Hervey Bay · Fraser Coast
There is no rental desk in Hervey Bay. Vehicles are collected in Brisbane, the nearest pickup point, and driven north up the Bruce Highway. This site explains how that works, what to drive, and what to do once you are here.
Collect here
Brisbane
46 Deshon Street, Woolloongabba
Mon–Fri 9am–3pm · Sat 9am–11am
Arrive here
Hervey Bay
Urangan · Torquay · Scarness · Pialba
No depot — the vehicle stays with you
The whole way on the Bruce Highway, past the Glass House Mountains, Gympie and Maryborough. Distance and time come from OpenStreetMap routing, free-flow. Route source
Bring your licence and the card you booked with. Check the vehicle over before you leave the yard.
Most of a day with stops. Fill up at Gympie or Maryborough and you will not be hunting for fuel.
Everything on the esplanade is within a short drive, and K'gari is across the water.
Most trips run back to Brisbane. A one-way north or south is possible, subject to availability.
Campervans, 4WD campers and a five-seat car. The right one depends on whether you are sleeping in it and whether you are going onto sand.
Campervan A high-top two-berth with standing room at the back and a proper kitchenette. The most comfortable choice for two people doing the Brisbane run with a few nights on the coast.
Best for: Two people, a week or more, cooking most nights
Full specifications
Campervan The standard two-berth: bed, kitchenette and unlimited kilometres. Pick this if you want the lowest daily rate that still has a kitchen.
Best for: Two people, unlimited kilometres, cooking your own food
Full specifications
4WD camper Five seats, five berths in two tents, automatic and unlimited kilometres. The practical middle ground for a family that wants to get onto sand.
Best for: A family of four or five wanting sand access and unlimited kilometres
Full specifications
Car A five-seat hatch or sedan. The right pick if you are staying in one place, driving between beaches and not sleeping in the vehicle.
Best for: Day trips from a fixed base, no camping
Full specificationsHervey Bay faces the Great Sandy Strait, with K'gari across the water. The water is calm and shallow for a long way out, which is why families swim here and why humpbacks rest in the bay on their way south.
It also means the interesting driving starts here. The beach run to Rainbow Beach, the barge at Inskip Point and the sand tracks on the island are all within a couple of hours.
Practical guides to the Fraser Coast, written for people driving themselves.
What the drive north involves, the stops worth making, and how to time it around collecting a vehicle in Brisbane.
Drop-off is the part nobody plans. What gets checked, what to clean, and how to time it against a flight.
The first night is the awkward one. A short hop north that sets up the next day, and where you can stop.
The coast changes north of Fraser. Where to break the drive, and why the end point has no depot.
High clearance and low range, not all-wheel drive. The barges, the permit, and the tide that sets your day.
You cannot drive onto the sand in a two-wheel-drive. That does not mean missing the island.
Brisbane is the pickup point for a Hervey Bay trip. These are the other cities where a vehicle can be collected.
No. The nearest pickup point is Brisbane, at Woolloongabba. You collect the vehicle there and drive north — the Bruce Highway run takes you up the coast past the Sunshine Coast and Gympie.
Not at a Hervey Bay desk, because there isn't one. A hire that starts and ends in Brisbane is the straightforward option. If you need to finish somewhere else, check one-way availability for your dates before you book.
Yes, if you are driving yourself onto the island. The barge landing at Inskip Point and every track on K'gari are sand, and a two-wheel-drive will not get through.
Long enough that the drive north is not the whole holiday. Four nights gives you a full day on the water, a day on the southern beaches and a day around Rainbow Beach without rushing.
