Need an affordable base for your Melbourne holiday? Hoppers Crossing could be just the spot for you. In recent years, the suburb has been increasing in popularity amongst young families and first-time buyers who are eager to take advantage of the area’s affordable housing and short driving distance along Princes Highway into the city. 

What does that mean for your holiday? You can enjoy a thriving, fast-growing community with newly developed shopping destinations, cafes, restaurants, movie theatres and more. Close enough to the city that with a hire car you can be there in no time at all, far enough out that you avoid the high prices and jostling crowds.

Destinations sure to entertain the family

Hoppers Crossing is named after the Hopper family who lived there from the 19th century. The ‘crossing’ refers to the railway crossing of the Melbourne to Geelong line over the Princes Highway. This crossing and a grocery store were all that Hoppers Crossing had to offer visitors right up until the 1960s when residential homes began being built.

Nowadays, shopping is available in abundance at Werribee Plaza, with stores such as Myer, Woolworths, Big W and Coles. Hoppers Crossing also has numerous cafes, restaurants and new retail units being built.

Sporting facilities in the area include Mossfiel Reserve and Grange Reserve. The Wyndham Leisure and Events Centre has two swimming pools, as well as a gym and community function room for social events. For a fun day out, you can jump in your rental car and drive to Werribee Zoo which is less than ten minutes down the road.

Hire a car in Hoppers Crossing and explore Melbourne’s west

Despite its healthy population of nearly 40,000 people, Hoppers Crossing is still very much overshadowed by neighbouring suburbs and towns. Tarneit, to the north, has recently been connected to Melbourne on a much faster railway line. Werribee is also well-known for Werribee Open Range Zoo, Werribee Park Mansion, and Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre. These places are mere minutes away in your rental car from Hoppers Crossing and definitely worth a visit.

If you’re after the more traditional trendy Melbourne experience, Footscray in Melbourne’s west is considered to be one of the up-and-coming hipster destinations, with world-class coffee, live-music venues, bars and restaurants. It’s everything you could want from Melbourne without the need to go all the way into the CBD.

Pop down to Geelong or explore the Great Ocean Road

But Melbourne itself isn’t the only city you’ll be able to visit by basing yourself in Hoppers Crossing – it’s almost equidistant from both the Victorian capital and the more southerly bayside city of Geelong. 

Often considered the gateway to Victoria’s spectacular Great Ocean Road, Geelong is a bustling city of over 250,000 inhabitants and boasts the stunning beauty and charming small-town mentality you’d expect of Melbourne’s smaller sea-side cousin. 

The golf-courses are as renowned as the restaurants, and if you’re a fan of the outdoors and exercise you might even consider taking part in the annual Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – a cycling event that draws competitors from all over the nation. Just let your Hertz specialist know you’ll need to accommodate that bike when you book your car from the Hoppers Crossing pickup location!

If you’re looking for a base of operations for your Melbourne holiday, that gives you the freedom of visiting Melbourne and Geelong, look no further than Hoppers Crossing.