A private driver for your whole New Zealand trip
For trips of several days or more, the simplest arrangement is one driver and one vehicle for the duration. Your bags stay in the car, the route is planned around your bookings, and you never repeat your plans to a new person each morning.
What's included
- The same driver and vehicle for the whole trip where possible
- Luggage stays with you — no repacking between transfers
- Days planned around your fixed bookings: flights, ferries, tours, cruises
- Honest advice about what fits in a day and what doesn't
- Works across both islands, including the Cook Strait crossing
- One booking, one price, agreed before you leave home
How it works
Visitors who try to piece a long trip together leg by leg usually discover the same two problems: New Zealand distances take longer than the map suggests, and every new booking means explaining everything again. A multi-day driver solves both.
We build the trip around the fixed points you already hold — flights, ferry sailings, Milford cruises, Hobbiton times — and fill the rest with drives that are realistic rather than optimistic. Your driver knows the whole plan on day one.
It suits families, small groups, multi-generational trips and anyone who would rather not drive on the left for two weeks. It is also the closest thing to a self-drive holiday without the rental counter, the fuel stops, the parking or the insurance excess.
Why book privately with us
Highway 1 Tours & Transfers is a New Zealand owned private transfer and touring company with NZTA-licensed, P-endorsed drivers. Every booking is a private hire: your own vehicle, your own timing, a fixed price agreed in advance, and a driver whose only job that day is your trip.
Frequently asked questions
More private travel
- Private touring — nationwidePrivate tours of New Zealand, built around your day
A private tour is simply your own vehicle, your own driver and a day that runs at your pace. You choose the start time, how long you linger, and when you have had enough — and a local driver handles the roads, the weather and the timing.
- Chauffeur hire — nationwideChauffeur service — a professional driver at your disposal
Some days need more than a single ride. A chauffeur booking keeps a driver and vehicle with you for as long as you need — between meetings, across a wedding day, through an event schedule, or for a full day of moving around a region.
- Luxury travel — nationwideLuxury travel in New Zealand, quietly handled
Guests travelling at the top end usually want the same thing: everything arranged before arrival, nothing to queue for, and someone reliable waiting at each point. That is the whole job — a premium vehicle, a discreet driver and a plan agreed in advance.
Other services we offer
A private transfer is only part of what we do. The same NZTA-licensed drivers and vehicles cover tours, hourly hire, airport and cruise work, corporate travel and group bookings throughout New Zealand.
Private, luxury & multi-day travel
Private touring, chauffeur hire, honeymoon travel and a driver for your whole New Zealand trip.
Explore private travelArriving in New Zealand
First-time visitor guides to landing at Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Wellington and Dunedin.
Read the arrival guidesIsland & region guides
What each part of New Zealand is known for, how long the drives really take, and how to travel it without a rental car.
Explore destinationsVisiting New Zealand
Driving on the left, kilometres to miles, money and tipping, the seasons, and travelling without a rental car.
Read visitor infoAirport shuttle alternative
Private airport transfers instead of a shared shuttle — your group alone, direct to the terminal, price agreed first.
Compare the optionsCity taxi, upgraded
A fixed-price private car instead of the taxi rank — city-by-city guides across New Zealand.
See your citySuburb airport transfers
Local detail on the run to Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington Airport from your own suburb.
Find your suburbPrivate day tours & sightseeing
Keep the same driver for the day and shape the route around what you'd like to see nationwide.
See private toursBy-the-hour driver hire
A driver and vehicle held for a block of time — best when your travel starts and finishes in the same town.
Book hourly hireAirport transfers
Flight-tracked pickups and drop-offs at every main New Zealand airport, door to door.
Airport transfersCruise port transfers & shore days
Met at the terminal in Auckland, Tauranga, Akaroa or Picton — back on board well before all-aboard time.
Cruise transfersSki field transfers
Winter-ready vehicles and alpine drivers for Queenstown, Wānaka, Mt Hutt and Ruapehu — gear included.
Ski transfersCorporate & executive travel
Business accounts, client and staff runs, event movements and consolidated invoicing.
Talk to usGroups, fleets & rental car alternative
Multiple vehicles on one booking for larger parties, or a driven alternative to hiring a car.
Rental car alternativeWhat transfers and taxis cost
Plain answers on what moves the price of an airport run in New Zealand, and how a fixed total compares with a meter.
Fares & costsWeddings, balls & big occasions
Private transport for weddings, school balls, corporate events, funerals, large groups and accessible travel.
Occasion transportConcerts & event transport
Ride there and ride home for the big nights — concerts, festivals and events across New Zealand.
Event transport
Please note: by-the-hour driver hire is only suitable when your travel starts and finishes in the same town. If you're finishing somewhere else, book a private transfer or a day trip so your fare covers the driver's travel.