The first thing to look for when hiring any vehicle on the Gold Coast, or anywhere, is that the scooter is new, preferably not more than a year old, and is still in great condition. Too many companies think they can get away with hiring rubbish scooters which have been used and abused over a very long period of time.
Remember, you are paying for this hire. You want to be the scooter to be as reliable as it can possibly be, and still look very good.
Proximity
If you are coming to the Gold Coast, you have to realise that Gold Coast is huge. Surfers Paradise is only a small part of the actual city and does not offer the best attractions.
Make sure you can get to the place where you are hiring a scooter from. There are companies, such as Thrill Rider, which deliver the scooters to your door or hotel room. This makes it very convenient as the scooter can be waiting for you at your hotel before you even get there.
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You do not want to be riding around Gold Coast, having paid for a scooter, in a bill board. Too many scooter companies plaster the stickers all over their scooters with web addresses, logos and other junk. It wont cost you any more to get a non marked scooter to ride around on. This way it will feel as if the scooter is actually yours.
Price
Scooters on the Gold Coast go from $60/hour to $100 per day. However, the best thing you can possible do is to hire a scooter for a few days or ever a week. There are services which offer full week hires for as little as $250 per week.
Legal mombo jumbo
Make sure you are legally allowed to ride a scooter on the Gold Coast. Even though I’ve never heard of anyone getting a ticket because their license was from another state, I can not say for sure that you wont. Remember, in Australia, the state in which you hold your license governs what you can do with it.
For example, if you are in QLD and still have you NSW license, you must abide NSW rules and regulations. However, the police on the Gold Coast are pretty lenient towards tourists.
Pillion Passengers
In Queensland, you are not allowed to have a pillion passenger riding behind you if you do not hold a full motorcycle license. I’ve seen many people get away with it though, but you should keep in mind that this is illegal.
It is cheap enough for everyone to get their own scooter anyway, so why risk it?
If you, however, hold an open motorcycle license, you might want to give it a go. Most companies will not charge you for extra helmets.
Killometers
When you hire a scooter you won’t have to worry about restrictions on how many KM’s you do. This simply means that you won’t have to deal with any more costs unless you crash the scooter.