Christchurch City car rental for a sunny Canterbury summer
The long twilight hits the Avon River just right as the summer sun stretches well past 9 PM, and the Botanic Gardens are bursting with colour. Finding a good Christchurch City car rental lets you chase that golden hour all the way from the Port Hills down to the turquoise swell of Akaroa Harbour. Locals call the stretch between December 28 and January 4 the peak of the silly season, when the whole country shuts down to eat leftover ham and hit the beach. Having your own wheels is the absolute best way to swap the city crowds for a quiet picnic at Lake Tekapo or a slow drive up the coast.
Ezi is running the entire show for this week, with five vehicles on the board ranging from $1029 up to $1757. A smart booker skips the big SUVs and looks straight at the Intermediate sedans to score a cheap rental cars Christchurch City rate. Grabbing that $1029 Toyota Corolla instead of the premium SUV leaves you over $700 in your pocket for fresh crayfish and gas station pies.
Four out of five cars on the lot are hybrids, which is fantastic news for long inland drives through the McKenzie Country where petrol stations are few and far between. A compact or intermediate car will swallow two large suitcases easily, but if you have a big family of seven you will need to jump on that single seven-seater quickly. Do your pickup early in the morning to skip the afternoon airport rush, and remember that State Highway 1 south of the city gets thoroughly baked by midday sun, so pack plenty of drinking water.