Traveling with (1) bike box/rental car ?
 

Hello! I would love to get opinions on the following scenario. My husband and I are arriving in Auckland on 3/3/04 with (1) bike box and (2) large duffle bags. We are staying in Auckland for (1) night and then traveling to Taupo (for Ironman!) early on 3/4. We land at 6:00am on 3/3 and want to explore the city all day, get to bed early, wake up on 3/4 and drive.

Do you suggest? We rent our car at the airport on the 3rd OR should we wake up on the 4th and rent the car in the city? My concern is having the car on the 3rd and NOT having to use it, since we'll be walking around the city. Since we will have a bike box though, does anyone know of a hotel that has a shuttle that will pick us up at the airport? Or are there taxis at the airport that can accommodate a bike box? Do you know of a rental car agency in the city? Near a hotel? Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are the dimensions of a bike box?

I don't know the answers to your questions, but a Google search for AUCKLAND + "AIRPORT SHUTTLE" brought up a couple of links that I thought were promising.

http://www.shoreshuttles.co.nz/

Here's a company called Shore Shuttles. Judging from the photo of its van (or one of its vans?), I'm guessing it can accommodate a bike box (even if I'm not sure just how large a bike box is).

Here's a company called Airbus that operates a bus service from the airport to Auckland's hotels and backpacking hostels. This looks as if it follows a pre-determined route and schedule, so probably would not be as customized as the previously mentioned company, but on the other hand might be cheaper. The Airbus website specifically states that they can accommodate surf boards, bikes, etc.

http://www.airbus.co.nz/home/Page.aspx?page_id=168

On the other hand, you said you wanted to make an early start on the 4th. Perhaps in that case there would be merit in having possession of your rental car already. If you still have to take delivery of your rental car on the morning of the 4th, I would think that would slow down your departure.

I don't know if anyone else can entirely answer these questions for you, even if they know Auckland, which I don't. (I've only landed in Auckland when my plane has stopped there too refuel. I've never left the airport.) I imagine you would need to compare the cost of an airport shuttle versus the cost of an extra day's car rental (and also factor in the convenience of an early morning getaway on the 4th).

By the way, if you use the American convention for abbreviating dates, that could lead to all kinds of misunderstandings when you're dealing with Kiwis and Aussies. They use a dd/mm/yyyy convention for abbreviating the date. They might misinterpret 3/4 as the 3rd of April.

Thank you so much for this information. I will review those websites and compare costs. Great note on the month/date issue, oooops. Thanks again!

Just wanted to say Good Luck at IMNZ!
It's supposed to be one of the best.

Thank you for the note of GOOD LUCK! I appreciate it. Yes, I hear the race course is SO beautiful that there are moments you forget you're biking and running :)