Transport.
Talking all things flights, buses, uber, car hire and the all controversial train deficit.
Buses
Get yourself a bee card. $5 online or at the airport and it’ll save so much hassle. In NZ, or at least Aukland, you can’t get onto a bus without one of these transport cards as there’s no such thing as paying with cash. So, buy a card and then you can hand the bus drivers cash to top it up should you need. With the card, most bus journeys will cost you around $2 and will save you the stress of having to scam your way on for free as I did my entire trip. Bee card- wish I knew about them!
Coaches
The intercity bus is the one which takes you from the main cities, aukland, Christchurch and Queenstown. It allows you to stop off at cities in between such as Dunnedin and Lake tekapo (a favourite of mine) so is definetly a good idea should you want to travel around NZ without hiring a car.
Car ferries
I used 3 car ferrys along my journey and highly recommend. Although there’s an alternative car route you will be saving yourself time fuel and will give you a break from driving too. They are usually around $10-$15 depending on where you’re crossing and the process is super simple.
The intercostal cruise which takes you from the north island to the south island also ferrys cars and if you are looking at doing both islands via a car this is your best option.
Trains
NZ are notoriously bad for their aged train system and have 1 passenger train, which is mostly used for a scenic tour. So bus or boat is going to be your way to go.
The intercostal Ferry
This was hardly a ferry and more of a cruise. The 3-hour trip from Wellington to The South island was on this mammoth ship which had beds, cafes, restaurants, bars, a movie theatre, so many seats and more. The view leaving the inlet at wellington and when entering the South -island was incredible, and that alone worth the cost of the ferry. Plus its cheaper than flying anyway! Apparently, the trip is usually trouble free however my experience on the ferry was less than ideal. The departure time was first delayed from 7am to 9am and then when we got to the ferry terminal 11am. NZ is bad with its trains and also does not cope under pressure when things get delayed. We were sitting on the ship for 4 hours before it even started moving, however to the ships credit everyone onboard was given free tea, coffee and hot chips throughout the duration as a sorry so can’t realllly complain but my tip would be to not plan anything for the day of your ferry, just in case.