Holiday Park Prices in NZ 2026: Powered, Unpowered and Cabin Rates

What a night costs

Holiday park pricing has three moving parts: the type of site, the season and whether the price is per site or per adult. The Camp at Lake Hāwea, for example, charges for two adults on a powered site and then adds $25 a night for each extra adult and $15 for each child aged 5 to 15, with children under 5 free. Cable Bay Holiday Park outside Nelson charges per adult, at $28 powered and $26 unpowered, with children aged 5 to 13 at $15.

That means a couple pays about the same as a family of four only at parks that price per site, and the per-adult parks reward couples and singles. Before comparing two parks, convert both quotes to the same party, such as two adults in one campervan, and the same dates.

Published rates by region and season

The table collects what named parks in five regions publish, with the season each price belongs to. It is a sample of how prices behave rather than a national average, and the parks' own booking pages decide the price for your dates. Where a source gives only a range across every accommodation type, the table says so instead of guessing which part of the range is a powered site.

The pattern is the same everywhere: a lower price from May to September, a middle band for most of the summer half of the year and a peak that starts around 20 December and runs until after Waitangi Day. Cabins carry the steepest swing, since a Northland cabin lists $80 to $100 in winter for two and $155 to $250 at peak for four.

Powered, unpowered and cabin: what you pay for

A powered site adds a power point to the pitch, and in most parks it also brings you closer to the kitchen and amenity blocks. An unpowered site suits a tent or a campervan that does not need to plug in, and it costs less. A cabin includes a bed under a roof, so it is the choice when the forecast is poor or you travel without a tent.

DOC is the benchmark on conservation land. Its serviced campsites charge adults $25 for an unpowered site and $20 to $28 for a powered one, with children at $12.50 and $10 to $14, and infants free. Standard DOC campsites cost adults $10 to $20 and basic ones are free, but they have fewer facilities than a holiday park, so the price gap buys showers, kitchens and laundry.

The networks and memberships

TOP 10 Holiday Parks says it has 52 parks in New Zealand. Its TOP 10 Club costs $55 for two years and gives 10% off accommodation at all TOP 10 parks, subject to terms and conditions, which one park's own blog describes as capped at $40 a stay. It takes about $550 of accommodation spend to earn back $55 at 10%, and a single three-night stay at $55 a night saves about $16.

Some parks belong to no network. Christchurch City Council operates Spencer Beach TOP 10 among its camping grounds, so a council park can sit inside a network and still set its own prices. Check whether a membership discount applies to a site, a cabin or both.

Ways to spend less

Travel outside the peak window, because the winter rate for a powered site at The Camp is $20 lower than its peak rate and Tauranga Bay lists its winter cabins well below its peak cabins. A night in a DOC serviced campsite costs less than most holiday park sites, so alternate the two on a longer trip.

Choose an unpowered site when the van has a house battery, since the per-adult price is lower, and watch the child rate when you travel as a family. Fewer, longer stays also cut the minimum-stay problem that some parks apply over peak and public holidays. A prepaid cancellation rule can cancel the saving, so read it before paying.

Booking terms that change the price

Tauranga Bay's listing says a cancellation within 14 days of arrival costs one night's rate for each cabin or site booked. Spencer Beach's listing notes that minimum stays apply over the peak season and public holidays. The Camp's page says guests who stayed the previous summer book Christmas and New Year before 31 March, and new guests email the park from 1 April, so the best summer sites go early.

Parks also charge for pets, extra vehicles and visitors at some sites, so ask when you book. A quote that leaves them out will not match the final bill.

Using KiwiCamping to price a trip

KiwiCamping lists holiday parks next to DOC campsites and huts, with a fees and facilities summary, a link to book where a park takes bookings, and the nightly cost shown in the currency you choose. A cost filter limits the map to free places or paid ones. Place details, saved places and guides work offline, and the map tiles, routing, weather and photos need signal.

Save a holiday park and a DOC campsite for each night, drop them into a trip with dates and notes, and compare the two on price and facilities. The trip adds up the driving between stops and shows the forecast at each one. Free to download, with in-app purchases.

Places along the way