Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from $80 to $120. Some farms have separate cottages where you can fix your own food, while others offer low-cost,
shared, backpacker-style accommodation.
»
Farm Helpers in NZ
(FHINZ;
www.fhinz.co.nz
) produces a booklet ($25) that lists around 350 NZ farms providing
lodging in exchange for four to six hours' work per day.
»
Rural Holidays NZ
(
www.ruralholidays.co.nz
) lists farmstays and homestays throughout the country on its website.
Hostels
The South Island is packed to the rafters with backpacker hostels, both independent and part of large chains, ranging
from small, homestay-style affairs with a handful of beds, to refurbished hotels and towering modern structures in the
big cities. Hostel bed prices listed throughout this topic are nonmember rates, usually between $25 and $35 per night.
HOSTEL ORGANISATIONS
Budget Backpacker Hostels
(BBH;
www.bbh.co.nz
) NZ's biggest hostel group with around 275 hostels. Membership
costs $45 for 12 months and entitles you to stay at member hostels at rates listed in the annual (free)
BBH Backpacker
Accommodation
booklet. Nonmembers pay an extra $3 per night. Pick up a membership card from any member hostel
or order one online for $50; see the website for details.
YHA New Zealand
(Youth Hostels Association;
www.yha.co.nz
)
More than 50 hostels in prime NZ locations. The
YHA is part of the
Hostelling International
(HI;
www.hihostels.com
)
network, so if you're an HI member in your own
country, membership entitles you to use NZ hostels. If you don't already have a home membership, you can join at ma-
jor NZ YHA hostels or online for $42, valid for 12 months. Nonmembers pay an extra $3 per night.
Base Backpackers
(
www.stayatbase.com
)
Chain with seven hostels around NZ, including South Island properties in
Wanaka and Queenstown, plus affiliates in Nelson and Dundein (the Christchurch hostel is closed for post-quake re-
pairs). Expect clean dorms, women-only areas and party opportunities aplenty. Offers a 10-night 'Base Jumping' accom-
modation card for $239, bookable online.
VIP Backpackers
(
www.vipbackpackers.com
) International organisation affiliated with around 20 NZ hostels (not
BBH or YHA), mainly in the cities and tourist hot-spots. For around $61 (including postage) you'll receive a 12-month
membership entitling you to a $1 discount off nightly accommodation. Join online or at VIP hostels.
Nomads Backpackers
(
www.nomadsworld.com
) Seven franchises in NZ with South Island locations in Abel Tasman
National Park and Queenstown. Membership costs $49 for 12 months and, like VIP, offers $1 off the cost of nightly ac-
commodation. Join at participating hostels or online.
Pubs, Hotels & Motels
»
The least expensive form of South Island hotel accommodation is the humble pub. Pubs are often full of character
(and characters), while others are grotty, ramshackle places that are best avoided, especially by women travelling solo.
Check whether there's a band playing the night you're staying - you could be in for a sleepless night. In the cheapest
pubs, singles/doubles might cost as little as $30/60 (with a shared bathroom down the hall), though $50/80 is more com-
mon.
»
At the top end of the hotel scale are five-star international chains, resort complexes and architecturally splendorous
boutique hotels, all of which charge a hefty premium for their mod cons, snappy service and/or historic opulence. We
quote 'rack rates' (official advertised rates) for such places, but discounts and special deals often apply.
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South Island towns have a glut of nondescript, low-rise motels and 'motor lodges', charging between $80 and $180
for double rooms. These tend to be squat structures skulking by highways on the edges of towns. Most are modernish
