Should You Hire a Car in Oceania (Australasia)? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in Oceania (Australasia) (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in Oceania (Australasia) - in other words, is car rental better value than using public transport? We'll weigh up both questions and give you a response generated by Chat GPT, together with our own curated opinion before finally giving a yes or no verdict at the end.

	country	SHOULD
🇦🇸	American Samoa	3
🇳🇿	Aotearoa	8
🇦🇺	Australia	8
🇨🇽	Christmas Island	6
🇨🇨	The Cocos Islands	6
🇨🇰	The Cook Islands	6
🇨🇱	Easter Island	6
🇫🇲	Micronesia	5
🇫🇯	Fiji	6
🇵🇫	French Polynesia	6
🇬🇺	Guam	6
🇺🇸	Hawaii	6
🇰🇮	Kiribati	5
🇲🇭	The Marshall Islands	4
🇫🇲	Micronesia	5
🇳🇷	Nauru	4
🇳🇨	New Caledonia	7
🇳🇿	New Zealand	7
🇳🇺	Niue	6
🇳🇫	Norfolk Island	6
🇲🇵	Northern Mariana Islands	6
🇵🇼	Palau	5
🇵🇬	Papua New Guinea	2
🇵🇳	The Pitcairn Islands	0
🇼🇸	Samoa	6
🇸🇧	Solomon Islands	4
🇹🇰	Tokelau	0
🇹🇴	Tonga	5
🇹🇻	Tuvalu	3
🇺🇲	The US Minor Outlying Islands	0
🇻🇺	Vanuatu	5
🇼🇫	Wallis and Futuna	4

Oceania is a region where the open road meets the open ocean. For Australia and New Zealand, a car or campervan unlocks the real magic — surf towns, rainforest valleys, volcanic lakes, and the kind of starry skies you can’t see from a hotel balcony. But once you leave the big islands for the Pacific, the “roads” often turn into coral tracks or palm-fringed lanes where walking or cycling makes more sense.

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🦘 Australia – Yes, Absolutely

Australia is the definition of a car country. Beyond the main cities, trains are limited, and buses cover only major corridors. The great road trips — the Great Ocean Road, Red Centre Way, Pacific Coast Highway, and Tasmania loop — all demand your own wheels.

Drive if: You want freedom, scenery, and access to national parks.
Skip the car if: You’re just staying in Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane; public transport works fine and parking costs are eye-watering.

🚙 Tip: Distances are huge — treat every long drive as a mini-expedition. Fill up, carry water, and never underestimate the Outback.

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🥝 New Zealand – The Ultimate Self-Drive Destination

New Zealand was built for road trips. The South Island’s mountains, fjords, and lakes are best explored with your own car or campervan. The North Island’s geothermal valleys, Hobbiton, and coastal drives are equally easy to reach. Roads are safe, scenery is breathtaking, and locals drive calmly (by global standards).

🚐 Must-do: Christchurch → Queenstown → Milford Sound, or Auckland → Rotorua → Wellington.
Public transport exists but misses the good bits; a car gives you total control.

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🏝️ Pacific Islands – Mostly No Car

Across the Pacific — Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Tonga — life moves slowly and distances are short. You rarely need a car. Resorts arrange transfers, taxis are cheap, and hiring a scooter is enough to reach waterfalls or beach cafes. Roads can be rough, lighting poor, and navigation mostly by local knowledge.

Exceptions:

• New Caledonia – a car is handy for exploring the main island’s beaches.

• Hawaii (technically part of North America, but culturally Pacific) – driving is easy and essential for exploring beyond Honolulu.

🏖️ Rule: If you can see the ocean from every road, you don’t need to rent a car.

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🔴 No-Car Zones

• Central Sydney & Melbourne – congestion + high parking fees.

• Auckland CBD – compact and walkable.

• Small islands (Bora Bora, Rarotonga, Moorea) – bikes, scooters, or hotel transfers only.

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✅ Top 5 Self-Drive Destinations in Oceania

1. New Zealand South Island – The world’s prettiest road trip

2. Australia’s Great Ocean Road – Surf, cliffs, koalas

3. Tasmania – Compact, wild, deliciously green

4. Hawaii (Big Island or Maui) – Volcanic coastlines and jungle roads

5. New Caledonia – French-tropical freedom on four wheels

❌ Top 5 Places Where You Won’t Need a Car

1. Fiji – island transfers cover everything

2. Bora Bora – one road, one lagoon

3. Auckland CBD – walk, bus, or ferry

4. Sydney city centre – trains and ferries do it all

5. Rarotonga – rent a scooter if you must, otherwise relax