I intend to take my family to Perth and Margaret River for 10 days. Is renting a Campervan with 2 berth OK?

Question

Would it be more cost saving than renting a car and stay in motel? Can I drive this campervan in Perth city like a car? Is parking going to be a problem?

Answer 1

Personally, I would consider hiring a car and staying in B&B or motel type accomodation.

You might also wish to consider backpacker type accomodation with family suites or private rooms.

I personally detest campervans...they are ok for a couple with camping gear who intend to travel long distances and do it on the bare minimum of $$$.

But for a family visiting major tourist attractions...forget it!

These vehicles are lousy to drive, and expensive to run (fuel costs).

You cant just park up and camp anywhere...which means you still need to pay caravan park fees.

And most importantly...they are VERY uncomfortable!

You can hire a mid size sedan for about $30 per day.

Overnight accomodation should be about $50-100 for reasonable but basic standard.

Many motel type rooms are also self contained which means you can cook there as well. Some even sweeten the deal with a supplied continental breakfast as well.

Even some caravan parks have on site chalets available for rent at reasonable cost which could be suitable for your requirements.

You might also consider staying at another location besides Margaret River. Being a very popular tourist spot, prices are always higher here than other areas.

You might find accomodation prices cheaper say in Augusta or perhaps Yallingup or Busselton. If you can make another area your base of operations, you will save yourself some $$$ and still be able to tour the entire region as you originally planned.

Hope this is of some help.
Cheers :)

Answer 2

How big is your family? A 2 berth campervan will let two people sleep. The berths aren't usually as big as a normal bed, so don't expect to get more people into those berths. Also you must have enough seats in the campervan to seat every person with a seatbelt (or with the appropriate baby/child seat for younger children).

Yes, a campervan would be cheaper than renting a car and staying in a motel. But generally you must stay overnight in a caravan park or camping ground and pay the fees there. Most developed areas within Australia do not permit roadside camping.

2 berth campervans vary in size. The smaller ones can definitely go anywhere a car can go, but the larger ones will be higher and wider and may be more difficult to park in the centre of the city or in carparks within buildings or underground (the height is usually the issue).

Answer 3

There is one huge disadvantage to a campervan - if you want to go anywhere you have to drive it. That means you cannot go down dirt tracks, and they are terrible vehicles to drive.