Lupins on the drive to Christchurch on New Zealand Road Trip through South Island

Essential Tips to Save Money While Travelling in New Zealand

New Zealand is a spectacular country that anyone would look forward to visiting, but it is rather expensive. If you are planning to visit the country, it is essential to know how to save money in New Zealand right from the itinerary and date planning phase. This article is important to us, as we didn’t know any money-saving tips before we went and ended up with a huge hole in our pocket. We don’t want that for you. We want you to be able to plan better. So, here are our tips to save money while travelling in New Zealand for mid-range travellers who want a convenient yet affordable vacation!

Month of Travel

Let me start with the best months to travel before I get into anything else. If your dates are flexible and you really want to save money in New Zealand, then you should not visit in the summer months of December, January, and February. Summer is the peak season for New Zealand travel. If you choose to travel during the said period, your expenses will nearly double from those of any other time of the year. Yes double!

Travel in the shoulder seasons to make the most of your money. Shoulder seasons are autumn (March, April, and May) and spring (September, October, and November). May is the cheapest month to travel!

Visiting in the winter months—June, July, and August—will also be economical, except in skiing regions like Wanaka and Queenstown.  While the mountains are stunningly white during this time, I feel that New Zealand’s lowlands look very brown compared to summer’s beautiful green.

If we were to travel to New Zealand again, we would visit in March or November, as they are closest to the summer months. We love long and sunny days! Prices are not the lowest, but way lower than in the actual summer months.

Showing winter and summer so people can decide when to travel to NZ in order to save money to their trip to New Zealand
Summer vs Winter at Eglington Valley

Flights

  1. Book your international flight months in advance because flights to New Zealand are expensive.
  2. Check if booking flights with longer layovers will help you save money. It usually does!
  3. Search for flights on Momondo and Skyscanner in private/incognito mode.
  4. For deals on internal flights in New Zealand, check out JetstarFlyscoot and Grabaseat. Luckily, internal flights in New Zealand are generally cheap.
  5. Have flexible trip dates so you can play around with it to get the best deal. Do the same for your vehicle search!

View of South Island from the flight, New Zealand
View from the flight back home from New Zealand

Vehicle

  1. Book your car or campervan at the earliest. For a summer trip, book your car or campervan at least four months prior if not even earlier.
  2. Check if there are savings on booking directly with the car rental/campervan company as opposed to booking through price comparison websites.
  3. Choose a fuel-efficient car. The smaller the engine, the better. If you’re a bigger group, consider renting a hybrid car (works on electricity and fuel).
  4. Check if picking the car from the city is cheaper than picking from the airport.
  5. Don’t forget to refuel your car before drop off to avoid refuelling fee.
  6. Most people pick the rental car in Auckland (North Island) and drop it off at Christchurch (South Island), taking a ferry between North and South Island. The Interislander Ferry journey is one of The Great Journeys of New Zealand, a scenic one that is an attraction in itself, so most people prefer to do it. However, you may give this a miss to save money. Pick your car in Auckland, return it in Auckland and then take a flight to South Island (Christchurch). Do the same thing in Christchurch. You will see a significant drop in your car’s rent when you return your car to the same city that you picked it up in. Plus internal flights in New Zealand are not expensive! I think this is one hell of an option!
  7. Relocation- As mentioned before, most people pick up their rental in Auckland and drop it off at Christchurch. The car rental companies have to relocate the car to the original city (Auckland). If you pick up your rental at Christchurch and drop it off at Auckland, there are chances you will be able to save significantly and do the ferry ride as well! However, this may require getting the car to Auckland in a very limited number of days (usually three) but no harm in checking.

Rental Car in South Island, New Zealand
Our ride gets a photo shoot too!

Fuel

  1. Do not fill fuel at or near airports, as prices are relatively higher.
  2. Keep your supermarket receipts safely and show them at gas stations. I am mentioning some promotional offers here but always read the latest offers on the respective companies’ website. Show Pak’ n Save or New World receipts at Z Gas Station for a discount of 6 cents per litre. Show Fresh Choice receipts at BP Gas and G.A.S Stations (spending of $40 or above on fuel); click for terms and conditions of their fuel voucher programme.
  3. AA Smartfuel Card is a free card that enables you to get discounts whenever you buy groceries from Countdown Supermarket or fuel from participating stations- BP, ASB, Contact, Placemakers, G.A.S and more; read specific offers hereMobil Smiles is another such free card you could get. Pick these cards up from the partner outlets  (gas stations and department stores). Most fuel stations have their respective loyalty programme cards. However, these may require a prior application and local address- suitable for longer stays. Check the Gas Station websites for more information.
  4. Use Pricewatch and the Gaspy app to find fuel stations around you that have the lowest fuel prices. Both use different methods to ascertain fuel prices so you might want to consider checking both.
  5. Don’t speed because fuel consumption increases with speed. Not speeding will also help to keep you safe and not get a ticket.

Road toward Chirstchurc, New Zealand
Always in awe of NZ’s beautiful sceneries

Food and Accommodation

  1. In towns, you can pick cheaper accommodation that is outside of the town (farm stays can lead to amazing experiences).
  2. In cities, I would recommend picking accommodation that is walking distance from most places you would like to visit. If you pick one far away then you will have to drive to the place you want to visit and pay for parking.
  3. Book accommodation that provides complimentary breakfast so you can save money on food.
  4. Prepare at least one meal a day, if not both, at your accommodation. This is essential to save money while travelling in New Zealand even if you have never cooked on a holiday before. Food in NZ is expensive at an average of NZD 25-40 depending on your appetite. In order to cook meals yourself, try to book B&Bs that have a kitchen or at least a microwave. However, do not miss out on the must-eat foods in New Zealand.
  5. Buy groceries in bulk. Try Pak’n Save New Zealand for groceries at discounted prices.
  6. Coffee is amazing everywhere in New Zealand but it costs NZD 4.5 on average that can add on and become a huge sum. Have a balance between brewing your own cup and exploring the local cafes. Also, you can take a reusable cup to cafés to save a little more.
  7. For food deals at restaurants check out GraboneGrouponFirst Table and Restaurant Hub.
  8. Choose to buy bottles of wine from department stores than having craft beers and cocktails at restaurants. Wine is relatively cheap in NZ and the variety is mind-boggling (in a good way). Who doesn’t like to be spoilt for choices?

Picnic enroute Glenorchy to save money while travelling in New Zealand Trip.
Picnics are ideal in New Zealand

Activities

  1.  The country has way too many adventure activities to entice you- bungy jumpingskydivingscenic helicopter rideswhale watchingswimming with dolphinsdivingglacier hikingglacier sea kayakingjet-boating the list goes on. Choose the ones you really want to do and leave the rest for your future travels. 
  2. Look for activity deals on GrouponBookme, and Grabone.
  3. Make use of discount coupons in tourist magazines that you find at i-centres and at the airport.
  4. Nature is free- Go tramping (Kiwi word for hiking), visit beaches, chase waterfalls, and have picnics. New Zealand has a plethora of hiking and walking trails that are not only absolutely free to explore but also out-of-the-world beautiful. Check out these incredible day hikes in NZ.

Cathedral Cove visit is a must on a road trip in New Zealand
Nature is free!

Last but not the least, try bring to all essentials from home so you don’t have to shop for clothes, shoes, toiletries and the likes in NZ. New Zealand is not a place you want to spend time and money (a lot of it!) on shopping! 

I hope these New Zealand money saving tips enable you to have a wonderful time without fretting over exceeding your budget. If you have any more tips I may have missed, do leave them in the comments below so that the entire wandering community can benefit!

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