Kiwi Motorhomes Reviews

My family and i recently hired Violet for a 6 day road trip and this being our first time hiring a camper, i was very impressed with the overall experience. Leon and Varnier was so very helpful when we first got in contact them and made things so easy. When picking up the camper Caleb was there to greet us with the handover information, that he conveyed so effectively. He also emailed us videos(if any issues were to occur) which we didn't really need as he had explained thoroughly 👏👏 The campervan was clean, comfortable, and well-maintained, with plenty of space to store our gears. The amenities were also spot on, with a fully-equipped kitchenette and bathroom facilities that made it easy to self-cater on the go. The campervan's fuel efficiency was also impressive, which was a big plus for our budget. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable and enjoyable campervan experience. Kiwi motorhomes from my whanau to yours thank you so much for a beautiful experience with memories my whanau will cherish forever❤️❤️❤️

Kiwi Motorhomes were fantastic. The pickup was seamless with a thorough handover from Caleb! Everyone was super friendly and great to deal with. Communication was excellent too. The Motorhome exceeded our expectations and was presented to us in excellent order with great attention to Hygiene. We are looking forward to doing this again in the Summer and will definitely use Kiwi Motorhomes again. Thoroughly recommend!

Do not book with kiwi campers. We had a very old camper so everything wuld fall off, no heater, 1 blanket for 4 ppl, staff on return lady behavior was unacceptable. Terrible customer service.

Excellent experience! The mobile home that we rented was perfect – it was in great condition and exactly as described. Also, their customer service was excellent.

Disappointing and certainly not worth the $500+ (nzd) PER DAY that we paid. When we collected the motorhome (Aria) from Hayley in Christchurch there were a number of issues that were picked up, some of which apparently existed prior to the previous rental (according to Hayley). We were not notified of any of these issues prior to pick up, nor given the option of another motorhome. The major issues were: No reversing camera, even though the spec’s clearly stated that there was a colour reversing camera. The main reason we agreed to hire Aria was the reversing camera; Neither the satellite nor the television worked, even though we had indicated that we wanted to watch tv/dvd’s; There was a screw missing for the middle support pole for the awning, which prevented us from using the awning in case of further damage (which we would have been held accountable for); The holding latch for the side door did not work so the door would not stay open. Hayley tried to assist with fixing some of these issues but could not, so advised us to contact Varnier (one of the owners I believe). We sent an email outlining these issues and asking for advice the day after we collected the motorhome. Unfortunately no one bothered to respond to this email. We waited 6 days then sent a WhatsApp message to Varnier asking for a response to our email. Again, nobody bothered to reply. To date we have received no response to either the email or the WhatsApp message. The only correspondence we received during the duration of our hire was a request to pay the bond, which we had already paid, as requested, a week before we collected the motorhome. After returning the motorhome and having it signed off with no further damage, we were advised that the refund of the bond would be processed in a week. Unfortunately we have had to wait 3 weeks and send numerous emails before receiving our bond back. I will add that we spent considerable time in New Zealand before picking up the motorhome and averaged only around $350 per day on car hire (with no excess), and motel accommodation that included a working tv, often with cable, free wi fi, sometimes cooking facilities and no need to empty toilet containers or grey water. Certainly a much more attractive option.

I chose Kiwi Motorhomes based on their stellar reviews, but ended up very disappointed with my choice as we had so many issues with their service and van during our 3-week holiday. Day 1 - When we picked up the van, 3 items that had been agreed to via our contract (GPS system, bottle of wine and extension cord) were not provided. When I reserved the campervan, I was told by Varnier we could get an extension cord for my husband’s CPAP – a medical device. When we picked up the van we were told that an extension cord is not allowed. If I had known this when I reserved, I would have chosen another campervan that had an outlet closer to the head of the bed. We ended up buying an extension cord. Hayley did find a bottle of wine for us. Evidently, they don’t offer wine anymore, but it was on my quote and on the signed contract. The final issue at pick-up was that the freedom camping certificate had expired. We had to wait 3 hours for the inspector to come and recertify the campervan. Day 2-4, we had transmission problems. The automatic van seemed to not want to downshift, and slowed us to a stop on the highway. My husband eventually figured out how to manually coax it into a lower gear. Day 3 – the WiFi hotspot stopped due to a broken soldered joint on the 12V connector. My husband was able to fix the broken connection. We were out more time due to the effort to repair. Day 13 – Check engine light came on. KMH helped to call around to see if we could get in to an auto repair shop to read the error code. Unfortunately, none of the shops had availability for at least 3 weeks, so we made a joint decision that the risk was probably low and we would continue on. Another 3-hour delay. Day 14 – CO detector batteries started chirping in the night. We bought new batteries and were back up and running. Day 17 – The check brake pad light came on as we were winding our way up and down Arthur’s Pass. Very nerve wracking. Other issues: The DVD player in the bedroom didn’t work. The remote for the DVD player in the kitchen area didn’t work. Two cabinet knobs broke and the windshield wiper on the driver side was worthless (shredded and would vibrate off the handle). With the exception of the extension cord, check engine light and check brake pad light, I would have shrugged off any one or 2 of these issues as “stuff happens”. However, it seemed like something was happening every day and in our last week of the rental, anytime we were driving, we constantly wondered if we were going to get stranded somewhere due to the engine and brake pad issues. At this point, I am hesitant to ever rent another campervan, let alone recommend Kiwi Motorhomes to anyone else.

Great client service, straight forward and easy communication. Rented for 21 days and was very happy with the service and campervan.

Absolutely above and beyond! We had no issues picking up and returning. Booking was easy. The campervan was great! Jimmy easily fit our family of 6. My 8 year old had left her journal tucked away so we didn’t see it when packing up. When we returned to Auckland, I realized it had gotten missed. Leon was in Christchurch (our drop off point) and volunteered himself as a personal courier. We were able to get it before leaving New Zealand. Service with a smile, along the extra mile! Thank you so much KMH team. It was a memorable trip.

We hired Luigi for around two months to support our sister, Wendy, on her Tour of Aotearoa. With little time to train and shall we say in the older age group, we wanted to help her achieve her dream. Luigi’s only common passenger was Wendy’s dog, Doogal, as the driving teams changed as she biked down the country. He was the co-driver sitting on his booster set in the front! We did have some problems - the door could not be opened from the inside due to the mechanism breaking, an errant draw which liked to slide out during travel and the bumper meeting the ramp (requiring some gaffer tape repair). As we had a schedule to maintain and what seems to be a huge demand on motorhome repairers in NZ, we made do and in some ways that was part of the adventure. We always say legends are never made about what goes right. So Luigi is part of our family now and we hope that future adventurers enjoy him. Thanks to Leon, Varnier and the team for sharing our dream and making it easy. Cheers Tuck Adventour of Aotearoa

We hired a campervan for over 30 days, it was a van with lots of space. We made good use of the bikes we hired with it. Picking up and dropping of was well organized. Also the fact we could pick it up in Christchurch and drop it of in Auckland. The bed was comfortable and there was enough stuff in the kitchen to prepare meals. The refrigerator was really big and the part where you could put your bottles very handy. All in all we had a wonderful holiday!!!

From the moment we contacted Leon and Varnier nine months ago, they were always there for us, helping us to plan our epic 7-week motorhome adventure in New Zealand. With us being in the UK, they set up a WhatsApp group with us and helped us with all our questions even before we committed to hiring our chariot from Kiwi Motorhomes. Communication was always timely and all our questions were answered personally by Leon or Varnier in a clear and concise manner. When the motorhome we were supposed to have went out of commission only two weeks before the start of our trip due to an accident, Leon and Varnier pulled out all the stops to ensure that we got a replacement motorhome just as good - the lovely TUI. She was handed over to us in tip top condition and with everything you could possibly need, and we had a thorough instruction on how to operate her before we drove off. During our travels, any of our enquiries were answered promptly. We could not have asked for a better company to work with - a personal touch from start to finish, easy to deal with and a fantastic motorhome! Highly recommended - if ever we are lucky enough to come back to NZ and need a motorhome, there is no question that we would return to Kiwi Motorhomes!

We had a wonderful experience with Kiwi Motorhomes. My partner and I had never driven a campervan but Leon and Varnier were really helpful. As well as providing information about the campervan in advance they went through all the functions of the motorhome where we arrived so we felt really confident. Our campervan(Jordy) was really comfortable and quite spacious for two people. Definitely the best way to explore New Zealand. We picked up in Auckland and dropped off in Christchurch and both pick up and drop off were easy. Thank you so much to Kiwi Motorhomes!

Hi to all the crew at kiwi motorhomes. We have just returned from a 17 day adventure in the south island of New Zealand. We had a Roxy motorhome which was absolutely fantastic. The service we received from Leon Varnier Hayley and Shane couldn't have been better. If you are thinking of hiring a motorhome you will not find better. Thanks Kiwi Motorhomes 😊 . Sam and Carolyn.

We drove Jasper around bith islands for over 3 weeks and we had an amazing experience with Kiwi motors. The RV was spotless and in good condition. They didn't rush us through our pickup and spent alot of time showing us how everything worked. The drop off and pick up were so easy. We loved every minute of our trip, enjoyed the time as a family (we took a 3.5 year old) and would 100% recommend kiwi.

Kiwi Motorhomes team were outstanding with service, support and a real friendly Kiwi attitude. Thank you Leon and Varnier .

Fantastic experience! The owners are so kind and helpful. The motorhome I had was in tiptop shape. Will definitely be using them again.

We rented Liberty for 14 days in January 2024. 2 stars because they were helpful when booking but the way damage was dealt with was unfair. We picked up the motorhome in Christchurch and on the first day we noticed that the habitation door felt "sticky" in that it took extra effort to close and the latch didn't feel like it was working properly. We didn't think much of it as we are not motorhome experts and we didn't notice it during the initial inspection. The fourth day into the trip it got much worse and upon further inspection we noticed the door latch catch bar was a bit bent - likely due to extra pressure from the latch not opening/closing properly when the door was shutting. We let Kiwi Motorhomes know via. WhatsApp with images and they said it might need to get looked at if it gets worse. During a few windy days the door latch did not catch properly which lead to the door slamming open and bending the frame (which we did not notice until later). A few days after we initially messaged about the issue the latch catch bar broke off entirely. We were out of cell phone service so we slept the night and drove back to service with my wife holding the door shut as we drove. We called Kiwi Motorhomes and they sent us to a RV center who told us they couldn't help because we didn't rent from them. Kiwi Motorhomes called some other places and found a mechanic who could take us at 3pm. They were able to weld a temporary fix so that we could continue on our way safely but we spent the day waiting around. For the remainder of the trip we mostly avoided using the side door (which was quite annoying with a baby on board). Our bond was returned after about 3 weeks and they charged us for the repair amount of $2k. We followed up to ask if they would cover part of the repairs because the latch issue was pre-existing and not something we could have avoided but they did not respond. My understanding of the bond policy is that unless you call out all possible issues at the time of picking up the motorhome and document them you will be liable for all damages even if they were caused by a pre-existing issue. I've rented 20+ cars and 2 camper vans in the last few years and have never had to deal with damages like this that were out of my control. The optional coverage to reduce the bond amount would have left us paying more overall so there wasn't an insurance option to even avoid this. Overall Kiwi Motorhomes was nice to deal with and the Motorhome was fine but the way damages were handled did not feel fair to us and I wouldn't rent from them again.

We rented a Motorhomes for 3 weeks and really everything was great. Great service throughout and we had a great time. We were able to find a Motorhomes with a long bed for a tall person. I can recommend Kiwi Motorhomes.

I would highly recommend Kiwi Motorhomes. The vans are in great shape and service excellent. And of course New Zealand is breath taking!

We loved our experience with Kiwi Motorhomes. The pickup and drop off were easy. The motorhome was exactly as described and provided everything we needed during our 2 week rental. The beds were comfortable and the living space adequate. We really appreciated having the WiFi capability throughout our journey. Highly recommend using Kiwi Motorhomes to make the most of your New Zealand experience.