If you’re looking for car rental in Sydney, Hertz makes it easy with several branches located at the airport and around the city itself. Known as the Harbour City, Sydney sees visitors from all over the world flock to it for a taste of the cosmopolitan Australian lifestyle.
By car is one of the best ways to explore Sydney, giving you flexibility to travel at your own pace, as well as the freedom to explore the greater Sydney area. Sydney has a fantastic, easy-to-navigate road network, including stunning coastal roads and links to various national parks including Kanangra-Boyd and the Blue Mountains.
You will need a full driving licence and must be over 21 to rent a car in Sydney. If you are from outside Australia you will also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). For more information about driving regulations in Sydney, take a look at our page about renting a car in Australia.
Driving in Sydney is as you’d expect for a major city. It’s busy most times of the day, but especially so during peak times of 06:30am and 09:30am and 4:30pm and 6:30pm on weekdays. If you are driving within the city at these times, you should expect your journey time to double. If you rent a car in Sydney, you will discover that it is remarkably similar to driving in the UK. Australians drive on the left and there are similar rules around speeding, drink-driving, child seats and mobile phone use.
Parking within the city centre is very expensive. On weekdays, you can expect to pay up to AUS$70 per day or AUS$25 per hour at some car parks, although this does reduce significantly at weekends to around AUS$15-20 for a day. Street parking can be hard to find during working hours on weekdays and, at weekends, there are often four-hour limits on spaces with a metered charge of AUS$1.20-2.20 per hour. You will also find two-to-three hour limits on free spaces at beaches and shopping malls, so take care or you could be liable for a fine.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0700-1200
Address: 129 Princes Hwy
Phone: 02-9556-1222
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1730 Sat-Sun 0800-1600.
Address: 65 William Street, Darlinghurst
Phone: 02-93606621
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0700-1200
Address: 28 Parramatta Rd
Phone: 02-96472766
Opening hours: 0500-2300 7 days
Address: Keith Smith Ave
Phone: 02 8337 7500
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700, Sat 0800-1300, Sun 0800-1300
Address: 77 Whiting Street
Phone: 02-94381155
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1730 Sat 0800-1200 Sun 0800-1200
Address: 123 Canterbury Road
Phone: 0297932400
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1700 Sat 0800-1300 Sun 0800-1300
Address: 47 Mitchell Road
Phone: 02-99051800
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0700-1200
Address: 27-31 Queen Street
Phone: 0246287575
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1700, Sat - Sun 0800-1200
Address: 49 Parramatta Rd
Phone: 02-97995333
Opening hours: Mo-Fr 0730-1700, Sa 0730-1200, Su 0800-1000
Address: 2066 Castlereagh Road
Phone: 02-47316344
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0700-1200
Address: 6 Long St
Phone: 02-96094664
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1730 Sat 0800-1200 Sun Closed
Address: Unit 2/8 Gladstone Road
Phone: 02-88415000
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1800 Sat-Sun 0800-1300
Address: 10/209 Harris St, (access VIA Pyrmont Bridge Rd)
Phone: 02-95188450
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0800-1300
Address: Unit 6 / 221-223 Oriordan St
Phone: 02-83381551
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0730-1730 Sat-Sun Closed
Address: Level 3, 2A Defries Ave
Phone: 02 89739460
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0800-1300
Address: 91-93 Cawarra Road
Phone: 02 95253125
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1700 Sat-Sun 0700-1200
Address: 28 Parramatta Rd
Phone: 02-96472766
One of the main key routes for getting around Sydney is the Sydney Orbital Network, a ringroad made up of several motorways that runs around the city. It links various neighbourhoods to the airport and allows drivers to access different parts of the city quickly and easily.
You should be aware that several of the roads that make up the Orbital Network are toll roads. These no longer accept cash and so a pass is needed in order to pay the charges. Hertz can supply you with a Hertz Day Toll Pass for a flat fee per day and you can find out more from your Hertz branch.
If you want to use your car rental in Sydney to explore the wider area, you will quickly discover that the road network is very similar to that in Great Britain. Motorways allow a speed limit of 100km/h or 70mph while ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads have limits of 100km/h (60mph), which reduce to 50km/h (30mph) in urban areas and 40km/h (25mph) in school zones. Speed limits are enforced so make sure you are aware of local signposts.
Behaviour on these roads is similar to the UK, but you should check for local laws and regulations before travelling. Speed limits are liable to change on one stretch of road as it runs through different areas so become familiar with these areas in order to stay safe.