Car rental in Christchurch/Littleton

[Scrapchick]

Hubby and I are going on the Sapphire Princess Oz-NZ run in March and would like to rent a car in Christchurch for the day. Hubby seems to think it is a big deal, as we first have to get to Christchurch from the dock, and that is is more difficult than other ports we are going to. We have been there before, but not for many years.

 

We'd love some advice on renting a car there for the day from those who've done it!

 

Thanks.

[lisalovlee33]

On our last trip, we rented cars in Tauranga, Napier, Christchurch, Newcastle and Dunedin.

Christchurch. Initially, we thought of the same thing your husband did as it may take too long to get to from Lyttleton. We did and we're glad we did. We rented a car, and then came back to Chirstchurch and had a little time to look around. The Cathedral Sq. is where everything centers around, which is nice, and then there's the park nearby which was OK. There may be some museums or special stores somewhere, but we mainly just want to hit the main stuff. Anyway, here's what we did for car rental here. We got off the ship when they first announced. Waited for about 5 mins and then the free minibus looking shuttle arrived. It will take you to the bus stop where you can catch the local bus to Christchurch.

 

(This is different from the big buses shuttle that will take you to Christchurch provided by Celebrity which cost about $10 and doesn't start till 9 or so. Princess may have a similar setup I think. These minibus shuttles are free and takes you to the bus stop in Lyttleton and back only. Lots of ppl uses them).

 

The ride to the bus stop is only about 5 mins. Wait for bus number 28 or 35. 28 is quicker and buses are frequent. We waited for about 10 mins and caught the bus 28 to Christchurch. This ride is about 20 mins. (return will be longer because there'll be more passengers getting on and off, and the route is slightly longer according to the driver). Stop at City Exchange. This stop is a busy stop and every local will know where this is. Since I have a GPS, I stopped at the stop right before the City Exchange as this was closer (but only by a block if that). We made reservations with AVIS. From the bus stop (the one we stopped) is about 1 1/2 blocks. Less than a couple minutes. If you stop at City Exchange, it could be A LITTLE longer, maybe an extra block. For 2 of us, we got a compact car, it was a nice 4 door TOYOTA that we got for about 69.30 NZD without insurance (we got the CC with insurance). Car is brand new. Other ports, you may get older cars depending on who you rent from. It's VERY do-able. I know it sounds complicated having to transfer from a shuttle to a bus to town, but the shuttle really doesn't factor in considering how frequent and how quick it is. Let me know if you need information on other car rentals. We just got back a week ago and everything is still quite fresh in my memory, but fading fast! Hope this helps. (there's also Hertz.. I think it was Hertz.. next to AVIS but it's more money).

[Scrapchick]

Thanks! This is great info and exactly what I wanted to know. I'll print this and show it to Hubby.