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New Zealand and rental cars
So my husband and I are leaving for NZ in less than a month, and due to a health emergency in the family, I am less prepared than usual for this trip. All I have booked is the plane tickets to and from there. We plan to rent a car on both islands (spending about one week in each) and I'm wondering how others dealt with insurance for car rentals, and also which car rentals others chose. I notice there are some less expensive NZ based car rental companies (ie Apex, Jucy) and then the US based companies like Hertz, Budget, etc. I usually decline insurance on car rentals in the US because my credit cards cover it, but I am wondering if it's safest to take the maximum insurance offered by the car rental companies there, as I am a bit concerned about driving the other side of the road and I wouldn't want to get in any trouble in a foreign contry. I've read a couple of horror stories on the trip adivsor message boards about people who got into accidents, or were charged even when they didn't, so I just wanted to post here and find out other opinions. any info people can offer would be helpful, as I feel like I am running out of time to plan and I'm pretty stressed.
Also, any additional hotel/activity/restaurant recs would be most appreciated as I need to start booking stuff asap! We'll be in Auckland, Taupo, Rotorua, Coromandel Peninsula, Wanaka, and Queenstown. Thanks=O)
Re: New Zealand and rental cars
We used Apex and they were very pleasant to deal with (we also rented a cell phone and a GPS through them). We had a general travel insurance policy, and I think the car may have been covered under that (although I could be mistaken). Either way, it probably couldn't hurt to get a policy. The rental cars are very clearly rentals (e.g. big Apex stickers on the back), so I could see where they might be targets for break-ins. Fortunately, we didn't have any problems, but I would rather have the peace of mind.
FYI, it may be worth getting a mid-sized car for the bigger engine. We had a little Corolla and while it was a nice car, the horsepower sucked. It was really slow going whenever we were going uphill (to the point that 18-wheelers were passing us), and there are a lot of hills in NZ...
I think I sent you my trip review a while back with all of our recommendations, but if you'd like to see it again, just let me know.
Baby248 - ETA 1/10/13
We were on the South Island in November for two weeks and had a good experience renting through Apex (Christchurch office). At least with Apex, the only difference between the default coverage and the full coverage was a drop in the deductible from $1500 to $0. We took our chances and stuck with the default coverage knowing that we could cover the $1500 if needed.
We only passed through Wanaka on our drive from the glaciers to Queenstown & the sounds. We went skydiving there and loved it. It's so beautiful there, but really, that can be said for the whole island.
In Queenstown, I would recommend eating at Fergburger, but don't expect to be able to sit down there. That place always had a line out the door, so we ended up taking ours to go and sitting on a bench along the lake to eat. We went to Winnie's for dinner and enjoyed it (bar-like atmosphere, good pizzas).
We used Hertz and declined all trip insurance since it was covered by our credit cards.
I believe I have some reviews and recommendations in my bio, but I totally agree with pp that you should go to Winnie's in Queenstown for their pizza! We got the pescada pizza, and we are still talking about it (4 years later). Yum!
When are your south island dates? we'll be there feb 17-23.
My company has personal rentals through AVIS which includes some LDW, so we are going with them even though they cost more. We had a hit and run with a US rental and AVIS took care of it ($1400 of damage - we weren't even in the car when it happened). The nz coverage is limited, but we think we'll be ok.
I just drove on the left for the first time this month in the uk. Easy with a navigator making any turning decisions for you. You'll do great!
We only traveled around part of the North Island when in New Zealand. We rented a car from one of the major rental companies that you could find in the US too (I forget which one). We declined additional insurance when it was offered. We didn't have any trouble except that we got a flat tire. We were able to put on the spare without a problem but the problem was finding a place to fix the flat. Business hours in NZ are much shorter than what we're used to in the US so make sure that if you get a flat that you find a tire store early in the day (and not on a Sunday) to get it fixed. Also, outside the cities the shops (and gas stations) are few and far between. Fill up on gas if you're headed out of town and you're planning to drive a long distance.
We spent time around Rotorua. We saw many motels in town and realized that we didn't have to book anything in advance. However, our first choice for lodging wouldn't be a motel in town. We chose to book a room in a lakeside house no more than 10 minutes outside town. If you want to see exactly where we stayed look up "Lakeside B & B Homestay" on the Airbnb website. We had a pleasant experience staying there. We stayed in a first-floor room in a family's home (their bedrooms were upstairs). We had access to their kitchen, washer/dryer, living room, and backyard. The husband, wife, and kids were all very pleasant. You don't have to hang out with them if you don't want to but we talked with them outside on their deck with a glass of wine for a little while the day we arrived. There's nothing within walking distances (shops, etc.) except for a beautiful lake. While in the area we went white water rafting (company: Raftabout) and went to the Polynesian Day Spa. The spa offers so many services. I don't have any dining recommendations because we just picked a place to eat when walking through town and it was so-so (or maybe we just don't like lamb shank).