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Car Rental Christchurch Airport

Explore the beauty, adventure, and magic of New Zealand with 20% OFF your car rental
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Map showing the location of the GO Rentals Christchurch Airport branch

How to get to Christchurch Airport

The Christchurch Airport location is easy to access via the following route, starting from Christchurch City Centre. You can expect it to take around 15-20 minutes.

  1. Head north on Montreal Street towards Worcester Blvd
  2. Take a slight left to stay on Montreal Street
  3. Turn slightly left as Montreal Street becomes Armagh Street
  4. Turn right onto Park Terrace
  5. Turn left onto Harper Avenue (signs for Airport)
  6. Use the right 2 lanes to turn right onto Fendelton Road
  7. Continue onto Memorial Avenue for 4.9km until you reach Christchurch Airport

Driving distance to Christchurch attractions

If you’re planning to head further afield after you touch down in Christchurch, here’s how far you’ll have to travel from the airport to some of the top local destinations. For more travel inspiration, see our picks for the top 10 places in New Zealand’s South Island within 3 hours of Christchurch.

  • Canterbury Museum – 9.3km (~15 minutes)
  • Christchurch Art Gallery – 9.8km (~20 minutes)
  • Christchurch Gondola – 19.7km (~30 minutes)
  • Waipara Valley – 56.7km (~55 minutes)
  • Akaroa – 85.7km (~1 hour 25 minutes)
  • Lake Tekapo – 222km (~3 hours)

Things to do near Christchurch Airport: Explore Christchurch with GO Rentals

Christchurch Airport’s location makes it ideal for jumping into your holiday activities as quickly as possible when you pick up your rental car. You don’t have to trek far to find something you and your travelling party can all enjoy. For more information on Christchurch’s top attractions, check out our complete Christchurch travel guide.

International Antarctic Centre

Located right next to the Christchurch International Airport is one of New Zealand’s most popular attractions. The International Antarctic Centre is sure to transport you and your family to the world’s most magical continent, with all-terrain vehicle tours, an Antarctic storm room and an immersive 4D theatre. You can even get up close and personal with penguins and huskies.

Botanic Gardens

They don’t call Christchurch the garden city for nothing. This 21-hectare park features more than 10 individual gardens, contained mostly by the stunning Avon River. Just 10.2km away from Christchurch Airport, you don’t need to wait long to check out this stunning attraction.

Air Force Museum

Christchurch has an incredibly rich history. The Air Force Museum of New Zealand is located in the first air force base ever built in the country. It offers daily tours, museum hunts for the family and a stunning collection of aviation artefacts. 9km away from Christchurch Airport, it takes just a short drive to start immersing yourself in essential New Zealand history.

Orana Wildlife Museum

The Orana Wildlife Park offers an unmissable chance to experience wildlife up close. An open-range zoo, it’s home to New Zealand’s only gorillas, a thrilling lion encounter, the chance to hand-feed giraffes and more. Best of all, it’s located just 12.5km away from Christchurch Airport.

Reasons to GO with us

  • New Zealand Tourism Awards winners. Visitor Experience
  • Most Satisfied Customers Award. Canstar Blue 2018, 2020, 2022 & 2023
  • Huge choice of great rental cars to choose from
  • Highly recommended on major review sites
  • Competitive and affordable car hire rates
  • Convenient airport locations
  • The car you book is the car you drive
  • 24hr AA Roadside Assistance
  • Unlimited kilometres
  • FREE Basic car rental insurance
  • FREE maps and guides
  • NO hidden costs
  • After hours support
  • Local knowledge
  • Ability to offset carbon emissions of your trip
  • Environmentally conscious business committed to carbon neutrality

GO all across NZ

We have eight car rental branches spread evenly throughout New Zealand, in the major destinations of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson, Queenstown, and Dunedin so that you’re never far from a GO rental car.

Ridiculously simple pick-up & drop-off of our rental cars

Our rental car branch in Christchurch is just down the road from the airport. Call us when you’re ready for a lift, or request the shuttle through our app. Nice and easy.

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The GO Experience (1:58)
Hiring a car in Christchurch

Picking up a rental car in Christchurch couldn’t be easier. Whether you’re flying into Christchurch or you’re based locally and picking up from our handy airport branch, we’ve got you covered.

Christchurch is one of New Zealand’s most stunning cities. It’s home to breathtaking natural landscapes as well as loads of fun activities to keep the family entertained. No matter if you want to get your adrenaline pumping or relax in a stunning day spa, Christchurch is the city for you.

Christchurch is also considered the gateway to the South Island. Once you’re driving your GO Rentals hire car, you’re free to explore everything from the grassy plains of Canterbury to the snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps to the serene sights of the Mackenzie Basin.

We’re super-excited to welcome visitors from Australia and the rest of the world back to New Zealand and we’d like to thank you, along with our loyal Kiwi customers, for checking out GO.

How to find GO Rentals car hire at Christchurch Airport

Our Christchurch Airport car rental branch is only minutes from the airport terminal and just a short drive from Christchurch City Centre. As soon as you land, we’ll race over to pick you up from the airport terminal and you’ll be discovering Christchurch in no time.

We’ve got you! Our Christchurch Airport car hire branch is located outside the airport terminal, so we save on costs. This means we can pass those savings onto you. Picking up with GO is faster, easier and better – our average pick-up time is just 3 minutes! As the largest independent Kiwi rental car company, we’ve got a great choice of rental cars and the best value. Looking for a hire car with a difference? Make sure you check out our range of EVs, including the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y and the all-new BYD Atto 3 which are available for rental from our Christchurch branch. No matter which car you choose, what you book is what you get – no hidden costs.

Christchurch is one of New Zealand’s most historic cities with a rich heritage and there are plenty of amazing places to check out in and around the city. If you’re looking for inspiration on holiday destinations from Christchurch, we’ve got you covered. Make sure you check out our top 5 destinations from Christchurch and get inspired for your New Zealand road trip. Be free to enjoy your journey – speak to our team and they can help you out with tons of ideas, activities and add-ons to help you make the most of your journey.

Outstanding on-road support

We're here when you need us, just give us a call. 24/7 roadside assistance - We've got you covered.

Image of a winding road heading towards a lake with snow-capped mountains in the background
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Award-Winning Customer Service in Christchurch

Thanks to our amazing customers, GO Rentals was awarded the prestigious 2023 Canstar Blue Award for Most Satisfied Customers in the Hire Car Category as the only company with a perfect 5-star rating across all rating categories. Having also won the award in 2018, 2020, 2022 & 2023, you know that when you hire a car from GO Rentals in Christchurch, you’re getting a world-class customer service experience thanks to our amazing team of passionate staff.

Christchurch is a city full of wonderful experiences – something we know a thing or two about here at GO. In 2018, we were awarded a New Zealand Tourism Award, winning in the ServiceIQ Visitor Experience category. This award recognised GO Rentals as an organisation that is driving value through an outstanding visitor experience – something we wouldn’t be able to do without our amazing team in Christchurch!

Frequently asked questions






What you need to know about Christchurch Airport

Christchurch Airport consists of just 1 terminal, which caters for both domestic and international flights.

Christchurch Airport boasts 5 duty-free stores. You can shop a wide range of international brands at Aelia, merino wool essentials at Global Culture and unique souvenirs at TikiTour.

There are plenty of extracurricular activities to enjoy at Christchurch Airport. From live music to seasonal events to air bridges and even table tennis, you’re sure to be entertained during any flight delay.

International visitors to New Zealand will need to fill out a Passenger Arrival Card. Items you will need to declare on your card include:

  1. Cash totals of NZ$10,000 or more, or foreign equivalent
  2. Tobacco, if you have more than 50 cigarettes or 50 grams
  3. Medicine, if you have more than 3 months’ supply or medicines not prescribed to you

In addition, New Zealand has strict biosecurity measures. Your Passenger Arrival Card contains a full list of restricted materials, which must be declared or disposed of in airport amnesty bins. Restricted materials include any fruit, vegetable, plant or animal products. Before departure, you should clean all sports equipment of any soil or grass, and your footwear if you have visited a farm overseas.

Renting a car at Christchurch International Airport

If you have flown into Christchurch Airport and you are looking to pick up a rental car on the day, then make sure you look beyond the airport kiosks. Our Christchurch Airport car rental branch is located just a short 5-minute drive from the terminal (shuttle pick-up available). With great deals on car hire from Christchurch Airport, you can visit the website or download our app using the free Wi-Fi at the airport whilst you wait for your bags. We can find the perfect car to suit your trip and our great rates can help make your Christchurch adventure as simple as Look, Book and GO.

Tech makes things easy. If you have already booked your Christchurch car rental, make sure you download our handy app before you set off. You can use the app to manage your booking as well as using it to find a wide range of discounts on activities in Christchurch and beyond through our GO Play programme.