Have you rented a car in Dunedin?

[sunsetme]

I am thinking of driving the Otago Peninsula. Where would you rent a car in dunedin? Is it easy to drive around for the day? thanks

[KiwiIan]

I am thinking of driving the Otago Peninsula. Where would you rent a car in dunedin? Is it easy to drive around for the day? thanks

Plenty of choice, the ship berths in Port Chalmers which is a little outside the City of Dunedin, some cars hire companies will deliver to the ship for a small fee. Try a google search for 'car hire dunedin NZ' and you should find plenty but watch out for those international sites that highjack the search. Local companies of course would be AVIS, HERTZ, THRIFTY, plus smaller NZ companies such as APEX, PEGASUS, NZ RENTAL CARS etc. Hope that helps, dont forget we drive on the wrong siode of the road though. Regarsd Ian {tauranga]

[Flipper133]

Ian is right of course...but his last point is the most relevant

 

Driving on a side of the road on which you are unfamiliar is potentially very dangerous.

 

You are on holidays for Pete's sake so why bother with having to cope with unfamilair circumstances for just one day? You willpay big $$$ for CDW but in any event if you have an accident you will lose valuable hours coping with the incident..you could even miss the boat !!!!:mad:

 

Use a local guide, sit back and enjoy

 

cheers

[MVPinBoynton]

jdechter,

The road we traveled on going to the Otago Peninsula ran right next to the water and there were no rails. I asked our private tour driver if many people ran off the road. He said the do regularly have people runing into the water. It is a pretty weavy road and not that wide. I agree with Flipper. This port was our second best in New Zealand. There is so much really unique stuff to see and do, that I wouldn't want to waste time getting lost.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Just to add to the driving thoughts.

Our roads are very narrow and winding and most accidents are from tourists verrring over to the wrong side of the road, especially after you come out of tight bends. Most rental cars will have a big notice on the dash saying Keep Left.There is so much to see that you can be easily distracted by the view,and if you are coming all this way down here,why not sit back ,let someone else do the driving, and enjoy.

However if you are searching for a rental company to deliver to the ship in Dunedin,the Port where you berth is called Port Chalmers.

[sunsetme]

I get it, book a tour

[MVPinBoynton]

I get it, book a tour

 

Now that's a great idea! Glad you thought of it.:D In Dunedin, we were very happy with Arthurs Tours and in Tauranga we loved Mount Classic Tours. You can get links to both of those companies websites on our website www.thepreismans.com . Just click on the NZ/Australia review button. I sure wish I could go back. New Zealand is an absolutely wonderful country with some of the best people you will find anywhere.

[go the naki]

Definitely go on a tour. The road down the Peninsula is very windy, narrow and there is not much between you and the Harbour. Unless you are experienced in driving on the left hand side and on very narrow roads you should not drive. I used to live in Dunedin and that was one road that made me car sick and I avoided.

[KiwiIan]

I get it, book a tour

Looks like you've got the picture. The other posts seem to have been a little more specific than my own. I did not want to put you off driving yourself but all the comments re safety and enjoying your trip are very apt. Many visitors find our different driving styles, difficult roads and also the right side steering wheel a big issue. We often watch the self-drive hirers leaving our port here in Taurangam, well you just know that the chances of them having an incident are pretty high [apparentky 1/3rd of the camper vans hired in NZ come back with damage, though that also has something to do with the drivers not being familiar withy larger than usual vehicles]. In fact we had the back bumper of one of our lovely Rolls Royce limos ripped of by a german driving a camper van in Rotorua a few years ago.

 

There are certainly plenty of good companies in all your ports of call who can really give you a great day out, team up with some other passengers [find these via a CC post] and it can even work out a lot cheaper than a ships tour.

 

If you see my other recent posts you can see how to search the web to find suitable info, ot if you are still having trouble post here and i will try and help further.

 

Regards Ian [Tauranga].

 

PS, note that the self drive info may still be of use to those Aussies who will be on the cruise, they are more likely to be familiar with our ways.

[cands]

The previous posters are right. A small group tour is a great way to go, but if you really want to drive yourself - go for it.

 

We are from Australia and drive on the left. We have also hired cars in California,British Columbia and Aruba and had a great time. (We did get bogged in Aruba, but that had nothing to do with driving on the other side of the road :o ). We had the flexibility to go where we wanted and it was nice to be by ourselves for a while.

 

It's a little scary at first, but you soon get used to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road. We just kept saying our little mantra: "keep right, keep right".

 

Steve.