Car Rental Cranbourne Downtown

Cranbourne is an outer southern suburb of Melbourne 45 minutes from the Melbourne CBD. Cranbourne is situated in the ideal spot to enjoy both the coast and the best of Melbourne.

The suburb is just a few minutes’ drive from stunning views of the Western Port Bay and Port Phillip Bay. Take a drive to Frankston Beach or one of the many white-sand beaches that line Port Phillip Bay or down to Western Port Bay and check out the North-Western Port Nature Conservation Reserve and Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park.

Moonlight Sanctuary is just a 15-minute drive from Cranbourne, on your way to the coastline of Western Port Bay. The sanctuary is an award-winning wildlife park with amazing native animals to see and to learn about. Feed kangaroos and wallabies or purchase a sought-after koala cuddle photo. See 70 Australian species with close up-encounters, keeper talks, and behind the scenes tours on offer. It is a viable alternative to the famous Melbourne Zoo if you are in the area and looking to get up-close looks at our furry locals.

The biggest attraction in Cranbourne is the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne (RBGC). RBGC is a stunning garden that covers over 360 hectares, filled with 170,000 plants from over 1,700 varieties. Park the rental car and enjoy the 13 kilometres of walking trails inside the gardens. Climb up the lookout tower for a great view of the garden extending off to the horizon. Stop in at the garden shop for a botanic-themed keepsake and a cup of coffee at the Boon Wurrung Café. If you feel like exploring from a seated position, join in on the open-air bus tour.

Drive Out on the Range, To the Yarra Ranges National Park in Your Car Hire

With the botanic gardens, Moonlit Sanctuary, both bays, French Island and more, you're already spoilt for choice on ways to immerse yourself into nature, but in order to get the best use out of your hire car, it's best to hit the road and venture further out into Victoria. Located on the eastern side of Melbourne, just a 2 hour and 15-minute drive from Cranbourne, are the Yarra Ranges and its stunning national park. See the largest flowering tree in the world, the Mountain Ash, as it dominates the lush green canopies of the ranges. With rainforest walkways elevated from the ground, many of the park's trails are extremely accessible. There are stunning drives in the park, from Black Spur to Lady Talbot Drive. How many times you choose to stop and take in the walking trails, viewing platforms and scenery is up to you. Mountains, lakes, clear streams, giant trees and native wildlife are all just outside Melbourne.

Drive into the Heart of Melbourne with Your Rental Car for Some Great Free Culture 

Melbourne is a great city to travel to, even for those on a strict budget. Save some money by taking in free experiences and spend it on what matters, food! Melbourne has a number of free galleries and museums to enjoy. Start with the world-class National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road, 40 minutes from Cranbourne. The NGV has over 70,000 artworks in its collection from all over the world. See everything from local Aboriginal Art to French Impressionism in this incredible gallery space, it might have been on your travel itinerary anyway, but it's nice to know the whole experience is free. 

Other free locations include the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) located just up the road in Federation Square, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Arts (ACCA) in Southbank, the Australian Music Vault, the State Library of Victoria and more. Small suburban attractions, big-city attractions, lush national parks and a wide range of restaurants make Melbourne an unforgettable travel location.