Ten spring nights of Auckland Domestic Airport road trip freedom
Late September in Auckland is a mood swing, and a good one: bright mornings, a sudden shower rolling in off the Manukau, then low gold light on the tarmac by late afternoon. Spring school holidays are around the corner and the Mid-Autumn Festival is bringing families together, so the arrivals hall at Auckland Domestic Airport fills up with people hauling suitcases and moon cake boxes. Ten nights from 26 September to 6 October is enough to head up to the Bay of Islands, loop the Coromandel, or drive down to Rotorua without watching the clock. Booking Auckland Domestic Airport car rental early matters here, because 13 of the 18 listings we checked came back with no price at all.
Only 5 listings showed a real price, and the spread is wide: $781.75 at the bottom, a median of $1,121.75, and $2,041.75 at the top. Ezi owns both the cheapest and the priciest quotes, while Sixt offers one flat $948.73 Intermediate that sits right in the middle. If two or three of you are travelling light, lock in the Ford Puma. If you want a bit more cabin room, check the Sixt option.
Spring on the Auckland motorways brings wet patches in the morning and school-holiday traffic on the Southern Motorway, so pick up early and be out of the city before the afternoon crawl. Hybrids dominate the fleet, which suits stop-start Auckland driving and long highway stretches alike. Five seats cover most groups, but a family with big bags should look at the 7, 8 and 9 seat options, and anyone heading for gravel roads or the Coromandel hills will be glad of the Hilux or Prado with 4WD.