New Zealand Discount Travel

Getting Around on a Budget

New Zealand discount travel deals are easy to come by if you’re smart about making bookings. Getting onto a company’s website to book can often be a great way to save yourself some cash - likewise, booking multiple trips at the same time can help you qualify for discounts.

Many New Zealand tourism companies will also refer business to each other, so it’s a good idea to ask when making bookings if using a particular service will open up any discounts for you.

Discount Train Travel

Trains aren’t really the cheapest way to get around the country if your budget is your biggest consideration - but if you want to do some sightseeing as you go, booking some discount train travel can be a good idea.

Tranz Scenic offers the Scenic Rail Pass deal which gives you access to multiple train journeys for one price. But again, if you’re just trying to get from A to B, there are usually cheaper ways to do it than by train. Trains in New Zealand are more of a tourism experience rather than a budget transport option.

Discount Bus Travel

The Magic Bus Travellers Network is one service providing discount bus fares. This is a good way to take in a lot of New Zealand in a short space of time, and on a tight budget. Magic Bus tends to attract a lot of backpackers and younger people. They're constantly running specials, promotions and free bonus offers, so this is definitely worth a look for budget travellers looking for New Zealand discount travel.

InterCity buses also offer discounts. This outfit is less of a tourist operation and is generally “no frills.” That means there’s big savings to be made, especially if you book online. Booking in advance is another key to savings - the further ahead you book, the more you can save, with savings over 50% if you really get in early. They also have a 15% discount deal for backpackers (you need to show proof of being a YHA member to qualify).

New Zealand Bus Travel for more...

Discount Air Travel: Grab a Seat

Flying can actually be a really affordable way to get around New Zealand if you’re happy to spend time hunting out the bargains. Grab A Seat is Air New Zealand’s bargain basement flights website. There are always a few cheap seats up for grabs for various flights around the country. They will even occasionally put one-dollar seats up for grabs, but getting hold of these is not easy to do - they tend to sell out pretty quickly.

Grab A Seat is best for travel within New Zealand, although it does feature a few international deals - but these are typically limited to flights to and from Australia, Fiji, Samoa and other Pacific countries. To get a discount on flights to New Zealand from further abroad, you can check out the travel packages available from Air NZ or local travel agencies like Flight Centre.

Pacific Blue also has a similar discount deal system - every day for an hour (between 12 and 1pm) they offer a discount flight.