Your quick travel guide to Brisbane

Car Rental in Brisbane: excellent beach activities all year round

Queensland’s state capital, Brisbane, is an excellent base for your explorations of Australia’s fabulous eastern coast. Offering the best of any metropolis, Brisbane’s location between Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast also promises visitors excellent beach activities. What’s more, Brisbane offers these activities all year round, as the weather rarely makes a visit to the beach unappealing. Make the most of your visit by planning road trips outside of the city itself and exploring the region in the comfort of a rental car. Book yours today!

Unlike northern Australia, which witnesses tropical rainy seasons each year, and southern Australia, where winter actually does arrive, Brisbane stays fairly warm all year round. Winter nights can get fairly chilly June through August, though days typically linger around room temperature. Summers typically stay around 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) with the occasional heat wave December through February.

The de facto official language of Australia is English, which is also the language spoken by the majority of Brisbane’s residents. Jagara, Yugarabul, Yugambeh, Jandai, Goenpul, and Nunukul are just some of the Aboriginal languages spoken in the Brisbane area.

Brisbane is in the Australian Eastern Standard Time Zone, UTC+10 or +11 during Daylight Savings Time.

The currency is the Australian dollar and credit cards are widely accepted throughout the country.

Car hire is available in over 20 locations throughout Brisbane, including at Brisbane Airport (BNE), downtown, and at Toowoomba Wellcamp Aiport (WTB).

Visa Regulations

All visitors to Australia require a visa to enter the country, except those coming from New Zealand. Depending on your country of citizenship, you can apply for these visas online for a fee of $20 to $130; be sure to only visit government websites for these applications in order to avoid surcharges and other fees. Some nationalities will have to apply for a visa via a paper application at an Australian embassy. Double check regulations for your nationality before you confirm your travel plans.

Driving in Brisbane

Brisbane’s central business district is quite walkable. If you’re planning on driving downtown, you’ll want to be sure to equip your car with GPS, as there are plenty of one-way streets and winding roads to confuse visitors. While you don’t need a car to explore Brisbane’s city center, you will certainly want one to explore Queensland in full!

Left-Hand Driving

  • Traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road throughout Australia.

Speed Limits

  • In the city: 50 km/h
  • On the highway: 110 km/h
  • Speed is strictly regulated by speed cameras throughout Australia.
  • While afternoon traffic is fairly consistent, with a rise in traffic primarily between 4 and 6 pm, you’ll definitely want to avoid the roads during Brisbane’s morning rush hour, which stretches from 5 am to 9 am!

Other Regulations

  1. Parking is fairly easy to find in downtown Brisbane, but you will have to pay for it. Street parking typically ranges from $1 to $4 with day rates available in zones that do not have time limits. Garages are likely to be slightly more expensive.
  2. If your domestic driver’s license has been issued in a language other than English, an international driver’s permit will be necessary to rent a car in Australia.
  3. The motorways around Brisbane are tolled, and prices vary according to how far along them you travel. Ask your rental company if your rental includes a pre-paid toll account in order to ease your travel along these toll roads.
  4. The minimum driving age in Queensland is as young as 16 years, though most rental companies will require that you are at least 21 years old to rent a car, and you are likely to face young-driver surcharges until the age of 25.

Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane

Car hire in Brisbane, Australia starts as low as $15 a day. Here are some of the best deals in Brisbane:

  • Hyundai I20 (economy class) - $17 per day
  • Toyota Yaris (compact class) - $24 per day
  • Toyota Corolla (intermediate class) - $32 per day
  • Mitsubishi Lancer (standard class) - $34 per day
  • Toyota Camry (fullsize class) - $36 per day

Note that prices vary depending on the availability of each specific car and the season in which you rent. For the most accurate offers, use the search bar above.

Tips for Renting a Car Inexpensively in Brisbane

There is not much seasonal variation in price for car hire in Brisbane. In fact, the best way to save money on rental cars in Brisbane is to book your car from Brisbane Airport, where rental car agencies such as Bargain Car Rentals keep prices significantly lower than other locations throughout the city. The next best location to rent a car is in downtown Brisbane, where the agencies Ace Rental Cars and Thrifty routinely keeps prices below $30 a day.

Keep an eye out for occasional discounts of around 17% to save even more money on rental cars in Brisbane. You can also save between $1 and $10 a day by extending your rental period to over a week.

Experience the top locations with car rental in Brisbane

Brisbane Airport
Hertz
8.8

Discover the cheapest car rental in Brisbane

Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane Hyundai i20
Hyundai i20
5
2
5
A
From US$ 12.58 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane I NISSAN X TRAIL
I NISSAN X TRAIL
5
2
A
From US$ 22.49 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane Toyota Corolla
Toyota Corolla
5
2
4
A
From US$ 16.40 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane Nissan X-Trail
Nissan X-Trail
5
2
5
A
From US$ 19.47 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane A SUZUKI SWIFT
A SUZUKI SWIFT
5
2
4
A
From US$ 26.36 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane Hyundai H1
Hyundai H1
8
3
5
A
From US$ 38.89 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane KIA CARNIVAL
KIA CARNIVAL
8
3
4
A
From US$ 84.94 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane Dual Cab Ute
Dual Cab Ute
3
A
From US$ 58.51 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane M5 FORD MUSTANG
M5 FORD MUSTANG
2
3
A
From US$ 92.74 per day
*
Cheap Car Rental in Brisbane BMW 5 SERIES SEDAN
BMW 5 SERIES SEDAN
5
3
4
A
From US$ 101.32 per day
*

* Disclaimer: Prices displayed may not reflect today's rates.

What our customers say

Car rental companies in Brisbane

We have prepared a shortlist of top rental companies in Brisbane. To save both time and money compare offers on EconomyBookings.com to find the best deal.

Hertz
star
9.1 /112 reviews
Available in 2 locations
Time it took to drop your car off9.9
Cleanliness of the car9.5
Overall condition of the car9.4
Time it took to pick your car up8.8
Bargain
star
8.1 /102 reviews
Available in 1 location
Time it took to drop your car off9.0
Cleanliness of the car8.5
Overall condition of the car8.0
Time it took to pick your car up7.9
EastCoast
star
9.0 /44 reviews
Available in 2 locations
Time it took to drop your car off9.5
Cleanliness of the car9.6
Overall condition of the car9.5
Time it took to pick your car up8.7