Queensland school holidays: booking a rental car and the traffic

When are the Queensland school holidays?

The Department of Education publishes the state school calendar: term dates, staff professional development days and school holidays. Its current-year page covers 2026, and a separate future-dates page lists 2027 onwards.^[1][2] These are the breaks still to come at the time of writing (October 2026).

School goes back for 2027 on Wednesday 27 January, the day after Australia Day.^[2] The department also lists staff professional development days (in 2027: 21, 22 and 25 January, 8 and 9 April, and 3 September) and a separate list of state schools with an extended summer holiday.^[2] These are state school dates; if your children go to a non-state school, check that school's own calendar.

Which public holidays fall inside the school holidays?

Several do. From the Queensland Government's public holiday list:^[3]

• Summer 2026–27: Christmas Day (Friday 25 December), Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December, with an extra holiday on Monday 28 December), New Year's Day (Friday 1 January 2027) and Australia Day (Tuesday 26 January 2027).^[3]
• Autumn 2027: the whole Easter long weekend, Good Friday 26 March to Easter Monday 29 March, sits at the start of the break.^[3]
• Spring 2027: the King's Birthday holiday, Monday 4 October, is the last day of the holidays.^[3]

Good Friday, Easter Monday and the King's Birthday all land on weekdays, when we would normally be open. Any day we close for a public holiday is published like our other closures and shown on the Hendra location page, so check there before you pick a pickup or return date that falls on one.

Christmas and New Year have their own guide: renting a car over Christmas and New Year covers those holiday days in detail.

How far ahead can you book a rental car for the holidays?

Rentzy rents from a single yard in Hendra, so there is no other branch to borrow a car from when holiday dates fill. You can book up to 180 days ahead. Bookings need at least 24 hours' notice before pickup, so a last-minute holiday booking still has a cut-off.

• Choose the car type first. Our cars page shows each car and its weekly price; the quote shows the total for your dates before you pay.
• Check the minimum. Each car has its own minimum rental, shown with the car (at the moment 8 weeks for every car).
• Weekly or longer? If the whole summer break is the plan, compare weekly and monthly rental costs before you book.
• Book in the name of the person who'll drive. Only the hirer may drive a Rentzy car, and the licence is checked at pickup.

Plans change in holidays. At the time of writing, our cancellation rules are: Cancel 48 hours or more before pickup: everything you paid online is refunded. Cancel less than 48 hours before pickup: we keep A$100 (the deposit). Not collecting the car (a no-show): we keep A$100. Returning the car early: unused days are not refunded. If we have to cancel, everything you paid is refunded. More in cancelling a booking.

Can you pick up on the first Saturday of the holidays?

Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Closed Saturday and Sunday. Most breaks in the table begin on a Saturday, so the practical pickup is the Friday before. Coming back, a break that ends on a Sunday means returning on the Friday before it, or on the Monday when school is back. Also closed: Friday 25 December 2026 (Christmas Day).

Pick a pickup time that suits the traffic, not just the calendar. A morning slot leaves more of the day for the drive itself and for anything at the counter that takes longer than planned.

What is the traffic like when the holidays start?

Rather than guess, check. QLDTraffic, the Queensland Government's road conditions site, has a future-travel planner that shows planned roadworks and special events for the date you choose, and it asks you to look again just before you leave because only already-known information is shown.^[4] On the day, the live map adds crashes, hazards, congestion and flooding, plus traffic cameras.^[4]

• Adjust your departure on the first Saturday and the last Sunday of a break if the planner shows roadworks or events on your route.
• Share the driving on long trips and stop every couple of hours; our guide to long drives and fatigue has the details.
• Summer means storms. If heavy rain or flooding is forecast, see driving in storms and floods before you go.

School zones run to the hours on each sign; our guide to school zones in Queensland explains how they work during the holidays and on pupil-free days.