Travelling Inter-Island

To see the best of New Zealand, explore both the North and South Islands, separated by Cook Strait. A regular inter-island ferry service connects the two Islands and Hertz has depots right on the main ferry wharf at both Wellington & Picton, so it's easy to leave your car and collect another when travelling inter-island. It is not permitted to take your Hertz car on the ferry. But that means more flexibility and less expense as you don't need to worry about transporting your car between the Islands.

If you don't know when you intend to travel on the inter-island ferry, just book your car for the entire duration of your stay. Only one Hertz booking is required for standard vehicles (economy manual, compact manual, compact auto, intermediate auto and fullsize auto car classes) and a minimum 3 day car rental on the first rental is required if you plan to travel between islands. Once you arrive in New Zealand, we need just 48 hours advance notice in order to have another Hertz car waiting for you in either Picton or Wellington. You must collect the second car within 5 hours of the first rental finishing and a $25 ex GST ferry terminal fee applies. Call Hertz toll free on 0800 654 321 to arrange the collection of your second car.

For special vehicle classes (premium wagon, 4WD, luxury 8 seater, luxury sedan and premium 4WD car classes), one booking per island is required.

A substantial fee applies to rentals where a vehicle is returned on a different island to where it was collected.

And about your luggage, simply place it in the special containers as you board the ferry and collect it again when you disembark. The ferry service runs to a regular timetable with more sailing during the summer months and plenty of choice of sailing times including a choice of normal or fast ferries.

If you prefer to fly, there are regular flights between all major towns and cities in New Zealand and you can drop off and collect a Hertz car from any airport.