Originally Posted by
mtkeller
Ugh. The rental restrictions you can view when doing a booking online show the old language about national parks, etc. still, which is what I was looking at. I guess I should try calling one of the KI locations to see what their actual policies are.
Actually, the Hertz website shows both, which is arguably worse! Although the Hertz website is probably one of the most comprehensive, some of the useful information is buried!
For the terms and conditions you will actually be agreeing to by signing the rental agreement, see Reservations>Qualifications & Requirements>Select Location>Rental Qualifications & Requirements - there's a link to the terms and conditions.
Shortcut link:
https://www.hertz.com.au/rentacar/mi...Conditions.jsp
I quoted from there.
Originally Posted by
mtkeller
I'm seeing a lot better rates than that from KGC Hertz (at least with my AmEx Platinum CDP), but still the stupid 100km/day. As best as I can tell, my Visa card's CDW coverage will eat up the excess in Australia to avoid the extra daily charges there, but I will need to confirm that with the Visa once I have a better grasp on things and especially inquire about the SVA situation. (Strangely, AmEx excludes Australia but Visa doesn't.)
I actually looked at Penneshaw rather than Kingscote, as that's where the ferry arrives. I think I chose 4 random days in early December (you've stated day numbers but not dates).
As I'm sure you're aware, planes fly into Kingscote. Out of interest, I checked flights for 10 Dec from ADL and returning 13 Dec (as far as I can tell, around the dates you're looking at) - surprisingly, flights weren't as expensive as I thought! AU$95 each way. See rex.com.au. On you're own, this might work out cheaper.
Originally Posted by
mtkeller
All very confusing. Googling the matter doesn't make things any better, as it seems there are mixed views about whether driving on unsealed roads is necessary on KI. I take it from your experience that it's close to necessary if not absolutely necessary? If I'm rejiggering back to driving from Melbourne to Adelaide as the plan, how likely am I to get a clued in person at a rental agency in Melbourne if I call them? Seems like I shouldn't be the only person who would have wanted to drive that route and spend time on KI.
As it was a couple of years ago I was there, I did some googling and it appears that many of the attractions can be reached on sealed roads. Remarkable rocks, wineries, accommodation, Flinders Chase National Park and other national parks can all be reached by sealed roads. You could possibly get away without unsealed roads, but be aware that if you go anywhere in the national parks, it's likely to be on unsealed roads. Also, if you want to go anywhere on the north of the island, you can only get there by dirt road.
Originally Posted by
mtkeller
It sure is a lot of backtracking. I'd seen less information on the Sunlander than the other two journeys I was considering, so I'd not really been considering it. Now it's more of the fact that their website is horrific and doesn't allow online bookings of sleepers, making confirming prices hard. I'll have to put in an inquiry later today, since I'll need to see what the situation is for a single traveller who wants a berth to himself. I'll definitely consider it, as the viability of using it north or south and its higher frequency are attractive. Anyone around here tried the Sunlander?
The only long distance rail journey I've done is the The Overland between Melbourne and Adelaide, which was during the day, so no sleeper required. I would love to do any of the other rail trips though!
You mentioned you were considering two rail journeys - what was the other? What interests you about the rail trips?