Explore New Zealand... one of the best holiday travel destinations for relaxation, activities, and adventure experiences... Aotearoa

Campervan Rentals New Zealand

Campervan rentals New Zealand...
This is a country made for travelling in campervans!

Note... depending on which country you are in and variations in language and terminology, you may call it a motor home, motorhome, camper van, or RV. To cater for all visitors, you will see I have used these variations throughout this page.

To hire a camper van in NZ allows you to enjoy the absolute freedom of travelling across both islands while saving money. This is in comparison to other methods of travel that include the expense of both getting from place to place and accommodation.

Hiring four wheel drive campervans means you can go anywhere, stay at any beautiful location overnight, and not have to pay for accommodation. When you choose to take a holiday using motorhome rentals you are travelling in your accommodation.

The only additional cost is where you pay to stay overnight on a camp ground. The price you pay for a pitch at a camping and caravan site is minimal in comparison to the facilities, services, and safety factors that are provided. Also, you often get opportunities meet new people and make new friends at camp sites in NZ.

If you are looking for budget campervans the smaller types, makes, and models of campervans, and choosing motor home rentals outside of the main holiday season are going to provide the cheapest hire rates.

Choosing a Campervan Hire Company

There are a wide variety of companies for campervan rentals New Zealand, that offer so many different hire options, it can be very difficult to decide which one to choose out of hundreds of different types of rental camper vans.

The different types of camper van and motorhome hire companies to choose from are basically either large and international, or smaller and national companies providing campervan rentals New Zealand.

The national businesses do sometimes also hire campervans in Australia as well (but I wouldn't consider that to be totally international).

Large Companies

The biggest are international companies such as Avis, Hertz, Britz... some of the other large hire companies examples are Apollo, Maui, KEA, and Wicked Campers.

Apollo Motorhome Holidays offers a wide range of quality rental campervans and hire cars at very competitive prices around New Zealand. Book Online and Save!

An advantage of the larger hire and rental companies are that; they generally get new vehicles regularly and the older ones are rotated out of their fleet and they are more likely to be represented across the country with depots and agents, and you can often get one way hire.

One way hire is where you pick up the camper van in one town and drop it off in another so you don't have to do a return journey or round trip. Be aware that there can be a charge for dropping off at a different location to the pick up depot or collection location.

Smaller Companies

You may want to use a company that is a totally NZ business in all aspects. Small companies often provide the advantage of lower and budget priced rental vehicles and a more personalised service.

Also ask for one way hire if you want to pick up in one town and drop off in another. Just because they are a smaller company it does not mean that they will not be able to provide this service too.

Alternatively, you could go for campervans that target a particular type of traveller... such as backpackers and couples that are not looking for a big van. Smaller campervans also use less fuel and the insurance cost is likely to be lower!

For example, Hippie Campers which is a family run business specialising in low cost campervan rentals New Zealand for the budget conscious traveller. Hippie Campers are based in NZ but they also provide motorhome hire in Australia. Hippie Camper campervan rentals for the traveller who wants to hit the road on a budget and with a bit of style. They have 2 locations located Auckland and Christchurch. One way rentals are welcome.

Time of Year to Travel

Campervan rentals New Zealand is undoubtedly most affordable outside of the main summer holiday season. Late autumn to early spring, May to October, is your window of opportunity to get a really good budget or economy type deal on hiring campervans in NZ.

I found the start of the Spring season was an excellent time to travel round the South Island in a camper van, hardly any traffic and tourists and the holiday camp grounds had plenty of spaces so there was no need to book or panic about not finding anywhere to pitch for the night.

Although sometimes a bit chilly overnight, it was warm in the motorhome and incredibly dry and sunny most of the time... apart from some expected heavy rain on the west coast at Hokitika and Pancake Rocks.!

For more information about seasons for travel see my pages on New Zealand Campervans and New Zealand Seasons