We’ve been planning our NZ honeymoon for the last couple of months since the wedding, and wow, it’s really really not a cheap place to travel to! But there are ways you can save some money, so just thought I’d share some tips and websites with you all that can help you work around your budget better, while having fun too!

If you’re planning a Getaway in New Zealand too, read on for more!

(1) Group-buying Sites

As some of you know, I really like group-buying deal sites. So it must come as no surprise when I tell you that I totally embraced the idea of scouting on deal sites for travel discounts!

The idea was first put up to me by a family friend, Debra, who lives in Christchurch. She told me of this site called GrabOne.co.nz, which offers discounts on various types of deals ranging from food, to accommodation, to cruises, to products and fun activities!

So far, I’ve bought the following deals from GrabOne:

1. A 4* hotel accommodation with breakfast for two at NZ$ 99 per night (value $203)
2. Lake cruise and homestead roast farm dinner for NZ$ 75 per pax (value $95)
3. Tandem Paragliding with photo and video package for NZ$ 135 per pax (value $189)

There have been others I wanted to buy, but the timings just didn’t suit me. Today, they are offering a deal on a Milford Sound cruise (NZ$37) as well as a dolphin swim experience (NZ$69). There are really fantastic accommodation deals, like a Queenstown service apartment at NZ$215 for 2 nights.

Also, I must say that the support provided from the GrabOne team is super fab. They not only answer the questions you may have on the discussion pages of each deal, they also get the merchants involved to answer questions there, so that folks who are buying the vouchers can be assured of issues like availability, what the T&C includes, etc. Totally transparent. Worried that something you buy may not have availability on the day that you want to redeem it? Check with the merchants before you buy. Great service.

Really glad that our friend told us about this site! Of course, there’s also GrouponNZ.co.nz, but I personally feel that the deals offered on that site are much less attractive.

(2) Travel Deals: Activities & Attractions

No NZ South Island holiday is complete without tandem sky diving, bungy jumping, whale watching, tandem paragliding, jetboat rides, cruise, Lord of the Rings tours, and such! And there’s no better site to seek out discounts for these, than BookMe.co.nz!

I stumbled upon this site by accident while searching for good deals on activities in Queenstown (which can be quite costly, I assure you).

These activities are discounted for up to a month prior to your redemption date, and is a simple to use site that offers immediate booking and confirmation with credit cards. Unlike GrabOne, there is no need to buy the voucher then contact the merchant to redeem the vouchers (which gives me a bit of jitters – what if they don’t have any more slots for the day I want to go?).

They also have flash sales for ridiculously low-priced deals. As I write this post, they are getting ready to launch a Shotover Jet flash sale on 10 March, for NZ$1! This is usually priced at NZ$119. Super awesome and highly recommended by friends who have been there. Unfortunately I’m not going to be in Queenstown on 10 March. Will probably have to buy it at full-price, then.

So far we’ve only bought a hot springs discount voucher for Tekapo, but will be booking more deals soon, as the March dates have just been released this past couple of days. Super excited!

Being an environmentally-aware tourist: I really wanna go swimming with seals in Kaikoura but we’re a bit worried about the impact it would have on the fur seals – does it stress them out? We want to travel and see the animals that Kaikoura is famous for (whales, dolphins, seals etc) but definitely not irresponsibly.  Will do more research about that before buying the vouchers.

I read a whole research paper on the effects of tourism on the dusky dolphins in Kaikoura, by the way, and decided not to go swimming with the dolphins.

While the study was inconclusive about whether it actually affects their reproduction and population numbers, and their rest times which is from late morning to early afternoon, it seems that the dolphins are actually curious animals and they would forgo rest to cavort with humans if they are visited during rest hours. Not good. I’m sure in the long run there would be negative effects on them! Whales, on the other hand, never completely rest as they may drown if they go into deep sleep. So we actually booked a whale-watching tour for 7.15am, in hopes that we won’t be disturbing the dolphins, which we will also see during the whale-watching tour.

(3) Accommodation Options

I know many of us have concerns about staying at hostels. The typical initial impression would be that hostels are bug-ridden, noisy, dirty, dorm-style rooms with shared toilets. But this is not true of the YHA New Zealand hostels, it seems!

The hostel rooms look pretty decent from travellers’ photos and reviews on TripAdvisor, and for about NZ$80 per night (member price) you can get a private double room with ensuite bathroom! (Way cheaper than 3* hotels/motels that cost at least NZ$130 a night and have lousy reviews on TripAdvisor). When I travel, as long as the rooms are clean and comfortable, I’m good. I don’t actually spend a lot of time in the rooms, after all.

This photo of YHA Wanaka Purple Cow is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Membership: At NZ$42 a year, you get access to discounted rates at YHA hostels and member discounts, which include things like car rental, and the activities I mentioned in the previous 2 sections.

If you live in Singapore, you can apply for the HI membership (which is also recognized at YHA hostels) for only S$15, to be eligible for discounts at YHA.

If you would like to stay with local hosts who rent out spare bedrooms or whole apartments (great price, good solution for a group of friends travelling together!), check out the following websites:

1. Roomorama.com (My personal choice! Read why here and here)
2. Airbnb.com
3. Wimdu.com
4. 9flats.com

If you prefer more luxurious accommodation, these are the hotel-booking websites I use. I do suggest checking out the hotel listings on all these websites before you book, as this ensures you get the best price!

1. Booking.com
2. Wotif.com
3. LastMinute.com

(4) Car Rental or Hop On/Off Bus

At the start of our planning, we contemplated whether we should buy a hop on/off bus tour (like Kiwi Experience which costs about NZ$600 per pax just for the bus ticket) or rent a car and do a self-drive tour. In the end, we decided to go with the car, as this means we don’t have to adhere to bus schedules, and can stop any place we like.

The Kiwi Experience bus tour seems to be a great way to meet young travelers, but a lot of reviews on travel forums say that it’s also better for people who wanna party. Um, not my kind of thing, and especially not on my honeymoon!

We managed to book a car from a company called Shoestring Rentals which is a small company that offers discounts to YHA members. Our total rental (car plus GPS) for 13.5 days was $611. We expect to spend about $400+ on fuel for the entire trip. The car rental option is probably the best if you travel in a group of 2-4 pax. Rental costs can then be divided, and amazingly, it works out to be a really economical way of travelling!

Communicated with Cameron McKenzie (owner of Shoestring Rentals), who is just about the most helpful guy I’ve dealt with from NZ companies so far! Obviously I can’t comment on the car itself yet, but this guy has been a great help, offering advice from driving routes, places to visit, route planning, maps, and more! He’s also offered to send the car to our accommodation at Christchurch on the first morning of our rental, and drop us off at the airport after we send the car back to them on our last day (this will be at 4am!). So helpful and kind of him. It really is true when they claim on their website: “We’re a small company that’s BIG on service”.

(5) Prepaid Internet and SIM Card

Thanks to Isman (GroovyGenie) I found this wiki site that contains lots of information about prepaid mobile services in various countries! Awesome for travelers. Do bookmark it!

Unfortunately, there is just no cheap way around it in NZ, nor any reliable way. I’d love to try out the 3G and broadband services there since NZ started talking about next-generation broadband and ultra-fast broadband even earlier than Singapore did, but seems that it’s spotty in towns and smaller villages. I heard that speeds are okay generally in places like Christchurch, Queenstown, Auckland and Wellington, but everywhere else it’s just not reliable. I don’t know about that.

In any case, I think it’s going to cost me at least NZ$80 for 2 weeks of connectivity. Is it worth it? Here’s a summary or breakdown of the different telcos’ prepaid plans:

2degrees: $19 Prepaid SIM Card Starter Pack + $20 for 1GB data usage within broadband zones + $10 for 100MB data outside of broadband zone (and this is definitely not enough because most of our travels are outside their broadband zone).

TelecomNZ: $29.95 Prepaid SIM Card Starter Pack + $50 for 2GB data usage.

Vodafone NZ: $29.95 Prepaid SIM Card Starter Pack with $15 stored value + $30 for 500MB data usage.

————

If you want more information on planning your travels around the South Island in NZ, do drop me a message below. I’ll be happy to help if I can, especially with names and comparison of reputable tour companies for the various activities, your options, and more. Happy Planning!

For now, I shall start my own countdown… 8 days to NZ!