Campervan Rental
• Are Campervans Hard to Drive?‍
• And much more!

👉🏼 Go to our Campervanning 101 articles.

Which campervan would you choose for your next adventure? Feel free to comment below. Till then...