Car Hire Sydney to Melbourne One Way

Free comparison tool · 1000s of rental cars · Major brands · No booking fees

: 880 km; Sydney to Melbourne on the Hume Highway
: about 9 h; driving time without stops
: from $780; small car for 4 days, one-way fee included
: 10 companies; offer one-way hire on this route

Compare Car Rental Sydney to Melbourne

Hertz, Thrifty, Europcar, Sixt, Dollar, Redspot and 4 smaller companies rent cars one way from Sydney to Melbourne. To book, enter Sydney as the pick-up and Melbourne as the drop-off. The results show only cars you can leave in Melbourne.

There are no booking fees. Most cars come with free cancellation and unlimited kilometres.

Princes Pier, Melbourne. Photo: Daniel Sallai Photography

Sydney to Melbourne One Way Car Hire Prices

A small car for 4 days costs about $910 in total. An SUV costs about $1,170 and a people mover about $1,500.

Longer hires cost only a little more. A small car costs about $750 for 2 days and $1,150 for 7 days. A 1-day hire costs the same as 2 days.

Christmas week costs about 50% more. Most companies rent for at least 4 days that week. The January school holidays add only 3 to 5%.

Cheapest to typical price for the whole hire, one-way fee included. Pick-up at Sydney Airport, November 2026 to March 2027, except Christmas week. Checked 18 October 2026.
Hire length	Small car	SUV	People mover
2 days	$660 to $750	$710 to $980	$990 to $1,230
4 days	$780 to $910	$890 to $1,170	$1,180 to $1,500
7 days	$890 to $1,150	$1,040 to $1,360	$1,440 to $1,810

Typical price for the whole hire, one-way fee included. Pick-up at Sydney Airport, November 2026 to March 2027. Checked 18 October 2026.
Pick-up	Small car, 4 days	SUV, 4 days
Mid-November	$850	$1,060
Late November	$870	$1,090
Early December	$900	$1,100
Christmas week	$1,410	$1,730
Mid-January, school holidays	$940	$1,210
Early February	$870	$1,280
Early March	$950	$1,240

One Way Relocation Fees

Will I need to pay one way rental fees?

Usually, yes. Most companies charge a fee to leave the car in a different city. The prices in our search include the one-way fee, so you can compare companies side by side. Before you book, check what your total price covers.

Distance Between Sydney & Melbourne

How far is it from Sydney to Melbourne?

About 880 kilometres on the M31 (the Hume Highway), or about 9 hours of driving. The Coastal Drive is about 1,040 km and the Heritage Drive via Canberra about 950 km. Both take longer.

Satellite map of south-east Australia. The Hume Highway runs from Sydney to Melbourne in dark blue past Goulburn, Gundagai and Albury. Lighter lines show the Heritage Drive via Canberra and the Coastal Drive through Batemans Bay and Lakes Entrance. — Three ways to drive from Sydney to Melbourne: the Hume Highway (880 km), the Heritage Drive via Canberra (950 km) and the Coastal Drive (1,040 km).

Hume Highway (M31)

Via Goulburn, Gundagai, Albury

880 km · about 9 h · 1–2 days

The direct way, dual carriageway from end to end. Albury, on the Victorian border, is a good overnight stop.

Heritage Drive via Canberra

Federal Highway to Canberra, then the Hume

950 km · about 10 h · 2–3 days

A night in the capital, then the old Hume towns, for about 70 km more than the direct route.

Coastal Drive (Princes Highway, A1)

Via Nowra, Batemans Bay, Eden, Lakes Entrance

1,040 km · about 12 h · 2–3 days

The NSW South Coast and East Gippsland. It is 160 km longer than the M31 and best over 3 days.

Sydney to Melbourne Drive: Attractions on the Road

With 2 or 3 days, take the coast or the inland towns instead. Book your overnight stops before you leave.

Coastal Drive

Past the Sea Cliff Bridge, then through Nowra, Batemans Bay, Eden and the beaches of the South Coast.

Day 1
280 km · about 4 h
Sydney to Batemans Bay
Leave the M1 for the Grand Pacific Drive and the Sea Cliff Bridge. Kiama’s blowhole and Nowra come next, with a side trip to the white sand of Jervis Bay.
Day 2
450 km · about 5.5 h
Batemans Bay to Lakes Entrance
Narooma, the old village of Tilba and Eden’s whale coast, then over the Victorian border and through the forests of East Gippsland.
Day 3
320 km · about 4 h
Lakes Entrance to Melbourne
The Gippsland Lakes, then the Princes Highway into Melbourne. Wilsons Promontory and Phillip Island are both detours off this leg. Either one adds a day.

Heritage Drive

Take the Heritage Drive through Canberra and the old Hume Highway towns of Goulburn, Gundagai, Holbrook and Albury-Wodonga.

Day 1
290 km · about 3 h
Sydney to Canberra
Down the Hume past Goulburn’s Big Merino, then the Federal Highway into the capital. Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial both look across Lake Burley Griffin.
Day 2
340 km · about 3.5 h
Canberra to Albury-Wodonga
Back onto the Hume at Yass. Gundagai’s Dog on the Tuckerbox and the submarine at Holbrook come before the Murray River at Albury.
Day 3
325 km · about 3.5 h
Albury to Melbourne
Rutherglen’s wineries and Glenrowan, where Ned Kelly made his last stand, then into Melbourne. A detour along the Murray River to Echuca-Moama and Bendigo adds about 170 km.

Picking Up in Sydney, Dropping Off in Melbourne

From November to January, a 4-day Hertz or Thrifty hire costs $200 to $300 less at their Alexandria depot than at the airport. The depot is at 296 Coward Street, Mascot, 3 km from the terminals. There is no shuttle bus. The depot closes at 4:30 pm on weekdays and 12:30 pm on Saturdays. Search "Sydney – All areas" as the pick-up to see it.
Check the Melbourne drop-off address before you book. Some cars go back to a depot 20 to 30 km from the city centre, in Campbellfield, Bayswater or Dandenong.
The motorways out of Sydney Airport and Melbourne's CityLink are toll roads. Hire cars usually carry a toll tag. The company bills the tolls after the hire, often with an admin fee.

Sydney to Melbourne One Way Car Hire FAQ

Can I hire a car in Sydney and drop it off in Melbourne?

Yes. 9 or 10 companies offer it, depending on the date. Set Melbourne as the drop-off to see their cars.

Which car rental companies offer one-way rentals between Sydney and Melbourne?

Hertz, Thrifty, Europcar, Sixt, Dollar, Redspot, Ace, Alpha, Apex and Karmo. Apex and Karmo do not have cars on every date.

How long does it take to drive from Sydney to Melbourne?

About 9 hours of driving on the Hume Highway. Drive it in 1 long day, or in 2 days with a night in Albury. Via Canberra or the coast, allow 2 to 3 days.

Is it cheaper to hire one way from Melbourne to Sydney?

Not for a typical car. Prices are about the same in both directions. The cheapest cars cost 5 to 10% less from Melbourne. 12 companies rent one way from Melbourne, compared with 10 from Sydney.

Can I drop the car at Melbourne Airport?

Yes. Choose Melbourne Airport (MEL) as the drop-off instead of Melbourne – All areas. The results show which companies take cars back there and their prices.

Do one-way hires include unlimited kilometres?

Nearly all do. A few utes (pick-up trucks) have a limit, for example 400 km for a 2-day hire. That is less than the 880 km drive. Each result shows its kilometre allowance.

What is the excess on a one-way hire?

The excess is the most you pay if the car is damaged. Most cars have a standard excess of $5,000 to $6,000. Each result shows the excess for that car.

Popular One-Way Routes

Other one-way trips that start in Sydney or end in Melbourne:

Going on from Melbourne: compare Melbourne to Adelaide, or see all one-way car hire in Australia.

Prices updated October 2026

If your trip begins in Sydney, see car hire in Sydney or the desks at Sydney Airport (SYD). Ending in Melbourne? See car hire in Melbourne, or return the car at Melbourne Airport (MEL) and Avalon Airport (AVV).