New Zealand Vacation Costs

A trip to New Zealand requires not only extensive travel planning but also a good cost estimate. One thing is clear: New Zealand is an expensive travel destination! Although it is a top destination for working holidaymakers and backpackers, a trip there will not be cheap. At the same time, a dream is fulfilled for anyone who travels to New Zealand.

I have traveled in New Zealand multiple times with a campervan and tent. This list of travel costs was created during my 9-week trip (3 months) around New Zealand. In this article, I've broken down my complete costs, so you can get a rough idea of what to expect financially and better plan your trip along with your budget.

New Zealand is one of the most expensive travel countries in the world. And you should not underestimate this in your travel planning. However, that doesn't mean you can't travel there on a budget. Whether on a low budget or a luxury trip - anything is possible in New Zealand. You just need to calculate carefully and correctly beforehand!

The most important question regarding cost clarification is always: What is your travel style? In other words: What do you value, what can you do without, and which activities do you definitely want to do? Activities like adventure tours, sightseeing trips, or hikes can quickly create a significant dent in your travel budget!

Another major cost factor is the choice of transport. New Zealanders are enthusiastic campers. If the initial numbers for purchasing or renting a car or camper put you off, it's worth comparing how much you could save on accommodations by opting for camping. Especially, prices for overnight stays can be considerable in New Zealand.

Food can also be costly. However, you can save here by cooking for yourself and not dining out too frequently.

In New Zealand, payment is made with the New Zealand Dollar (NZD/NZ$), often referred to as 'buck'. You can check the current exchange rate from euros to New Zealand dollars best with a currency converter. Generally, 1 New Zealand dollar is approximately equivalent to 0.60 euros.

Don't be surprised if the cashier rounds up or down to the nearest ten-cent during shopping. Rounding is common at New Zealand cash registers.

You can already pick up New Zealand dollars in the United States at your bank. However, keep in mind that the money generally needs to be ordered, and you should allow one or two weeks of waiting time. Some banks also charge a fee for this.

If you want to exchange euros for NZD, you will find exchange booths at all international airports.

My recommendation is not to carry unnecessary cash for exchange but to get a travel credit card, which allows you to withdraw money for free worldwide or even pay directly.

Like in many other English-speaking countries, it's also common in New Zealand to pay with a credit card. No extra fees are charged for this. However, you should check with your home bank beforehand whether they charge a so-called foreign transaction fee.

Currently, the best free credit cards for travel include the DKB Bank debit card, GenialCard (Hanseatic Bank), and the TF Bank Mastercard Gold. With a setup of at least 2 of these cards, you can often withdraw money for free from ATMs abroad and pay on site without foreign transaction fees in a foreign currency! -> Here you will find all tips with my experience for the best travel credit cards in comparison.

Although you can pay almost everywhere in New Zealand with a credit card, I recommend that you always have at least a little New Zealand cash on hand. Especially the remote DOC campsites usually require cash payments. Therefore, having the right change can often be invaluable.

You can withdraw money at any ATM in New Zealand as well as directly at the cash register while shopping. Some New Zealand banks charge a small withdrawal fee at ATMs, which you can get reimbursed by your home bank with the right credit card.

To provide you with a rough idea of the costs you might incur on a trip to New Zealand, I would like to give you an overview of my travel cost breakdown, which I diligently kept during our 2-month road trip. This gives you a first rough idea of what traveling in New Zealand might cost.

During my trip to New Zealand, I traveled with my girlfriend Susan for a total of nine weeks on the North and South Islands. We rented a JUCY cabana, where we easily spent most of the time staying at campsites.

We spent a total of 65 days in New Zealand, so good 2.5 months or 9 weeks. The breakdown of costs looks as follows:

The table shows the cost for one person when traveling as a pair and sharing the costs. If you travel alone, you should plan at least 1/4 more in total!

Our cost breakdown is somewhat simplified. Of course, Susan and I did not spend the same amount of money. We had a cash pool on the trip, from which we covered all joint expenses, such as gas, grocery shopping, and campsites. Susan was a bit more frugal, and I bought a few more souvenirs. This means Susan's trip to New Zealand cost her around 5,000 euros, while my expenses amounted to about 6,000 euros.

1. What are the daily travel costs in New Zealand?

If you exclude the expenses you have prior to the trip, it results in a daily budget of around NZ$ 90 for two people for your on-site expenses. Based on all my prior research, this was a reasonable average that covered our initial calculations fairly well.

Flight costs to New Zealand: Multi-city flights with Emirates, about 1600 euros per person.

Getting to New Zealand is quite a journey, after all, this dream destination is not exactly around the corner, being 18,000 kilometers away. The travel period is crucial for the price. Flights during the high season between December and February are the most expensive. In the low season between September and November, as well as from March to May, you can score some great deals. However, keep in mind: The cheaper the flight, the longer it usually takes, because you will have to endure long stopovers. That may not be appealing to everyone. Optionally, you can plan these directly and spend a few extra days in Dubai, Singapore, or Melbourne.

Since we wanted to book multi-city flights, we sought help from a travel agency at STA Travel and booked the flights there. Ultimately, we flew with Emirates as follows:

This combination cost around 1,600 euros, which is quite affordable for multi-city flights. With simple return flights, you can save money, and you can find flight ticket prices starting from 1,000 euros in the low season.

Travel health insurance with HanseMerkur for 65 days: 90 euros per person

Usually, I have a private travel insurance that automatically covers me for two months outside Europe. Check before your departure if you happen to have one too, to avoid additional costs!

If you don't have such insurance, I recommend purchasing a travel health insurance. Offers from HanseMerkur, as well as from STA Travel, are recommended.

If you really need medical care, you will have to pay for it out of pocket abroad initially. The insurance will reimburse your expenses afterwards.

New Zealand is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Therefore, many bring extensive gear. There are wonderful outdoor stores in New Zealand like Kathmandu or Mons Royal. If you do not want to equip yourself with fleece jackets, hiking shoes & other gear in advance in the USA, be sure to consider this in your travel budget!

For the New Zealand packing list

no costs

If you haven't been in a yellow fever zone in the past few weeks, no vaccinations are required for travel to New Zealand. However, it doesn't hurt to let your doctor take a look at your vaccination record occasionally. This way, you can ensure that all standard vaccinations are still active.

Total costs for car rental: NZ$ 5460 for 2 persons

Expenses for the car on-site: NZ$ 1134 for 2 persons

Finding a suitable car or campervan in New Zealand can be a major challenge given the number of providers. Even navigating on the left side can be easier by comparison!

For our trip, we chose a Toyota Estima from the car and camper rental company Jucy. Additionally, we booked the Stress-Free insurance and a second driver. Thus, the overall cost of renting the car was NZ$ 5460.

If you are planning to be in New Zealand for more than eight weeks, it might be worth considering buying a car. However, we decided on the more convenient and simultaneously safer option of renting a car.

Prices, of course, vary widely depending on what you're looking for. So think about it during your price calculations, whether you want to buy a van or just a car. The good thing about buying a car is that you can sell it after your trip and thus incur limited losses (or maybe even make a profit).

Total gas costs: about NZ$ 852

We tried to keep our gas costs in New Zealand as low as possible. However, since we drove almost every day, this was hardly possible. Moreover, gas prices increase the further south you go. Why there is a price difference between the North and South Islands, no one could explain... You can expect prices between NZ$ 1.60 to NZ$ 2.20 per liter (regular 91). Fuel consumption also depends, of course, on your car choice!

Expenses for additional car equipment: about NZ$ 30

Although we were traveling with a fully equipped camper, we supplemented the setup with some boxes and a new dish towel in between.

Costs for the ferry crossing for 2 persons & 1 car: about NZ$ 230

For the ferry crossing from the North Island to the South Island, you can only save money to a limited extent. There are two providers, whose prices hardly differ: The Interislander and Bluebridge. The Interislander is half an hour faster than Bluebridge, which is why we chose this provider.

Parking and toll costs: about NZ$ 22

Parking fees usually occur in New Zealand's big cities, such as Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch. And they can be quite high! Those thinking that parking at supermarket parking lots is a clever alternative have unfortunately made a mistake: regular checks are conducted there (and I mean every half hour!) where all cars staying longer are marked. Fines included!

Outside the larger cities, parking fees generally only occur at very touristy attractions. Therefore, we could mostly avoid them and only incurred a small contribution of about NZ$ 20.

By the way, additional fees are also incurred on some toll roads. But don't worry, currently, there are only three toll roads on the North Island, which you can find here and also avoid.

Total accommodation costs in New Zealand: NZ$ 1176 for two persons in 9 weeks

For our first nights in New Zealand, we booked a very nice Airbnb accommodation in Auckland. Two days after our arrival, we set off with our rental car from Jucy, and we spent 62 days "on the road" mostly sleeping at campsites.

Costs for 2 Airbnb stays in Auckland-Mission Bay: 92 euros for 2 persons

We spent our first two nights with a New Zealand family in Mission Bay, a suburb of Auckland. Since we already knew Auckland from our first trip to New Zealand, we deliberately chose not to stay in a hotel in the bustling city center. We wanted to arrive in New Zealand in a more relaxing way. Our host even met us directly at the airport!

Total expenses for campsites: NZ$ 1036 for 2 persons

We slept almost the entire trip in our rented Toyota Estima. In New Zealand, only vehicles or campervans labeled as Self-Contained are allowed to "wild camp". Therefore, we spent most nights at campsites for which we also paid. However, some designated free campsites were also included.

Expenses for accommodations during multi-day hikes: NZ$ 312 for 2 persons

During our New Zealand road trip, we paddled the Whanganui River Track and individually hiked the Kepler Track and the Queen Charlotte Track. For these hikes, you must either stay at camping sites or in huts, which often need to be booked in advance.

If you are traveling with a camper, of course, there are additional costs, such as for washing machines and dryers at the campsites. At some campsites, you also have to pay for showers. These costs are already included in our overall camping costs.

Total costs for activities in New Zealand: NZ$ 1235 for 2 persons

When it comes to the wildest outdoor activities, New Zealand is top-notch! From helicopter flights to luxury wellness weekends and hiking tours, you can experience it all. New Zealand is a champion in mass tourism, and the tour providers charge accordingly. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for your travel budget to consider what you want to do in advance. Whether it's bungee jumping in Queenstown or a kayaking tour in Abel Tasman: prices can be well researched beforehand.

To save money, we undertook many tours and hikes on our own. However, I'm a big fan of guided city walking tours, so these were included in Christchurch and Dunedin!

Here's an excerpt of the activities we undertook:

Total costs for food & drinks in New Zealand: NZ$ 1580 for two persons

Food prices in New Zealand are partly higher than in the USA. Especially dining out can create a massive dent in your travel budget! That's why we mostly cooked for ourselves, only occasionally enjoying a delicious pizza or a visit to a Thai restaurant for a special occasion.

Both of us value good, fresh food highly. For this reason, we didn't cut too much back here and often sought to buy fruits and vegetables locally at farmer's markets or directly from farmers or vendors on the street. Often, you can also directly buy their products on a farm and drop cash in what's called an honesty box. This is very common in New Zealand and allows you to get fresh and local produce at a good price.

Excerpts from our food costs:

Other expenses totaled: NZ$ 854 for 2 persons

This cost point also adds up significantly. The miscellaneous expenses depend strongly on your preferences and what you need during a trip. In my case, miscellaneous expenses include purchasing a SIM card for my smartphone, buying souvenirs, batteries, or repurchasing cosmetics. We also went to the cinema a few times and I had to get a new pair of sunglasses when mine broke again.

As a travel blogger, having mobile internet available on my phone was important to me. Therefore, I purchased a SIM card in New Zealand and recharged the credit twice. The SIM card cost me a one-time NZ$ 49 at Vodafone, including starting credit and worldwide free minutes for calling. After that, I recharged credit two more times for NZ$ 20 each.

If you need internet access, you will find many options in New Zealand to use the internet completely free of charge. However, you have to pay for Wi-Fi in most commercial holiday parks. Therefore, this cost factor also heavily depends on how often you want to use the internet.

Since we were often outdoors, we occasionally needed to replenish supplies. One of the most important items was definitely our insect repellent to defend against biting sandflies. You can get this for about NZ$ 10 at the Warehouse. But we also bought a small lightweight cooking pot for our multi-day hikes, and I couldn't resist getting a camping mug at the outdoor store Kathmandu.

The largest item in our miscellaneous expenses was definitely souvenirs. I just love sharing stories from my travels with friends and family through gifts. In New Zealand, we came across a lot of great items, for example, jade earrings in Hokitika or truffles from the chocolate factory in Blenheim.

During our research before the trip, we read about similar prices and calculations and thought: 'We won't spend that much!' But honestly: Far from it! It's better to plan a little more budget so that you don't find yourself struggling midway through your journey. A trip to New Zealand should be a highlight, and you don't want to spend it counting your money or being frustrated that it's not enough.

Susan and I traveled through New Zealand ten years ago as backpackers, so we had a rough idea of what to expect. We both know low-budget traveling and decided before this trip: we won't throw our money away, but we also won't eat pasta with tomato sauce every day.

My conclusion for you is: Don't underestimate New Zealand as an expensive travel destination. Consider carefully how much money you have in your travel budget, what activities you would like to do, and thoroughly research to find savings here and there!

Ultimately, we can say that we didn't regret a cent spent on our trip!

Have you been to New Zealand? What were your experiences? What did your trip cost?

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Advertising notice: During my trip, I collaborated with Jucy Camper, who provided us with our car at a discounted price.