New Year road trip from Auckland International Airport
Late December at Auckland International Airport has its own feel: long golden evenings, jandals in the arrivals hall, and the whole country pointed at the beach. Everyone is headed somewhere, the Coromandel, the Bay of Islands or the Waiheke ferry, and the pickup queue shows it. Booking Auckland International Airport car rental for 31 December to 7 January puts you in the thick of the Kiwi summer rush. The data covers 110 listings across 7 nights, so there's plenty to weigh up.
Thrifty has the lowest average at $1719.42 and GO Rentals follows at $1768.28, with 18 listings and the single cheapest everyday car at $1092 (a Mystery Car). Budget averages $2338.85 and Alamo climbs as high as $4235, so the gap between the cheapest and priciest quote is 4.66 times. Check a few suppliers on the same car class before you pay, because the same Intermediate can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Most of the fleet seats five, which suits a family with two big suitcases and a chilly bin, and 9 listings seat seven if the cousins are coming too. State Highway 1 north and the Coromandel roads clog up around New Year's Day, so leave early or after dinner and keep the tank topped up. A hybrid like the Toyota Corolla Cross suits the winding coastal roads and saves you fuel stops, while 13 of the 110 listings show $0 and are best treated as unavailable.