New Zealand Road Trip Budget Breakdown (And Infographic)

New Zealand is without a doubt one of the most beautiful countries in the world. There is a huge variety of landscapes and the people of New Zealand are very friendly.

The country is easy to travel to, the roads are generally in good condition and you can travel around for years without running out of things to do in New Zealand.

If I have to think of one downside to New Zealand it has to be that it’s not the cheapest country in the world…

But don't worry, it's possible to travel to New Zealand on a budget!

In this post, you will find a full New Zealand road trip budget breakdown and clever budget-saving tips in order to make the most of your money in New Zealand.

New Zealand road trip budget

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Why you should visit New Zealand

The Māori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which roughly translates into ‘land of the long white cloud‘. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited, mainly because its landscapes are so diverse and unique.

Are you looking for majestic mountains? Visit the Southern Alps.

Do you want to climb a volcano? Hike the Tongariro Crossing.

Prefer to spend some time at a beautiful lake? Just pick your favorite, there are plenty to choose from.

I can go on, there are the ocean, tropical forest, waterfalls, beaches, hills, spectacular cliffs, and much more. You name it, New Zealand has got it.

Besides the beautiful nature, New Zealanders are incredibly friendly.

If you're having a coffee, they’ll have a chat with you and proudly tell you about their amazing country and awesome places you should visit. These are usually the kind of places you won’t find in the Lonely Planet, so it’s worth keeping your ears open.

If you are lost or so much appear to need anything, a friendly Kiwi will surely help you out.

What's more, the country is geared towards tourists and backpackers, so traveling around New Zealand is very easy and straightforward.

Now that I've convinced you to visit New Zealand, let's dive into the nitty-gritty details of our New Zealand trip budget.

New Zealand travel budget infographic

Since you are reading this post, you are probably curious about the average daily travel budget in New Zealand.

Of course, the amount you'll spend depends on your travel style, the length of your trip, and the type of accommodation you choose.

Generally speaking, you can travel around New Zealand on a budget of $60-$120 per day (per person). As you can see in the infographic, we spent €101/$114/160 NZD per day as a couple during our 6-week New Zealand road trip.

In the infographic, you can find our complete New Zealand budget breakdown and how much we paid for our campervan, accommodation, food & drinks, and activities.

New Zealand budget travel: important facts and figures

• I traveled to New Zealand with my husband, and all expenses mentioned are for the two of us together.
• This New Zealand budget breakdown doesn't include plane tickets to New Zealand.
• Our NZ trip started in Christchurch and ended in Auckland. We spent 6 weeks in New Zealand: 4 weeks on the South Island (which definitely has the most beautiful nature) and 2 weeks on the North Island (where you find more history and a lot more Maori culture).
• While driving in New Zealand is not necessarily difficult, there are some important things to know when you are going to self-drive in New Zealand.
• In total, we drove over 6500 kilometers of beautiful road, and still, there is so much more to see so I definitely plan on going back to New Zealand in the future.

How to save money when planning a trip to New Zealand

When planning your New Zealand trip, it's important to be flexible with your itinerary to make the most of your travel budget for New Zealand.

Avoid peak season (travel during the low season instead)

Start by researching the best time of year to visit New Zealand as flight costs, campervan rental prices, and campground fees can vary throughout the year.

The high season in New Zealand is from December to February. During these months prices for accommodation and other tourist facilities are at their highest.

So if you have the option to be flexible with your travel dates and able to travel during shoulder season, this is a great way to save money on your New Zealand trip.

While temperatures are at their highest during New Zealand's summer months (December until February), traveling in October, November, March, and April will reduce your travel costs considerably.

The daily rental rate of a campervan will be (much) lower and most campsites also charge less per night during these months.

Save money on flights

Let's face it: New Zealand is far away from every other country in the world. Even Australia is at least a 3-hour flight away, so plane tickets will make up a large chunk of your New Zealand travel budget.

That's why you can save a lot of money by searching for cheap flights to New Zealand on websites like Kiwi.com. Try different travel dates and see how this affects the price of your flight.

Generally speaking, the cheapest days to fly are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Airlines often offer discounted fares on these days, so it's worth checking the booking sites and comparing prices on different days of the week.

You’ll get a better deal by booking your flight in advance. For domestic flights 1-3 months before your trip is ideal.

For international flights, it’s best to book 2-8 months in advance. Tickets to Auckland are pretty much always the cheapest option but keep an eye open for tickets to Christchurch as well (the second-largest airport in New Zealand).

Lastly, you may be able to find cheaper flights if you're willing to be flexible with your departure and arrival times.

Sure, it’s not ideal to arrive in the middle of the night, but if it saves you hundreds of dollars it’s worth losing one night of good sleep.

✈️ Click here to find the best ticket deals

Book your accommodation in advance

Once you've got your flights booked, it’s time to research budget accommodation. I always use Agoda and Booking to find the best value-for-money accommodation for our trips.

I recommend checking both platforms before you book to make sure you get the best deals on hotel rooms.

Please note that Agoda includes taxes in their price whereas Booking doesn't always include this. Make sure to check this before finalizing your booking.

Also, if you're in a country with hefty ATM fees or a limit on how much cash you can withdraw per transaction it can be better to book with Agoda as you can often pay online with your credit card (thereby reducing your need for cash).

More New Zealand money-saving tips

• Travel from the South Island to New Zealand's North Island (instead of the other way around). We did this as well and flew into Christchurch. However, most people fly into Auckland and then travel south. You might find some good deals doing the opposite.
• Look into car or campervan relocations, sometimes you can find great deals for as little as 5NZD a day!

Have you always dreamed about doing a working holiday in New Zealand? Check out Global Work & Travel and get a €100 discount with the coupon code PHENOMENALGLOBE.

New Zealand travel expenses: categories

Now that you know some great ways to save money in the planning phase of your New Zealand trip, it's time for a deep dive into our New Zealand travel expenses.

Our New Zealand travel costs are divided into four categories:

1. Accommodation accounted for 53% of our travel expenses, the average cost was 83,74NZD per day (=€53 = $60)
2. Transportation took up 22%, on average 35NZD per day (= €22 = $25)
3. Food ate up some 17% of the travel budget, on average 27NZD per day (=€17 = $19)
4. Activities accounted for 8%, on average 13,26NZD per day (=€8,50 = $9,50), but with the amazing tours and activities that New Zealand has to offer this could easily be a lot more;-)

Cost of accommodation in New Zealand

In total we spent 3601NZD (= €2294 = $2572) on accommodation, averaging 83,70NZD (=€53 = $60) per day. Our New Zealand accommodation costs are split into three categories:

• Campervan rental fee (check prices here)
• Campsites
• Hotels

Costs to rent a campervan in New Zealand

For our New Zealand road trip, we rented a campervan and truly fell in love with van life. It was the first of many (campervan) road trips but certainly not the last…

The freedom of having your own wheels, going everywhere you want, driving winding (gravel) roads, pulling over anywhere you want to enjoy another spectacular view… In my personal opinion, it's the best way to travel!

The total cost for our campervan was 3060NZD, read more about renting a campervan in New Zealand here.

How to save on campsites in New Zealand

The second category of accommodation costs is campsite fees, which costs us 360NZD for the 41 nights we spent on various campsites (Holiday Parks, DOC campsites, and free campgrounds). 

Read all about the campgrounds we stayed at in this post.

The days when you could carelessly pull over anywhere and stay the night are long gone.

Because more and more tourists are coming to New Zealand, the government put stricter camping regulations in place and those not obeying those regulations risk a 200NZD fine.

This site contains more information about freedom camping.

That being said, there are still lots of places you can camp for free. In fact, of the 41 nights, we stayed on campsites 18 nights were completely free!

Don't stay in hotels in New Zealand if you want to save money

We only stayed in private rooms at one hostel and one hotel in New Zealand. All the other nights we slept in our campervan.

The day we arrived in Christchurch we stayed at Jailhouse Accommodation, a former prison built in 1874 that has been converted into a beautiful and comfortable hostel.

We stayed in our very own prison cell, luckily we also had our own key…

The day before we left New Zealand we stayed at Ibis Budget Hotel Auckland Airport, which was fine but nothing special.

We stayed here because it was a 15-minute walk to the airport, very convenient because of our early flight the next day.

Cost of transportation in New Zealand

While there is public transport available in New Zealand, I highly recommend renting a campervan (or renting a car if you prefer to stay in hotels or hostels).

Public transport requires planning and will only bring you to the main hubs, not to trailheads or off-the-beaten path locations.

Also, while I haven't done the exact math, I think it's cheaper to travel by campervan if you're traveling as a couple, as a family, or as a group of friends.

In total, we spent 1506NZD (= €960 = $1076) on transportation, averaging 35NZD per day (= €22 = $25). Our New Zealand transportation costs can also be split into three categories:

• Petrol
• Boat ticket from South Island to North Island
• Bus fees

How to save on fuel in New Zealand

As I said before in this post, having your own wheels is the best and I definitely recommend this way of traveling in New Zealand.

But unfortunately, our loyal campervan didn’t run on love alone so we ended up stopping for petrol every other day.

In total, we spent a whopping 1257NZD on fuel which comes down to 30NZD a day. We paid anything from 1.50NZD up to 2NZD per liter when we were there.

My two best tips to save money on fuel:

• Get a free AA card, which entitles you to a discount per liter of fuel (the amount changes daily but is usually around 6ct). Read more about the AA card here.
• Do not, and I repeat, do not find yourself in the position of having to fill up your tank in Franz Josef. We paid 2NZD p/l (yes, really!) because the nearest fuel station was over 90km away (we only just got enough fuel in Franz Josef to get to Hokitika where the fuel price was only 1,70NZD p/l).

Particularly on the South Island, there are a couple of stretches where you’ll find no gas stations for more than 100 km.

So before hitting the road, check the level of your tank and your planned route for gas stations to avoid getting stranded or paying the premium price.

The Cook Straight ferry: how much is a boat ticket?

We rented our van in Christchurch and dropped it off in Auckland. And so our trusted camper crossed the Cook Straight with us, to travel from the South Island to the North Island.

For 2 adults and our (less than 5.5 meters and therefore falling into the category ‘Private Car’) campervan, we paid 226NZD with Bluebridge Ferries.

Bluebridge has excellent customer service, they responded to my email requesting a date change within the hour and carried out the change without extra charge.

Our bus fees in New Zealand

We only took the bus twice in New Zealand so we only spent 23 NZD on bus fees.

We paid 16NZD (8 per person) to get from Christchurch International Airport to the city center and 7NZD (3,5 per person) to get from Jailhouse accommodation to a shopping mall at Riccarton Road and back again.

Cost of food in New Zealand

In total we spent 1161NZD (= €739 = $829) on food, averaging 27NZD (=€17 = $19) per day. Food costs can be split into two categories:

• Groceries
• Food, drinks, snacks

How much do groceries cost in New Zealand?

We spent 877NZD on groceries, which is approximately 20NZD a day. In my opinion, 20 NZD a day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for two people isn’t much.

Cooking your own meals is an absolute key to keeping your New Zealand road trip budget in check!

Our advice to save money on groceries in New Zealand:

• Buy your groceries in large supermarkets such as Pak ‘n Save, New World, FreshChoice, or Countdown! This is much cheaper than shopping in small villages where there is usually only one small store (mostly the Four Square). Of course, buying fruit, veggies, eggs, etc. from farms and stalls by the road is a great way to support local farmers, also, these products are usually excellent quality and really fresh.
• Get a free New World membership card, which gives you discounts on selected items.

I loved cooking meals in our van and having lunch or dinner while looking over a beautiful lake or listening to a trickling stream or the rushing ocean.

Eating out in New Zealand: costs for drinks and snacks

In total, we spent some 284NZD on various food and drinks. While it’s good to monitor your spending, you should also enjoy your trip and have that ice cream after hiking for three hours.

Or that cold beer after climbing Mount Doom. Or a good cup of coffee every now and then.

Although, one piece of advice if you’re also into coffee: we found a little espresso maker in Westport which reduced our coffee costs because we made our own delicious espresso and cappuccino once we got that.

Cost of activities in New Zealand

When you’re in New Zealand, make sure to take advantage of all the free activities the country has to offer.

Explore lovely cities such as Napier and Wellington, admire the stunning National Parks, and enjoy endless hiking opportunities. Doing so will help you make the most of your vacation while still sticking to your budget.

During our New Zealand trip, we spent 570,50NZD (= €363 = $408) on paid activities, on average 13,26NZD per day (=€8,50 = $9,50).

We didn't do too many organized tours, but we did take a cruise around Milford Sound, went on an eco-friendly dolphin tour in the Bay of Islands, and visited the hot springs in Hanmer Springs, amongst other things.

So it's definitely possible to have fun and travel around NZ on a budget at the same time.

That being said, there are countless amazing tours and activities to be found in New Zealand, such as skydiving in Queenstown, going on a wine tour in the Gibbston valley, cruising Lake Wakatipu on the legendary TSS Earnslow, and visiting the famous glowworm caves in Waitomo.

Plan your New Zealand trip like a pro with these tools:
? Rent a campervan for your NZ road trip (or a car via Rentalcars.com).
? Arrange your NZ working holiday with Global Work & Travel.
? Stay connected with a New Zealand SIM card.
? Plan your journey with the New Zealand Lonely Planet.
?️ Find the best hotel deals on Booking.com or Agoda.
? Join the best tours in New Zealand via Get Your Guide or Viator.
?️ Travel safely and get reliable travel insurance from Safety Wing.

Travel insurance costs

I didn't include the cost of travel insurance in our New Zealand budget breakdown because we use our travel insurance for all our trips, not just for our New Zealand itinerary.

However, that doesn't take away the fact that making sure you have proper travel insurance is super important.

It helps protect you and your belongings in the event of a mishap during your travels. Furthermore, it provides coverage for medical expenses, trip cancellation, lost or stolen items, and more.

Also, having good travel insurance will provide you peace of mind, knowing that if something goes wrong, you have a safety net in place.

With so much to consider when planning a trip, having the right travel insurance can help ensure a smooth and enjoyable journey without stressing out about things that can go wrong.

Unforeseen costs: the parking accident

I’ll be honest with you, there is one expense I did not include in all budget breakdowns… The truth is, I had a teeny tiny parking accident with our rental van which resulted in this:

Stupid. Mistake. Luckily, we had paid a fee of 390NZD for 0-liability, so the damage I caused was paid by the rental company. They were very kind about it, but I felt rather embarrassed nonetheless…

The thing about their Zero Excess policy is that it only covers one accident (which I think is totally fair since it is a very reasonable fee, much lower than what I have seen at other rental companies).

So we had to decide if we would pay the Zero Excess fee again. We had 17 days left, meaning we would have to pay 17*19NZD = 320NZD. Definitely money I would have preferred to spend on something more fun.

Nevertheless, we decided to purchase Zero Excess again. We just didn't want to run the risk of having to pay up to 3000NZD.

If by some streak of bad luck or my apparently not-so-good parking skills, we would have another accident it would mean cutting our trip short because we wouldn’t have enough money left for the remaining months.

Lesson learned.

My recommendation about traveling, in general, is to make sure you have a buffer for unforeseen expenses, say 10% of your total budget.

Because a lot can (and will;-) happen on a long trip and it’s better to be prepared.

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Budgeting in New Zealand: in conclusion

I know, it’s a long post. But you made it to the end, congrats! Now you know all about our New Zealand expenses.

Even though it was the most expensive place we traveled to during our 5-month trip, it was also our favorite country.

I fell in love with the incredibly varied nature, the beautiful wide skies, the friendly people, and the relaxed pace of things which altogether added up to an ultimate feeling of freedom and happiness.

New Zealand is one of my favorite countries in the world and I hope this post has convinced you that you can make a New Zealand budget trip.

Below you can download the New Zealand budget breakdown infographic, happy travels!

Also read these New Zealand posts:

• Hiking New Zealand South Island
• Practical advice about traveling in New Zealand

This post was updated in December 2022.