Campervan Hire Melbourne: Every Company, Depot and Price Compared

What a whole trip from Melbourne costs

Estimated at the typical daily rate, for the van only — campsites, fuel and food are extra. Longer rentals often lower the daily rate, so treat these as an upper guide.

How far ahead to book

Councils whose rules apply around Melbourne

First night out of Melbourne

The realistic first night is a booked caravan or holiday park — in the outer suburbs if you collect late in the day, or an hour or so down the road toward Geelong, Torquay or the Mornington Peninsula, which also gets you clear of the morning ring-road traffic. Mornington Peninsula's foreshore camping at Rosebud, Rye and Sorrento is a legal option about an hour to ninety minutes out, but it needs a paid advance booking and runs seasonally, so it is not a place to turn up unannounced. Surf Coast Shire's own Winchelsea RV Friendly 48-hour parking area, about an hour and a quarter out on the Princes Highway, takes self-contained vehicles at no charge for up to 48 hours — but we could not confirm whether it has reopened after the works next door, so ring the shire before counting on it.

Two depot clusters, and two shared addresses

Most counters shut in the early afternoon

Tolls, tunnels and the way out of town

Victorian distances and the first afternoon

How much does it cost to hire a campervan in Melbourne?

Across 20,369 price checks at Melbourne depots, campervans typically ran A$142–A$277 a day, with the cheapest we saw at A$32. Campervan Village had the lowest median of the 11 companies we priced here. Rates move with season, trip length and how far ahead you book, so run a search for your dates to see today's total.

Can you hire a campervan in Melbourne at 18?

Yes — JUCY, Spaceships, Campervan Village, Travellers Autobarn, Camperman and Mighty accept drivers from 18 in Melbourne, the lowest published minimum among the companies with a depot here. Most operators charge a young-driver fee below a threshold age and some restrict larger motorhomes to older drivers; the table above lists each company's own terms, and the fee is priced into the total you're quoted at booking.

Can you pick up a campervan in Melbourne and drop it off somewhere else?

Yes. Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and other cities are served by companies that also have a Melbourne depot, which is what a one-way needs. 8 companies run Melbourne to Adelaide. A one-way charge almost always applies and is folded into the total each company quotes for your route and dates.

Where should I spend the first night out of Melbourne?

Not on a Melbourne street. The City of Melbourne's Activities Local Law 2024 makes camping in a public place an offence without a permit and names sleeping in a vehicle specifically, and the coastal councils you would drive to next set their own restrictions. The practical first night is a booked caravan or holiday park — in the outer suburbs if you collect late, or an hour or so toward Geelong, Torquay or the Mornington Peninsula, which also puts you past the morning traffic. Book it before you fly: the holiday weeks that fill the vans fill the parks.

Do I need a four-wheel drive for the Great Ocean Road or the Grampians?

No. Both are sealed, as are the Princes Highway, the Great Alpine Road and the access into Wilsons Promontory, so a standard two-wheel-drive campervan does every headline drive in Victoria. Four-wheel drives are a small slice of what is offered in Melbourne in any case, and only Apollo and Britz put them on the row here. Where a 4WD earns its place in this state is High Country tracks and some remote park access — a different trip from the one most people fly in for.

What are the conditions on driving one-way out of Melbourne?

A one-way fee applies at most operators, and several require prior written approval to change the return depot rather than treating it as a booking option. Minimum hire lengths are the trap: Travellers Autobarn's one-way minimums run considerably longer than its same-city minimum, Britz, Maui and Apollo set a minimum booking length for each origin-and-destination pair, and Cruisin Motorhomes does the same with published route minimums that run ten to twenty-one days. Star RV excludes Perth from its one-way network, Camperman's separate relocation product is limited to Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and forbids night driving, and Campervan Village's Flexi Pass excludes Perth and Darwin. Confirm the exact route you want at booking, in writing.

Can I take a hire campervan to Tasmania?

The Spirit of Tasmania sails from Geelong, about an hour from most Melbourne depots, and carries vehicles — but whether your rental agreement permits taking the van across is a company-by-company question, and we could not confirm it first-party for any of the Melbourne operators. Ask before you book rather than at the terminal: taking a vehicle somewhere the agreement does not cover is normally a breach of it, and the ferry needs booking well ahead over summer regardless.

What does a winter pickup in Melbourne actually look like?

Quieter and colder, with two catches. The first is depot hours — Travellers Autobarn's Melbourne branch runs reduced hours from 1 June to 30 August and closes at weekends, so winter narrows the choice on a Saturday. The second is the van: check whether the heater is fuel-fired or only works on mains power at a powered site, because those are different vehicles once you are parked on the coast in July. The Great Ocean Road and the Grampians stay open and are often at their best; the alpine roads over Mount Hotham are the part of the state that closes or demands chains.

Several companies list the same depot address — is that a mistake?

No. Britz, Maui and Mighty share a site at Somerton and are all thl brands, and JUCY and Star RV list the same Tullamarine address as each other. It is the same gate and often the same yard, but they are separate bookings with separate paperwork and separate vehicles, so go in with the company name on your confirmation rather than the street number alone.