invisible

So it will be our (me and my wife) first trip in NZ in December for two weeks.

While I am trying to go thru all the information I want to ask if what are cost advantage/disadvantage to rent a car and stay in motels/cheap accommodation (whatever fits into that definition in December) vs renting a camper.

As I see right now, renting a reasonable camper for two weeks might run for NZ $1500. I understand that I have to add gas and park entrance/overnight fees pricing on top, but would like to know, what are other, hidden costs, and how much renting a camper would run per day, considering these costs.

I already spent $4000 on tickets (in economy) and really would like to minimize additional costs - especially on car rental and lodgings. Your suggestions are welcome.

RussellJ

We have had 2 trips to NZ (shoulder seasons) & used motorhomes both times & had great experiences. You are going to find Dec is right into high season & I saw some photos that showed huge lines at some capground facilities. Our camper was excellent for diesel use so fuel was not an expensive add on (owner had paid the road user charges-maybe check on this).
A web site I would highly recommend for background reading is https://www.rankers.co.nz/

Antonio8069

I have no experience with renting camper vans in NZ, but why would you consider this? If its to save $$$, rent a car and stay at hostels (http://www.bbh.co.nz/). You will meet interesting people & have a better experience!

invisible

Thanks for feedback. Camper rental was considered because I never had such an experience and wanted to try out.

After spending some time on research, it seems that renting a camper is not economical - with campground fees it would run into appx NZ $150/day. If I rent a car for $40/day I think I can find an accommodation for $100 or less for two.

Regarding car rental - did anybody have an experience renting car from ACE card rental?

For accommodation - thanks for the provided link and I am going to go thru it, the thing is that shared accommodation is not an option for us. We are in our late 40s and have certain requirement for lodging and now noise and have our own bathroom is must.

SpannerSpinner

You may need to recalibrate your expectations. $100/night for a room with ensuite bathroom in NZ at that time of year is not impossible, but nor is it easy, particularly at the holiday/tourist hot-spots.

number_6

A bit easier for USD 100 per night (presuming OP is from US), but still not easy. Good luck and take a look at B&Bs if wanting to get into resort areas. It is a thin market so not a lot of accomodation and everyone takes holidays at high season (as you are).

Travel K

When looking into camper vans, know there is a wide range of quality, as is all things in travel. Don't think Wicked is a good choice and although they are everywhere (actually, they might be banned right now, now that I type this) and Jucy is far from quality also. Granted, if you are in a Jucy van, people know you are a tourist and tend to be more forgiving in roundabouts, etc.

Mwenenzi

Where are you finding camp ground fees of ~ NZ$150/day. Is very high to me. There is a difference between camping (~tents) and caravan/holiday parks
http://www.holidayparks.co.nz/
http://www.camping.org.nz/
http://www.tourism.net.nz/accommodat...-holiday-parks
https://www.top10.co.nz/
1000's of people are travelling Kiwi land in campers (from small to enormous in size). A lot of the campers owned by 1 or 2 companies. As they get older they get re branded and rented out at a cheaper rate. After that they are on sold to very bottom of the market, like Wicked Campers and Eu backpackers

I have used Ace & Apex 2nd tier car rental companies with out problems. There are others. Some have on airport depots. The cars tend to ~5 year old (or more) Japanese cars. 10's of thousand of used cars, pickups & trucks are imported into NZ every year from Japan.

http://www.apexrentals.co.nz/
https://www.acerentalcars.co.nz/
https://www.jucy.co.nz/
http://www.rentalcar.co.nz/
http://www.gorentals.co.nz/
https://www.omegarentalcars.com/

Antonio8069

I also used both Ace & Apex. No issues. The thing you need to know is they use the same counters & agents as Hertz. etc. Just better rates.

(PM me if you want more specifics.........there is too much noise in this thread about camping for my liking!)

PV_Premier

i am headed down in two weeks, second trip to NZ. first time i rented a campervan from Britz, it was decent enough.

this time i rented from Wilderness NZ and got a screaming deal. their vans are much more luxurious/modern than Britz.

i prepaid it when the exchange rate was .64 USD/1 NZD. including full insurance my rental rate for 14 days was around $2600NZ I want to say, or about $1700US. this means that for around $115/day, I have both my rental car and my hotel room. i am flying down and back on UA miles, round trip in J...so i am getting a hell of a deal all told.

parking in a holiday park every 3rd night or so is a good plan. it's nice to be able to get onto external power, and have access to a better shower and a laundry machine. the aforementioned Rankers site and associated iPad App is a powerful tool for planning a campervan journey and has comprehensive reviews of all the available campsites in the country (both freedom and organized holiday parks).

RussellJ

If the OP is considering "wild camping" they also need to be aware of the restrictions of motorhomes having to be certified as "self contained"

Mwenenzi

Local government in NZ have restricted freedom camping in many places. That is staying overnight in car parks and the side on the road. More aimed at at low budget Eu/UK backpacker types in SUV's and vans. Many from Eu/UK travelling Kiwiland in a old (commercial) vans (Toyota Hiace, etc), that are not set up as camper/motor homes.

invisible

Well, no camper any more for sure - went and booked car for NZ $550 for 15 days at ACE. Now need to start mapping and booking lodgings alongside the route.

agilling

I'm heading to NZ in a couple weeks. I ended up booking a relocation campervan through Transfer Cars (https://www.transfercar.co.nz). It was 4 free days, $35/day for 3 extra days. Most of them are from Christchurch to Auckland, but my flight to Christchurch was only $60 so it made up for the cost. They throw in a ferry ticket too. I know there are some other relocation websites out there, so google away!

The campsites I've researched so far (mostly on holidayparks) are running about $30-40/nt.

PS, I got the $225 rt flight from SFO, so this trip is running me about $1000 total!