Chasing Chinese New Year sunshine out of Wellington Airport
Mid February in Wellington brings long summer light, a harbour glittering below the hills and that famous wind rattling the terminal windows at Rongotai. Chinese New Year lands just before this week, so the arrivals hall is full of families reuniting and visitors setting off to see the country. Everyone wants wheels the second they step outside, and Wellington Airport car rental desks fill fast when a holiday lines up with school-holiday travel. I checked 80 listings for 10 to 17 February, and the median quote comes in at $1,491 for the seven nights.
Sixt is the surprise, with its four cars averaging $730 and the cheapest at $593.04, while Ezi follows with seven listings averaging $1,016. Hertz is at the other end, averaging $2,143 across seventeen cars, and the gap from cheapest to dearest is 4.59 times. Five listings showed no price at all, so the smart move is to compare every supplier, lock in a Sixt or Ezi car early and skip the big-name premiums.
Most of the fleet seats five, which suits a Wellington to Wairarapa or Kapiti Coast run with suitcases in the boot, but seven-seaters are scarce at only 10 listings. Hybrids like the Corolla and RAV4 make sense here, since the hills out of the city and the long Cook Strait ferry queue both reward good fuel economy. Pick up early in the day if you can, because the airport gets busy once the midday flights land, and a hatch will squeeze into city parking far better than a big wagon.