The best campervan hire companies in NZ compared (budget to luxury)

New Zealand has a lot of campervan companies, and their websites all show the same smiling couple at the same turquoise lake. The differences that matter are hidden in the vehicle specs and the rental terms. We read them so you do not have to.

Everything here comes from each company’s own website and terms, as at November 2026. We have not included star ratings or review scores because we could not trace them to a reliable source.

Quick answer

• Cheapest normal hire: Jucy or Spaceships, especially outside summer.
• Budget van from a big group: Mighty.
• Widest mid-range choice: Britz or Apollo.
• Newest, biggest motorhomes: Maui or Wilderness.
• Cheapest of all: a relocation deal, if your dates and route are flexible.

How we compared

We looked at four things for each brand, using only what the company publishes:

1. The fleet: van sizes, whether vans are self-contained, and the age of the base vehicle where it is published.
2. Insurance: the excess you carry with included cover, and the daily price to reduce it.
3. Bond: how much is held on your card and how.
4. Rules: driver age, gravel roads and other fine print.

Prices change daily, so we used one brand’s live booking engine (Jucy’s) to show how rates move with the seasons, rather than pretending there is a fixed price.

Budget brands

Jucy

Jucy runs depots in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown and a fleet that goes from the 2-berth Crib (a converted Toyota Estima) to the 6-berth Big Kahuna motorhome. The Chaser, Condo, Sundaze, Sunseeker and Big Kahuna are self-contained; the Crib and Cloudbreak are not. Base vehicles are older (some Estimas date from 2004 to 2007), but every hire has unlimited kilometres.

On quotes we took on 11 November 2026 for a 15-day Christchurch return, the Crib averaged $35 a day in May 2027 and $145 a day in February 2027. Our full Jucy campervan review has every van and fee.

Spaceships

Spaceships is built around compact sleeper vans. Its insurance page lists the Classic Estima range (including a self-contained Beta 2S), plus two newer models added in September 2026: the Sigma and the VW Cosmo.

The bond is frozen on your card rather than charged. Only Stress-Free covers damage from gravel roads, and a $100 accident admin fee applies on the lower options.

Mighty

Mighty is a THL-run brand pitched at budget travellers. Its New Zealand fleet includes the Deuce, Highball, HiLITE, Deuce Plus, DeLITE, Double Down, Double Up, Big Six and Fortune. Mighty says it does not debit a deposit; it takes a credit card authority for the liability amount instead. Card payments carry a surcharge of 2.71% (Visa and Mastercard) or 5.2% (Amex) in New Zealand.

Mid-range brands

Britz

Britz has branches in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown. Its NZ fleet includes 2-berth HiTop and Venturer vans, 4-berth Odyssey, Voyager and Wanderer, and the 5-berth Navigator. For travel from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027:

• Low Road (included): liability of $5,000 on the HiTop and Voyager, $7,500 on the others, held as a credit card authority.
• High Road: $57 a day (HiTop, Voyager) or $67 a day (others) for $0 liability and no deposit.
• Value Pack ($67 or $77 a day) and Platinum ($82 or $93 a day) bundle extras with the cover.

Daily cover is capped at 50 days.

Apollo

Apollo’s New Zealand range runs from the Hitop to the Euro series: Endeavour, Euro Tourer, Euro Plus, Euro Quest, Euro Camper and Euro Deluxe. Its site is now run by THL. Apollo’s liability pages mix Australian and New Zealand information, so we have not quoted its NZ cover prices; check them at the quote stage.

Premium motorhomes

Maui

Maui has been renting motorhomes since 1982 and is another THL-run brand. Its New Zealand models are the Ultima, Ultima Plus, Cascade, Beach and River. As with Apollo, we could not confirm New Zealand cover prices from the public pages, so compare them in a live quote.

Wilderness

Wilderness is a New Zealand premium motorhome company. Its terms set a few things apart:

• Drivers must be 21 or over.
• The standard excess is $7,500, reduced by its Extra Cover or Full Cover options.
• No bond on a credit card; otherwise the bond is $7,500, or $1,000 with an excess reduction option.
• Road user charge recovery is included with Full Cover.
• For peak bookings (21 December to 8 February), the balance is due 21 days before pick-up.

Insider tip: premium does not mean fewer fees. Wilderness lists a $500 cleaning charge and $200 for emptying the waste tanks if you return the van dirty or full, so leave time for a dump station on your last morning.

Relocation deals

Rental companies regularly need vans moved between depots, and they rent them out cheaply to anyone heading the right way. When we checked, Transfercar listed 957 relocations (325 campers), including:

• Christchurch to Auckland in a campervan with the ferry for the vehicle and driver, a free tank of fuel and 4 days included.
• Queenstown to Christchurch at $1 a day for 3 days, plus an optional extra day at $100.

imoova lists similar Christchurch to Auckland and Queenstown to Auckland trips. The catch is a fixed route and a short window to complete it. They suit travellers with flexible dates.

Insurance compared

Two warnings apply across the board. First, cover is often void if you break the rules, such as driving on banned roads; Jucy, for example, bans unsealed roads except short campground access roads. Second, a travel insurance policy with rental vehicle excess cover can be cheaper than the rental company’s daily fee. Our guide to campervan hire costs shows how this adds up over a trip.

One-way fees

Picking up in one city and dropping off in another is popular, and it can cost a lot more. Most brands work any one-way fee into the quote rather than publishing a fixed amount. Jucy says one-way fees are quoted at booking. On our Jucy test, the same May 2027 dates cost $33 to $88 a day as a Christchurch return but $119 to $165 a day one way from Queenstown to Christchurch.

If you plan to cross Cook Strait, check whether the brand lets its vans sail and on which ferry. Jucy says all its vehicles can travel on Bluebridge. Our Interislander vs Bluebridge guide explains the options.

Which to pick

• Couple on a tight budget, campsites every night: a non-self-contained Jucy Crib or Spaceships Estima.
• Couple who want to freedom camp legally: a self-contained van with a green warrant, such as a Jucy Chaser or a self-contained Spaceships model.
• Family of four: a 4-berth such as the Jucy Condo (self-contained, child friendly) or a Britz Voyager, Odyssey or Wanderer. Check child seat rules before you book.
• Group of five or six: a 5 or 6-berth motorhome such as the Britz Navigator or Jucy Big Kahuna.
• Comfort first: Maui or Wilderness, and budget for the cover.