About This Company

About Apollo Campervans Australia

Apollo has been renting campervans and motorhomes in Australia since 1985. With over 4,000 vehicles across four countries, they are one of the largest RV operators on the planet. The Australia operation spans 10 depots, nine vehicle models, and a price range from budget-friendly campervans to spacious six-berth motorhomes.

If you've driven an Australian highway, you've seen the orange and white Apollo logo rolling past. There's a reason they're everywhere: the coverage is genuinely hard to beat.

The Brand Family

Apollo is part of THL (Tourism Holdings Limited), which also operates Maui, Britz, and Mighty Camper as separate brands. Within the Apollo group, the fleet spans three brands targeting different market segments:

  • Apollo — vehicles from 60,000km to 150,000km (roughly 1–3 years old). The quality middle ground.
  • Cheapa Campa — vehicles from 150,000km to end of life (~5 years). Functional and budget-conscious.
  • Hippie Camper — youth market. Smaller, cheaper, fewer features.

Apollo previously operated Star RV as a premium brand, but that brand has since been sold.

That structured hand-down approach matters. When you hire an Apollo-branded vehicle, you're getting something that's relatively young — not the newest on the road, but not the oldest either. The age policy keeps the fleet reasonably fresh without passing full premium pricing to the customer.

The Fleet

Apollo runs nine models in Australia, split into campervans (no onboard toilet or shower) and fully self-contained motorhomes. Every single model runs on automatic transmission — genuinely useful for international visitors driving on the left for the first time. Full model specifications and images are in the Fleet section below.

Depots

Apollo operates from 10 locations across Australia: Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Broome, Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. That covers every major gateway for Australian road trip routes — east coast, Top End, west coast, and the centre. All depots allow one-way hire between locations (fees apply).

Insurance & Bond

Standard bond is $5,000 for campervans and $7,500 for all motorhomes and 4WDs. Liability reduction options bring the exposure down to $2,500 (~$38/day) or $0 (~$45/day) for 2WD vehicles. The top tier also adds tyre, windscreen, undercarriage, and overhead damage protection — worth it on corrugated outback tracks.

The Bond Refund Problem

This has been Apollo's most consistent weak spot for years. Bond refunds can take several weeks to clear back to your credit card. For travellers on a tight budget, having $5,000–$7,500 locked up for weeks after the trip ends creates real cash flow problems. Go in prepared: don't end the hire with your credit card close to its limit.

Who Apollo Is For

Book Apollo if you want: a reliable, well-maintained mid-market vehicle; a full-automatic fleet (important for international drivers); wide depot coverage; pet-friendly hire; or a choice of models from compact campervans to large motorhomes under one brand.

Look elsewhere if you need: the cheapest option (Cheapa Campa or Jucy); or under-21 driver hire (Apollo requires 21+).

Verdict

Apollo is the benchmark. Not always the cheapest, not always the newest, but the operation that everyone else calibrates against. The fleet covers almost any trip type. The depot network is the most complete in Australia. The full-automatic fleet removes a major friction point for visitors. The bond refund delays are a legitimate grievance — beyond that, Apollo delivers consistent, professional service.

Pros & Cons

✓ Pros

  • Entire fleet is automatic — rare, great for international drivers
  • One of Australia's largest fleets (4,000+ vehicles) — 9 model types
  • 10 depots covering all major Australian gateways
  • Fleet age cap of ~3 years — vehicles stay reasonably fresh
  • Pet-friendly hire available
  • 24/7 roadside assistance included standard

✗ Cons

  • Bond refunds can take weeks — consistently reported complaint
  • Mid-to-high price range vs budget operators (Jucy, Cheapa Campa)
  • Books out quickly in peak summer and school holiday periods
  • Minimum driver age 21+ — no under-21 hire

Vehicle Fleet

Adventure Camper 4WD
2 berth · Toyota Hilux (4WD) · automatic
Euro Mini Motorhome
2 berth · Fiat Ducato or similar · automatic
Euro Tourer Motorhome
2 berth · European motorhome chassis · automatic
HiTop Camper
2 berth · Toyota HiAce Hi-Top · automatic
Euro Plus Motorhome
3 berth · European motorhome chassis · automatic
Endeavour Camper
4 berth · Toyota HiAce Hi-Top · automatic
Euro Camper Motorhome
4 berth · European motorhome chassis · automatic
Euro Quest Motorhome
4 berth · European motorhome chassis · automatic

Features & Amenities

🍳Kitchen Facilities
🚿Shower / Toilet
☀️Solar Panels
❄️Refrigerator
🛏️Bedding Included
🔧24/7 Roadside Assist
📡GPS Navigation
🏕️Camping Equipment

Customer Reviews

✍️ Leave a Review
BK ★ 1.3/5
Disgraceful - Avoid at all costs
We rented a hippie drift van, problems from the very start. Customer service was terrible picking the van up, we arrived at 10.30 and didn't get the van until 3.30!The van was extremely old, 300,000Km and drove poorly from the start. The light was held on with tape and the wooden bed frame was cracked. Having missed most of the first day of holidays the van then broke down on the morning of our third day. We were brought to the nearest town by the police and called the Apollo Assist team....24hours later still in this town with no mode of transport, apollo say they can arrange a tow truck to bring uds back to perth in 30 hours!There is a towing service here who are available to do it now.
Ireland · Mar 2026
G. Braga ★★★ 3.0/5
Avoid this company if you care about your money!
We were forced to buy their insurance in a really cheap sales effort. While booking online, we were aware that a NZD5,000 bond would be applied - but when we got there, the sales person pretty much forced us to book their insurance (for NZD$300) as a way to avoid paying NZD$450 on fees on top of the bond - that is obviously not charged when you book their insurance. We found it misleading and deceiving. The van was great and had everything to be made our to-go campervan company, except for the fact that they are desperate to make you spend any cent they can. What a horrible practice. Definitely won't be booking with them again - which is pretty sad considering the van was in really good conditions.
Australia · Mar 2026
J. M. ★★ 1.8/5
Rent from Apollo at your peril!
Rent from this company at your peril! Re. Apollo Rental 7th to 22nd December 2019 (Broome to Perth) After waiting for a month for Apollo's response to my complaints I wrote the following letter which contained photos to illustrate my complaints to Apollo customer service and CEO on 19th January which has been unanswered! (Believe me their service is just as shoddy as their vehicles) On returning my rental vehicle to your Perth base I made my complaints regarding the condition of the vehicle extremely clear to Amy, your guest service supervisor. She took a note of my complaints and promised me that in view of it being a Sunday that there wasn’t anything that she could do. Although, she had said numerous times that the service I received was ‘totally unacceptable’ and that Apollo had fallen short and let me down. She did however blame your agent in Broome for the state of the rental vehicle and felt that the responsibility lay with them, even though my contract was with Apollo! Amy promised me a full written response addressing all of my complaints within 24 hours sent to me by email. Almost one month later I have received nothing from Apollo and I’m still waiting for Apollo’s written response. It seems to me that your guest service supervisor is either a total imposter and doesn’t work for Apollo at all or she clearly needs extra training! Either way your customer support and “after service” was second to none, the operative word being none and totally unacceptable. On collection of my rental vehicle on Saturday 7th December 2019 in Broome, I was informed that the vehicle had been fully checked, cleaned, water tank filled, reserve battery fully charged and the main fuel tank filled and that I was ready to go….. The reality was very different: The vehicle hadn’t been cleaned properly. If it had been cleaned your agent would have been aware that it had “resident” mice. All the cupboards and drawers had mouse droppings, crumbs and pasta (mouse food). I cleaned inside the vehicle daily and found mouse droppings every day as well as chewed up food which I had to dispose of. I lost bags of nuts, oatcakes, apples, potatoes. In fact everything that wasn’t in a jar, a plastic tub or the fridge was contaminated by mice faeces and urine or eaten into. This was not acceptable, especially as we were travelling in remote areas with no shops or possibility to buy replacement of foodstuffs eaten or contaminated by the resident rodents. One of the chairs that came with the vehicle had clearly seen better days and was in an appalling state. If you sat in it you were almost sitting on the ground. Your agent in Broome was aware of the state of the chair, but apparently didn’t have a replacement available and told me to pop along to the shops to replace it if it totally collapsed. My travel plans didn’t include much urban exploring, most of it being off grid, hence the reason for renting this type of vehicle (Landcruiser). Shopping in my personal time for Apollo replacing furniture didn’t really feature in my agenda and was not possible in the remote areas we were travelling through. The water tank which I’d been told by your agent in Broome had been filled was not full at all! Perhaps your agent tried to fill the tank but assumed it was full when it wouldn’t take in any water - it seems that if there is a breather valve on the system it must be blocked as the only way to fill the water tank fully was to switch on the pump and drain a little water from the sink tap whilst filling the tank with the hose. No problem I thought as we were camping right on the coast and had a bucket, so I thought that it would be easy to use seawater to wash dishes etc. Unfortunately the ‘executive’ bucket was devoid of a handle and also had a hole in the bottom - Well done Apollo…. The spark igniter on the gas hob didn’t work and there was no way of lighting the hob without matches or a lighter neither of which were in the vehicle. The first morning after completing 1100kms the previous day both my husband and myself were really looking forward to a cup of coffee and had absolutely no way of lighting the hob so a cup of water had to suffice. On collecting the vehicle in Broome we were talked through how everything worked and it was explained that the ignitor button started the hob without the need of matches. Indeed our previous rental of the same type of vehicle from you 2 years earlier had the very same system and it worked! The waste water hose under the sink was broken resulting in waste water and food particles being splattered everywhere but into the bucket we use to dispose of wastes away from the vehicle. This resulted in the entire vehicle being invaded by biting ants. That is seriously invaded including the sleeping area. We were stung by them all of the way on the next leg of our journey until we managed to get hold of some ant killer spray. I tried to repair the hose but the jubilee clips holding the broken hose in place had seized and there were no tools provided with the vehicle, I’m afraid that a bread knife and a table knife weren’t really up to the job! The awning stay/stop over the passenger door was missing which rendered the awning totally useless as it was impossible to keep it in place without it. This was a real inconvenience to us as it provides extra living space with much needed shade from the sun and heat, which we had to live without for the whole of our rental. The roof catches for the pop up roof (a couple of which were seized) kept popping off whilst driving. The curtains inside the vehicle were both rotten, full of holes, ‘welded’ together and unable to close. This afforded us no privacy whatsoever. The drivers door and back door locks seized and couldn’t be unlocked with the key. This was a major inconvenience as I had to climb into the back of the vehicle over all of our baggage/gear from the passenger door to release the back door lock (neither my husband or myself are contortionists). I also had to climb in from the passenger side to release the driver door lock, which locked but would not open with the key. Early on in our trip during this procedure I lost my Kindle which must have fallen out of the camper. This had a major impact on my trip as I had no reading material other than the vehicle manual. We managed to release the seized lock on the back door with the help of some WD40 very kindly given to us by a fellow traveller we met in a layby. Unfortunately we couldn’t release the lock on the drivers door so I had to continue to unlock it climbing in from the passenger side. I still feel extremely aggrieved at losing my Kindle. If your vehicle had been fully fit for purpose and functioning as it should, I would never have lost it. The spare wheel looked as if it had seen better days, as it was quite worn and cracked and I’m not sure just how road legal it was. Fortunately, we never needed to use it. Unbelievably this vehicle was only two and a half years old! I’m extremely disappointed. It seems to me that Apollo really don’t care about either their vehicles or their customers. I paid Apollo AUD$4436.50 for the ‘privilege’ of renting a vehicle that really wasn’t fit for purpose and feel very let down by you. I fully accept that I was on a camping trip and have been on many such trips before which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. However this time Apollo have really let me down. As mentioned previously, most of my traveling was off grid with no phone or internet access, a very tight schedule and no extra time to spare. I was unable to contact Apollo during my trip. As I’ve said my time is my time and not Apollo’s and I fully expect Apollo to do their own maintenance in their time not mine. All in all, I received a shoddy vehicle and a shoddy service from you this time round! The vehicle package that I booked was not the vehicle package that I got and I feel that you are in breach of contract. I am looking for compensation for the extremely poor state of the vehicle you hired me, the loss of my Kindle due to the locks being seized and all the food we had to dispose of due to rodents being in the vehicle from the outset. I await your response Very disgruntled and unhappy Rent from this company at your peril!!!
United Kingdom · Mar 2026
I. Junco ★★ 1.5/5
The biggest fraud
We are really disappointed about apollo Brisbane, this was supposed to be the best place to book a camperhome and it’s not that.. The other day we arrived to get our camperhome and we had a very big problem. We arrived at 9:15am and we got our camperhome at 2pm. We booked a camperhome with a name and other friend of my school booked another camperhome at the same moment with his name but we pay the booking with the same card because my friend didn’t has his card at this moment. So, when we arrived this morning to get it, they said that we have to pay 2 camperhomes and we went to get just our camperhome with my name. They didn’t understood that it was not both camperhomes and they said that we have to pay for the cancellation of the other camperhome AFTER payed all the money for our car, 4000 dollars. They told us that after paying all the money for our camperhome and after told us that if we didn’t pay the other camperhome we didn’t have any camperhome. Do you think this is right ? We said to the guy who attended us, AARON that we don’t have 4000 dollar more for one that is not on our name!! Is not our booking, is the booking of a friend. Do you think it is normal that we pay a camperhome which is not booked on our names ? After a long conversation, for solving the problem we must had to pay 300 dollar More, we paid it for the others for finally take our camperhome because it’s was the only option for take it. We didn’t have choice... We had every campings booked during the next 10 days and it was Christmas! After he said that we must pay the rest when we come back but we don’t have this money and we are really not agree with that and we can’t pay it for one booking that is not our ! We can’t afford it because we don’t have that money we are students and it is not our contract. We also want to make another complain. We have been attended by a very rude vendedor, AARON BRANCH MANAGER, he told us that we have no problem for taking our camperhome, because we told him we just went to get one camperhome, our one,and not my friend’s one.He made us pay around 4000 dollars with a big smile, after paying that he told us that now we have a problem and told us that if we didn’t pay the cancellation of the other camperhome, which means paying all of it, 100%, we can’t take our camperhome. He wanted us to pay other 4000 dollars for the other. If we didn’t have the cancellation of the other people we didn’t get our car. We tried to talk to solve the problem and he was very arrogant and he didn’t let us talk, he didn’t treat us as costumers, just he repetead that we had two options, or we paid the cancellation of the other camperhome which its not ours, to be able to get ours, or lose 4000 dollars that we had already paid without getting any camperhome. So finally, after calling the police because we were feeling cheated, he gave us other option, pay 300 dollars for the other camperhome which is not our problem, for not losing the money that we had already paid and can get our car. After paying 300 dollars for solving the problem, He forced us to sign a paper of recognition of debts for could get our car, a debt of almost 3000 dollars, again cheating on us, if we didn’t sign it, we would lose 4500 dollars in total that we had already paid. At this moment, he said that we must sing it in two minutes, without giving us more time, he would cancel both camperhomes without returning any money and he said he will take the money of the card that paid the booking because he was able to do that. And it is my card, so he made us sign that for not losing our money and finally take the camperhome. He all the time told us the bad news after paying what he said to get our camperhome. We had not choice because we had all the campings booked everywhere, and he told us that sending this email probably all will be finished. We are in Australia to enjoy and visit your country, we choose Apollo because we listen and we saw that is the best company for booked camperhome but we are very disappointed for the problem that we had and how he treated us with a really bad behavior... We understand that it’s a problem for the company to loose money but it’s not our fault and they can’t charge us the debts. If someone can help us please..? We don't know what can we do!!! Also, yesterday we gave the camperhome and today I have a new charge around 80$ because the tell me that we arrive 10min late...its crazy, my good they are scammers I don't know if that is because we are student and we can do anything... Please help us...
Spain · Mar 2026
J. Doe ★★ 1.8/5
Terrible Service
Campervan was ok, service was awful, we asked during our pick up if we could change our drop off location due to the fires, was told this would not be a problem just call and change it. When we called to change our location, we got told the fires did not cause an issue and no roads had been closed and we could not change our destination location. I guess apollo did not think the smoke inhalation was an issue, my wifes lungs got very irritated from the smoke, apollo did nothing. When dropping off our camper, we sat in the waiting area for over an hour before any employee talked to us they were grossly understaffed! When we finally got service, the employee was not friendly and would not go through the camper with me to do a proper return. We will not be using apollo again and suggest anyone thinking to rent these campers should look else where.
United States · Mar 2026
virolo66 ★★★ 3.3/5
TRès déçus et mécontents
Nous avions loué un campervan 4X4, plus de 6 mois à l'avance, pour 1 mois. Le véhicule qui nous a été attribué ne correspondait pas à celui présenté sur le site : marque différente, autonomie moins importante et absence de la 2 eme roue de secours. Devant notre mécontentement, la réponse de l'employé " c'est ca ou rien". Impossible de partir de l'agence; batterie HS, chanceux ca aurait pu arriver sur la piste au milieu de nul part. le manager est intervenu et nous a fait un dédommagement financier. Mais nous avons du modifier notre parcours en raison de ces manquements. Deuxième détournement suite à panne, impossible de faire le plein, problème de mise à l'air libre, avons du rejoindre l'agence de Alice Spring pour réparation, une demie journée de perdue, avons réclamer un dédommagement qui a été attribué. Problème de gaz pour la plaque de cuisson, pour 4 semaines de location une bouteille de 500 g est fournie, environ 4 repas, pour 1 jour ou 1 mois une seule bouteille, réponse d'Apollo à notre réclamation : les suivantes sont payantes . Dernier problème , panne de la plaque de cuisson la dernière semaine, obligé d'aller dans des camping pour utiliser les Kitchens. Nous avions été satisfait lors de nos précédents voyages, mais très mécontent pour celui-ci, nous banisons Apollo THL de notre carnet d'adresse, est ce le regroupement sous la bannière THL qui génère cette dégradation du service ?
France · Nov 2024

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