When you’re planning a road trip around Australia, Melbourne is a brilliant place to start. It offers tons of scenic routes and destinations to fill your holiday with countless memories. Hiring a campervan might be the most budget-friendly option for you. But, before you do, there are some essential tips that you need to know first:
1. Make sure your paperwork is sorted before driving
When travelling to Australia from overseas or you’re coming from another town, we recommend that you have all the relevant documentation ready to hire a campervan and legally drive it on Australian roads. For Australian citizens, this would be your driver’s license; for tourists, you may need an international driver’s license.
2. Plan your route
From Melbourne, you have a lot of options when it comes to planning an itinerary. We suggest planning what route you’re going to take and setting your destinations before you land in Melbourne and pick your camper. You can just stop off for supplies and start your journey by getting these details out of the way. Planning where you’ll stop along the way for meals could also save you a lot of time.
3. Pre-book at campsites
Depending on what time of year you’re travelling, campsites that allow vans can get packed pretty fast, so you might not get one. Because of this, we recommend calling ahead and booking a site before getting there. This will ensure that you secure the most ideal site.
4. Pack with softer bags for more space
As you can imagine, if you’re travelling with a small group of friends in a campervan, space can be quite limited. How you pack, and the types of bags you use can play a big role in your available storage space. Don’t be that friend who overpacks. Rather, pack exactly what you need into a softer bag so that it can be compressed if need be to make more space for the others you’re travelling with.
5. Get to know your campervan
Before setting off on your adventure, familiarise yourself with how your particular campervan works. Depending on the campervan you hire, it may have a bunch of fancy features and buttons that could be confusing for first-time travellers. Learn where all the necessary features are so that when you’re out on the road, you know exactly how to use them. Trust us, Melbourne drivers won’t be happy if you turn without indicating! So make sure you know where everything is. You can find deals on camper rentals near Melbourne Airport, here!
6. Plug in your camper on the first night
This doesn’t always apply, but sometimes your campervan onboard power supply isn’t fully charged when the rental agency gives it to you. So, we recommend plugging your campervan in at the first campsite you stop at if it offers a power output. This will ensure that all of your appliances and plugs work well for the next 48 hours, at least before you need to give them another charge.
7. Shop for supplies before heading off
We mentioned this briefly earlier, but try to shop for the supplies you need for the journey before you leave Melbourne. There are a few reasons for this. As you travel, you might not find the shops you need for certain items. Likewise, there are some essentials you need while travelling. For example, if you wanted to have water or a cup of coffee while travelling, you would need to have milk and coffee aboard to do so. Thus, getting your supplies beforehand just saves you time on having to stop over elsewhere to get things.
8. Brush up on Australian driving practices
Another crucial thing you need to do before hiring a campervan in Melbourne is to brush up on your knowledge of Australian driving practices. For those people who drive on the right side of the road, in Australia, drivers drive on the left.
Final Thoughts
Whether you want to veer right to go to Sydney or left towards Adelaide, Campervanning from Melbourne offers you a lot of activities to fill your itinerary with. However, make sure that you’ve planned well before setting out from the airport. Book your campsites in advance, pack light, and hit the road.
