Working Holiday Road Trip Budget in NZ 2026: Per Week

Before you fly: visa and funds

Immigration New Zealand publishes a working holiday page for each eligible country. The Germany, Canada, USA, France, Ireland and Japan pages ask for at least $4,200 in funds, and the United Kingdom page asks for at least $350 a month. You also need an onward ticket or the money to buy one, on top of those funds, and the evidence is bank or credit card statements. Every country page shows the visa cost as "from $770", and the exact fee for your passport shows only after you enter your country details.

The International Visitor Levy is $100 for many working holiday travellers, and Immigration New Zealand's levy page explains who pays. This guide could not confirm from the page text whether it is charged in addition to the $770, so check your application summary. The visa lets you work in temporary jobs for the length of the visa, study for up to 6 months in total and needs no job offer, but not a permanent job, and you cannot operate a business. Age limits are 18 to 30 on most country pages and 18 to 35 for the United Kingdom and Canada.

What a week costs by camping style

The table uses two stated assumptions. Fuel is 800 km a week at 11 litres per 100 km, which is 88 litres, at MBIE's national board price for regular petrol of $3.617 a litre on 16 October 2026 (provisional): 88 times $3.617 is about $318. Camping uses the DOC fees page and, for holiday parks, the planning range of $25 to $80 a site per night used in the camping fees guide, since holiday park chains publish nightly prices only in their booking engines.

A diesel van changes the fuel line. At $3.245 a litre, 88 litres cost about $286, and road user charges on a hire van at thl's $8.04 per 100 km add about $64 for 800 km, so about $350 for the week. A van you own pays RUC by the 1,000 km, and the rate is on the NZTA page.

Camping costs: DOC fees and the Campsite Pass

DOC's fee page lists serviced unpowered or tent sites at $25 per adult (18 and over) and $12.50 per child (5 to 17), serviced powered at $20 to $28 per adult and $10 to $14 per child, and standard campsites at $10 to $20 per adult and $5 to $10 per child. Basic campsites are free, and infants are free. Backcountry and Great Walk campsites vary. A vacant tent or vehicle left on a site is charged as two adults.

The DOC Campsite Pass costs $295 for an adult and $147.50 for a child or youth, valid one year from your chosen start date, and covers most DOC campsites except an excluded list. It allows a maximum of 7 nights in a 30-day period at a single campsite and adds $3 per pass user per night at powered campsites. At $25 a night, $295 is about 12 nights, so the pass pays only if you stay in many paid DOC sites. Holiday park clubs differ: TOP 10's own page lists its club at $55 for 2 years, and laundry at Wellington TOP 10 is $6 a wash and $6 a dryer.

Fuel, ferry and the van

Fuel is the largest running cost on a long route, so use the fuel guide to convert your distance. Crossing Cook Strait with a vehicle costs more than a foot passenger fare: Interislander says vehicle fares start from $258 and vary by sailing, fare type and how far ahead you book, and prices are set by vehicle length. Bluebridge shows no fare in its page text.

If you hire, the campervan hire cost guide covers the daily rate, cover, one-way fees and the extras. If you buy, the buying guide covers WoF, rego and change of ownership, and the selling guide covers getting out at the end. Jucy's Crib at its $95 peak rate costs $665 for 7 days before cover and extras.

What you can earn

From 1 April 2026 the adult minimum wage is $23.95 an hour before tax, which is $191.60 for an 8-hour day and $958 for a 40-hour week. The starting-out and training rates are $19.16 an hour. Employment New Zealand says temporary migrant workers have the same minimum rights, and the rates are reviewed each year.

Compare that with a week's camping and fuel of $318 to $878: at the minimum wage, one 40-hour week before tax covers every row in the table, but food, the van and tax are still to come. Harvest and hospitality hours vary, so treat the figure as a ceiling, not a promise.

Plan the route and the nights in KiwiCamping

KiwiCamping lists 287 DOC campsites and 927 DOC huts in its bundled data (as of 24 August 2026), with each place's category and fee from DOC. Filter by cost to find free places, save the ones you want and build a trip with ordered stops, dates, and the distance and drive time between them, so your kilometres, and with them your fuel line, come from a real route. Place pages keep working with no bars on the phone; maps, routes, the forecast and photos come back once you have signal. KiwiCamping is free to download, with in-app purchases.

The app does not set prices for holiday parks or hire. Use it to count nights and kilometres, then fill the table above.

Places along the way