How to Rent a Car at Uluru
Translated from my original Japanese post (2019). 日本語の原文を読む →
Hi!
It's Yoko, back from Uluru (Ayers Rock) the other day!
I sped around in a rental car for 4 days and 3 nights, covering 965 km!
On my trip to Australia last month I went to Uluru, Sydney and Melbourne,
and Uluru was the part where all the arrangements got put off the longest.
(Since I was traveling independently, I had to book all the flights and hotels myself.)
The reason I decided on the Australia trip in the first place was that I heard "you won't be able to climb Uluru after the end of October!"
I absolutely wanted to climb it! I probably wouldn't come back again, and I also wanted to see other things besides Uluru.
But the local optional tours are expensive... Over $200 is normal.
On top of that, Uluru is a resort area, so hotels are expensive too (cry).
After weighing the options, I decided to rent a car instead of taking tours.
The research took a while, but I managed to make it cheaper than the tours.
If, like me, you want to cut your costs at Uluru, I definitely recommend a rental car.
That said, I know many people are scared because they don't know how to rent a car abroad, so in this article I'll explain how to rent a car at Uluru!
What You Need to Rent a Car
(My partner for this Uluru trip, a Toyota RAV4.)
- Driver's license
- International Driving Permit
- Credit card
You can't rent a car at all without it.
The road is mostly one straight line with no traffic lights or oncoming cars, so even a paper driver (someone with a license who hardly drives) with a gold license is fine!
To get one in Japan you need your driver's license, a 5 cm by 4 cm ID photo, your passport and a fee (¥2,350).
An International Driving Permit is like an instruction sheet with a translation of your Japanese license, and you can get one at a driving school or police station in each prefecture.
I got mine at a police station in about 10 minutes.
Some rental companies, such as Hertz, also offer an International Driving Permit service.
It doesn't have to be one issued by the government.
For the ID photo, I used a service called Picchan, which lets you print photos taken on your smartphone at a convenience store.
It was cheap at ¥200 per photo.
Once you step outside Japan, you're in credit card society!
You'll need one to pay the deposit and reservation fee, so get one if you don't have one.
This time I didn't exchange any money and took no AUD with me, and I had no trouble at all.
Car Rental Companies at Uluru
If you want the paperwork to go smoothly on the day, book online!
The rental companies with counters at Ayers Rock (Connellan) Airport are AVIS, Hertz and Thrifty.
It's about a 10-minute drive from the airport to Ayers Rock Resort. If you want to drive from the airport, you'll choose among these.
I booked online with AVIS before going, and
after picking up the car at the airport, the weather was nice, so I drove straight to Uluru (Ayers Rock), changed clothes in the car and did an extreme climb, lol
The next two days were windy and the climbing path was closed until the evening, so I was glad I could make use of the rental car's mobility.
By the way, there's also a rental office inside Sails in the Desert, a hotel in Ayers Rock Resort, so if you'd like to take your time with the paperwork after arriving at the hotel, you can do that there. But the hours are irregular, so check that it's open when you pick up or return the car.
Things to Watch When Booking a Rental Car
When you book online, choosing the car type and rental period shows an estimated price, so you can compare.
Here's a comparison of each company's prices when I looked.
| Fees | AVIS | Hertz | Thrifty |
| Estimate (cheapest car) | $116.07 | $188.40 | $391.68 |
| Excess mileage | $0.25/km | $0.25/km | $0.28/km |
| Key box | Yes | Yes | No |
The car types were Mitsubishi Outlander or similar for AVIS, Toyota Corolla or similar for Hertz, and
Toyota Corolla Sedan or similar for Thrifty.
Per-kilometer charge for excess mileage...
On top of the online estimate, you're charged more depending on the distance you actually drive.
Key box...
A handy box where you can return the car just by dropping the key in (lol). With one, you can return the car even when the counter is closed.
A 2WD is fine!
If you want to keep costs down, a 2WD is totally fine between Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon!!
I wondered whether you'd need a huge 4WD to go off-road in the Outback around Uluru...
but after digging through a lot of overseas info sites, I found out that was a typical tourist trap.
All the roads I drove over 965 km were paved, and I never had to drive on a bumpy road, so you can relax.
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kings Canyon/Watarrka (via the Lasseter Highway and Luritja Road), Alice Springs, Andamooka, Birdsville (Queensland side), Burke, Broken Hill, Cobar, Coolgardie, Coober Pedy, Cunnamulla, East MacDonnell Ranges, Ivanhoe, Flinders Ranges, Kalgoorlie, Lake Ballard, Laverton, Lake Eyre, Lightning Ridge, Marree, Menzies, Mount Isa, Port Augusta, Roxby Downs, Tennant Creek, Tibooburra, Walgett, West MacDonnell Ranges (including Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen), White Cliffs, Winton, Woomera
Choose unlimited mileage
Depending on the rental company and plan, there's something called a mileage limit.
If you don't keep this in mind, you'll end up spending more than you expected, so be careful!
The formula differs by company, but with AVIS, for example, driving up to 100 km a day is free, and beyond that it's $0.25 per km.
In my case I drove 965 km over 3 days of rental, so for the 665 km over the 300 km (100 km x 3 days), at $0.25 per km, I paid $166.25.
Ouch!!
I hadn't researched enough, so it was a painful expense, but if you rent a car at Uluru, definitely go for unlimited mileage.
It seems agencies such as H.I.S. have plans with unlimited mileage, so if you have time, it may be worth looking into.
Premium Station Surcharge
This is a charge that applies when you rent from a convenient location such as an airport.
It's 19% for Thrifty and Hertz and 24% for AVIS, charged on the total of rental days and distance driven, so you won't know the exact price until you return the car.
There are rental offices inside Ayers Rock Resort too, but unless your flight lets you return the car during opening hours, you have no choice but to use the airport.
There are also charges for returning to a different location from where you picked up, and it seems location-related charges can't be avoided one way or another...
Check when you get an estimate online!
Tour vs. Rental Car vs. Uluru Hop On Hop Off: A Comparison
There are three ways to see Uluru: a tour, a rental car, or Uluru Hop On Hop Off.
For two people doing everything (trekking and sunrise/sunset at Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon), I looked into which is cheapest!
Here's the conclusion.
Don't need to do everything: Uluru Hop On Hop Off
Confident in your stamina, fine with sleeping outdoors in a sleeping bag, and want it as cheap as possible: a tour
Want to move freely: a rental car
Rental car
This is the method I chose. The costs are what I actually paid.
- Cheapest if you're fine sleeping in the car!
- You can flexibly change your plans each day to match your energy
- You sleep in a bed in a room that locks
But after trekking 5 km or so every day, that might be a bit tough... lol
You have to drive for long stretches
Rental car
$669.67 (car $473.40, gas $196.27)
Hotel
$690 (OUTBACK PIONEER LODGE - Budget Room)
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park entry fee $25 x 2
$50
Total $1,409.67 (about ¥104,315) (rate: ¥74)
Tour
There are many patterns: Uluru only, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, Uluru sunset and dinner, and so on.
All start from around $200, so combined with a hotel they easily top $1,000...
If you want to keep it cheaper, look for a camping-style tour!
For example, this 3-day Uluru Explorer includes meals and starts from $625.
If you don't mind the camping-style accommodation, it's a pretty good option!?
- Cheap, with meals included
- You can talk with participants from other countries
- Because of time constraints, the trekking route is set by the tour operator (there are several routes)
- On clear days you sleep outdoors in a sleeping bag under the stars, and on bad-weather days in a permanent tent
- Depending on the plan, luggage is limited to 15 kg per person
625 x 2 people = $1,250 (about ¥92,500) (rate: ¥74)
Uluru Hop On Hop Off
Uluru Hop On Hop Off is a shared bus that takes you from Ayers Rock Resort to Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
- For getting around alone, it's cheaper than a rental car
- You can flexibly change your plans each day to match your energy
- The timetable is fixed
- It doesn't go to Kings Canyon, so you'd need to arrange a separate tour
Uluru Hop On Hop Off 3-Day Pass (adult) $210 x 2
$420
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park entry fee $25 x 2
$50
Kings Canyon tour $235 x 2
Hotel
$690 (OUTBACK PIONEER LODGE - Budget Room)
Total $1,630 (about ¥120,620) (rate: ¥74)
(A straight road with nothing around!)
So that's a pretty detailed rundown of ways to see Uluru. What did you think?
Looking back, a rental car was a pretty good way to be sure of climbing Uluru. Yep.
Climbing Uluru will be banned from October 26, 2019, so if you're going after that, a tour may be fine instead of a rental car's freedom.
If you're heading to Uluru, think about your budget and your stamina, and figure out which way of sightseeing suits you!
See you next time!
