Kangaroo Island ferry - any discounts out there?

[Warks]

We've arranged our travel to SA for the Sept-Oct school hols and already booked accommodation for Kangaroo Island staying three nights. It was only when I looked at booking the car ferry from Cape Jarvis to Penneshaw that I thought about cancelling the visit! Absolutely obscenely expensive. There's no other words for it. It's a 45 minute one way trip. For a car with two adults and two kids (not babies) the pricing is:
$242 one way!:shock:
Or a bargain $460 return!:evil:

So this is way over the top and must put a lot of people off. I guess if the ferry is always full then maybe they have the pricing right. However in a monopoly they could charge $1000 each way and people would still have to pay it.

Being a cheapskate I'm a little bit annoyed at paying three nights' worth of accommodation for an hour and a half on a leaky boat. The only discounts they lead you to involve accommodation. As we've already booked that we don't have a chance to save there.

I did find one business offering a $384 return but that was a car and two adults only so with the kids tacked on it's probably not much of a saving. Hide the kids under the luggage??

So if anyone has any ideas how to make a saving here I'm all ears. Thanks.


Anyone know about any of these discounts including the QF one?
Do you have a discount - Sealink Australia

 

[blackcat20]

Cant help with any discounts, but yes, it is expensive. I had to use it for a day trip; no accommodation available due to the races but I had to be there that day for field work. And spent the trip back to the mainland being harassed by a not-so-charming drunk racegoer. Thats the problem with monopolies.

 

[ksthommo]

Cant help you with the discount.

Planned to do the trip a few years back, went to Tassie instead.

Here's an old SMH article Why we can't compete with overseas holidays

 

[Warks]

Cant help you with the discount.

Planned to do the trip a few years back, went to Tassie instead.

Here's an old SMH article Why we can't compete with overseas holidays

Yes I found that article when I was googling "Cape Jarvis ferry ripoff" or something like that!

 

[Awesom Andy]

The closest thing to a "discount" is booking accommodation together as a package. It's slightly cheaper that way. Not sure how long you plan to stay on the island, but for short trips, the costs of flying in from ADL would work out to not be too different.

 

[Fifa]

Many years ago we lived in SA for almost 5 years. I always wanted to got to Kangaroo Island for a holiday but the ferry costs always put me off:shock:.
Seems nothing has changed.

 

[Shelf]

Specials on the ferry are few and far between.

 

[ozmille]

we did it as an accommodation and ferry package as well. Expensive weekend though :shock:

 

[Rox]

Have you looked at passenger fares only, then hiring a car?
A friend and I did that some years ago.
We were able to laugh about it later but we found that almost every "attraction" on Kangaroo island found a way of charging you something for basically nothing, most notably the $2 fee for watching them throw fish guts to the pelicans, and the sheep dairy tour (looking through a window) - we waited ages for the tour to start while people came and went, then realised we had done it!
Hopefully it has improved. Did love the national park end though, where we did a seal watching walk.

 

[Warks]

Have you looked at passenger fares only, then hiring a car?
A friend and I did that some years ago.
We were able to laugh about it later but we found that almost every "attraction" on Kangaroo island found a way of charging you something for basically nothing, most notably the $2 fee for watching them throw fish guts to the pelicans, and the sheep dairy tour (looking through a window) - we waited ages for the tour to start while people came and went, then realised we had done it!
Hopefully it has improved. Did love the national park end though, where we did a seal watching walk.

I thought about dropping the car off at the airport and flying then hiring another car! Probably works out the same.
As we've already hired a car it's a bit tricky now. With hindsight I might have done it differently.

What it will come down to is that I'll just have to suck it up and pay it as it's a one-off thing. That's how they get away with it. Doesn't do much for repeat business though. I assume residents of the island don't pay anything like that amount.

 

[markis10]

I thought about dropping the car off at the airport and flying then hiring another car! Probably works out the same.
As we've already hired a car it's a bit tricky now. With hindsight I might have done it differently.

What it will come down to is that I'll just have to suck it up and pay it as it's a one-off thing. That's how they get away with it. Doesn't do much for repeat business though. I assume residents of the island don't pay anything like that amount.

Did you check to see if the hire car company will allow Kangaroo Island, I thought there were signs at ADL for most saying no?

Edit : Looks like Hertz is OK, just not allowed to take Island rentals off.

https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/rese...s.jsp?KEYWORD=DRIVINGRESTRICTIONS&EOAG=CNST50

Although vroom vroom seem to think different:

Car rentals on Kangaroo Island?

Only Thrifty allow their vehicles (collected from Adelaide and Adelaide Airport) to travel to Kangaroo Island - with very strict conditions that apply to the rentals. The ferry costs around $400 for a vehicle and 2 adults return. Check Thrifty terms and conditions of rental.

Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Europcar do not allow vehicles from the Australian mainland to travel to Kangaroo Island.

Hertz and Budget have depots ON Kangaroo Island.

http://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au/content/south-australia-car-rental/kangaroo-island.asp

 

[Shelf]

Correct, residents get a reduced rare.

I've done the ferry twice and had a 'rough as guts' trip where I was rather seasick. I've also experienced a trip where I'm sure I could have played billiards.

Hopefully you experience the latter!

Edit : petrol is quite a bit more expensive on KI,fill up before you leave the mainland.

 

[markis10]

Hmm, Avis is a no:
You and any Authorised Driver must not, unless authorised in writing by Avis, drive or take the Vehicle:
(a) to Gove Peninsula or any island off the coast of Australia (including, but not limited to, Kangaroo Island, Bruny Island, Fraser Island, Magnetic Island, Groote Eylandt or the Tiwi Islands


You would think there would be a * on their Adelaide page:

Adelaide Airport Car Hire (ADL)Adelaide Airport sits less than half a kilometer from the shores of Holdfast Bay. In mere minutes with a car hire from Avis at ADL Airport, you can be relaxing on the sand or teeing up at Lockleys, Novar Gardens, or West Beach Golf Courses. As the capital of South Australia, Adelaide was the original home to two of Australia's most famous businesses in News Corporation and Holden. Today, Australian auto enthusiasts can book car hire at Adelaide Airport for a number of Holden models from Avis including the Commodore, Calais, Statesman, or Astra convertible. Take your car hire for a drive south from Adelaide to Cape Jervis and catch a ferry across Gulf St Vincent to Kangaroo Island. Or stay in the CBD for celebrations ranging from the Fringe Festival to Writers' Week. Avis has you covered for airport car hire in Adelaide, South Australia.

http://www.avis.com.au/car-rental/html/Landing/adelaide-car-hire.html?mid=local-lpg

 

[Warks]

Hmm. That's a completely unjustified pain in the a... Have already booked the car through Europcar after chasing a deal. Now that's looking dicey. They obviously try to discourage people going to KI. I wonder why they advertise it so much in Sydney.

What is it with these car hire companies and their 'rules'? Some places say you can't drive on gravel/dirt roads. I often bring a car back covered in mud - I would just say "road works" if they asked. I recall from Cairns you couldn't go across the Daintree River (is that still the case?) or drive to Undara.

 

[Rox]

Hmm. That's a completely unjustified pain in the a... Have already booked the car through Europcar after chasing a deal. Now that's looking dicey. They obviously try to discourage people going to KI. I wonder why they advertise it so much in Sydney.

What is it with these car hire companies and their 'rules'? Some places say you can't drive on gravel/dirt roads. I often bring a car back covered in mud - I would just say "road works" if they asked. I recall from Cairns you couldn't go across the Daintree River (is that still the case?) or drive to Undara.

Can't remember which company but we caught the bus from adelaide and hired the car on the island
From what I can remember the roads were fine but our insurance was void if we drove after dark. That wasn't a problem. Can't remember many roos tho.

 

[Warks]

I just looked up the Europcar site and found this in their T&C.

6.9 You must never take the Vehicle:(a) Off Road;
(b) between mainland Australia and Tasmania in either direction;
(c) onto any island that is off mainland Australia or Tasmania, with the exception of:
(i) Kangaroo Island;
(ii) Stradbroke Island;
(iii) Magnetic Island;
(iv) Bribie Island; or
(v) Phillip Island;

So according to that KI is okay. You can also get prior permission to take cars to certain places apparently (in the event that they grant it of course).

 

[markis10]

I just looked up the Europcar site and found this in their T&C.



So according to that KI is okay. You can also get prior permission to take cars to certain places apparently (in the event that they grant it of course).

Asked at Hertz in BNE this morning and they were of the view it should be OK.

 

[Warks]

Thanks again to everyone for their feedback and help.

I was wondering if anyone from SA had an "Entertainment Book". We used to buy these through the kids' primary school and would go out of our way to use as many coupons as possible - movies and tourist attractions anyway - not fine dining!

The Sealink site mentions the Book so I was wondering if anyone had a book to check at present. If it is in there I'd be happy to buy a book as there would probably be a few things we could use on the holiday. They are usually around $50 or so but if you are doing tourist things you make that back pretty quickly.

Entertainment Book - your local dining and activity guide

 

[markis10]

Thanks again to everyone for their feedback and help.

I was wondering if anyone from SA had an "Entertainment Book". We used to buy these through the kids' primary school and would go out of our way to use as many coupons as possible - movies and tourist attractions anyway - not fine dining!

The Sealink site mentions the Book so I was wondering if anyone had a book to check at present. If it is in there I'd be happy to buy a book as there would probably be a few things we could use on the holiday. They are usually around $50 or so but if you are doing tourist things you make that back pretty quickly.

Entertainment Book - your local dining and activity guide

You can buy them online and nominate the charity now.

 

[Warks]

Thanks - searched the online copy and found a 25% discount - that's a decent bit of dough considering how overpriced it is. Still more than double what I'd like to pay but that's not going to happen! Mind you reading between the lines the discount is off the passengers and not the car. Will see.

I can't see how to buy it online though. It looks like you have to visit the charity's website.