Australia and New Zealand Travel Expenses 11 Days Breakdown

We spent around Php 106,000 each for our epic 11 days Australia and New Zealand trip back in 2017. Traveling to either Australia or New Zealand is actually very expensive as cost of living is very high wherein one simple meal can cost you up to Php 400-600 and entrance fees are very expensive (Php 2,000 upwards). But we were able to save a lot by combining Australia and New Zealand in one trip and we applied our usual cost saving tips in our other travels for this trip.

Airfare - we booked piso fair sale from Cebu Pacific from Manila to Sydney for only Php 5,000 one year prior but booked one way trip only as we were not sure at that time how long we will be staying. Then we decided to combine this with a New Zealand trip as the average direct airfare from Manila to New Zealand is around Php 40,000 but we booked for only Php 13,000 from Australia to New Zealand. Going back to Manila, we had a lay-over flight using Air Asia from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur, then to Manila which was about Php 15,000. To compare, round trip regular flights to Australia and New Zealand in two different trips could cost around Php 80,000 but we spent less than Php 40,000 by combining the trip and choosing a lay-over option. For domestic flights, we rode budget airlines Tiger Air for Sydney to Melbourne trip and Jetstar for Melbourne to Auckland trip.

Transportation - in Australia, we made use of their very efficient and affordable trains and trams. In Sydney, we used their trains and walked to most places while In Melbourne, we rode the city Circle Tram (number 35 tram) for a hop-on and off around the CBD and Docklands for FREE. This route can already take you to the following attractions: the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne Zoo, Royal Exhibition Building, Museum, Federation Square, the Old Treasury Building, Parliament House, and the Princess Theater. One option you can explore is to get rental car and drive from Sydney to Melbourne. We did not choose this option since we had limited time and we were planning to drive through New Zealand already.

In New Zealand, there is very few public transportation option so the best way to travel is to get a rental car. There are a lot of options for rental car and a lot of people rent Camper Vans as the roads there have camp site for those renting camper vans. We chose the cheapest option by renting a Mazda 2 (compact car) automatic for NZD 19.20 per day plus other charges like premium pick-up location fee in Auckland airport, insurance etc. They have free shuttle services also from airport to their garage but you need to call them to book a their shuttle services.

Btw, we bought a sim card with internet data for Waze from Auckland airport. IT'S A LIFE SAVER AND A MUST BUY!. You must have internet on your phone to survive driving around NZ (don't forget to bring cellphone car charger too!) because it is difficult to get directions or help from people since 70-80% of the time you only see mountains, grass, cows, and sheep as your background haha. You only need a Philippine driver's license to drive in NZ. Do note though that driving in New Zealand can be hard at start since they are right side driving (PH is left side), they have a lot of rules that you need to comply to, and you will drive for long hours at max speed without a lot of stop-over options. Always put full tank gas as we had several instances where we almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere and take some time to research prior to going there on how to drive in New Zealand and learn the rules.

Accommodation - we booked our Melbourne and New Zealand accommodation via Airbnb since it was the cheaper option for us. We actually booked the cheapest rooms (around Php 2,000 per night for two) since we did not intend to stay long as we expected to be on the road for most of the time. In New Zealand, we transferred from one Airbnb to another for one night each since we traveled the entire North island in just 3 days. We also were fortunate to have friends both in Sydney and in Auckland so we spend a couple of days with our friends. This is where we saved a lot as our total accommodation for the 10 nights is only Php 10,000 for the two of us or Php 5,000 each.

Food - we typically do not spend a lot on food as we don't eat at fancy restaurants when we travel as we prefer using the money to explore more places. Our average food cost in Australia and New Zealand was about Php 400-600 per person but these were food court or fast food style restaurants. We are also on the go most of the time so we usually buy street foods or snacks (Pies in Australia are yummy!). I also suggest you buy grocery in both places as there are a lot of high quality fruits with lower price than in the Philippines (e.g. Kiwi or Strawberry). This is what we did in New Zealand as we were on the road for 12 hours so we had a lot of snacks in the car.

Entrance Fees - most of the entrance fees that we paid were in New Zealand attractions such as the Agrodome, Maori Village, Wai-O-Tapu, and Hobbiton. These were very expensive as this is where we spent most of our budget. However, we saved a lot in entrance fee in Australia because most tourist spots in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne) are FREE. We also went on a tour in Australia for the Great Ocean Road Tour which was around Php 5,200 for each but was worth it! Other alternative is to rent a car and go through the Great Ocean Road.

In Summary - you can save significant cost by combining Australia and New Zealand into one trip and book budget airlines if you don't mind the lay-over (e.g. sleeping lay-over in Kuala Lumpur). You can also get the cheaper Airbnb options if you intend to travel like us where we are mostly on the road. Get a sim card in New Zealand vs. paying for data on your phone since this is cheaper (Php 1,000 for entire trip) and available in the airport. Lastly, exchange money prior to going there as we did not know that most money exchange there has bank fees which cost a lot (around 50 dollars if I recall per transaction). We ended up using our credit card to avoid these fees.