New Zealand is called the adventure capital of the world for a reason. It is the land of hiking, caving, skiing, skydiving, beautiful forests, mountains, glaciers, and bungee jumping.
But the beauty that is New Zealand can fool you into spending beyond your budget. If you are up for saving on costs, here are tips that you can use when traveling in the country.
Contents
1. Make Your Choices Wisely
The cost of taking tours in the country is high. You can spend a hefty budget by taking just a few visits. To avoid going back home before your vacation is over, pick the tours that interest you over others. You can leave the rest for your next trip.
Source: dangerous-business
2. Get Yourself a Campervan
You will find campervans everywhere in New Zealand. Why? The country is massive with nature. Therefore, people like to hike and camp. A campervan kills two birds with one stone: it serves as transportation as well as accommodation.
Therefore, if you are conscious of your budget, get yourself a campervan from Travel Cars Nz. You can also download the campermates app. It will help you find campsites, dump stations, and gas stations that are near you.
3. Check your campervans gas mileage
Gas is expensive in New Zealand. Therefore, when choosing your van, select one that has good gas mileage. Also, the larger your campervan, the more likely it is to guzzle gas. Hence, choose a small campervan that has a better MPG is you are traveling in a small size.
4. Apply for a relocation rental
A relocation rental is a process of renting a campervan so that you can shuffle it between the South and the North Islands. Once your approval has been confirmed, you will receive a timeline from the campervan company.
Therefore, you can move from one location to another during these days. Nevertheless, you will pay a rental fee as well as daily insurance. The company will pay for your ferry ticket. This will save you about 175 to 220 dollars, depending on your season of travel.
Remember to confirm whether the company will pay for your fuel as well. Also, the dates provided during the off-season are more flexible. Additionally, your schedule will be tight and this might not let you visit random places.
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5. Take Advantage of Happy Hour
Beer in New Zealand can be expensive. You might spend at least 5 dollars on a bottle. Therefore, take advantage of the backpacker bars. They offer beer at 3 dollars during their happy hours. If you plan to relax in a bar in the evening after your tours, look them up and drink for cheap.
6. Nature is Free
As mentioned above, New Zealand is nature heavy. Great walks of the world fill the country. The best part, all of it is free. Besides, there are many outdoor activities that you can enjoy for no cost. Thus, take advantage of the free walks, such as the Auckland Free Walking Tour, and trails to save on costs. You will gain insight into each city during these walks.
7. Hitchhike
This is one of the primary ways to get around New Zealand. Many people are willing to pick you up. Also, if you ask around your hotel, you will find people that will give you a ride. Besides, everyone is doing it, so there is no need to worry about being embarrassed.
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Car sharing is more popular than you might think, especially among travelers. Apart from providing you with lower traveling costs, car sharing might provide you with travel companions. All you have to do is contribute to buying gas for the vehicle.
Besides, Apps like Thumbs Up NZ and Carpool New Zealand are great resources for car sharing. You can also find these rides on websites like Craigslist and Gumtree. Also, check your hotel bulletin board. You might find people asking for rides there.
Car sharing often gets confused with carpooling. Although both concepts share the same ethos, they have some essential differences. In both cases, drivers and passengers heading the same way can share the costs of the ride. The result is always a sizable saving for everyone.
A Car Sharing service works differently. In this case, a vehicle is rented by the hour. It’s still a very economical option because the fuel is already included in the deal. Similarly to carpooling, there are apps and online platforms connecting drivers and passengers with destinations in common. So, even if the vehicle ownership changes, the camaraderie is the same, as Blink Mobility from Los Angeles explains.
9. Cook your food
Yes, this might be crazy, but you need to cook your food if you want to save money. Unless you can manage to stick to cheap foods, cooking is your best way to save some money. Besides, cooking your food will provide you healthy meals.
Your campervan will come with many kitchen accessories that you can take advantage of. You can also add some noodle packs and sandwiches to your budget. Also, groceries are not expensive in New Zealand. Therefore, you can buy vegetables when grocery shopping.
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10. If you can, carry your reusables
These include coffee mugs and reusable bags. Often, café’s will give you a small discount for bringing your coffee mug. Reusable bags will prevent you from buying expensive plastic bags from the supermarket.
Besides, packing your reusables will ensure that you have less waste. You can also add travel items that are eco-friendly to your travel items.
11. Plan your splurges
When you travel to New Zealand, advertisements that include bungee jumping, sky diving, and jet boating will bombard you and entice you every day. Any tour that you can think of has an advertisement that can tempt you to spend your money.
Therefore, plan for your activities. Please select what you want to do and where you want to do them. Planning will save you money.
12. Avoid the high season
Prices will always skyrocket during any high season, and the same rules apply in New Zealand. The summer season is especially very costly since the crowds are thick. During this time, the tours reach their peak, and the hotel prices rise.
Therefore, if you have the luxury, choose to visit the nation at another time. However, summer will offer you the best traveling season weather. This is something to consider, as well.
Source: jonesaroundtheworld
Conclusion
Be wise and pick your battles wisely. It is easy to spend money in New Zealand. Nevertheless, budgeting for your travels is also just as easy. All you have to do is plan yourself and follow these tips. Besides, they will not compromise on your travel experience.
