Car Rental Brisbane Airport

Australia is a geographically isolated island nation and never is this more apparent than when touching down on tarmac following an exhaustive multi-hour flight. Presumably, the last thing you feel the urge to do post passport control is browse the litany of transportation options on offer - enter a hire car.

Brisbane is a fantastic vacation hotspot within Australia thanks to its sub-tropical climate, proximity to neighbouring cities and access to stunning ancient landscapes, most notably the world’s third longest mountain range, The Great Dividing Range. 

With both Ipswich and Toowoomba to the west, the Sunshine Coast to the north and the Gold Coast to the south, this sunny pocket of south-eastern Queensland offers a plethora of unique activities and experiences to fully satiate your wanderlust. 

For most, piling into oversold transfer or tour buses can dampen your escapades before they’ve yet to begin. What better way to mitigate the headache than with your own hire car? 

Take a Brisbane Hire Car to Australia Zoo

Arguably one of Brisbane’s prime tourism attractions is the world-renowned Australia Zoo - an absolute must if you’re travelling with kids.

Founded in 1970 by the parents of one of Australian wildlife’s most prolific protagonists, Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin, the zoo found its start as a humble two-acre sanctuary dedicated to the protection of Australia’s endemic animal species. By the 1980s, the park had doubled in size, and by the early 90s, Steve Irwin himself took over management. Today, the park spans an astounding 700 acres that house over 100 different species, and even allows visitors to get up close and personal with their favourite species through the park’s “Animal Encounters” program.

Taking your hire car just 75 kilometres north out of Brisbane on the Bruce Highway is all you need to do to reach the park, which is undoubtedly one of Queensland’s premier excursions. They’re also particularly accommodating to families. 

If you weren’t already tempted enough, the zoo offers free parking for your hire car, kid’s rides and entertainment, and is a cool 30 mins from the bustle of the Sunshine Coast. 

Coasting in a Hire Car

Slightly less of a drive, the coast of Brisbane has some iconic experiences on offer, too. Get up close and personal with wild dolphins at Moreton Bay, where it’s even possible to feed these fascinatingly intelligent creatures by hand at sunset. Between June - November, you may even see Humpback whales as they migrate along the coast.

For a drier experience, take your hire car to the suburb of Fig Tree Pocket to visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the largest Koala sanctuary in the world! 

With the Gold Coast a little over an hour to the south, and the Sunshine Coast a similar distance north, you’d be forgiven for feeling spoiled for choice. Both of these beachside metropolises offer a multitude of experiences for all characters and can be difficult to access from Brisbane via public transport. Driving your hire car south, you can ride the tide on a surfboard, top up your tan on the golden sands or snorkel in pristine waters. That’s without mentioning the heart-pounding experiences to be found at the Gold Coast, or ‘the Goldie’ (as the locals call it) the place with the enviable title of Australia’s theme park capital. 

Venturing north will land you at the aptly named Sunshine Coast. Being the lucky recipient of approximately 300 days of sun per year, the Sunshine Coast gives even the likes of Southern California a run for its money, with its laid-back lifestyle and utopic scenery.

Brisbane and its surrounds are teeming with activities and day trips catering to all types, from dreamy beach escapes and thrilling theme parks, to day trips hiking amongst the rugged terrain of its hinterlands. 

So don’t let transport be the Bris-bane of your trip - hire a car.