Adventure Rentals Honest Review
Adventure Rentals Honest Review
Sometimes you get inspired about a holiday destination, plan everything out in the minutest detail, and book your dream vacation months in advance. Other times, you come home high from the dentist and impulsively book flights, only to then have to plan the holiday when you sober up.
Look, I’d been thinking about a hiking holiday through the Red Centre for a while. I knew it was going to be a good season for it. But there was just so much information to process and plan — how to get there, how to get around, where to stay, what to eat, where to go, when to go… it was too much!
But then one day, after having a wisdom tooth pulled out, I woke up from a nap only to find that I had booked non-refundable flights to Alice Springs… Shit…
Ok, first step, where am I going? I mapped out a super rough itinerary… I’m going to need a car… I looked at car rentals in Alice Springs, and there were certainly options available, but where am I going to stay? If I have to drive back and forth from Alice Springs every day while exploring the West MacDonnell Ranges, that’s going to cost a fortune and involve a ridiculous amount of driving.
Sure, I could camp… But how am I going to get all my camping gear on a plane? How can I take enough to survive the elements comfortably without going over the baggage limits? Am I about to spend two weeks sitting in a hotel room in Alice Springs???
But then I Google stumbled on my saving grace, Adventure Rentals.
Who are Adventure Rentals?
Adventure Rentals are a car rental company geared towards travelling through some of Australia’s more remote areas.
With depots in Cairns, Adelaide, Perth, Broome, Darwin, and yes… Alice Springs!
But they don’t just hire you a car. They also hire you the gear you’ll need to camp, sleep, cook, head off-road, and rescue yourself if you get stuck.
Suddenly, I didn’t need to find a hire car AND somewhere to stay every night AND work out how to get a pile of camping gear to Alice Springs.
I could hire pretty much everything I would need from the one place.
Booking with Adventure Rentals
I reached out to the team at Adventure Rentals with nothing more than a rough idea in mind.
They got back to me straight away. Any time I contacted them, they were prompt, friendly, and professional.
They walked me through what would come with the vehicle I’d chosen and gave me some tips on how to manage a trip like this. But what I really appreciated most was being able to talk over the itinerary with them. They gave me first-hand knowledge of the best places to go and what I’d need to visit there.
There were no hidden fees or costs added to my booking, no sneaky $20 charge here or there. One thing I really appreciated was the unlimited kilometres included with the hire. It meant I didn't have to worry about calculating extra kilometre fees while planning my itinerary — the hire costs were in black and white from the start. And the best bit was the payment schedule, which meant I could pay it off in smaller amounts rather than one big lump sum.
I paid my deposit the same day.
Picking Up an Adventure Rentals 4WD Camper
As part of their rental process, the team at Adventure Rentals will run you through an induction on your hire car and all its gear when you pick it up.
I’m pretty comfortable driving 4WDs, but I think because it was the Northern Territory, I was feeling intimidated by some of the roads that I planned to take that were off the bitumen. The guys at the Alice Springs depot, though, gave me a lot of confidence that I’d be able to manage it. They ran me through all the bells and whistles on the car, how to set up my tent, all the camping gear, the recovery gear, and everything in between.
Anytime I wasn’t sure about something — “Guys, trust in the stereotype of my hair colour, and please explain it to me like I’m five?” — they would happily slow things down, explain exactly what I needed to do, and made sure that I understood and could do it myself. That was important, because it wasn’t likely I’d be able to watch a YouTube tutorial from the side of the road.
Once the induction was done, they handed me the keys, wished me a fun adventure, and waved goodbye as I drove out the gate.
Adventure Rentals and Unsealed Roads
I actually found this much easier to manage than I was expecting.
I took the car on a few dirt roads — I was never really four-wheel-driving where I went though… I think there was only once or twice that I had to put it into low-range to drive through soft sand. Leading up to the trip I had been worried that I would get stuck, or the roads would be too difficult for me to handle. I didn’t realise that so many of the roads I'd planned to travel were in much better condition than I'd read about online — don’t tell my mechanic, but I’ve dead set taken my hatchback on rougher fire trails through the Blue Mountains.
Of course, having a decent 4WD made a difference too. The Prado was in excellent condition, handled the unsealed roads beautifully, and was surprisingly smooth and comfortable to drive. And thanks to the compressor in the back, I could lower the tyre pressure in about 5 minutes to go off the bitumen.
The benefit of going through your itinerary with Adventure Rentals before you leave is being able to talk through the roads you want to take with someone who knows what they're like.
What Gear was Included in the Camper?
What’s included with the rental largely depends on which model you go with. There are options for just the basic car, or a car with a roof top tent, or a ute with a double roof top tent designed for the whole family.
I went with the Prado Camper option. So the car was set up with a roof top tent, awning, fridge, compressor, chairs, gas cooker, a table, cutlery, plates, water, pillows, linen — really, everything that you’d need, and nothing that you don’t.
It also came with recovery straps, the gear to inflate and deflate the tyre pressure, and a manual in case I forgot anything from the induction.
If you want to check out all the features, you can see the full list here.
The rooftop tent and awning were both easy enough to put up, even on my own. The bed was comfy — I could open up the screens in the tent when the night was hot, or zip it all up on the nights it was cold. There was plenty of room in the fridge for my food. And before you ask, yes, all my stuff could still fit in the car with all that gear.
Was anything not included? Obviously you need to bring your own food and clothes. Also, dishwashing liquid and a scrubber to wash your dishes.
Are There any Restrictions to Hiring with Adventure Rentals?
One of the conditions of hiring a vehicle from Adventure Rentals is that you're not permitted to drive outside built-up areas between dusk and dawn.
And honestly, it's a pretty sensible rule.
Driving through remote areas of Central Australia comes with some rather unique hazards, particularly when it comes to wildlife and wandering animals. We're not just talking about the occasional kangaroo hopping across the road. There are camels, brumbies and cattle out there too, and encountering one of those on a dark road while driving is not something you want to experience.
Aside from the obvious danger to the animal, a collision with something that size could cause serious damage to the vehicle and potentially put you in a really dangerous situation, particularly if you're travelling alone in an area without phone reception.
So while the restriction might seem a little inconvenient when you're planning to watch the sunset somewhere spectacular, there's a very good reason for it.
Returning the Vehicle
Returning the vehicle was pretty straightforward. At the end of my trip, I filled up the tank, gave the car a quick hose down at the car wash, threw out my rubbish and gave it a once over with a vacuum.
They even send you a friendly email towards the end of your trip letting you know where you can find a car wash nearby.
If you’ve had any problems with the car on your journey, or if there’s any damage, let them know when you hand the car back so they can get it sorted before the next person hires it out.
Would We Hire From Adventure Rentals Again?
Honestly? We’re already planning the next trip, and basing our destination around the locations of Adventure Rentals depots just so we can hire from them again.
Through the entire process, everyone in the Adventure Rentals team was friendly, helpful, and professional.
The price of the hire was reasonable, the rental process was simple, and the quality of the vehicle and camping equipment was excellent.
So, Adventure Rentals, we'll see you again. Just as soon as we work out where we're going next.
We'd like to add that this is in no way a paid or sponsored post. It's honest feedback about a great experience we had with a great company.
If you’d like to book your own adventure with Adventure Rentals, head to their website to learn more.