Auckland Downtown in Chinese New Year week: lanterns, long evenings and a car for the coast
Mid February in Auckland is late summer at its best. The evenings stretch out golden over the Waitematā, the pavements are warm, and red lanterns for Chinese New Year still glow around the city. Families are in town for the celebrations, friends are flying in from overseas, and the airport pickup queue has a happy buzz. If you want to escape to Piha, the Waiheke ferry car parks or the Coromandel after a week of feasting, a rental from Auckland Downtown is the easiest way out. This 10 to 17 February window falls inside the holiday period, and with 18 cars on offer it pays to compare.
Thrifty is the story here. It supplies 14 of the 18 listings, starts at $1,207.02 for a Suzuki Swift, and averages $1,507.91, while Budget's four cars average $2,364.46. The median across everything is $1,584.10, and the priciest car costs 2.58 times the cheapest. Pick the size you really need and look at the Thrifty options first.
Twelve of the 18 cars seat five, which suits a family of four with suitcases in the boot, and three seat seven if the grandparents are coming along. Only three cars are hybrids, so book early if you want to save on fuel for a Coromandel loop. Summer traffic out of Auckland clogs up on Friday afternoons, so pick up your car mid morning and be on the motorway before the crowds. Quotes show no location or region fees, so the price you see is the price you pay.