Ten spring days of Wellington wind, harbour light and open road
Late September into October is when Wellington International Airport shakes off winter, with low sun on the harbour, a brisk southerly rattling the windsock and the first lambs dotting the Wairarapa hills. Travellers fly in for the school holidays and the long National Day stretch, and the arrivals hall fills fast around the same few flights. Book your Wellington International Airport car rental ahead and you walk straight from the gate to the wheel instead of queuing behind a whole planeload. Ten nights gives you room for the Remutaka Hill road, the Kapiti coast and a ferry hop south if you fancy it.
This run is all Alamo, with 13 listings from $604 up to $2805 and a median of $642. The deals cluster at the bottom, where the Mystery Car ($604), Yaris ($611) and Corolla ($623) sit less than $20 apart. Lock one of those in and leave the $2805 Tesla for someone else.
Every car here seats five, so luggage is your real limit. A Yaris swallows two cabin bags and not much more, while a Corolla or the Pajero Sport gives you boot room for bigger suitcases. Wellington's gusts make a steady, heavier car feel calmer on the Remutaka Hill road, and the Pajero Sport is the one to pick if you plan on gravel or want a diesel. Collect in daylight if your flight allows, because that first drive out past the runway and along Cobham Drive is far easier when you can see the sea.