Phew! One more post to go and my New Zealand guide is complete! This has been a really fun project while I’ve been in Melbourne, and I hope that anyone using this to plan a trip got some good advice.

This is a general FAQ post that I thought would be a good way to wrap up the NZ guide. Quick, short answers for anyone who’s curious about what it’s like to drive or travel throughout New Zealand. Plus, I’ve added some bonus photos that didn’t make the cut in other posts.

Enjoy!

Where Should I Stay? (Hostels, Camping, etc.)

I recommend buying or renting a car and sleeping at campsites with a few hostels when you need a treat. Hostels will seem like a 5-star hotel after two weeks of 50% phone battery and taking showers every three days. If you’re staying in a hostel every night, you’ll get hit in the wallet very quickly. Having a car also allows you to see some quirky towns or pull over whenever you’re hungry.

Should I Buy or Rent a Car?

If you’re traveling for over a month, I would recommend buying a car. Renting is a lot more convenient but can be pretty pricy. Buying and selling your car can be stressful for a day or two, but even if you take a loss on your car, you’ll probably save some money. Becky and I took a big loss on our car, but managed to spend less money on it than if we had used a rental company for six weeks.

But There’s Free Camping Everywhere, Right?

Not exactly. If you buy a self-contained vehicle, you’ll have a lot more options for free and cheap campsites around the country.  Cars and vans without this certification are limited to Department of Conservation (DOC) sites and other sites along the route, and often, these sites are $8-13 per person. My North and South itinerary posts have a whole list of where we stayed and how much we paid for it.

Tunnel Beach in Dunedin!

What If I Don’t Want to Buy/Rent a Car?

You’ve got options. If you want to get around without having a long-term car, you can:

• Take buses (which sounded pretty rough to us, to be honest.)
• Go on the Kiwi Experience or Contiki tour
• Hitchhike
• A mix of all of it!

How Much Do I Need to Budget?

More than you think. Check out my blog post on budgeting for New Zealand to learn more about how much you should put aside for things like petrol, accommodation, and bucket list items. I would recommend around NZD 60 for daily expenses, just to be safe.

How Long Do I Need to Explore New Zealand?

Becky and I were able to see 99% of what we wanted to see in six weeks.  If you’re only exploring one island, give yourself at least three weeks. I considered New Zealand a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I wanted to do as much as I can; six weeks still felt like a rush, even though we spent a week in Paihia, five days in Wellington, and a week in Auckland.

Should I Visit the North or South Island?

Becky prefers the North Island, I prefer the South Island. It all depends on what you’re looking for. The South Island gives you scenery and hiking for days, but the North Island has a lot of cool stops, including the hot pools around Rotorua and rocksliding in Gisborne. The South Island had all of my NZ bucket list items (bungy jumping, Milford Sound, and Mt. Cook,) so I suggest at least spending two weeks there.

Surprise! More blog posts. Grab my North Island itinerary and South Island itinerary for more information about what we did and where we stayed.

What Time of The Year Should I Go On A New Zealand Road Trip?

If you want to go while the weather is still warm, start your trip between November-February. We began our trip on January 28, and even though the North Island had us incredibly sweaty, we were still freezing our butts off during the night in the South Island. (Becky likes to tell the story of the time I was so cold that I wore socks on my hands like gloves during the night.) Trying to rent a car or book a hostel will be more expensive during this time, so plan ahead.

What Is It Like for Digital Nomads in New Zealand?

If you want to live that nomad life and hit up coworking spaces and the whatnot…use New Zealand as a holiday from the ~life. The wi-fi in New Zealand is pretty awful, and the cities aren’t the hippest places to be (besides good old Wellington.) I was lucky enough to be able to work while traveling, but for no more than 2-3 hours a day. I was living in my car, for Pete’s sake.

Is There Anything You Wish You Had Done Differently?

If there’s anything I would have done differently, it would have just been saving up more money ahead of time and relying less on work for cash. Part of the fun of the roadtrip was the spontaneity of it all, and with a super flexible travel partner, we were able to have an amazing experience without a whole lot of plans. If you want to go on a New Zealand road trip, just go for it!

Well, I think that covers it for my New Zealand road trip posts!

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up in the comments! Thanks for following, y’all!