January 12, 2012
New Zealand and Other Travel Locales That Will Break the Bank
Note the shocking price of this basket of fruit at a roadside stand in New Zealand. Photo by Alastair Bland.
It’s rare that a place is entirely worth visiting simply because it’s cheap. Consider the Republic of Georgia, where one could live on five bucks a day but where the mud streets, drab Soviet food and often bland villages may fall short of inspiring the traveler (though the tremendous hospitality and mountainous scenery can easily win hearts). Likewise, it may not be a winning scheme to entirely dodge a nation because prices there are through the roof. Consider New Zealand, where the superb landscape is like the backdrop of a fantasy filmmaker‘s dreams but where a quick stop at a grocery store can easily pull 50 bucks from your pocket. Yes: New Zealand is worth visiting. But I’ll be frank: I’m not sure how long I can keep traveling here and continue claiming to be “on the cheap.”
All of which has got me thinking: What are the world’s most expensive places? And which are the cheapest? Where should the frugal traveler go? And at what point is beauty simply not worth its price? And so I’ve spent a few hours between trout streams researching the matter, considering first-hand accounts, travel blogs, my own experience and a few critical criteria, like the retail cost of a cup of coffee, the cost of a pint of beer and the price of a hostel as indicators. And here they are, in no particular order, a few of the world’s most expensive travel destinations—plus a smattering of low-priced alternatives (all dollar prices are in $USD):
Japan. According to an August 2011 article in BootsnAll, “$60-$75 /day is about the bare minimum you’ll need to travel around Japan.” And that doesn’t include eating, sightseeing and living with some degree of comfort, which can all jack the cost up to an easy $100 per day. And this site tells us that traveling Japan can cost more than $200 per day.
Switzerland. Trim, tidy and exorbitant, Switzerland is home to rustic mountain hamlets as well as some of Europe’s slickest cities. Among them, Geneva and Zurich are said to be the most expensive in the world. BootsnAll reports that one “can spend $100-$125/day with relative ease in Switzerland.”
Iceland. Like many remote island nations largely incapable of growing much of their own food but intent on keeping pace with the modern world, Iceland is a real pocket picker. Travelers here can say goodbye to $100 to 120 per day if they choose to sleep indoors and eat well. What I think? Fishing for salmon and camping out among the ice, tundra and lava might help cut costs.
Norway. Another modern place in a sub-Arctic world, Norway is a land where people pay for their comforts, as do their visitors. One hundred dollars, according to BootsnAll, is said to be an average daily price of life. Just one latte, for instance, may cost $6.80.
Greenland. Far north, isolated and thirsty for the simple comforts we know, Greenlanders must pay more than seven pounds for a beer. That’s almost 11 bucks. Don’t forget to tip.
Moscow. This report may be dated, but in 2008, a cup of coffee here reportedly ran, on average, $10.19. At the same time, Parisian coffees were going $6.77 and Athenian coffees $6.62. (In Buenos Aires, coffee was going $2.03 per cup.)
The author can't decide: Was this handful of apples and dried figs worth 17 New Zealand dollars? Photo by Andrew Bland.
New Zealand. I report this from my own experience. While this nation is not the most expensive on the list (my brother Andrew got by here last year on $60 per day), it is far from cheap. Today, for instance, our eyes bugged out at a roadside fruit stand where we found fresh apricots going for the equivalent of $14 per pound. And yesterday, I spent $15 on nine apples and a scraping of dried figs from the bulk section in a supermarket in Te Anau. What other groceries here will almost kill you? Garlic, which can run the equivalent of $10 or $12 per pound. And that oldest, most vulgar staple of the peasant, the onion, can run about $2 apiece. Yet avocados go as cheap as two for a buck, thanks to an industry on the North Island.
How to save money on the road? BootsnAll suggests using hostel kitchens to cook your own meals, taking advantage of free breakfasts and camping—but read between the lines! Some of these well-meant suggestions will work against you. The “free breakfast” offering? That requires a hotel room, the surest means of parting with your money. And hostels aren’t always particularly cheap, often running $30 or more. Camping? More my style, except that BootsnAll suggests sleeping in proper campgrounds, which as often as not resemble RV parks in places like Europe and New Zealand and which, in places like Croatia, can cost even a lone cyclist $25 for a patch of dust on which to lay a sleeping bag.
My own advice for nomads on the cheap: Ride a bicycle. Forage roadside fruit, which can be delicious and healthy while cushioning your wallet until suppertime. Sleep for free—though this specific activity was made illegal last year by the New Zealand government. Finally, avoid cars if possible. These grumbling thieves demand gas, insurance, parking and repairs. They cannot be stashed out of sight behind the raspberry bushes, and the easiest place to keep them, one finds, is often in a hotel parking lot. Ka-ching.
Want to skip the extreme frugality measures and still live cheaply? Then go see Cambodia, Peru, Nicaragua, India, Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania or Bolivia.
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The author should travel to Georgia to understand how very deep is his misconcept about Georgia. Food – and wine – in Georgia are not simply excellent, but, to my mind, the best in the world, multiplied by other attractions – unique medieval architecture and choral tradition, wonderful fine arts and theatre, music and ballet… not to mention warm sea, glorious unspoiled mountain landscapes and wonderful hospitable people mentioned in this rewiew.
Go to Georgia – not only because it is really non-expensive, but because it is is so much inspiring!
You are getting ripped off by going to the tourist spots. Those prices are for Americans and Brits who don’t know better. And remember everything has 15% sales tax added on.
At the local supermarket a kilo of apricots is $5.50. ($3 a pound). A kilo of apples is about the same. Go to a farmers market and you can find them for about half the price. However, meat is expensive in New Zealand.
And it is not illegal to freedom camp in NZ. The law change allows councils to designate areas where you cannot camp. Check with the local visitors centre to find out where you can and cannot freedom camp. Generally the more touristy the area, the less places to camp. If you find a friendly land owner they may let you use their land for free.
Remember New Zealand is a long way from the rest of the world and can not grow a number of foods that need hot weather. So they tend (like garlic which comes from Asia) to be more expensive.
Interesting posts but I think you really need to admit that while you might view NZ prices as high, don’t forget that with the exchange of $US-NZ paying $20NZD for cherries isn’t the same as $20USD…Imagine being a New Zealander going to the UK, where your hard earned cash gets literally halved. Suddenly New Zealand only seems expensive for New Zealanders!
Thank you for your honest appraisal of the horrific food prices in New Zealand. Perhaps if enough international media brings attention to it, the government might do something (they sure don’t listen to the locals, but they are afraid of being shamed internationally).
Did you know that NZ is the only country that puts a sales tax on fresh fruit and vegetables?
This is basically Jounalism on the Cheap. Im sure Mr. Bland gets a good enough remuneration to travel to New Zealand and produce his articles. How do I get a gig like this? But my point is in a previous article http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/adventure/2012/01/journey-to-the-bottom-of-the-earth-almost/ he has lifted the photo of the Eel from my Flickr page. Which is Ok as its a non derivative license and he does give me the credit.
But Im a New Zealander in the tourism industry and we have to make a living somehow by taking money from visitors. He gets paid to come here and point out the expense but delivers an article on the cheap. He could have approached me and given me a donation for use of my picture. I realise ive put my photo out there but usually its for students who use my work.
We used to live in Old Town, Alexandria, but have been living here in New Zealand for some years now.
I would disagree that the higher prices are “just for tourists”. The higher prices are unrelievedly high for everyone. I have to say, back in America we never considered dental care as a luxury, but we do here. We are moving back for that reason among others.
The drugs are quite a serious problem, not just the problem of a certain segment of society but downright endemic, and you would probably not realize this if you were just a tourist. If you took a rekkie and on the basis of that decided to move to New Zealand, you would find things you didn’t see on your rekkie, deal-breakers. We did!
I’d recommend New Zealand to the wealthy as a breathtaking tourist destination for a very special year, but not as a permanent place of residence.
New Zealand is one big rip off. Cos of living versus wages is truly shocking.
Tourists are regarded as “fair game” as Kiwis are under the misconception the scenery will somehow distract them from the awful prices.
Most also somehow believe that foreigners earn the same amount of foreign currency as they do in NZD. For example, they honestly think your average Brit earns 20UKP an hour as the average kiwi earns 20NZD per hour.
Tony, thanks for reading the blog – and thanks for the great shot of the eel. (I saw my first eel just yesterday, being fed by some locals off a bridge, but I didn’t have my camera.) I have to respond to your statements about my payment. Yes, I am a professional writer, and I write about travel – but that doesn’t mean that I don’t drop my own cash on the expenses of traveling. I do. Speaking of which, I’ll buy you a beer. Cheers,
Alastair
How much did those brown trout and paua cost you?
New Zealand is a huge rip-off and not only for tourists as somebody said, but for anyone unfortunate to set foot there…
The prices you got are not unusual, in fact, 1 Kg of vulgar garlic can cost as much as $22!!, a kilo of oranges $2.99, and I’m quoting prices from a (cheaper) Chinese supermarket!
Not to mention milk ($2/litre), chicken (1 chicken almost $10) or lamb (decent cuts over $20/kilo).
Now add the extreme costs for accommodation ($1000/month for a shoebox in Auckland) of extremely low quality, cold and wet. High costs of electricity that makes heating in the winter a luxury (and yes it does get cold in NZ!), and you will understand why so many of them leave. Remember that NZ is a low wage society, imagine living there in a NZ salary. If you are not a Bill Gates, quality of life is bad.
NZ may be an ok place for a holiday (it’s overrated, you can find better scenery for less money in Asia, and there’s lots of crime and petty rip-offs everywhere) but not to live.
Google “expatexposed.com” if you want to know more.
I’m sorry that you were ripped off when buying those apples and dried figs, however that is not representative of prices in New Zealand.
I wish I’d seen this before I went to my local market this morning. I would have taken my camera along and given you photos showing apricots, plums and peaches at $2.49 a kilo, apples at $2.25 a kilo (which I didn’t buy because they were so much more expensive than last week’s $1.49 a kilo), and onions at $2 a KILO.
I’d say that roadside stand is a tourist trap and they probably don’t grow the fruit themselves, just buy it in from somewhere else. There are some of those about and the best thing to do is not buy from people like that.
Alistair
Thanks for your reply which is appreciated.
If you’re in Northland drop in and Ill show you the real New Zealand http://www.bushmansfriend.co.nz/
Cheers Alistair,
You’ve brought light to a topic that’s been on the rise over the past few years (or more) and I have no idea why several of the prior posts are so defensive about such an internationally known fact.
Our cost of living/wage ratio is well out of balance making simple healthy eating a luxury. Understandably we are an island nation and do have to import a significant portion of our our consumed product, which naturally is subject to the laws of business markup based upon the trading of the NZD. However when your 2 person, weekly vegetarian grocery bill with no milk/fish/chicken/sweets and very little packaged food is on avg $140 (from the cheaper of the supermarkets) you begin to question the viability of residing in this picturesque country. Have a great trip.
mark.
I am saddened by Trevor’s experience of moving to New Zealand. It sounds like you had some personal experiences which were disappointing and not necessarily reflective of the entire country. As a Kiwi – American family we know both countries extremely well. Both offer many positives – and both have challenges. To highlight dental care costs in NZ is to miss the broader point that US health care costs are crippling – both to the individual, companies and the country. As a (touch wood) healthy family are spending literally thousands of dollars less a year in NZ than we did in the US on insurance and health costs. Just a word of warning – best of luck mate and we hope you stay connected in some way to NZ. Haere ra – travel well.
PS: one final point on the debate on NZ prices. You CANNOT directly compare prices here to the US. First, the $NZD is worth less (around 25% at today’s rates, longer term 40% less). Prices in NZ also include all taxes and tipping is not usual. In the US – both taxes and tips need to be added to published prices – which on items like restaurant meals can make a significant difference.
I have to say that I agree strongly with comment #11 by Denise. I’ve never seen prices like yours and I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’m sad to hear that people ripped you off.
The picture of the bowl of fruit at the top, the price would have been marked up because of how it was “pre mixed” and the cheeries and plums would have pushed the cost up, both of which are considered premium fruit here. I agree with you though, I wouldn’t pay that much for that fruit.
“..our eyes bugged out at a roadside fruit stand where we found fresh apricots going for the equivalent of $14 per pound.”
Depending on the time of year, I buy my apricots from the supermarket for between $4.5-8 NZD per kg ($1.8-3.2 USD per lb)
“… I spent $15 on nine apples and a scraping of dried figs from the bulk section in a supermarket in Te Anau.”
Te Anau is considered “out of the way” and therefore has higher transport costs. However that being said, depending on the time of year I get my pre-bagged apples for around $2-3 NZD per kg ($0.7-1.2 USD per lb). Figs are a luxury item here (most New Zealanders will have never tasted one), and so they will probably account for a chunk of the difference. The other important thing to remember is that you are buying apples out of season, so any you are buying now are either more expensive imported fruit, or ones that have been kept in cool storage incurring the costs associated for the last 8-10 months (apple season is generally around March-May here)
“…Garlic, which can run the equivalent of $10 or $12 per pound.”
This is around about right for the prices. But garlic is light and you don’t need much for the taste. A pound of garlic would last months.
“And that oldest, most vulgar staple of the peasant, the onion, can run about $2 apiece.”
Again, depending on the time of year I get my onions for around $2 NZD per kg ($0.7 USD per lb).
None of these prices require local knowledge to find. I just get my fruit from which ever supermarket I happen to feel like going to at the time.
P.S. I’m not having a go at you. Your blog is great, I just wanted to share my experience of the same products as you from the view point of someone living in New Zealand.
I noticed a brand of granola in the store last week featuring “LUXURY NUTS”!
In terms of the “expensive” health costs in the U.S., though I admit the system needs improving, read this – http://allnurses.com/australian-nz-nurses/thoughts-us-nurses-490651.html
You get what you pay for. So yes, Mr Adams’ family may well be spending less. They are also getting less. If you actually become sick, then you may want a higher standard of care, just like you may not want to buy your shoes from Walmart. Although healthy my whole life, I recently became ill through no “unhealthy lifestyle” fault of my own, but rather stress and genetics. I gratefully, finally underwent a procedure in a hospital after months of slow internal bleeding (you wait on queues here unless the situation is acute, and even then the care is more indifferent than in the U.S., unless you have private insurance, in which case it will be marginally better and somewhat faster) and noted dried blood all over the equipment cart carrying the blood sample tubes/syringes and holders apparatus. I lucked out and did not, as far as I know, catch any bugs there. But I would prefer a higher standard of care, and I am prepared to pay for it.
We are anxious to return home to the U.S. where we have a greater range of lifestyles available to us, not just the lovely landscapes + crippling costs formula of New Zealand. Here there is one lifestyle, and not only is it imposed on you by necessity, but there is also the most obnoxious sort of social pressure not to point out the downsides of this country, as if it simply cannot bear hearing anything bad about itself.
Whenever I notice someone telling it like it is, therefore, I am thankful that others who come after us will be better informed than we were.
It is long said if you dont want to spend the money don’t go, I am an Ex-pat living in NZ and yes basic living is expensive and wages are amongst the lowest I have ever had in the world. On the up side you can still get a job here and pay your rent, unlike now most of EU contries, and onther one for you is the country is not sinking into dispare like other major countries in the world, this is probably why prices are a little higher than you would normaly see, the economy does look after itself to an extent, I do miss getting bargains like $0.50 for a tin of beans and buying clothes without breaking the bank but hey remember the reasons why you came as a tourist or immigrant in the first place.
I grew up in Te Anau, although I havent lived in New Zealand for over 10 years now. I would love to go back (have a house not an apartment, see more grass and less concrete) but one of the reasons I don’t feel as though financially I can yet is the outrageous price of living… Last time I went to Te Anau and stopped in at the supermarket I spent $60 on literally a handful of things. When I was in Australia that would have paid for a weeks shopping (when shopping from the markets) and where I am in Europe now it would pay for more.
I have been coming to New Zealand for 9 years ,8 in Auckland and staying 3-5 and 6 months every year as i have a very close kiwi pal here, I have a son of 17 yrs old who also accompanies me on the trips, we have found it to be very expensive every year for essentials, food shopping, eating out and drinking, buy clothes, we go to the cheapest shops we can and markets but still no where near as cheap as the Uk, I dont convert back into uk sterling, I know how much my pals here earn and they just about get by. Lovely country and lovely people but i have no idea how anyone survives here. I dont earn a great wage in the Uk, im self employed but i can always come here every year , i dont think i could visit the uk from here every year , i just wouldnt be able to save anything, My kiwi pals always complain how expensive it is here and that once your here you dont really have the money to do alot except keep the roof over your head and food on the table, bills etc, i think the rest of the outdoor stuff is for tourists as i know around 20 or more kiwi pals here who tell me they could never afford to do those things. Elizabeth.september 14th 2012
I would like to say that Kiwis are a nice bunch on the whole but they are being exploited by their industries and no Government is forced to represent them. The defensive attitude (inferiority complex..?) fosters an inability to listen to differing views. This may be typical of a relatively young country striving for self-identity.
The high prices for basic living standards is pretty obvious. (NZ lamb is cheaper in Europe than Auckland – impossible to explain away that point on the basis of the importing costs). There could be an economy of scale issue but it’s hard to see the justification.
The problems is totally caused by a lack of competition on the island, in other words, monopoly and price fixing. There is also a dire lack of choices and variety in almost every aspect of life – except the outdoors activities. And modern Kiwis are victim to this all their lives. For example, their is a daily charge for gas and electricity – prior to any usage charged. Maybe Kiwis don’t know this is not the norm internationally? And organic food is barely present in the supermarkets. At the moment courgettes are just dropping in price from a high of $19/Kg in the winter to $5/kg. In Europe we import food too – you can’t grow mangos in Scotland.
Not wanting to cause offence but is scenery really enough in life? If NZ wasn’t somewhat energised by the Asian community and other immigrants if would be very dull indeed. My advice to any travellers: watch the Lord of the Rings and then buy a ticket to Sydney.