One-way trips without one-way car hire fees
Picking a car up in one town and leaving it in another usually attracts a one-way drop-off or relocation fee, plus a deadline at the far end. Point to point is simply how a private transfer works — one price, no return leg, no depot.
What you don't have to deal with
- No drop-off, relocation or depot fees
- No return-by deadline shaping your last day
- Luggage loaded once, unloaded at your accommodation
- Sightseeing stops on the way if you want them
- Airport, hotel, cruise terminal and ferry pickups
- One fixed price for the vehicle, agreed before you travel
The honest version
One-way itineraries are extremely common in New Zealand — fly into one island, work your way down, fly out of another city. Rental fleets have to be rebalanced afterwards, which is why one-way hires carry extra charges and restricted vehicle availability, particularly across the Cook Strait or out of the Southern Lakes at the end of a season.
A private transfer has none of that structure. Your driver takes you from the address you are at to the address you are going to, and that is the whole transaction. Because the vehicle is yours for the trip, the journey can double as a sightseeing day: leave in the morning, stop where it is worth stopping, and arrive at your next accommodation in the evening rather than staring at the highway trying to make a return deadline.
It works equally well for the practical version — a straight point-to-point run between cities, or the airport leg at either end of a self-drive holiday when you would rather not collect or return a car around your flight times.
Tell us the two towns and the date. We will confirm a fixed price for the whole vehicle before you travel, with your bag count allowed for.
A private driver, not a rental and not a shared ride
Highway 1 Tours & Transfers is a New Zealand owned private transfer company with NZTA-licensed, P-endorsed drivers. Every booking is a private hire: your own vehicle and driver, a fixed price agreed before you travel, door-to-door pickups from airports, hotels, cruise and ferry terminals, and the same team for airport transfers, point-to-point trips between towns and full days of sightseeing anywhere in the country.
Frequently asked questions
Read next
- Rental car or private driver in New Zealand? An honest comparison
Hiring a car is the default for a New Zealand holiday, and for some trips it genuinely is the right call. For plenty of others it quietly adds cost and stress you did not budget for. Here is a straight comparison so you can decide before you land.
- See the South Island without hiring a car
The South Island has the roads people fly across the world to drive — and also the roads that make first-time visitors nervous. You can travel the whole island with a driver instead, leg by leg, and never touch a steering wheel.
- See the North Island without hiring a car
Auckland traffic, motorway interchanges and long rural highways are not most people's idea of a holiday. A private driver covers the North Island's main routes and headline days without a rental car in the picture.
More on travelling without a car: all rental car alternative guides · private day tours (13 guides in this series)
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.