Hiring a campervan to explore New Zealand is a popular choice for many. It’s a fantastic way to see New Zealand and gives you plenty of flexibility to create your trip of a lifetime. However, planning your road trip in New Zealand takes some planning. It’s not as simple as rocking up last minute and hiring the first campervan you find. In this post, I’ll share all the things you need to consider when hiring a campervan in New Zealand.
Exploring New Zealand in a campervan had long been a dream of mine. Finally, in 2023, I hired a van for two months. I had an incredible time and loved every moment of it. However, I was caught off guard by a few things including additional costs and lack of freedom camping options.
While hiring a campervan is a fantastic way to see New Zealand, there are a few things to consider. I hope the below helps you to plan your trip of a lifetime to New Zealand.
If hiring a campervan or car isn’t for you, here’s how to get around New Zealand without a rental.
The time of year and the weather
This is a big factor when planning your road trip in New Zealand. The time of year can have a massive impact on your trip. In the summer, you’ll be faced with busier roads, packed campgrounds, and those dreaded sandflies. In the winter, there’s the potential for freezing nights, icy road conditions and closed roads due to snow.
I love travelling around New Zealand in the winter, it’s so beautiful. However, it’s not for the faint of heart and you’ll need to be a confident driver for this, especially in the South Island.
Before booking your campervan, make sure you’ve checked the weather for the time of year you’re planning to go and it fits with what you want.
Plan your campervan hire in advance
I’ve spent a lot of time working in the tourism industry in New Zealand and it still surprises me when people turn up with no plans and expect to get what they want.
New Zealand is a very popular destination and in the peak summer months, everything sells out in advance, including campervans. For example, I’m writing this post in August – most campervans for the upcoming summer season (December/January) have already sold out.
Unfortunately, this catches many people off guard, especially backpackers who tend to plan more last minute. If you want to hire a van, book as far in advance as possible and be prepared to be flexible with your dates. I’d suggest looking at van availability before booking your flights so you can make sure it all fits.
Your budget and additional costs
Hiring a campervan in New Zealand isn’t as cheap as many people believe. The van itself costs money, and there are many additional costs such as fuel, insurance, campsite fees (even if you have a self-contained van) and the ferry.
The biggest expense that caught me off guard was paying for campsites. I had assumed that with a self-contained van, this wouldn’t be an issue and there would always be freedom camping options. The South Island especially does not have endless amounts of freedom camping. In some areas, such as Queenstown, it’s forbidden altogether. This means you’ll be paying for campsites even with a self-contained van.
Be sure to consider all the additional costs before committing to a van hire.
Self-Contained or not?
When hiring a campervan in New Zealand, you’ll be faced with the decision of choosing a self-contained campervan or not. Escape Vans have a great explanation on the difference between the two. But in short, a self-contained van includes a toilet, a fresh water supply and a wastewater container. This generally means you’re allowed to freedom camp in designated areas.
Non-self-contained vans are cheaper, but you generally won’t be able to freedom camp and will need to stay in holiday parks (there are a few freedom camping spots for non-self-contained, but not many).
Most campervan companies only offer self-contained these days. However, if you find yourself torn between the two, you’ll need to consider where you want to stay at night. If you want the holiday parks with the facilities, perhaps a non-self-contained van is okay. But if you’re planning to freedom camp and save money on camping fees, then a self-contained is the way to go.
Freedom camping
I’ve mentioned freedom camping a few times in the post so it’s about time I explained it. In New Zealand, freedom camping means staying overnight in a designated public parking area. Wild camping is illegal in New Zealand. You can’t just rock up anywhere and stay overnight. Councils are very strict about this and you could be faced with a huge fee if you’re caught.
Normally, freedom camping is free and there are options around both islands. When planning your trip, don’t assume you can just park anywhere. You’ll need to stay in official freedom camping places which can sometimes get full very early on in the day. On my two-month campervan trip, I always had a back-up option in case the spot I wanted was full.
There’s a great app called CamperMate which shares all the legal freedom camping spots.
Which campervan to hire
Choosing which campervan to hire can be a big and complicated decision. There are many options to choose from and it can be a bit of a headache trying to narrow it down.
Size
Campervans come in all different shapes and sizes. From the small, budget vans of Mad Campers to the giant motorhomes of Maui and Britz, you have a range of options. When choosing the size, it’s good to consider what you are comfortable driving but also what is going to give you the best experience. For example, the smaller vans may require you to have the back open to cook. Whereas a larger van may have a fixed kitchen inside.
Space
The smaller the van, the less space you’ll have to store your luggage. If you’re planning to travel with giant suitcases, choose a van with space to store them. If not, you’ll be climbing over your cases the whole time you’re in the van.
Facilities
Take some time to think about what you need facility wise. Are you okay with a portable toilet, or do you need a fixed toilet with a shower? How about the fridge? Some campervans offer a small chilly bin, whereas others have a full fridge and freezer.
Heating is another big factor to think about, especially if travelling when it’s colder. If your van doesn’t have a heater which can be used overnight, will you get too cold on the trip?
Budget
This is probably the biggest factor to consider when hiring a campervan in New Zealand. You might feel confident enough to drive a giant motorhome, but they’re going to cost you a lot more money.
I’m working on a post for budget campervan hires in New Zealand, but the cheaper companies are Mad Campers, Escape Rentals and Wendekreisen. I’ve hired a van from Wendekreisen twice now, including my two-month road trip, and highly recommend them.
The driving
People often underestimate the driving in New Zealand. While the roads are well maintained, they can be steep and windy, and you may find yourself faced with extreme weather.
New Zealand is also huge, so driving between places can often take a long time. You need to be a confident driver to drive a van in New Zealand. The point of saying this isn’t to put you off, but realistically, if you’re not confident at the driving, you won’t enjoy your trip.
Which island, or both?
When planning your campervan trip in New Zealand, you’ll need to decide if you want to do the North Island, the South Island or both. Generally, people will split their time between the North and South or stick to the South Island.
The North Island is very underrated. It offers some beautiful scenery and there are some fantastic things to do there. If you can split your time and do both islands, I’d highly recommend it.
How long you want to hire the campervan for
Once you’ve worked out where you’ll be going in New Zealand, you can finalise how long you want the campervan for. Companies tend to offer discounts on longer rentals, especially in the shoulder and winter seasons.
Make sure to give yourself enough time to see everything you want to see. I spent two months in a van but was moving slowly to explore every corner.
Your start and end location
This might sound like an obvious one, but often people think they only have the option to fly in and out of Auckland. This means they spend way more money on the van and ferry to drive it back up to Auckland.
Most campervan companies allow you to drop-off the van at a different location to the starting point. This will incur an additional fee, but the fee is cheaper than getting the ferry back up again, so is well worth it. On top of this, New Zealand has several major airports with many international flights. For example, you could collect your campervan in Auckland and drop it off in Christchurch. This saves you from driving the van back.
There are also a few campervan rentals in Queenstown including Jucy.
The Ferry
If you do choose to cover both the North and South Island, you’ll also need to think about getting the ferry across.
Firstly, make sure you’re allowed to take your van on the ferry. Most rental companies in New Zealand are happy for you to take the vehicle on the ferry, but there are a few that don’t allow it.
Secondly, be sure to book your ferry in advance. It can get incredibly busy, especially in the summer, and you don’t want to find yourself stuck. We booked our ferry two months in advance and some dates around when we were travelling were already full.
It’s annoying as booking ahead takes away some of your flexibility, but you also don’t want to get stuck and waste time.
Often, your rental company can offer you a discount for the ferry if you book through them.
Don’t forget insurance
Most upfront quotes for campervans won’t include insurance, it’s usually an optional extra. Insurance can be expensive, especially in New Zealand. It’s a good idea to check the cost of this before committing to renting a campervan so you’re not caught off guard.
Of course, the level of insurance you choose is up to you. Often, there’s a choice for basic level or premium cover. The basic cover tends to have a higher excess, meaning if something happens, you’ll need to spend some of your own money to sort it. The premium insurance reduces the excess down to a lower number (sometimes even $0) and covers more such as tire damage and roof damage.
Every insurance policy is different, so it’s vital to read the policy document so you know exactly what you’re covered for and can choose the right option for you.
Don’t be over ambitious
I’ve helped many visitors plan their campervan trip in New Zealand. More often than not, people want to cram everything into a short period and it’s just not doable.
Driving times are often underestimated on maps, especially when you want to stop and see the stunning scenery too. For example, a five-hour drive is realistically going to be 6/7 hours in a van, especially when driving through the mountains.
If you only have a short amount of time in New Zealand, prioritise what you want to see and go from there. Try to enjoy the things you have time to do, rather than trying to do everything and getting stressed when time starts to run out.
If you’re looking for itinerary inspiration, consider a road trip between Christchurch and Queenstown.
Read next: 10 helpful tips for a solo road trip in New Zealand
