HIRING A CAR or Public Transport ? ? ?
 

Hi Folks,

Whats best we are a family of 4 and will be going to Auckland for 7 nights and Wellington for 6 nights. Does anyone know of any place i can hire a cheap car- as i want to get a feel for both cities ( hoping to live and work there one day) ........ or should the 4 of us stick with public transport in both cities ?

Thank You for reading my post

Re: HIRING A CAR or Public Transport ? ? ?
 

Hello Imz

When we went in Jan 07 we used a rental company called A2B and when the other half went in May 09 he used a company called Apex. Both have been very good - decent car - clean enough - good servicce - decent rates. Would recommend either.

We didnt use any of the public trancsport services - although this was partly down to the fact that we had been told before we went that it was almost non existent.

We stayed a week or 2 in Te Atatu and commuted into Auckland city. It is easy enough to get about by car - although the traffic is pants. There is a regular bus service which seems to run around the city from one end to the other and a good ferry service across to the island and other sides of the river but i think any further than the city centre and you've had it. I dont remember seeing any buses around the Te Atatu peninsula.

The train system even in the city centre seemed to comprise of one line in and one line out. I believe there is a railway journey 'to die for', to be had between Auckland and Wellington but others will be able to comment better than i can.

I would say that the best way to see the place would be by car around Auckland - Wellington people will have to take over for the other side of your journey.

I hope you have a pleasant trip and you come to love NZ as much as the rest of us :thumbsup:

Re: HIRING A CAR or Public Transport ? ? ?
 

I think it's probably worth hiring a car so that you can get to interviews and check out a wider range of areas in Wellington.

However, in saying that, if you are the one doing the reccie...and the rest of the family is just sightseeing then they should be able to get along quite ok in Wellington on Public Transport. Assuming you are staying somewhere reasonably central you shouldn't have a problem sightseeing in Wellington.

As you are staying for just a week in Wellington I think you have a bit of flexibility - you could rent a car once you arrive even. There's a number of cheaper car rental places around (I can definitely recommend pegasus and apex for cheaper cars). If you book one in Auckland then another one in Wellington you have more flexibility too as you don't need one other than one to drive from A to B in (ie doesn't need to be good and comfy for long trips...could get away with a smaller car). I rent cars from both Pegasus and Apex regularly for workmates and they are always happy with the service and cars. They are older - certainly. But clean and tidy and perfectly fine for what they need.

The only thing I would suggest is taking the option of unlimited kilometres. Some of the budget operators (I think Pegasus do actually) limit the kilometres to...eg...500km. You don't want to worry about extra charges at the end :)

Re: HIRING A CAR or Public Transport ? ? ?
 

Good thinking batwoman it's Apex we are going to use :rofl: been the best quote so far
Hiring a car means you don't need to rely on public transport that may not be suitable for your needs

Angels x

Re: HIRING A CAR or Public Transport ? ? ?
 

Dunna dunna dunna dunna, dunna dunna dunna dunna BATMAN!!!!!