Short version: We earn a commission from the motorhome rental companies we recommend, at no extra cost to you. We don't charge you for the planning conversation, we don't take a markup on the rental price, and we don't get paid more by one fleet than another in a way that would skew our advice. The long version is below.

What we charge for

Nothing directly to the traveller, in the standard case. The planning conversation through the talk-to-us form is free. If we send a custom route plan, it's free. Email back-and-forth is free. We don't have a paywall, a premium tier, or a one-time planning fee.

The exception: if you ask for something genuinely outside the standard planning conversation — for example, a fully-worked custom itinerary with restaurant and accommodation bookings, or a same-day urgent re-plan because of a weather event — we may quote a flat fee. We say so upfront, in writing, before any work starts. If you don't want to pay, we don't do the work and there's no hard feelings.

Where the income actually comes from

Rental fleet commissions. When you book a motorhome through one of the rental fleets we recommend, the fleet pays Aoraki Routes a small percentage of the rental — usually 5-12% depending on the fleet and the season. You pay the same price as if you'd booked direct without ever finding us. The commission comes out of the fleet's marketing budget, not your pocket.

We don't currently take commission on anything else — not on holiday park bookings, not on activities (Milford cruises, glacier hikes, ski passes), not on the Cook Strait ferry. If we suggest one of those, it's because we think it fits your trip, not because anyone is paying us for the mention.

Why this can still be honest advice

The standard objection to affiliate commissions is that they bias the advice. That objection is real and we take it seriously. Here's what we do about it:

  • We work with most major NZ motorhome fleets, not one. That means our income doesn't depend on pushing any single fleet — we earn roughly the same whether we recommend fleet A or fleet B for your trip.
  • We don't accept exclusive deals. Some affiliate networks pay higher commissions if a site agrees to recommend only their fleet. We don't take those deals because they break the advice model.
  • We tell you when a fleet doesn't fit. If your trip suits a budget vehicle but we earn more from premium, we still tell you the budget vehicle fits — and we'd rather you book the budget one and remember us next time than over-buy and feel oversold.
  • We tell you when we earn nothing. Some smaller independent NZ fleets don't pay commission. If one of those fits your trip best, we say so anyway and tell you we earn nothing on the recommendation.

How to check we're being straight

Three things you can do:

  1. Get a quote direct from the fleet we recommend. If our advice is honest, the price will match what we said. If we'd marked anything up, you'd find it here.
  2. Get a second opinion. A Reddit thread on r/newzealand, a Facebook group like NZ Motorhome Travellers, or a quote from another planning site will tell you fast whether our suggestion is reasonable or weird.
  3. Ask us directly. "Why this fleet and not that one?" is a question we expect. The answer should make sense in plain English — vehicle layout, route fit, vehicle age, depot location, current pricing. If the answer is hand-wavy, push back.

Things we don't do

  • We don't take payment for the rental itself. Booking and payment go direct with the fleet.
  • We don't share your email address with anyone — not rental fleets, not marketing lists, not affiliate networks.
  • We don't show fake reviews, made-up testimonials, or AI-generated case studies. Real testimonials only, with names and dates where the traveller agreed to be quoted.
  • We don't run a referral programme that pays you to refer friends. We just ask that if a friend asks where you planned your trip, you tell them.

If something feels off

Email [email protected]. We'd rather hear "this advice doesn't match what I'm reading elsewhere" than have you book the wrong thing and find out we got it wrong later. Honest feedback is how the planning advice on the rest of this site stays accurate.