Australia is such a vast country with big open spaces between the main cities that in order to explore it you need to plan your favoured mode of transport. In order to give you the most flexibility then the best thing to do is look at hiring a car. So to start with you are best going online and entering the keywords car rentals in Australia.

What will then happen is you shall be faced with a number of results for car rental companies in numerous cities across the country. Whilst most shall be for the main hire companies seen around the world you should also look beyond that and check out the ones that are much more local.

It is important to think about a few things that can influence the vehicle that you need before you go ahead to book it. You must consider the plans you have for your stay such as are you going to stay in the one place or do you want to travel to see Melbourne or Sydney?

Visiting the outback is something which a lot of people want to do if they are visiting Australia so if you do want to do this then you need to tell the rental company. Going here can really determine the type of car you shall get as you will need an off road as opposed to a city car.

If you are planning on a road trip starting in one city and ending up somewhere else then you have to take this into consideration not so much with the car but the company that you use. This is much easier to arrange with the bigger companies who have bases in the main cities of Australia such as Brisbane, Melbourne or Perth. It can be arranged for you to pick up in Sydney and leave it at their outlet elsewhere. You can see how this could be more difficult for a smaller company.

You must also consider the number of people and make sure if you are travelling a distance you have enough space. If you need to keep a lot of luggage with you then this has to also be considered before you book. Obviously this is not as big a problem if you are staying in the one area and returning to the same hotel every day.

When you go to pick up your car ensure that you inspect it from every single angle. You need to be able to spot if there are any marks on it and if there is something such as a dent then make sure it is mentioned on the official paperwork. If it is there then you are not going to be held accountable. However if there is no mention and when you return it and it is spotted then you could be facing the bill. At least by checking it you are covered so it is worth spending those five minutes.

So it can be summarised as think of your plans before hiring the car. Think of where you are driving and how many of you there are as it can determine the space needed. Look all over the car in detail before you accept it or you could end up with an unexpected bill.