Total cost of a rental car trip to the South Island of New Zealand (000 USD)

Rent a car and explore New Zealand's South Island

The South Island of New Zealand is a great place to explore in a rental car or campervan. Compared to the North Island, the South Island has a relatively small population and cities are spread out. Here are some of the best cities and attractions to visit in the South Island of New Zealand

If you look at the map of the South Island above, you'll see that each city is a bit of a distance away. Some of the more popular cities in the South Island include

Here's a typical itinerary for people planning a car rental trip to the South Island of New Zealand.

Travel expenses for a rental car in the South Island of New Zealand

When calculating the cost of a rental car trip to the South Island of New Zealand, there are a few things to consider: the cost of the rental car, accommodation, gas, food, and activities. We'll exclude the airplane, which is likely to be the biggest expense, because it will vary from person to person.

Car rental costs

In fact, the cost of renting a car varies depending on where you pick up and drop off, the season, and the type of car, so the above is just a guide.

I created one for an example. The cost of a rental car for 10 days in October and November with pickup and drop-off at Christchurch Airport. Personally, I think it came out very cheap.

The costs below are pure car rental costs, and you may incur $30-50 per day for car insurance to cover any damage to your car that may occur during your trip.

It doesn't cost you anything if you don't buy insurance, but you never know what might happen while traveling, so we recommend getting at least the basic level.

If you'd like to see the cost of renting a car in South Island, New Zealand, at a glance, by selecting your preferred date, time, pick-up and drop-off location, you can use the links below to see the vehicles from different car rental companies and their costs.

If you're considering a campervan as an alternative to a rental car, I've written a post below with information on how to book a JUCY campervan and how much it costs, based on my first-hand experience.

Cost of gas

If you're traveling a long distance, the cost of gas will be significant. At this point in time, gas in New Zealand is NZ$2.7 per liter (about $2200), so you can plan your costs based on the total distance you're traveling.

Different types of vehicles will get different mileage, so take the price per liter as a guide. For reference, Christchurch to Queenstown (about 410 kilometers) is roughly equivalent to Seoul to Busan.

The drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound (Fiordland National Park) alone takes five to six hours, while the drive from Queenstown to Mount Cook takes three to three-and-a-half hours.

Housing costs

Accommodation is a big part of the cost of renting a car in the South Island of New Zealand. If you're traveling in a rental car, you'll likely need to find a place to stay everywhere you go. We expect that many of you will be staying in dormitory-style accommodations in backpacker hostels to save money on lodging.

Below is the cost of accommodation in a dormitory at a backpacker hostel in the center of Queenstown. A 6-person room costs NZ$45 to 48 per day. At the current exchange rate of 820 won, that's about $40,000 in Korean won. This seems like a very reasonable price for those who want to save money on accommodation.

Due to the large number of travelers, it can be difficult to find a place to stay, so we recommend booking well in advance. Please note that the above prices for backpacker hostels are for reference only, and that prices for backpacker accommodation may vary where you go.

If you're looking for a cheap place to stay and want to know how much it will cost, the link below is a great place to start. The website is well laid out, with lots of photos and reviews to help you make your choice.

If you're staying in Queenstown, you might find my post on the 4 best hostels for the money below helpful.

Food expenses

A cup of coffee in New Zealand typically costs between $4 and 6 (about $3280 and $4920). That is, unless you count the expensive coffee at Starbucks.

In general, you should expect to pay around $20-35 (about 16,400-28,700 USD) for a meal at a cafe or restaurant. If you eat two meals a day and drink a cup of coffee, you're still looking at around $60-70k.

If you're curious about the cost of living and grocery shopping in New Zealand, check out the post below. You can see what I bought for $70,000.

Activity costs

It's great to enjoy the beautiful South Island scenery, but when you're in the South Island, you also need to be active, and there's a huge variety of activities to choose from. Here are some of the top activities and attractions.

The cost of the activities is listed in each post, so if you're interested in any of them, check them out.

Activities in the South Island of New Zealand can be quite expensive. It's probably best to stick to one or two of your favorite things. If you're a thrill-seeker, you might want to try bungee jumping, flying a light aircraft, or something else special.

If you want to take in the sights of Queenstown, we recommend the Queenstown TSS Steamship or the Skyline Lookout. And if you're into tracking, Mount Cook was a filming location for the Lord of the Rings movies.

Total cost of a rental car trip to the South Island of New Zealand (10 days assuming Christchurch pickup, return)

The prices above are minimums, so in my opinion, it could realistically cost 1.5x to 2x more. We recommend that you budget for travel expenses. This is a theoretical calculation and should only be used as a guide.

Finalize

Today we've been talking about the cost of a rental car trip to the South Island of New Zealand, and I've done some theoretical math to figure out how much it would cost, and if it actually costs that much, it's definitely worth it.

As a side note, there is very little free parking in New Zealand. If you're traveling in a rental car, parking can be very stressful. Even if you do find a place to park, there's a 60- or 120-minute time limit, and if you're unlucky enough to go over, you might get fined.

This is because cheap hostels rarely have private parking. It's also important to remember that parking is quite expensive.

If you are not in a fully urbanized area, you should also avoid driving at night, as there are often no streetlights on the roads.

There are also many one-lane roads, so if you're looking to drive while enjoying the scenery, we recommend letting go of any fast traffic.

You'll see a passing lane (a two-lane road) in the middle for the car behind you, and if you send your car to the leftmost lane, the car behind you will pass you quickly.

If you're on a straight stretch of road, you can slowly drive your car to the shoulder of the road with your blinkers on and slowly slow down, and the car behind you will read the signal and pass you quickly. Of course, this is only possible on white sections where you can cross the center line.

We hope this helps you plan your car rental trip to the South Island of New Zealand.