Some car rental companies require full payment prior to arrival, whereas some companies require a deposit to confirm the booking with the balance due at pick-up.

All car hirers must have a credit card for the payments at pick-up, including the Bond. The credit card used for payment must be in the renter's name and embossed on the front of the card. The renter's signature must appear on the back on the card.

Cancellation fees are payable for all car hire bookings. Please refer to your quote for the cancellations fees pertaining to your booking.

All cancellations must be in writing and can either be per email, facsimile, or by letter. No cancellation will be accepted unless received in writing and received by us directly from you. The date that we receive the cancellation notice is the date that it is deemed cancelled.

Refunds will not be made for bookings cancelled due to inclement weather, illness in the family, etc. We strongly recommend that you take out personal travel insurance, including cancellation insurance!

Baby Capsules

Recommended for children:
- newborn to 6 months (approximately)

Some car rental companies permit baby capsules in their cars. Please check check individual vehicle specifications for more details. If you intend to bring your own baby capsule, it must be secured to an anchor point and comply with the strict New Zealand child restraint standards.

For New Zealand car hire, all drivers must be 21 years and over and hold a valid, current and full (i.e. non-provisional) car driver’s licence. Please note that Apollo and Cheapa require drivers to have held their full licence for at least 2 years.

All licences must be readable in English. If the licence is not readable in English (e.g. if the licence is in German, French, Chinese, etc), an International Driver's Permit (IDP) must also accompany the country licence. The IDP is not a licence (therefore you still need to bring your licence). An IDP provides an approved English translation of your licence. International clients are also required to show their passports as a form of identification.

Copies or photocopies of licences are not accepted and all drivers must be present at pick-up to sign the Rental Agreement.

Some rental companies have a maximum age limit (e.g. 75 years). Please refer to the relevant rental company's Terms & Conditions.

Most car hire companies permit their vehicles to travel to the snowfields. However they normally restrict the types of vehicles that you can take and an additional snow coverage policy is compulsory. If a client travels to the snowfields without purchasing the additional snow coverage, they will be liable for all costs associated with any accident or incident.

Clients can supply and fit their own chains however chain damage is not covered. Clients can supply and fit their own roof racks however roof damage is not covered.

The Excess or Liability is the amount of money that you are responsible for if the vehicle or any third party property is damaged while on hire. This is regardless of who actually causes the damage.

The Excess/Liability can be up to NZ$2813.00. So, for example, if you are involved in an accident (regardless of whether you are at fault or not), you would be liable for the first $2813.00 worth of damage.

The car rental companies therefore offer a number of protection options to reduce this Excess or Liability. The amount of protection that you take (or do not take) determines the amount of your Security Deposit (Bond). More information on each company's Excess or Liability reduction packages are available in their Terms and Conditions.

Many car hire companies offer "flex rates". Flex rates are based on a simple system of supply and demand. So when there are a large number of vehicles available for hire from a particular branch, then the rental rate is lower (and vice versa).

Flex rates are released each week. The rates can therefore change (i.e. increase or decrease) from one week to the next, depending on the movement of vehicles between branches. To secure the current rate, you must book by Saturday (Australian time). After Saturday, the rate may change for the coming week. (We cannot offer flex rates that were displayed weeks or months ago).

Special conditions apply for making changes to a flex rate booking - please refer to the rental company's terms and condtions for more details.

In New Zealand, 2WD cars use unleaded petrol (gasoline) and some 4WD cars use diesel. Fuel is sold by the litre. Petrol and diesel fuel costs between NZ$1.10 - AU$1.40 per litre and can be higher especially in country areas.

For current fuel prices in New Zealand, please visit Price Watch.

One way rentals are possible but minimum rental periods apply. A fee may also apply for particular one way rentals. Some companies also place restrictions on which cars can travel on a one way rental or not. Please refer to the rental company's terms and condtions for more details.

If you plans on travelling in both New Zealand's North and South Islands, you will need to take the Interislander Ferry between Wellington and Picton. Some car hire companies permit you to take the car aboard the ferry, so you need to pay for the car and all passengers. Other rental companies do not permit ferry travel, so they require you to return the car at your departure point (e.g. Wellington) and collect another car at your arrival point (e.g. Picton).

Car hire is based on 24-hour periods. This means that if you collect your car at 9am on Monday and return it by 9am on Tuesday, this is counted as 1 days' rental. If you return the car after the 24 hour period, this constitutes another days' rental.

We strongly recommend that you take out your own Personal Injury Travel Insurance. The insurance options to reduce the Excess/Liability on the rental vehicle do not include cover for personal injury or loss of personal belongings.

Some clients may wish to use their own travel insurance (for example, through their credit card company) to cover the Excess/Liability on the rental vehicle. In regards to using insurance from another source, the rental companies will still require you to cover their Excess/Liability (e.g. NZ$2813.00) up front. This is because the insurance cover is between you and the independent source, not the rental company and the insurer. Also, you may not be able to "double-up" on insurance (i.e. you may not be able to take any optional insurance with the rental company as well as use the cover of your insurance broker).

So this means your Excess/Liability will be NZ$2813.00 which in turns means you will have to leave a Bond of $7500 with the rental company. They only accept payment of the NZ$2813.00 Bond with credit card. If the vehicle is damaged in any way (regardless of who is at fault), you will be liable for the first NZ$2813.000 worth of damage. You would then have to claim these expenses back from your insurance broker independently. Please check the finer details with your insurance broker to ensure that they cover campervans and motorhomes.

Although New Zealand is a relatively small country it can take many hours to drive between cities and other destinations of interest. Even when distances are short, hilly or winding terrain or narrow secondary roads can slow your journey. If you're used to driving in the city, you should take care when driving on the open country roads. New Zealand has a good motorway system but weather extremes, the terrain and narrow secondary roads and bridges require drivers to be very vigilant.