Cheap campervan hire Perth
PER WA- Depot 28 Charles Street, Bentley WA 6102
- Suburb Bentley, Western Australia
- Watch Check distances before planning a loop
Bentley is south-east of the centre. Margaret River is straightforward; anything north means crossing the city first.
Where the depot sits, and why it matters
Charles Street in Bentley sits south of the Swan River, close to Curtin University and the Albany Highway. It is a suburban depot, not a tourist one, and it is well placed for the south-west.
The practical split: the south-west, Margaret River and Albany are ahead of you. The Pinnacles, Geraldton and the north coast require crossing Perth, which costs an hour before the trip even starts.
Bentley behaves like the suburban address it is: quick to the Kwinana Freeway, slow to anything north of the river, and the hours on the campervan hire Perth page matter most on a late arrival.
First morning: three directions, three different trips
- South The Kwinana Freeway to Mandurah, then the Old Coast Road toward Bunbury and Margaret River. The classic south-west start, and the closest thing to a straight line from this depot.
- South-east The Albany Highway through the wheatbelt to Albany — inland, fast, and a different landscape from the coast.
- North The Indian Ocean Drive to the Pinnacles and Cervantes, which means crossing the city first. Reward is big skies and empty beaches.
Practical notes for a Perth start
- Distances Western Australia is enormous. A drive that looks reasonable on a map can be five hours of nothing, so plan fuel and water by distance, not by town names.
- City crossing Perth's freeway system is fast outside peak. Crossing to the north side in the morning peak is the worst version of it.
- Heat Summer inland is brutal. Carry more water than you think you need and do not walk far from the van in the middle of the day.
- Fuel Stations are sparse once you leave the south-west corridor. Fill at every opportunity on the longer runs.
- Wildflowers The wildflower season brings crowds to the north and the wheatbelt. Book camping ahead if you are travelling then.
Fuel gaps widen past Bunbury rather than before it, so fill on the way out, and read the one-way hire between cities conditions if the trip ends in another state.
Where to sleep the first night
South on the first night — Mandurah or further — keeps you moving toward Margaret River without a wasted morning.
If you collected late, stay in the southern suburbs and leave at daylight. There is no scenic reason to sleep in Bentley.
How far is Margaret River from the depot?
Roughly three hours of driving once you are clear of the city, so it is a comfortable first day rather than a sprint.
Is the Pinnacles a day trip?
It can be, but it is a long day. Two nights somewhere north gives you the desert at dawn, which is the reason to go.
What should I know about fuel in WA?
Distances between stations are longer than in the eastern states. On the north and inland routes, fill up whenever you pass a station rather than when you need to.
Other depots worth comparing
Perth and Adelaide are the two ends of the Nullarbor. Collecting in one and delivering to the other is usually priced as a one-way, and which direction is cheaper changes with the season.
- Sydney Caringbah is on the southern edge, so Royal National Park and Wollongong come before city traffic.
- Melbourne Ringwood sits east of the city, good for Gippsland, awkward for a Great Ocean Road start.
- Brisbane Inner-south Woolloongabba puts the Pacific Motorway north and the Gold Coast south both close.
- Adelaide Bowden is north of the CBD, so the Flinders Ranges run starts without crossing Adelaide.
Page updated 2026-11-05.