Travel Tips: My Plans for Budget Travel to New Zealand’s South Island

Lash with giant tree ferns – Pukekura Park – New Plymouth, New Zealand

Travel Tips: My Plans for Budget Travel to New Zealand’s South Island 

In early 2014 I traveled around New Zealand’s North Island for 3 months on a tight budget. Before I went I worked out several methods to keep my costs low, even though NZ is actually a very expensive country, on par with Europe, Australia and the USA.

My strategy, in brief, consisted of the following:

Lash hiking Auckland’s Coast to Coast Walk

* I joined several HelpX assignments around North Island, whereby I helped out at peoples’ homes with landscape gardening & other tasks in exchange for room and board.

* I used Naked Bus website to book really cheap bus and dorm beds (which averaged out to $10 per trip and per bed).

* I took advantage of many great free things to do all over New Zealand

* I bought everything I needed in SE Asia before I arrived in NZ to avoid buying expensive merchandise.

* And I used my professional travel blogging work to secure reviews of museums & attractions.

Read full details in my post How I Can Afford to Travel Around NZ for 3 Months. Read more about my HelpX experiences and advice here. Read all about my NZ travels, tips and photos here.

My strategy worked out incredibly well. I managed to travel around NZ for the same cost or less than traveling around SE Asia! Find out my exact costs in my posts about Month 1 costs / Month 2 costs / Month 3 costs.

visiting Hobbiton movie set – one of my favorite experiences on North Island

Now I’m about to return to New Zealand for another 3 months, this time to explore the country’s fabled South Island. THAT’S the New Zealand you see in photos: soaring, snow-capped mountains, stunning fjords, extreme adrenaline adventures, hikes in lush rainforests and heaps of amazing wild animals.

I actually planned my trip to South Island wayyyy back in my 20s during university, before I ever moved to Japan or started my world travels. So I am utterly thrilled to finally actually get there! I fly to NZ on Thursday, Oct. 30th. Yeeeha, outdoor adventures here I come!

I’ll still be traveling on a tight budget, still doing some HelpX gigs, still booking buses and dorm beds through Naked Bus, and also buying as many of my supplies as possible before I go.

On the other hand, I’m changing my strategy quite significantly for several reasons.

mountain biking in Taupo, New Zealand

* First off, South Island is jam-packed with one amazing natural destination after another, all of which I absolutely do not want to miss.

*  Secondly, this time I’ll be traveling during the highest peak tourist season and through New Zealand’s most popular and famous destinations, whereas last time I was traveling off-season, often to slightly less popular spots.

*  Third, I’ve decided to not do quite so many HelpX gigs. That’s partly because I won’t be able to fit them in with so many amazing places to see & things to do. And partly because I learned last time that it’s better to have some time off between each gig rather than book them back to back indefinitely with no solo time.

*  Forth, Naked Bus doesn’t seem to be working quite as well for South Island as North Island, in terms of low rates. Bus rates are higher between South Island destinations. And Naked Bus doesn’t offer low accommodation rates in as many South Island destinations.

* Fifth, I’m going to do several treks lasting 2-4 nights in the outback. I’ll be camping and carrying all the gear & food I need to sustain myself out on the trails.

* Finally, I found out my cousin lives in New Zealand!

As a result of all these factors, I’ve come up with the following strategies for my budget adventure trip around South Island.

my private caravan at HelpX host’s home in Auckland

 Accommodation

 HelpX

I’ll be joining four or five 1-week HelpX assignments during my 3-month travels. That amounts to about 1/3 of my trip. In contrast, during my 3-month travels around North Island, I joined 7 HelpX assignments, amounting to 10 weeks of 12! I do enjoy HelpX, but I also prefer to have some independent travel time mixed in the brew.

CouchSurfing

There will be several destinations where I’ll be staying just 1-3 nights. At those places, I’m trying to hook up as many couch surfing gigs as I can rather than stay in dorm rooms at hostels. I already have a few couch surfing gigs lined up, others in the making.

 Hostels

I’ll be staying in more hostels this time around. Partly that’s due to intentionally taking on fewer HelpX gigs, partly due to staying in places just 1-2 nights, and partly because HelpX and Couch Surfing gigs aren’t available in the places I’m heading.

Dorms are never my first choice for accommodation, so I’ll minimize this as much as possible via other accommodation options.

In addition, since Naked Bus doesn’t offer cheap fares on dorm beds in most places I’m going, the dorms will cost a lot more than they did for me on North Island. Bummer. 

with cousin Sarah in Auckland

Cousin Sarah

Now that I’ve discovered my ‘long lost cousin’ lives in Auckland, I’m going to go visit her for 10 days at the beginning of my trip. It will be great catching up with her and her husband, catch up on our lives & families, and hopefully do a few adventures near Auckland during 2 weekends that I’ll be there.

In the end, my accommodation costs will be considerably higher than last time, simply because I’m cutting out so many HelpX gigs. Last time, that’s how I really saved on accommodation.

On the other hand, by the time I stay with my cousin for 10 days and several couch Surfing hosts, I might end up with a big chunk of unpaid accommodation after all. In addition, many of the campsites will cost only $6NZ / $5 US per night, which is quite reasonable.

I’m curious to see how my total costs work out compared to last time.

Camping

As I just mentioned, I plan to do several treks that entail 1-4 nights camping in wilderness. Yippie, I just love that! Since I’ll have all my camp gear along with me anyhow, I might very well stay at other campgrounds along the way in/near towns instead of sleeping in dorm rooms. Let’s see how things unfold.

 Transportation

 Naked Bus

When I traveled around North Island, I pre-booked all my buses through Naked Bus, which averaged a low $10 per trip. Aside from a few city buses & trains and a few rides locally with HelpX hosts, that was the extent of my transportation. Naked bus was my savior!

Unfortunately, Naked Bus trips around South Island seem to be considerably more expensive. Perhaps I’ve waited too late to book their super low $1-$10 fares? Or maybe they just keep all those routes higher. Not sure.

But as a result, I’ve declined booking most of my transportation. I did manage to find a few $1 fares towards the end of my trip, so I’ve already snapped them up. Aside from that, I’m just leaving my transportation unbooked. That’s mainly because… 

…hitch hiking – tee hee

Hitch Hiking

I am going to be traveling through new Zealand’s most popular, most crowded tourist destinations during the peak of summer season. From the moment I arrive on South Island and for the next 2 months, at least, I expect to be surrounded by other travelers heading in the same direction, to more or less the same destinations as me.

Many of them are going to be buying and renting cars, caravans & vans to drive around South Island. And my ferry landing place at Picton, on the top of South Island, is one of the prime spots that travelers buy & sell their vehicles.

Travelers who purchases vehicles often look for other travelers to help share fuel costs. Others are happy to help out a fellow traveler in need.

I’m pretty dag sure I can catch rides just about everywhere I want to go, including around the Picton/Nelson area, down the west coast, between famous Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers, Wanaka & Queenstown, Te Anau & Milford.

Considering I’ll be staying a several hostels in prime destinations, I can very easily connect with other travelers looking for extra passengers to help share fuel costs.. or just to give someone a lift.

If for some reason that doesn’t work, there are regional and national buses plying those roads on a daily basis. One way or the other I’ll reach my destinations. Hopefully, I wont’ have to pay any high bus fares along the way.

Lash in cold Rotorua, New Zealand

Supplies

The only new supplies I need for this trip are camping/trekking gear. I’ve already been accumulating things.

My great friends at Sunshine Coast, Jeanette & Ian, GAVE me a down sleeping bag! The deal is that I’ll mail it back to them upon my return to Oz in January. Great deal!

I’ve been visiting second hand shops with my friend here in Sydney. I got a water bottle for $1, a sleeping mat for $5, a fleece jumper for $3 and some wool socks thus far.

I feel confident that I can pick up a discarded tent, camp stove and other bits from travelers in Picton, Auckland or Nelson when I first arrive. Fingers crossed!

Food & Beverages

Since I wont’ be doing many HelpX assignments, and since some of those I am doing prefer a work-2-hours-for-accommodation-only exchange, I will be spending a lot more money on food this time around. In fact, I think I will mostly be paying for my own food the entire time.

That’s ok. I’m usually able to eat well on about $10 per day, which amounts to just $300 per month.

 Reviews

I’m about to write to several tour and adventure companies around South Island to see if they’ll sponsor me in exchange for candid reviews about my experiences with them. This could be a great way for me to enjoy great outdoor adventures without the high price tag… and simultaneously tell everyone about the great adventures.

enjoying a waterfall in Taupo

 Summary

I’m going to be enjoying a lot more outdoor adventures this time around, particularly trekking adventures. I’ll be doing fewer HelpX assignments and mixing up my accommodation styles a lot more. I’ll be relying on hitching rides with other travelers. And I’ll proabaly have to pay for most of my food this time around.

Le’ts see how my costs compare to my travels around North Island earlier this year.

So come follow along on my 3-month adventures through New Zealand! Discover, along with me, the country’s great places and outdoor adventures. Even better, find out how you can do the same.

Come follow along! I’ll be sharing heaps of travel stories, outdoor adventures, tips and photos of stunning natural landscapes for the next 3 months. Fun, fun, fun!

Reporting from the road, Lash

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Y0u might also find the following posts interesting: 

50+ Tips for Budget Travel in New Zealand

 10 Free Things to do in Auckland

10 Free Things to do in Wellington

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You might also enjoy:

Travel Tips: How I Can Afford a 3-Month Trip to New Zealand Travel Tips: 5 Best Things to do in Auckland, New Zealand My Super Low Costs to Travel Around New Zealand for One Month My Low Costs to Travel Around New Zealand – Month 2