Cheap Gold Coast Airport Car Hire: The Best Companies

There are six car hire companies located at Gold Coast Airport, also known as Coolangatta Airport, on Australia’s east coast. Home to long sandy beaches, surfing spots and inland canals and waterways, not to mention some of Australia’s finest theme parks and hiking trails, the region attracts visitors all year round. Many visitors who come to the Gold Coast combine their trip with a stop-off in Brisbane, situated 80 kilometres to the south and having access to your own car adds huge convenience to such excursions.

A kite surfer on the Australian Gold Coast (Photo: Leafypages via Flickr)

You’ll find all of the car rental companies at Coolangatta Airport located opposite the arrivals area in the main terminal. We highly recommend booking before you arrive to get the beast deal, but you can also shop around at the terminal itself. Once you’ve made your choice and filled in all the relevant paperwork, your rental company will direct you to the correct parking location to collect your vehicle.

Our car rental company search results

With so much choice available, scouring the Internet for a rental car can be an arduous experience. To help ease your burden, the team at Travelma.com have done the heavy lifting for you by researching the best deals, the best choice and the best service you can find when renting a car at Coolangatta Airport. We’ve divided the results into three categories – categories – Best value, Best for Families and Best for luxury cars – to help you make your choice. Let us know if you take us up on our recommendations!

Best value: Thrifty

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It is relatively unusual to find car rental companies that have tie-ins with the tourism sector, but Thrifty are clearly ahead of the game. Rent any one of their SUV fleet for 7 days or more from Gold Coast Airport and you’ll receive two free 7-day Holiday Passes to a number of the region’s most popular theme parks, including unlimited entry to Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World and Wet’n’Wild. It is such deals that have convinced us to recommend Thrifty for our ‘best value’ category. Their rental desk is open from 6am to 10.30pm daily.

Best for families: Hertz

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Hertz are better known for their high-end cars, but at Coolangatta Airport they have a noticably impressive range of vehicles that would suit families needing extra space for kids and luggage. Cars such as the Ford Falcon XR6, which you can hire at most times of the year for around £300 a week from Coolangatta , can accommodate up to three large bags and will provide all the comfort you need for driving you and your family along the region’s vast open roads. Hertz’s desk is open from 6.30am to 10.30pm throughout the week.

Best for luxury cars: Europcar

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Europcar offer a huge variety of top-of-the-range cars to cruise the Gold Coast in true style. Among the cars available are a number of highly sought-after Mercedes models, including the Mercedes A and E-Class and even the convertible E-Class Cabrio if you want to feel the wind in your hair. Or for something a little more suited to tricky terrains, you could opt for the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and Mitsubishi Outlander. As an added bonus, Europcar are the first car hire company at Coolangatta Airport with certified eco-friendly commitments.