Looking for RV rental in New Zealand

[huntoon]

Flying into Christchurch in late January. Then heading down to Queenstown. I'd like to rent a RV to put around in. Does anyone know a good RV/camper rental company?

Thanks.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

KEA. Maui.
Pretty expensive, but good stuff....

Cheers,
Peter

 

[huntoon]

Thanks for the recommendations Peter_n_Margaret, I will check them out.

 

[hoser]

We rented from Apollo in Christchurch and everything went fine.

 

[Billhilly]

Plenty of options, Google Christchurch camper van will bring up a lot of options.

http://www.jucy.co.nz/locations/christchurch_rental.aspx
http://www.maui.co.nz/campervan-hire-locations/Pages/christchurch-airport.aspx
http://www.britz.co.nz/campervan-hire-locations/Pages/christchurch.aspx
http://www.podrentals.co.nz/cheap-camper-van-hire-christchurch/

Make sure to factor in all your insurance. I went down with my daughters last year. They (Maui) don't figure single vehicle accidents are 'accidents' so require insurance on top of the insurance!
We drove this loop -



Really have to go to work now but, one thing to check out are the DOC campgrounds. Really fantastic locations for just a few bucks per night.

 

[huntoon]

Thank you billhilly. I will look into the DOC campgrounds.

Was the auto-insurance on your credit card insufficient? I checked mine with a couple rental companies and they seemed to say it was okay. This has worked for me in other countries. Thanks

 

[huntoon]

Also, that is pretty much the same route we are planning. How many days did you take? Did you feel rushed? We have 10 days.
Thanks.

 

[Billhilly]

Thank you billhilly. I will look into the DOC campgrounds.

Was the auto-insurance on your credit card insufficient? I checked mine with a couple rental companies and they seemed to say it was okay. This has worked for me in other countries. Thanks

The DOC camps were an absolute revelation. Really magnificent locations, and pretty low fees. No facility's much, but if you're self contained in your camper you are good to go. We alternated between them, and full camp grounds so we could shower/wash.
Don't know anything about insurance on your credit card, maybe a US thing. Interesting it has worked in other countries. We went with Maui, second tier (4-5 yr old?).

Also, that is pretty much the same route we are planning. How many days did you take? Did you feel rushed? We have 10 days.
Thanks.

We flew into Christchurch (from Wellington) and spent 13 days on the road. Rushed, well we drove all except two of the days. We did a total of 2500k's. Depends how many k's you are planning on trying to do I guess. MUCH different driving conditions than the US. Narrow windy two way roads, will mean a much lower average travel speed than you are used to. The Arthurs Pass, West Coast, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Mt Cook loop certainly takes in some pretty spectacular scenery. I guess the bottom line is with ten days on the ground you will have full days regardless!

DOC list here - http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-stay/campsite-information/full-list-of-south-island-campsites.pdf

Let me know if you need any more info.

PS. I uploaded some photo's to an album on here, but never made the trip report! If you have a look in the albums (under my name) you'll see some pictures of the trip. Scroll over them gives you a brief description.

 

[victoria-g]

Hey, I highly recommend Travellers Autobarn! It's a more simple campervan set up if you're alright travelling without a shower - especially if you're staying in campgrounds. I found it was the best price for value if you travel on a budget like me