How Much Does a Trip to New Zealand Cost?

Before I really dive into our New Zealand trip budget, there are a few things you should know. This trip came at the end of a long and tortuous road of travel planning.

• Our first planned trip to New Zealand was canceled in March 2020. The 2020 trip was going to be about 13 nights, and we saved up $7,000.
• We rebooked that first trip for May/June 2021 and expanded our itinerary to 19 nights. I saved an additional $3,000 for a total available trip budget of $10,000. That trip was canceled, of course, since NZ’s borders stayed closed until late summer 2022.
• We rebooked THAT trip for May/June 2024 for 17 nights. Hotel and food costs in New Zealand have gone up since 2021, so I set aside an additional $2,000 for a total available trip budget of $12,000.
• New Zealand was at the top of Hubby’s travel bucket list, and because of the great distance, we treated this trip as if it would be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.

​Planned New Zealand Trip Budget

Below is the actual budget I created for our New Zealand road trip, showing how I broke out our available funds into a few major spending categories.

Track your travel budget easily

The best way to keep a rein on your travel expenses is to track everything you spend. The Plan, Ready, Go Trip Budget Spreadsheet will give you the tools to plan your budget before you travel and also track your expenses each day as you travel.

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Actual Budget

These are the actual amounts we spent on this trip pulled directly from my actual, real-live credit card statements. Amounts shown are in US dollars rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

A few things to note about this budget

• We only booked 16 nights of hotel stays on a 17-night trip because we were able to stay one night with friends of Hubby (and that was free, of course).
• I had no idea how much we would end up spending on gas/petrol in New Zealand. All I knew was that we would be driving a lot and supposedly petrol was “expensive.” I waaaaaay oversaved here, but that’s not a bad thing. I’ll blame my poor estimating skills on the NZD to USD exchange rate on top of petrol being sold by the liter in New Zealand while it’s sold by the gallon in the U.S. 
• We booked our flights from the U.S. to New Zealand with 220,400 United Mileage Plus miles plus only $200 in taxes and fees. Cash fares to New Zealand from the East Coast of the U.S. commonly run about $2,000 per person (economy).
• We booked our inter-island flights from Wellington to Queenstown using approximately $300 in Air New Zealand credits from flights originally booked in 2021. Although we spent that money years ago, it did contribute to the overall cost of the trip.
• We withdrew 100 NZD using an ATM shortly after arriving in New Zealand. We rarely needed to use cash during the trip. In fact, we spent a large portion of it on groceries near the end of our trip just to use it up.

Here are a few things you might need to include in your budget that we did not.

• Ferry tickets from the North Island to the South Island (rather than flying).
• If you don’t purchase your tickets to New Zealand using points or miles, you will likely need to budget a significant amount of money.
• An international data plan for your cell phone or purchase a SIM or eSIM.
• Additional guided tours or activities. 
• More frequent dining out. We did a lot of grocery shopping and ate in quite a bit.
• Pet care such as boarding or professional pet sitting services.
• Purchasing travel guidebooks.
• Checked baggage fees. We avoid these by traveling with carry-on luggage only.

Ways you can save money on a trip to New Zealand

• Travel during shoulder season (spring or fall) rather than the busy summer tourist season.
• Yes, food can be expensive in New Zealand, but you can save a lot of money if you book motel rooms with kitchens or kitchenettes and make many of your own meals.
• If you have phone service through a qualifying Google Fi plan, you won’t need to worry about having access to cell service in New Zealand. Our phones connected almost immediately upon landing. We paid about $4.00 for the few phone calls I made while we were there, but our data charges were only a little higher than usual.
• Save up some miles and points for your flights to New Zealand or consider getting a subscription to Going and adding Auckland to your watchlist so you’ll get flight deal alerts.
• Use AutoSlash to compare rental car rates.
• Look for free activities. Some of our favorites were the Te Papa Museum in Wellington, Tongariro National Park, and Mount Cook National Park.
• Use a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees. We love traveling with our Chase Sapphire Preferred card so we can avoid extra fees.

Final thoughts on New Zealand trip budgeting

I hope this breakdown of our New Zealand trip budget gives you a clearer picture of what to expect and how to plan your own adventure. Remember, a little extra saving can go a long way, and don’t forget to prioritize those must-do activities. Happy travels, and may your New Zealand journey be as unforgettable as ours!

More articles to help you plan your trip to New Zealand

• Every Place We Stayed in New Zealand (Would We Stay There Again?)
• New Zealand Road Trip Basics for Every Traveler
• Yummy Eats in New Zealand and Where to Find Them
• 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Traveling to New Zealand
• Great Places to Get Coffee in New Zealand (Some of Them Might Surprise You)

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