One-way deals
Campervan relocation deals in New Zealand
A campervan relocation is a one-way hire at a reduced rate, on dates we set. The camper has to be in another city for its next booking, so instead of sending a staff member to drive it there empty, we let a guest make the trip and pay a fraction of the normal rate.
The discount sits on the nights, not on the whole hire, so you can take a relocation as a short run on its own or add it to the end of a longer trip at the normal rate. Below are the relocations we have open right now, with the route, the exact dates and what is included. You can book one straight from this page.
Relocation deals open right now
NZ$329 a night · Auckland to Christchurch · 25 nights for NZ$8,225
The Tūī
The Tūī is booked out of Christchurch in early February, and it is sitting in Auckland. Take it south across January and you pay a flat rate for the whole trip, with no one-way fee.
Two ways to take it. As a 25-day run on its own — 8 Jan to 2 Feb, NZ$8,225 all in. Or add it to a longer trip: collect whenever suits you, pay the normal rate up to 8 Jan, and the last 25 nights are NZ$329 each. Either way the camper has to be in Christchurch by 2 Feb.
Discounted nights (25)
8 Jan to 1 Feb
Back by
2 February 2027 — a hard deadline
Route
Auckland → Christchurch
Minimum hire
21 nights
NZ$49 a night · Auckland to Christchurch · 5 nights for NZ$245
The Pīwakawaka
The Pīwakawaka is booked out of Christchurch on 17 February, so it has to be there the day before. Drive it down and the whole South Island run costs you almost nothing.
Two ways to take it. As a 5-day run on its own — 11 Feb to 16 Feb, NZ$245 all in. Or add it to a longer trip: collect whenever suits you, pay the normal rate up to 11 Feb, and the last 5 nights are NZ$49 each. Either way the camper has to be in Christchurch by 16 Feb.
Discounted nights (5)
11 Feb to 15 Feb
Back by
16 February 2027 — a hard deadline
Route
Auckland → Christchurch
Minimum hire
5 nights
What the price covers
The whole camper, at the price above, with everything that normally comes with it — bedding made up, the full kitchen kit, camp chairs and a table. Same van, same kit and the same people on the end of the phone as any other hire. The only difference is that the dates are ours rather than yours.
Two costs are yours, and they are the two that make the rest of the sums work out so well.
You pick the sailing
Wellington to Picton is three hours through the Marlborough Sounds and one of the great ferry rides anywhere — a lot of people plan a whole trip around it. A campervan costs more than a car, so book it as soon as your dates are set and you will have your pick of the crossings.
You fill the tank
A thousand kilometres down the middle of both islands, and on this trip the driving is the holiday. The nightly rate is the whole of the discount, so the fuel is yours — worth knowing now rather than working it out at the first pump.
Even with both, you are a long way ahead. The Tūī goes out at NZ$329 a night on this run, against NZ$389 a night at that time of year. A tank or two and a ferry ticket do not close a gap that size.
One firm date: the day it has to be back. Each of these exists because another guest collects that camper the next day, so that date is the one thing we cannot move. Everything before it is yours to plan — take one when the dates genuinely suit you and the whole South Island is in front of you.
Why is a campervan relocation so cheap?
Because it suits us both. The camper has to be in Christchurch either way, and if you were heading south anyway you are making a trip we would otherwise pay a driver a week to make. That saving is yours.
Three things come off a Christchurch one-way when it is a relocation: the 21-day minimum, the NZ$400 one-way fee, and the 10% we normally add to bring the camper home again. All three are there to cover the empty return run — and on a relocation there is no empty run to cover.
They come up a handful of times a season and the window is short, so when one happens to line up with where you were already going, take it. It is a lot of camper for very little money, and both ends of the deal come out ahead. How campervan relocation works in New Zealand goes through it properly if this is new to you.
Relocation questions
What is a campervan relocation?
A campervan relocation is a one-way hire at a reduced rate, on dates the rental company sets. The camper is booked to start its next hire in another city, so rather than pay a staff member to drive it there empty, we let a guest drive it and charge a fraction of the normal rate.
How much does a campervan relocation cost in New Zealand?
Ours start at NZ$49 a night — NZ$245 for the full 5 nights, against NZ$340 a night for the same camper on normal dates. What a relocation costs depends on how far the camper has to go and how much of the calendar it fills, so the open deals on this page are not all priced alike. Across New Zealand rates vary widely by how urgently the vehicle has to move: Mad Campers list theirs at $80 a day, and the well-known $1-a-day deals turn up when a vehicle has to move within days.
Are the ferry and the fuel included?
No. The price covers the camper and everything that normally comes with it — bedding, the full kitchen kit, camp chairs and a table. The Cook Strait ferry and the fuel are yours, and on an Auckland to Christchurch run that is worth budgeting for: it is over a thousand kilometres and a campervan crossing costs more than a car.
How many days do I get on a relocation?
On the deal open now, between 8 January 2027 and 2 February 2027, with a minimum of 21 nights. That window is a block of dates we need the camper to cover, so it is a long trip rather than a dash — the NZ$329 rate holds for every night of it, and the camper has to be in Christchurch by 2 February 2027.
Can I combine a relocation with a longer trip?
This one already is the longer trip. The Tūī is yours for up to 25 nights between 8 January 2027 and 2 February 2027, all at NZ$329 a night, which is enough time to drive both islands properly rather than chase a deadline. You cannot start before 8 January 2027 — the camper is out with another guest until then.
Can I change the date the camper has to be back?
No, and that is the one firm thing about a relocation. Each one exists because another guest collects that camper the next day, so the return date is fixed. Everything before it is yours to plan.
Where do your campervan relocations run between?
Auckland and Christchurch, in whichever direction the camper needs to travel. Those are our two pickup points, so a relocation is always a leg between them — the Auckland to Christchurch run goes down the middle of the North Island, across Cook Strait and through Kaikoura.