New Zealand Trip Cost Breakdown For Solo Female Travelers

How much will a New Zealand trip cost you? Honestly, maybe a lot. The rumors are true, New Zealand is expensive! So, it’s good that you’re researching how much others have spent to help you create your own travel budget for New Zealand!

In 2017, I went to New Zealand with a working holiday visa and traveled the country for three months. During those three months, my average daily expenses were about $75 USD. I’m happy to share a detailed breakdown of my expenses to help you with planning a trip to New Zealand.

Details About My Trip

Before I get into the exact costs of my New Zealand trip, here’s the sitch with my trip. It will likely be much different from yours, so keep this in mind as you create your own budget.

• I went to New Zealand with a working holiday visa for Americans 30-35 years old.
• The dates I traveled were from January 18 to April 8, 2017. Exactly 81 days.
• My travel style is “comfortable-budget.” Not shoestring travel but not luxury travel, either.
• I traveled solo and by bus the entire time.
• I also made several mistakes that did cost me extra money in the end.

The following three expenses are not included in my spending total since they will not relate to everyone.

• The fee for the special working holiday visa.
• Travel insurance fees through a specific insurer designated by the company through which I got my working holiday visa.
• Monthly bills I paid at home – credit card and student loans.

How Much It Cost Me to Travel 3 Months in New Zealand

I categorized each expense into one of these five categories: transportation, accommodation, food, activities, and extra expenses. Keep scrolling for detailed information on how I allocated my funds in each of these categories.

Read More: Learn how I set and reached my money-saving goals for this trip!

Transportation Will Be Your Biggest New Zealand Trip Cost

Buses | $285 USD

InterCity Bus – I chose to travel around New Zealand independently, using InterCity Bus and Naked/Mana Bus (recently replaced by Skip Bus). I purchased each travel segment only as needed.

Many travelers choose to buy hop-on-hop-off travel passes offered by bus companies like Kiwi Experience and Stray Bus.

Other Bus Companies in New Zealand That I Used

SkyBus – I used SkyBus to get to downtown Auckland from the airport. A one-way ticket costs $18 NZD.

Catch-A-Bus – While I was in Invercargill I used Catch-A-Bus for a shuttle ride to Bluff and back. I booked the service the night before my day trip to Bluff, and there were only 2 other people in the van with me. It was super convenient and affordable. They picked me up at my Airbnb in Invercargill and dropped me off at Stirling Point (the farthest drop-off spot), and picked me up in the afternoon in town.

Christchurch Metro – During the 6 weeks that I spent in Christchurch, the city Metro was my go-to form of transportation. I saved some money by getting a Metrocard and topping off my balance online. I never had to worry about having exact cash for fares, and the network is pretty expansive and easy to navigate.

Ferries | $86 USD

Interisland Ferry – When it came time to cross from the North Island to the South Island, I was so excited to ride the InterIsland Ferry. One-way fare starts at $40 USD for a 3-hour ride across the Cook Strait. I chose to upgrade to the Interislander Plus, which includes access to an adults-only lounge with comfortable seating, a hot buffet meal, and unlimited snacks, coffee, tea, and other beverages for $35 USD. Money well spent, if you ask me!

West Harbour Ferry – I took a quick 10-minute ride from Auckland to West Harbour with Belaire Ferries. I bought my one-way ticket on board with cash for $10 NZD.

Flights | $1739 USD

Getting to New Zealand

You know what? New Zealand is far away from the United States. Especially the east coast! Long flights mean high prices. However, I managed to find cheap tickets to New Zealand by strategically cashing in some reward miles and booking my flight a whole 5 months in advance.

In August 2016, I booked a one-way flight from San Francisco to Auckland with Fiji Airways for $613 USD! This price alone was fantastic compared to other options, but it also included a long layover in Nadi, Fiji. Any excuse to squeeze in a little exploration of a new place, right?!

A few months later, I cashed in JetBlue True Blue points to get to San Francisco in time for that onward flight. For less than $10 for taxes, I was on my way to New Zealand for $623 USD!

Flying in New Zealand

A week before I left to head home, I flew from Queenstown to Auckland with Air New Zealand. I purchased that ticket a few weeks prior to the flight for only $110 USD.

Flight From New Zealand to USA

A redeye flight with American Airlines from Auckland to Los Angeles cost me $865 USD, and the onward flight from LA to Boston was $151 USD, for a total of $1016 USD. I bought them about a month in advance and with very little research.

In hindsight, I could have saved money if I was as strategic as I was with my flights to New Zealand. At that point, though, I was so exhausted from all the travel planning that I couldn’t be bothered!

Accommodations Were My Second Biggest New Zealand Trip Cost

Safety and comfort are high priorities for me, so accommodations were my second largest New Zealand trip cost.

I used Booking.com to book most hostels and hotels that I stayed at in New Zealand. The one time I didn’t use Booking, I ended up at that horrible hostel in Blenheim. Go to my Travel Resources page to read about why I use them to plan my travels.

Hostels | $792 USD

I mostly opted for affordable female-only dorms but splurged on private hostel rooms when I felt like I needed some space.

Airbnb | $899 USD

I turned to Airbnb twice when hostels were full or if I needed a break from hostel life. One time for 6 weeks in Christchurch and a few days in Invercargill.

I stayed at the same Airbnb for all 6 weeks in Christchurch. It was a giant house on the local bus line, and since it was outside the city center, I got it at a good price. Not a great one, but it was manageable and less expensive than Airbnbs in the city center. I had my own bedroom with a large bed and fast internet, three things I had been without until then in New Zealand. The common areas were shared with four housemates, who all pretty much kept to themselves.

I worked out a trade with the main housemate for my final week at the house. In return for deep cleaning the kitchen and living room, I got a week of free rent.

Hotels | $145 USD

I managed to spend just one night in a hotel room the entire trip and not take even one photo of the room! It was a last resort since there was a big rugby event the same night I arrived in Wellington, so all the hostels were full.

All that was available was a room at a boutique hotel. So, I bit the bullet, booked the room, and made the most of it. After a quick visit to a nearby grocery store, I had a little carpet picnic, enjoyed a beer from the minibar, and fully appreciated the luxury sheets. The only thing the room was missing was a bathtub.

How Much Does Food Cost in New Zealand?

Groceries | $715 USD

I saved a lot of money by cooking most of my meals in the kitchens of hostels and Airbnbs. I shared all my hostel cooking tips for solo travelers in another post if you’re curious how I made it work while on the move all the time.

Countdown and Pak N Save were the main grocery stores I shopped at. There was one or the other in almost every town I traveled through. Although more expensive, I also shopped at New World sometimes.

In my opinion, the cost of food was comparable to that in the United States. Since I was on the move most of the time, I shopped for food more frequently, buying only what I needed at the moment. I avoided a lot of food (and money) waste by shopping this way.

Restaurants | $345 USD

I dined at very few restaurants in New Zealand. If I was out exploring alone and didn’t pack a lunch or enough snacks to hold me over until I returned to where I was staying, I opted for budget-friendly places like Pita Pit, Tandoor, or Burger Fuel. Or, sometimes I’d duck into a convenience store – I’m sorry – a DAIRY for a hand pie. Mmmmm… hand pies.

The most expensive meal I had at a restaurant in New Zealand was at The Cow in Queenstown. My bill came to a whopping $25 USD. It was good! I recommend you go when you’re in Queenstown.

Recommended Queenstown Accommodation: YHA Queenstown Lakefront Hostel

Factor in Activities to your New Zealand Trip Costs | $329 USD

I tried to do as many free activities as I could while in New Zealand. For instance, I took advantage of free museums and walking tours in most places I visited. The majority of the time, I just walked around each new city and town with my camera in hand. Photographing a new place provides hours upon hours of entertainment for me.

The activities I did spend money on ranged in cost, like the money I spent to visit the Quake City Museum in Christchurch or see a movie at the theater – each under $20. At the higher end of my spending was the day trip to Hobbiton and Waitomo, which ran me $173. This was a BIG splurge for me.

The other activities I paid for were affordable in the $20-40 range. I rode a ferry into Milford Sound with Jucy Cruise, rode the gondola in Christchurch and Queenstown, took a few luge rides in Queenstown, and went to the top of SkyCity Auckland.

I found deals on some of these activities by checking Bookme.co.nz before any other site.

Also, Factor in Extra Expenses | $727 USD

In this category, I lumped together random purchases that didn’t fit into the categories above. ATM withdrawals made up the majority of the total and could have been used in any category. Other expenses were mostly toiletries, clothes, gifts, and souvenirs.

Cell Phone Service

This is the one thing I will expand on in this section. After I arrived, I wasted no time and bought a SIM card right at the airport in Auckland. After browsing a few service provider options, I chose Spark NZ. We popped the SIM card into my unlocked iPhone right away, and I was good to go. It was a long-term prepaid plan, so no contract was signed.

I forgot the exact deal at the time, but it was like their current New Zealand Travel SIM card deals. At that time, it included a good amount of data (10 GB, I think), texting, voice calls, and even Spotify Premium.

I paid about $35 USD a month, and any necessary top-ups were extra. Topping up my data was actually reasonably priced and easy to do using Spark’s mobile app.

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