Sometimes you don't want a 15-kg luggage limit. You want your own car, your camping gear in the back, your tent, your esky, your fishing rods, and the freedom to drive somewhere different without dealing with airports. Here are seven Australian islands you can take your own vehicle to. One is connected by bridge; the rest by car ferry or 4WD barge.
Phillip Island, VIC
The easiest of the lot. There's no ferry to time at all: the Phillip Island Bridge from San Remo to Newhaven crosses Western Port Bay in about a minute. From Melbourne it's a 90-minute drive door-to-door. You can bring whatever you want; there's no vehicle restriction or surcharge. Phillip Island is also the most family-friendly of the drive-to options, with sealed roads, full infrastructure, supermarkets, fuel, the Penguin Parade, the Nobbies, and koala-spotting at Phillip Island Nature Park.
Cost to drive on: $0. You're just driving.
Full Phillip Island guide →Bruny Island, TAS
The Sealink ferry from Kettering takes 20 minutes and runs every 30-60 minutes. No booking required for foot passengers; vehicles only need booking on busy weekends. The whole crossing is so casual you can be eating Bruny oysters within an hour of leaving Hobart's CBD. Bruny rewards having a vehicle: the island is 100 km long, the food producers are spread out, and the southern lighthouse is 90 minutes' drive from the ferry. Camp at Cloudy Bay, eat at Get Shucked, walk the Neck, all needs your car.
Cost to drive on: $45 vehicle return + $8 driver. Pay at the booth or online.
Full Bruny Island guide →Kangaroo Island, SA
SeaLink runs the vehicle ferry from Cape Jervis (90 minutes south of Adelaide) to Penneshaw, about 45 minutes across. Vehicle bookings are essential, especially on weekends and holidays. Kangaroo Island is big (4,400 km², roughly the size of Brunei) and you cannot reasonably do it without your own transport. Sealed main roads, dirt back roads, fuel at the main towns. Bringing a 4WD opens up Flinders Chase and the more remote western beaches.
Cost to drive on: $215 vehicle return + $108 driver return. Book at sealink.com.au.
Full Kangaroo Island guide →K'gari (Fraser Island), QLD
K'gari is a 4WD-only island. Two main barges: the Manta Ray from Inskip Point (north of Rainbow Beach, runs every 15-20 mins) and the Fraser Island Barges from River Heads (Hervey Bay). Once on the island, there are no sealed roads. Beach driving is regulated by tide. Inland tracks are deep sand. Permits required: vehicle access permit ($61.20) and camping permit if you're camping ($30 per family per night). High clearance 4WD is essential, a high-clearance AWD won't cut it. The reward is the largest sand island on Earth, all to yourself if you go beyond the day-tripper zones.
Cost to drive on: ~$130 barge + $61 access permit + camping fees. 4WD essential.
Full K'gari guide →North Stradbroke Island, QLD
The vehicle ferry from Cleveland to Dunwich takes 45-50 minutes. Two operators: Stradbroke Ferries and SeaLink. The advantage of bringing your own car: most accommodation is in Point Lookout, 20 minutes' drive from the ferry, and there's no Uber on the island. With a 4WD and a beach access permit ($43.95), you can drive Main Beach, 36 km of open sand. A 2WD is fine for getting to Point Lookout and Amity but won't manage the beach.
Cost to drive on: ~$170 vehicle return. Book ahead in summer.
Full Stradbroke guide →Moreton Island, QLD
The MICAT vehicle ferry from the Port of Brisbane takes about 90 minutes. Like K'gari, Moreton has no sealed roads. 4WD is essential; high-clearance AWD will not cope with the soft inland tracks. You'll need a $57 vehicle access permit. The island has the Tangalooma Wrecks, the Big Sand Hills for tobogganing, and the eastern surf beaches. Camping is permitted at multiple sites, bring everything, the island has limited supplies.
Cost to drive on: ~$270 vehicle return + $57 access permit. 4WD essential.
Full Moreton Island guide →Magnetic Island, QLD
Most people foot-passenger over to Maggie because the island is small (52 km²) and well-served by the local bus network. But if you want to bring a car, the SeaLink Magnetic Island Car Ferry runs from Ross Street in Townsville, around 35 minutes across. Sealed roads connect Picnic Bay, Nelly Bay, Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay. The advantage: you can drive between the bays at your own pace and reach the Forts car park easily.
Cost to drive on: ~$215 vehicle return + $36 driver. Book ahead in school holidays.
Full Magnetic Island guide →At a glance
| Island | Crossing time | Vehicle return cost | 4WD needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillip Island | 0 (bridge) | $0 | No |
| Bruny Island | 20 min | $45 | No |
| North Stradbroke | 50 min | $170 | Only for beach |
| Magnetic Island | 35 min | $215 | No |
| Kangaroo Island | 45 min | $215 | No |
| Moreton Island | 90 min | $270 | Yes |
| K'gari (Fraser) | 15 min | $130 | Yes (essential) |
Worth knowing before you book the ferry
The vehicle ferry costs add up faster than people expect. A vehicle return on Kangaroo Island is more than half a one-way flight from Adelaide. If you're a couple with no camping gear and you're staying somewhere in the main town, foot-ferry-and-hire-car can work out cheaper. Bringing your own car pays off when (a) you're a family with a lot of luggage, (b) you're camping, (c) you have specific gear like surfboards or fishing rods, or (d) you're staying somewhere remote on the island where hire cars don't reach.
For 4WD islands (K'gari, Moreton): a soft-roader or AWD won't make it. We've watched too many rental Subarus get hopelessly bogged on K'gari's inland tracks. If you don't have a high-clearance 4WD and recovery experience, the right move is to take an organised tour from the mainland with operators who know the tracks. Yes, it costs more than self-driving. It also costs less than a tow truck and a damaged hire car.