Wellington Airport car rental for a Lunar New Year Summer Road Trip
Mid-February in Wellington is when the wind finally softens and the harbour turns that deep gunmetal blue you only get in late summer. Lunar New Year lands on February 10 in 2027, and the city answers with lanterns along Courtenay Place and dumpling steam fogging up every window in Chinatown. Travellers fly in for the festivals, then stay for the Cook Strait views, the Wairarapa wine country an hour over the hill, and the long golden evenings that stretch past 8pm. If you are booking car hire in Wellington Airport for the full fortnight, here is what the numbers say.
Avis holds the cheapest quote of the period at $1,194 for a Mazda 3, and Ezi averages just under $1,865 across its fleet, so the bargains sit with those two. The median across all 79 listings sits at $2,446, which tells you the market skews pricey once you move past the budget tier. A smart booker grabs the compact hatch or small SUV early, because eight listings already show zero availability and the cheap categories always sell out first over a holiday that spans two full weekends.
The fleet leans petrol with 27 listings, but hybrids are close behind at 17, which is what I would choose for a February loop that includes the Rimutaka Hill Road and the coastal drag to Castlepoint. Five-seaters dominate with 60 of 79 cars, so if you need seven seats for the extended family reunion, do not shop slowly. Book an early morning pickup, before the midday international arrivals jam the terminal forecourt, and pack light, because compact boots fill fast after a stop at the Wairarapa farmers markets.