Campervan Hire in Melbourne: Your Gateway to the Greatest Road Trip of Your Life

You’ve been bitten by the travel bug, and there’s only one cure: hitting the open road in Australia. It’s the magnetic country where cutting-edge cities, laid-back beach towns, ancient landscapes and outback highways all collide into one unforgettable road trip. The question isn’t whether to do it. It’s where to start. And the answer is quite simple. With campervan hire in Melbourne.

Fly from London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Auckland or anywhere in the world, and you’ll learn Melbourne is the kind of city that grabs you by the collar the moment you land. It’s got world-class coffee, a food scene that would make Paris nervous, live music seven nights a week and some of the most extraordinary road trip territory on the planet sitting right on its doorstep. Once you’re here, you may never want to leave.

Discover Marvellous Melbourne | Photo by Andy Wang

Why Start a Road Trip in Melbourne?

Melbourne consistently ranks as one of the world’s most liveable cities. And for road trippers, it’s the ultimate gateway to Victoria’s coastlines, alpine regions, wine country and desert horizons.

What makes it even better is it’s super easy to get to from all over the world. Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) is Australia’s second busiest international airport. It’s well connected to hubs across Asia, the Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Europe. Qantas, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways and many more fly in and out daily. From the airport it’s a smooth 30-minute drive, Uber or SkyBus express ride straight into the city.

Melbourne itself is amazing, but Victoria and the wider Australian landscape beyond it are absolutely breathtaking. We may be a little biased, but we think the best way to experience it is with a campervan, on your own timetable.

The point is, whatever brought you to Australia, Melbourne will make you glad you came. And then it’ll make you want more.

Popular Road Trips from Melbourne

But First, Explore the Best of Melbourne

Spending a few days in Melbourne before launching into your road trip is 100% worth it. This is a city that rewards slow exploration and it has something genuinely interesting for every type of traveller. Think of Melbourne like the world’s best pre-departure lounge.

The Laneways

Of course, you must visit the famous laneways - Hosier Lane, Centre Place, Degraves Street and AC/DC Lane. Step into a lane and you're immediately inside a living, breathing micro-neighbourhood filled with independent cafes, record stores, tiny bars and street art that changes from month to month. What began as underground tagging evolved into a city-supported creative scene where local and international artists use the laneways as open-air galleries. The ever-changing laneway walls reflect social issues, political commentary, tributes to musicians and cultural icons and pure artistic experimentation. Each laneway is the perfect representation of the creative spirit you’ll feel all around Melbourne.

Explore the colourful side of Melbourne: street art alleys

The Coffee Culture

Coffee in Melbourne is essentially a religion, and the people are deeply devoted. The city arguably has some of the best coffee in the world as even a random suburban cafe will likely pull a better espresso shot than most speciality roasters internationally. Grab a flat white, find a stool by the window, watch the trams go by and ease yourself into the Melbourne rhythm. It’s the perfect kind of fuel before hitting the road in the morning, and fair warning: once you have a few Melbourne coffees, other coffees may never compare.

Queen Victoria Market

The Queen Vic has been feeding Melbourne since 1878 and is one of the largest open-air markets in the Southern Hemisphere. This is your campervan kitchen's best friend. Stock up on fresh produce, artisan cheeses, cured meats, sourdough and local honey before you leave the city. And while you're at it, we'd recommend grabbing a raincoat if you don't already have one. Melbourne is notorious for having both sunshine and rain all within a few hours.

Sports Capital

Melbourne might just be the sporting capital of the Southern Hemisphere. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) holds 100,000 people and is always packed out with Australian rules football and Test cricket fans. The Australian Open fills Melbourne Park every January. The Formula 1 Grand Prix roars around Albert Park each March. The Melbourne Cup stops the nation every November. Whatever time of year you visit, something unmissable is probably happening.

Morning light over the MCG | Photo by Rodger Wang

Food, Glorious Food

The dining scene in Melbourne is genuinely world-class and super diverse. Chinatown on Little Bourke Street is one of the oldest outside Asia. Fitzroy and Collingwood are the spots for inventive modern Australian dining and outstanding small bars. Carlton’s Lygon Street has been the home of Melbourne’s Italian community since the 1950s. Richmond is popular for Vietnamese, particularly along Victoria Street. Oakleigh and Doncaster bring exceptional Greek dining. There is absolutely no doubt you will eat well in Melbourne.

Culture & Art

The National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road is free to enter and holds the largest art collection in Australia, from ancient Egyptian artefacts to contemporary blockbuster exhibitions. Around the corner in Federation Square, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is a must for anyone into film, design, or digital culture. Federation Square itself is Melbourne's civic beating heart with free events, riverside views and great food options. While you’re on the Yarra, head up to the Melbourne Skydeck on the 88th floor of Eureka Tower, the highest viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere. If you’re feeling adventurous, step out onto the Edge, a glass cube that slides out from the building with nothing but 300 metres of air beneath your feet.

History lovers are also spoilt for choice. Old Melbourne Gaol is where Ned Kelly was hanged in 1880 and runs atmospheric night tours that don’t hold back. The State Library of Victoria has the extraordinary La Trobe Reading Room, and the Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens covers everything from dinosaurs to Phar Lap to Aboriginal history.

Views over Melbourne, from the Eureka Tower

St Kilda

No Melbourne visit is complete without a trip to the beach - yes, Melbourne has beaches too! The beachside suburb of St Kilda is equal parts bohemian, family-friendly and a little bit free-spirited in the best way. Walk the Esplanade at sunset, eat a famous Acland Street cake slice, hire a bike and cruise along the bay trail, or watch little penguins nesting under the pier at dusk. A short ride further along the bay, Brighton Beach is home to Melbroune’s famous bathing boxes. Here you’ll find almost 100 brightly coloured beach huts that have been sitting on the sand since the 1800s and are one of the most photographed spots in Australia. No two are the same, and on a clear day with the city skyline behind, you’ll see why so many people love to take photos.

Live Music

Melbourne is proudly one of the live music capitals of the world. The Corner Hotel in Richmond, The Tote in Collingwood, The Forum in the CBD and Northcote Social Club, to name a few legendary spots, all of which have hosted countless Australian and international acts. On any given night of the week you can stumble into something worth seeing. And if nightlife is your thing, you’re in luck. Melbourne is not a city that goes to sleep early.

Sleep up to four people in the Spaceships 4-berth family campervan

Time to Grab Your Spaceships and Blast Off

So you’ve finished your time in Melbourne. You’ve found your favourite laneway cafe, wandered the galleries and possibly got a little too invested in a live music set at the Corner Hotel. But now, it’s time for the real adventure to begin. Grab your Spaceship from the Melbourne depot, and get ready for freedom out on the open road in a vehicle that has been purpose built to handle the city the wilderness and all the fun in between. Here’s a sneak peek of what you get:

• Unlimited kilometres - Drive as far as the road takes you. Victoria alone could keep you busy for weeks, and Australia will keep you busy for months.
• All the gear you need - A comfortable bed, bedding, and a fully kitted kitchen so you can cook up a storm at any campsite, beach or lookout you choose.
• Transparent pricing - What you're quoted is what you pay. No nasty surprises, no young driver surcharges.
• One-way flexibility - Start in Melbourne and finish at any other Spaceships location. You could find yourself in Brisbane, Adelaide, Cairns or even Hobart and drop off for no extra cost.
• 24/7 roadside support - RACQ-backed assistance available 24 hours a day, every day, right across Australia. If something unexpected happens, you won’t need to deal with it alone.
• A van with a name - Every Spaceships campervan comes with its own identity, drawn from the great universe of film, television, music and more.

If you’re looking for something easy and comfortable to drive in Australia. A Spaceships campervan is it. They’re compact, simple to park and perfect for manoeuvering through busy cities and remote campsites. On the inside you’ll find a design that is genuinely well thought out with a comfortable bed, storage that makes sense and a kitchen setup that makes cooking out on the road a breeze.

Hit the road with everything you need for the best road trip!

Where Will the Road Take You? Road Trips from Melbourne

From Melbourne, you can explore Victoria and the rest of Australia in any direction. Here’s where your Spaceships campervan can take you.

Head West on the Great Ocean Road - The Iconic Australian Drive

The Great Ocean Road stretches 243km along Victoria’s rugged coastline. It was built by returned WWI soldiers between 1919 and 1932 dedicated to those who didn’t come back. Begin in Torquay, the spiritual home of Australian surfing, where Rip Curl and Quiksilver were born, then continue through the gorgeous towns of Bells Beach and Lorne, then onto Apollo Bay for fresh seafood straight off the boats. From Apollo Bay the road dips inland into the Otway Rainforest where you’ll find koalas sleeping in the ancient myrtle beech trees. The road then returns to the coast and things get dramatic. Drive past the Twelve Apostles rising from the Southern Ocean, Loch Ard Gorge, the Bay of Islands and plenty more, all before finishing in Warrnambool where southern right whales nurse their calves in the bay between June and September.

If you choose to continue west to Adelaide, you’ll drive through the remarkable Coorong National Park - a narrow coastal lagoon system stretching 140km and visited by over 200 species of waterbirds. Adelaide is a cool and relaxed city with the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills wine regions all just a day trip away.

Visit the iconic London Bridge rock formation on Great Ocean Road

North-West to Grampians National Park

Three hours north-west of Melbourne, the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park rises dramatically from the flat western plains. These sandstone ranges are over 400 million years old and hold the largest concentration of Aboriginal rock art in south-east Australia. Hike to the Pinnacle at Wonderland for 360-degree views across the ranges and plains. Visit MacKenzie Falls after rain to see it at its most powerful, stay in Halls Gap and wake to eastern grey kangaroos grazing at dawn, or visit during spring (September to November) to see over 900 species of wildflowers bloom across the park.

South East to Phillip Island

Just 140km from Melbourne is Phillip Island, one of Victoria’s most beloved destinations. Every night at sunset over 32,000 little penguins waddle ashore from the Bass Strait in the famous Penguin Parade. It's funny to think that fully grown adults have been known to stand there in complete silence, visibly moved by a bird that reaches their kneecap. But it really is that good. During the day, walk the boardwalks of the Koala Conservation Reserve, surf Woolamai or Smiths Beach and visit The Nobbies for dramatic blowhole views across to Seal Rocks - Aussies largest fur seal colony.

Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula curls south from Melbourne creating two completely different coastlines. Calm beaches on the west, wild surf beaches on the east within minutes of each other. It’s also home to over 50 cellar doors producing tasty cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.

Take a stroll on the boardwalk at Phillip Island Koala Conservation Reserve | Photo by Wee Ping Khoo

Yarra Valley & Dandenong Ranges

An hour east of Melbourne the Yarra Valley stands proud as Victoria’s most celebrated wine region. Expect amazing sparkling wine, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from estates like Domaine Chandon and Yering Station. Beyond the vines, the Dandenong Ranges offer misty mountain ash forests and tree ferns. The Puffing Billy steam railway has been running through the ranges since 1900, and the Sherbrooke Forest is one of the best places in Victoria to hear a lyrebird.

Victorian High Country

Head north-east and Australia surprises you. It may shock you, but Australia does in fact have snow in winter. Yes, actual snow. Australia is not all just sunshine, outback and beaches. In winter (June-August), Falls Creek and Mount Hotham are Victoria’s premier ski resorts and they're absolutely the real deal. In summer and autumn, the Alpine National Park offers world-class hiking, mountain biking and horse riding across 600,000+ hectares of wilderness.

Melbourne to Sydney and Beyond

The road trip north to Sydney can be done in two main ways. Firstly, direct via the Hume Highway through the Southern Tablelands. Or secondly, taking the Princes Highway coastal route through Wilson’s Promontory, Eden, the Sapphire Coast and the Shoalhaven. The coastal route is longer but arguably more scenic with its white sand bays, oyster farms and even whale watching.

From Sydney continue your journey north through Byron Bay, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, and Airlie Beach all the way to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. It’s an amazing Australian coastal adventure and Melbourne is no doubt the perfect place to start it.

Explore the best of Australia in winter

Driving in Victoria

Australians drive on the left, so if you’re coming from a right-hand traffic country, give yourself a day or two to get comfortable and adjust. The Melbourne tram network has one famous quirk that is worth knowing - the hook turn. Used at certain CBD intersections, a hook turn requires you to turn right from the left lane. It sounds completely wrong but makes sense once you do it.

Outside the city the roads are generally great. Keep an eye out for wildlife like kangaroos, wombats and echidnas especially at dawn or dusk. Take the Great Ocean Road at your own pace as some sections are narrow and cliff-edged and if you’re thinking of heading on an outback adventure, make sure you plan well and keep lots of food and water handy.

Melbourne is Just the Beginning

So, Melbourne is calling. The road is waiting. And we’ve got the van to get you there.

Imagine watching the sun set from gorgeous clifftops. Waking up to misty mountain campsites or sitting in your camper with a cup of tea watching a kangaroo play on the beach. That someone could be you. All it takes is picking a date, grabbing the keys and pointing the van somewhere new. The road doesn't care if you have a plan, and frankly, some of the best trips happen when you don't.

Melbourne is just the beginning…

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