Why you should plan a road trip in Australia compared to flying

After winning a free trip to the gold coast in Australia with 4 other competition winners we were free to explore Australia after a week of staying in Surfers Paradise. After talking to my new friends, the fellow competition winners, we quickly discovered that we was all heading to Sydney as our next stop destination. Because we were 5 total, that would be a full car. Not wanting to fly directly to Sydney, we looked into driving along the Australia costal roads, taking in some sites along the way and splitting the costs amongst us to save much needed travel funds compared to all forking out for a last minute flight. It turned out to be a fantastic idea and I wanted to share with you some advice and tips on why you should consider car hire, on your next trip.

Reasons to plan a road trip compared to flying

Many advantages to renting a car compared to booking a flight, here are some:

Cheaper with groups of friends.

(Ready for our road trip adventure in Australia!)

If you plan a road trip with 4 friends, that’s already a full car. Split the cost 5 ways: Rental car costs, trip petrol total, toll costs and hotel stay along the way and you might discover that it would become cheaper than 5 one way flight tickets, depending on the distance. Not only the general cost of the ticket, but also additional add on you will also have to consider, such has checked in luggage which you can alternatively store in the boot of the rental car.

More freedom and flexibility

(We wanted to stop off at Byron bay along the way, so we did! Something you can’t do with a flight)

The advantage of a road trip compared to flying is you have more freedom to stop and go where ever you please, if you find something interesting along the way or you’re feeling tired at a moments notice, simply pull over and park up, its that easy, you have the freedom to do so in a car which becomes more of an adventure and can add a fun element to your travelling trip.

Explore the landscape

(Stopping off for a dip along the coastal road, why not?)

See the real heart of the country you’re visiting. Why jump on a flight and whizz by when you can take in the countryside or coastal road instead at a slow pace and see the country in its full beauty. You will discover a change in the landscape as you drive by. Australia has stunning coastal roads to explore, can add a fantastic fun element to your travelling trip.

More of an adventure

(A trip to Australia without a picture with the big Banana would simply be a crime, with a car rental this can be made possible on your road trip)

To drive from the Gold coast of Australia to Sydney can be an incredible adventure, what would have been a quick one way flight is now a long fun road trip, not an easy trip as well, but yet it offers a fun full adventure amongst friend. And Australia is designed for costal road trips, many stop offs worth visiting along the way, such as the Big Banana, how could you miss it!

No Advance booking needed

(Pumping gas in Australia for the visit time)

When you plan a road trip, you quickly discover how much money you will save with a group of 5 compared to flying. Road trips are normally randomly planned and if you look into flight prices your quickly notice that booking a week in advance flight tickets will be expensive as you normally have to book 6-8 weeks in advance to find the best deal. When you plan a road trip this can be done with only a few days of advance booking, as it’s based on availability. This means you can book online a few days in advance and scan the web for a good deal. If you want to plan a road trip in Australia, USA, UK or New Zealand, I like to use DriveNow UK car hire to scan the market for the best price.

I hope you found this blog post useful, it’s always nice to look at alternative travel options and sometimes alternatives can save you money and turn out to be more of an adventure at the same time, double win! If you would like to ask any questions or want to share your experience of road trips, feel free to post below in the comment section, thank you for reading!