Posts Tagged campervan

Tips on New Zealand Camping Choices

New Zealand very much lends itself to campervan or motor home touring and it has become extremely popular with locals as a holiday mode.Tourists with families in particular, also find this a very convenient means of touring the country.The camping facilities are usually excellent, and readily available.

With a choice of free camping or staying in camping grounds and holiday parks you should never have a problem finding somewhere to stop for the night.

Free Camping in New Zealand

While you may free camp in many locations, it will sometimes be necessary and more desirable to stay in a camping ground, especially in cities or larger towns. You need to check at the local Tourist Information Offices to find out what the regulations are for free camping in their areas as it varies. Sometimes there is a very small charge – about $5.Check for the red, black and white camping signs.

There is also a relatively new Native Parks Organisation where for a fee of $70 you get to stay in up to 50 camping spots on private property. You need to be driving a totally self contained rental campervan or motorhome to take part in this scheme. This is a great way to meet the locals.

New Zealand Camping Grounds

Being a nation of campers there is plenty of choice when it comes to finding a camping ground. You do need to be aware that over the peak summer period (December-January) the camping grounds will be busy and you need to arrive earlier in the afternoon if possible to ensure you get a site.

New Zealand camping grounds range from basic with just cold showers and toilet facilities to Holiday Parks with

  • camp kitchens
  • excellent bathroom facilities – hot showers, toilets etc
  • Laundries with washing machines, clothes dryers etc
  • Swimming pools
  • Childrens play areas
  • Mini golf
  • Tennis courts
  • Entertainment rooms with indoor activities

and more…

If your camp is not beachside it could be by a beautiful lake, or featuring thermal pools. I cannot think of a camping ground I have stayed in that does not have something to delight the family.

Facilities in New Zealand Camping Grounds

  • DOC (Department of Conservation) Camps are found in many beautiful, invariably beachside locations. These are very cheap. Therefore you will have very basic facilities. You get what you pay for, but they are often right on stunning beaches so some of the best locations in the country.
  • Council Camping Grounds. usually have good facilities, with campers kitchens, hot showers, and bathroom and laundry facilities.
  • Privately owned Camping Grounds. These range from basic to excellent. Most are very good. You should have a kitchen, hot showers and toilets.
  • Campervan Only Camping Grounds There are a few campervan and motor home only camping grounds often located on private property. They are usually just a nice place to stay with no extra facilities.Your motorhome must be totally self contained to be suitable.
  • Holiday Parks 4 star Holiday Parks have wonderful facilities with cabins, on site caravan hire, swimming pools, spa pools, childrens play areas and a shop.

Most camping grounds will have a number of power points for caravans and camper vans, as well as tent sites. There will be rules that it is essential campers comply with so other campers are happy. Many camps will expect noise to be limited after 10.00pm.Some may even close their gates. They will either have a facility for you to get a key, or you should be able to make some arrangement if you will be arriving back later than their closing time.

The majority of camps either have a basic shop on site, or are very near to shops.

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Enjoy Your Vacation in New Zealand

New Zealand is such a place that you don’t require any ones accompany. You will enjoy by your own, you will feel the same whether you are with your friends, family, colleagues or alone at that place. New Zealand is a great adventurous place.

New Zealand provides you with variety of offers through out the year whether it is related to the Visa, traveling, jobs, accommodation, flights, business and so on which tend to be so exciting that none of us likes to miss it. Some of the hot travel deals are: Cheap Flights, Holiday Bargains, Discount Accommodation, New Zealand Visa, Top Insurance Companies, Car Hire, Campervan hire.

This hot travels schemes at New Zealand sounds to be interesting. It is so great that people would definitely enjoy roaming over there with different modes of schemes provided to the people. New Zealand’s Gap year is one more opportunity for people to avail the schemes which tend to be the hottest ones at New Zealand. And the best part is when you visit New Zealand for the first time, its something like that you don’t know where to go first? Where to stay and so on… looking at such things there are guides who help you through out your trip introducing to various places which are quite famous and interesting and also are worth – seeing.

They make you put up at the best hostels of New Zealand which indeed provides you the best comfort, you require at least when need to take rest when you are here after a long trip. And the first place you should visit is North Island Boasts which is a sensational Subtropical Island and has bubbling mud lakes and the astonishing wildlife with dolphins and whales.

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New Zealand Campervan Travel – Is it Recommended ?

What Campervan Travel means?

It may sound obvious, but there is still some people that are looking in the campervan some kind of luxury 4-stars hotel with a nice bell-boy that brings up your bags. Well, sorry to disappoint, but even if I think everybody is able to do campervan travel, you must understand that it is possibly one of the wildest ways to travel. According to this, I think it definitely fits when you are visiting wild places. In a campervan you will not have time or hour to arrive to somewhere, you’ll have absolute freedom of decision, you’ll be able to sleep wherever you want except in specifically forbidden places and you’ll be able to also take a shower or cook inside.

Campervan Travel reduces the cost of the trip then?

If you do it in the right way, it definitely does. Hiring a campervan in New Zealand can be at a cost of 30 Euros (44$) per day during April to October, which is the low season down there. In this case, I must say that the typical European, Asian or American summer holidays will fit perfectly with the low season there. Still, take into account that flights will be more expensive as it is high season in your departure country.

There are many campervan companies there, one of them called United Campervans, that have special offers with free days for hiring for a certain period of time. In fact, hiring a campervan from them for 21 days will let you pay nothing from the 14th to the 21st day. In that way, hiring 14 days has the same price than hiring 21, so it is obvious that a good option is to use it 21 days to take the maximum benefit of the offer. Furthermore, after the day 21, for every 2 payed days you get 1 free. That makes that you could take a 27 days trip paying only for 18 for example.

What about travel insurance? Does it go normally included in Campervan Travel?

Travel insurance is possibly what we hate most, but in the end it helps protecting us from unexpected situations. And in a country of such wild nature as New Zealand, probably unexpected things can happen. The rates I mentioned below include a travel insurance that cover for an excess of 5.000 $NZ. That means about 2500 Euros. If anything happens to the vehicle, you could need to pay this quantity, but anything more than this quantity is covered by the insurance company. In any case, there are other complete insurances for an extra price of 15 Euros per day of hiring in a way that whatever it happens you can be covered.

Are there facilities for the campervans? Can I park wherever I want or do I need to use camping sites?

New Zealand campervan travel makes it easy for you. Both options are open, and it will depend on you if you want to use facilities or your prefer to camp next to the beach. The price for the camping places is very cheap, and they are well-equipped. From my personal point of view I recommend to always camp somewhere else, as in the country this is allowed, but of course for a long trip you will need a place where to get water and clean the clothes, so it is good to visit one every week or so.

So, would you recommend to do campervan travel there?

Absolutely. I think that going to hotels in New Zealand would be a waste of time. You are not there to admire the cities, you are there for the natural hot spots, and those ones can’t be seen from your window. The freedom that campervan travel gives to you will allow you to enjoy from all this sightseeing even more, to the point of sleeping next to the hottest spot you can find around.

Still, I’m one of those who prefer a 4 stars hotel, what should I do?

Probably the same as I do sometimes, get a travel certificate for free that would allow you to stay for 7 nights up to 4 persons in a deluxe rooms in a 4 or 5 stars hotel. The guys that distribute these certificates have some hotels and apartments in New Zealand at Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. The discount you get by one of this travel certificates is up to a 95%.

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