Two weeks of Canterbury summer and Spring Festival road trips from Christchurch
Early February in Christchurch means long, bright evenings, warm sun on Hagley Park and a nor'wester that can turn the plains hot by afternoon. The Spring Festival fortnight draws visitors who want more than the city, with Akaroa, Lake Tekapo and the Southern Alps all within a day's drive. Leave the airport and the Port Hills are already behind you, the open road stretching ahead. A Christchurch City car rental for these 14 nights is the easiest way to see all of it on your own schedule.
Ezi is the only supplier with prices showing for 7 to 21 February, and two other listings came back with no price, so I'd treat those as unavailable. Among the three that do have prices, the gap is wide: the most expensive quote is 1.86 times the cheapest. If you're hunting cheap rental cars in Christchurch City, the $1848 Corolla Cross Hybrid is the one to grab before it goes. Book early, because a fortnight over a festival leaves little room to wait.
Most of the fleet is hybrid, which suits the long Canterbury straights and the climb over to Arthur's Pass without constant fuel stops. Five seats is the norm here, so count your luggage before settling on the Corolla Cross, and look at the seven-seater if you're travelling with a big group. State Highway 1 gets busy on summer weekends, so pick up early and you'll be past Rolleston before the traffic builds. The roads are dry in summer, but leave extra time for the winding road down to Akaroa, where the views earn a few slow stops.