Car Hire Insider » Gold Coast

Gold Coast Car Hire: Mouth-watering Specials from Thrifty

Car Hire Insider — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:43:45 +0000

Deal coupons from the various car hire companies tend to blur together given how similar they can be. For example, you often have a choice of 3 or more companies at a time offering free upgrades.

BUT when it comes to the Gold Coast, we’ve gotta say, Thrifty’s one up on everyone else. They have some fantastic deals no one else offers. We checked, double checked, and indeed they are the Real McCoys – you can truly save if you intend on going to theme parks or other attractions that require entrance fees. Remember to double check all terms and conditions.

The Escape Pass Packages

Who?
These packages are a must-check for those interested in visiting TWO of Sea World, Warner Bros Movie World and Wet ‘n Wild Water World, and need to hire a car.

What?
These offers bundle a two-day car hire (adding on more days is possible) with a number of Escape Passes. An Escape Pass allows one to visit TWO of the three theme parks over a THREE-DAY period. The packages vary in terms of size of car and number of passes included. Larger cars are bundled with more passes.

2 x Adult Escape Pass and 2 day Economy Manual car hire for $238 – Check this deal
2 x Adult and 1 x Child Escape Pass and 2 day Economy Auto car hire for $326 – Check this deal
2 x Adult and 2 x Child Escape Pass and 2 day Compact Auto car hire for $415 – Check this deal
2 x Adult and 3 x Child Escape Pass and 2 day Intermediate Auto car hire for $504 – Check this deal
2 x Adult and 4 x Child Escape Pass and 2 day 8-seater Van Auto hire for $643 – Check this deal

We found the final prices are about $10-20 more than those listed above. Still, they present a real bargain.

Benefit?
You’ll save almost the full value of one adult Escape Pass – that’s about $119.99! Not too shabby. And our little side note: If you aren’t fussed about which theme parks to go to, get the most value out of the Escape Pass by choosing Dream World and Sea World (the standard adult entrance fee is $75 for each of these vs. Wet ‘n’ Wild which only costs $55).

Catch?
You’ve got to visit your two selected theme parks over a 3-day period. And most of these packages include child passes – so naturally, you need to have kid(s) to take advantage of them.

The Discount Booklet

Who?
For those who the Escape Pass is not appropriate but still want to visit the theme parks and/or check out other Gold Coast attractions and activities. A three-day minimum car hire is required.

What?
You’ll get a discount booklet from Thrifty which includes all sorts of vouchers valued at over $500. Among them you’ll find:

Buy 1 Get 1 Free adult entrance ticket for Movie World
Buy 1 Get 1 Free adult entrance ticket for Sea World
Buy 1 Get 1 Free adult entrance ticket for Wet ‘n’ Wild
Buy 1 Get 1 Free – 18 Holes at Putt Putt Golf Gold Coast
Buy 1 Get 1 Free Paradise Jetboating ‘Broadwater Adventure’
20% Off entrance tickets for Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary for up to 6 people
And a bunch of other goodies

Get more information on the Discount Booklet

Benefit?
If any of these booklet’s activities are on your to-do list, you’ll be bagging some sweet savings.

Catch?
You may be tempted into doing more activities simply to take advantage of the vouchers! But hey, you’re on vacation after all.

Other Coupons and Deals

If these aren’t applicable to you, don’t worry. Check out if you can find other more generic car hire coupons that do.

Unleaded Petrol Prices: Today’s Cheapest Fuel

Car Hire Insider — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:40:05 +0000

Below you’ll find today’s best currently available Unleaded Petrol prices within Australia’s major cities, compiled for your convenience.

Click on any of the cities’ badges to display the exact addresses of the petrol stations offering the low prices
Use Google Maps to navigate your way to your chosen station
And save!

Unleaded fuel price data below is manually collected and updated twice daily in the morning and afternoon on Mondays to Saturdays, and once daily on Sundays.

Sydney

Melbourne

Brisbane

Gold Coast

Perth

Adelaide

Hobart

For specific suburb search and prices of other types of fuel, use MotorMouth’s Price Search.

Gold Coast Airport-Surfers Paradise Public Transport

Car Hire Insider — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:25:49 +0000

A taxi ride between the Coolangatta Airport and Surfer’s Paradise could set you back about A$55. Pretty pricey (especially during peak traffic periods) so you may simply want to pick up a rental car. The cheaper alternatives are to take either the public bus to/from the city, or a shuttle to/from your accommodation.

Public buses are operated by Surfside Buslines and depart from the Gold Coast Highway, about 700m outside the airport. A free Airport Link Shuttle drops you off there where you can catch buses that take you directly to Surfers Paradise for A$4.30/adult one-way. While this is much cheaper, if you have a lot of baggage, it could get tedious. You can download the PDF bus timetable (0.7Mb) for Tweed Heads to Southport services here (this route includes Coolangatta Airport and Surfers stops)
The Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle Airport Transfer can offer transportation between the airport and your accommodation for A$21 one-way, A$38 return per adult. Check their site for more information and if you want to pre-book the service

For all other Queensland travel routes and fares, you may want to use the journey planning tool at Translink. Meanwhile, more airport information can be found on the Gold Coast Airport website.

Gold Coast Coolangatta Airport – Surfers Paradise Map

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Gold Coast Airport – Best Independent Car Hire Companies

Car Hire Insider — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:56:48 +0000

Updated: September 2009

At the Gold Coast Airport (Coolangatta), our analysis reveals the following best of the independent car hire companies. Their off-site location will save you at least 11% Airport Fees than if you went with the Big Boys located on-site. If you still want to stick with them, see our recommendation on the best site for comparing Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty and Europcar.

East Coast Car Rentals Go To Site

Cheap car hires with unlimited km’s. Likely best for hires 5 days or more

East Coast Car Rentals has probably the best prices you’ll find for Gold Coast car hires, and even more so for hires 7 days and longer. Not only are their rates one of the lowest in absolute terms, they are also inclusive of unlimited km’s. They offer free shuttles to and from the Coolangatta Airport to their depot nearby.

For car rentals under a week, booking with ECCR via a third party site Bargain Wheels can actually work out cheaper. See Bargain Wheels below.

Airport Rent-A-Car Go To Site

Cheaper than Big Boys. Possible value during discount months. 250km/day

Airport Rent-a-Car doesn’t always have the lowest prices compared to the other independents but is still worth a check particularly during non-holiday months where they often offer 10% off their regular car hire rates. The rental comes with 250km/day included and will cost you A$0.25/extra km. Standard Collision Damage Liability is A$2500 which can be lowered to A$500 for A$15/day (cheaper than the A$24-26.40/day the Big Boys charge). They offer free pickups from the airport to their depot 5 minutes away.

Alpha Car Hire Go To Site

Value for Economy up to SUVs, 3 days or less with 500km/day

For shorter term rentals under a week, Alpha’s prices are competitive factoring in that they include 500km/day with their hires. Exceeding 500km will be charged at 27.5 cents/km. Do take notice that it is Alpha’s policy to charge a A$99 administrative fee if you incur a traffic infringement on your rental car or A$220 if you damage it.

This Alpha Car Hire voucher will give you A$10 off any 3-day or more car hire, or A$20 off for 14 days or more. Check their Specials section to see if there are any other current offers you can take advantage of.

Before placing a booking on Alpha’s site, you might want to check if booking with them through Bargain Wheels (see below) can work out cheaper.

Bargain Wheels Go To Site

Booking with Alpha Car Hire or ECCR for rentals 4 days and under can be cheaper here

Bargain Wheels enables you to search a few of Gold Coast Coolangatta Airport’s off-site independent car hire companies. The two companies with the lowest prices overlap with our recommendations above: Alpha Car Hire (view) and East Coast Car Rentals (view). Still, we recommend you check the final price for your rental if you booked with either of these two companies via Bargain Wheels as it is possible for it to be slightly cheaper than if you went direct.

Ensure you read the Rental and Supplier information provided on each company by Bargain Wheels to understand the terms of your rental. We suggest you give them a call to clarify anything you are uncertain about and get the exact pickup procedure and location.

Surfers Paradise – Best Independent Car Hire Companies

Car Hire Insider — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:56:18 +0000

Updated: September 2009

Amongst the Surfers Paradise sea (pun intended) of independent car hire companies, you’ll find the most competitive rates at Andy’s Auto Rental and East Coast Car Rentals.

East Coast Car Rentals Go To Site

Best bet for value across all car sizes with unlimited km’s

East Coast Car Rentals offers great deals on car hires for 3 days and longer (best from 7 days) across economy, mid, standard-sized cars and vans. Their prices which are inclusive of unlimited mileage are often the cheapest around and their rental cars are mostly brand new. When renting for under 5 days, check first with Bargain Wheels (see below) where renting from ECCR via them can actually be slightly cheaper.

Andy’s Auto Rental Go To Site

Great rates for short-term car hire under 5 days with 200km/day

You’ll have to choose the Labrador depot which is about 5 minutes drive north of Surfers Paradise. Their rates are competitive for short-term car hires and drop even lower for 8 days or more. However, do factor in that the prices only include 200km/day (A$0.28/extra km). Collision damage excess is A$2500 which you can lower to A$300 for A$15/day. They also offer a “budget” category for select sizes which are essentially used cars between 3-5 years old. These lower prices come with the trade-off that older cars are more prone to technical problems and may be less comfortable.

Bargain Wheels Go To Site

Booking with ECCR for 4 days and under can be cheaper through Bargain Wheels

The Bargain Wheels site allows you to book with a couple of independent car hire companies serving Surfer’s Paradise. We find they are only worth checking if you intend to hire a car for 4 days or less. Look out for East Coast Car Rentals as they offer the best rates. For such short-term hires, renting from ECCR via Bargain Wheels can work out slightly cheaper than if you went direct. Beyond that, prices work out the same and you may as well book direct with ECCR.

Best Comparison Site for the Major Car Hire Companies

Car Hire Insider — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:27:21 +0000

After thoroughly reviewing over 20+ popular car hire comparison sites as ranked on Google and Yahoo, we’ve uncovered the Top 2 Sites for comparing the live prices of Australia’s major car hire companies – Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, and Thrifty.

The smaller independent companies can be cheaper (especially for airport car rentals) but either way, you should get the best price offered by Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, and Thrifty to use as a benchmark.

After finding the lowest prices here, remember to check all the car hire coupons we’ve compiled to see if you can bag yourself further bonuses and discounts. Then after booking, be sure to apply our tips for saving $100s on car hire insurance by bypassing the car hire companies.

Update: To make life easier for you, we’ve now incorporated our top picks’ search engines directly onto this page.

Best Comparison Site: VroomVroomVroom Go To Site