Christmas in the Capital: A Wellington Summer Road Trip Awaits
Touch down at Wellington International Airport on Christmas Day and the light hits differently: long, gold, slanting across the harbour while a northerly ruffles the tussock on the Miramar hills. The terminal is quiet in that rare holiday-morning way, queues short, the rental counters almost serene. This is the week Kiwis head to Wairarapa vineyards, Tararua tramps, and the Coromandel via the ferry, so locking in your Wellington International Airport car rental before the rush is the difference between a smooth pickup and a Boxing Day scramble.
Alamo is the only name on the board for these dates, with 14 listings ranging from $1,424.73 for the Mystery Car to $3,850 for a Tesla Model Y Long Range, and a median of $1,566.81. Translation: the savings live in the small-car end, where Economy and Compact options sit in the mid $1,400s, a gap of nearly $900 to the cheapest fullsize SUV. A smart booker grabs the cheap small car early and spends the difference on Martinborough cellar doors.
The whole fleet seats five, and with 9 standard petrol cars versus 3 hybrids and a single EV, refuelling is simple: petrol stations are everywhere on the SH1 and SH2 corridors. Pack light if you take a compact, and check the wind forecast before crossing the Remutaka Hill Road to the Wairarapa, because summer nor'westers up there can shove a light car around. Book the earliest Christmas Day pickup slot you can; the airport approach on Stewart Duff Drive jams quickly once morning flights land.