Transportation

Our transport options for traveling around New Zealand range from car and motorhome hire to coach, ferry and rail travel.

Rental Cars

New Zealand Vacations are able to offer you extremely competitive car hire rates because we work with more than one car hire firm. 

We also go the extra mile to ensure we reserve the car most suited to your needs. This will be influenced by the distances you'll be traveling and the places you’ve chosen to visit.

The rental company we choose on your behalf will be influenced by the costs of their one-way drop off fees, their insurance costs, their GPS rental fees and the age of the their vehicle fleets. 

This is how the team here at New Zealand Vacations can guide you in making the right choice, because like airfares and accommodation, the choices are never as simple as they might first appear.

We offer the same service in regard to campervan, motorbike and cycle hires. 

Escorted Coach Touring

Not everyone is comfortable at the prospect of having to drive on the left hand side of the road while in New Zealand. 

Fortunately there's a large range of coach touring options available.  

One of these options is all-inclusive escorted coach touring, the ultimate in hassle free, relaxing travel. 

At New Zealand Vacations we work with all of the reputable coach touring companies including AAT Kings, APT, Scenic Tours and Kirra. These companies offer a range of accommodation choices, inclusions and meal packages and it's important to choose the one that best meets your needs.

At New Zealand Vacations we can advise and guide you in making the right choices and we can make reservations on your behalf.

Motorhomes

A motorhome is a great way to travel around New Zealand. There are many camping grounds located throughout the country offering high standards of facilities and the strength of the US dollar against the NZ dollar make a motorhome an attractive option.

In recent years there has been an explosion of new motorhome operators in New Zealand, from budget to luxury standard all of which vary in terms of quality and reliabilty. 

New Zealand Vacations has agreements with the best motorhome operators and can help you in three important areas - choosing the right company, gaining you access to the most competitive motorhome rental rates and making reservations on your behalf.

Driving In New Zealand

Some Important Advice

Words like 'motorway' and 'highway' take on a slightly different meaning when you visit New Zealand and it's important that you understand this before you arrive. 

Most importantly, once out of the major cities a 'motorway' or 'highway' doesn't necessarily mean two or three lanes in each direction. In fact  'highway' or 'motorway' will often mean just one lane in each direction!

This means that driving in New Zealand will be more intense than you might have expected especially when factoring in the need to drive on the left. 

So sharing the driving duties with a co-driver is a good thing, as are regular refreshment stops. Our website shows estimated driving times, but be aware that these do not factor in time for photo-stop opportunities and the like.

As mentioned elsewhere on the New Zealand Vacations website, early starts are always the best way to start your day.

Driving in Auckland

Auckland Traffic

Like many cities in the world, Auckland, the biggest city in the country, sometimes struggles to maintain smooth traffic flows during the peak traffic hours and delays can happen.

Our advice is to try and avoid driving during the Auckland rush-hours, especially between the busy week-day hours of 7:30 & 9:30 in the mornings and between 4:30 & 6:30 later in the day.

When the time comes for you to leave Auckland the team at New Zealand Vacations suggests you depart from Auckland as early as you can.

The good news is that because of the time difference between the USA and New Zealand, your body clock will be telling you it's time to wake up at about 5:00 am every morning!