travel to New Zealand on a budget. To go to the country with its beautiful nature, you must first get
New Zealand tourist visa. The New Zealand Immigration Service issues a visitor visa for EU citizens who want to visit New Zealand for a period of up to 9 months. With such a visitor visa, you can also attend English courses and vocational training courses (computer and business courses) with a course duration of up to months. For the application, you have to submit the following documents:
• Your passport must be valid for at least three months after the end of your stay in New Zealand. Children (up to their 6th year of age) can enter with a child ID or be noted in their parents’ passports. Children (from the age of 6) must have a child ID card with a current picture or travel with a passport.
• Payment of the application fee of about € 130. The fee is payable in cash, by credit or debit card.
• A recent passport picture
• If you apply by post: A sufficiently stamped and addressed to you return envelope
When entering the country, you will need the following additional documents:
• Proof of sufficient financial means to cover all costs that arise during the stay. This evidence can be provided by presenting a traveller’s check, a letter of credit or a current account statement with a bank stamp.
• Return or onward ticket
In principle, a tourist visa is issued for a period of up to nine months. In this time window, you have the opportunity to discover the country. If you want to stay longer in New Zealand, you can have your visa extended.
You can get travel tips New Zealand information here. New Zealand is an expensive place to be.
On average, you can expect an average daily budget of 60 euros per person. Depending on the requirements and the selection of your tours, you may need more money. Of course, your costs and your interest in saving depend on how you get to know New Zealand. With these general tips, you can still really save money without any major restrictions. Now we can look at
how to travel New Zealand on a budget.
Tips for saving even before you start your journey
So, how to travel around
New Zealand? Before you start your journey, you should make a few considerations, seeing that it is worth it.
1. Flight. Travelling to New Zealand from Europe is expensive. It is still possible to get hold of the cheapest flight. The
best thing to do is to look for offers at Skyscanner or Momondo.
2. Camping versus accommodation. Think about your options: do you want to travel in a camper or organize transport and accommodation separately. If you are camping, you can save money when renting.
3. Plan your trip from the South Island to the North Island. If you want to rent a rental car or campervan, plan your route from south to north. Rent from Christchurch to Auckland is usually cheaper.
4. Buying a car or campervan. Make sense if the trip lasts two months or more. However, you have to plan slack for buying and selling. If you’re pressed for time, you’re probably doing bad business. In addition, you should only consider buying if you are familiar with cars and have a potential repair budget.
5. Equipment. Plan your equipment in great detail. Almost everything is more expensive in New Zealand than in Europe, so it makes sense to think about taking detergent with you. Especially when choosing your clothes, you shouldn’t assume bikini temperatures. Therefore, do not be economical and be prepared against the cold. Buying outdoor clothing is also expensive.
6. Locomotion. Having your vehicle makes you flexible, and you can comfortably discover even remote places. Think about how much space and comfort you actually need and compare the offers very carefully. Hitchhiking is also very popular in New Zealand.
7. Accommodations.
If you are not travelling in a camper, you can save $ 2 per night with a German youth hostel card in all YHAs in New Zealand. With the BBH card, you can save 3 $ per night in the participating hostels. Airbnb in Christchurch or Auckland can be an alternative to a
hotel. You have to calculate $ 100 per person for hotel rooms and for a bed in a hostel with $ 25 per person.
8. Camping. There are 3 categories: Holiday Parks, DOC Campsites and Freedom Camping. Does it have to be the most comfortable way in the Holiday Park, or isn’t it perhaps nicer to experience nature? When camping, you save money simply by not being dependent on time and place. The organization of accommodation, getting around, and food is quite laborious and usually more expensive than a day in the camper.
9. Petrol. Plan your route very carefully. The paths, especially on the mountainous South Island but also to the far north, are long. Decide on selected highlights and enjoy what is on the way. Less is often more. When choosing your vehicle, pay attention to fuel consumption. Cheap older cars or huge motorhomes are not exactly the most economical companions. Obviously, in remote locations, such as Milford Sound, refuelling is much more expensive. Compare the prices as well, as they sometimes fluctuate a lot. Choose a good time to refuel the car.
10. Parking fees. Parking is expensive. An hour costs between NZ $ 2-4. Ask exiting guests about the remaining credit on their parking ticket, for example, at the Te Papa Museum in
Wellington, where exiting parkers will be happy to transfer their day ticket to you.
11. Shop. If possible, you should always buy groceries from Pack’s Safe. Small supermarkets are more expensive. Compare prices very carefully. The alleged offers presented are not always really cheaper. Check the private label budget. When you are shopping, there are discount campaigns on the receipt for the next purchase of petrol. You can usually get it cheaper at fruit and vegetable stands on the roadside, especially at harvest time. Look out for rejected goods in supermarkets and greengrocers, and these are usually available at half price or cheaper, but still great.
12. Cooking on my own. Of course, eating out is more expensive than cooking by yourself, but it is also very easy and great fun in the camper. If you have absolutely nothing to do with cooking, you can now and then use ready-made canned meals, which in New Zealand are not necessarily contaminated with glutamate. Half a chicken from the supermarket is also quite tasty and cheaper than in restaurants.
13. Tours. You can spend a fortune on tours in New Zealand. Whether on boat tours like Milford Sound, whale watching, bungee jumping, kayaking, rafting, skydiving, glacier hikes, helicopter flights, wine tours or visiting the Hobbiton film set.
There are so many possibilities that you should think carefully about which of the tours you want to spend your money on, or whether the lonely experience of nature might not be enough for you? New Zealand is definitely a good alternative to expensive tours, guaranteed many other tourists in harmony with nature.
14. Discount coupons. There is also Groupon in New Zealand or GrabOne.
15. Withdraw the money and visit the national parks on the South Island. The South Island of New Zealand gives nature lovers numerous opportunities to be amazed at its many national parks and offers a huge “
adventure playground” with varied landscapes. It is larger than the North Island, and with 1 million inhabitants, significantly fewer people live here than in the north with its almost 3.7 million inhabitants. A clear advantage for quiet and unspoiled nature: Magical beaches, secluded bays, impressive fjords, imposing glaciers and deep mountain valleys are just some of the wonderful landscapes that visitors to the south of New Zealand can expect during a tour.
New Zealand vacations
We have done the research for people looking for answers to how to travel to New Zealand on a budget. The drive to the lakes in itself is really beautiful, as the name of the street “
Scenic Inland Route” suggests. And then suddenly it is there, this bright turquoise lake, surrounded by mountains. You will likely come to the smaller Lake Tekapo first. Tear off your clothes and quickly run into the cold water without worrying about the water temperature. Even in summer, the mountain lake is still really cold, but the feeling of being inside will reward you. The water looks as unnaturally blue as it does from a paintbox. Then the scenery with the possibly snow-covered mountains behind the you-a dream. It is one of the
best places to travel New Zealand on a budget.
The Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand is arguably one of the most beautiful parks to get active and hike. It is one of the places we can give travel tips in New Zealand. It is located northwest of the South Island and will inspire you with its beautiful, quiet beaches, brilliant views, and jungle-like forest. Then you can drop yourself off at the stop or, better still, the beach of your choice, walk back a certain distance, and then have yourself picked up at another beach. You can understand how to travel in New Zealand on a budget by reading this blog.
Here are some travel tips New Zealand. How to travel New Zealand on a budget?
For some hostels, you can pay up to $ 35 per night for a dorm room. In the worst-case scenario, you won’t even get any sleep for the money. Unfortunately, bed neighbours who snore or inconsiderate roommates are not uncommon.
Airbnb is a very good way to spend the night cheaply and is one of our favourites among the savings tips for New Zealand. You can get a private room for far less than NZD 35. In the cities of New Zealand, you often get a room between 15 and 30 NZD and then have that completely to yourself. Another advantage? You come into contact with “locals” because your landlords are mostly locals.
You can find visa-related information like this on our website (
Pickvisa.com).