Ten spring nights around Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula
Late September in Dunedin is spring trying on four seasons in one day. Mornings are cold at the airport on the Taieri Plain, then the afternoons turn bright and windy, and the hills around the harbour are green with new lambs. This 10-night window from 26 September to 6 October overlaps the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, so plenty of families are heading south for the albatross colony, the penguin beaches and the Catlins. If you are sizing up Dunedin Airport car rental for that stretch, the numbers below show where your money goes.
We found 25 listings, with a median of $1176.22 and a cheapest fare of $835, though 3 listings came back at zero, so skip those. GO Rentals and Europcar are the budget pair, averaging $1120 and $1134.94, while Hertz runs from $1097.38 all the way up to $3029.39. Compare the same car class across suppliers before you book, because the gap between cheapest and priciest is 3.63 times.
Most of the fleet seats 5, so a family of four with bags will be comfortable in a Compact or Intermediate, and a hybrid like the Toyota Yaris or RAV4 goes a long way on the Peninsula and Catlins drives. Early October brings frosty patches on the Dunedin to Taieri road and sudden showers on the coast, so a 4x4 like the Ford Wildtrak ($1465) only makes sense if you plan to tackle gravel roads. Collect your car in the morning, when the airport counters are quiet and you can reach the city before the afternoon wind kicks in.