- An Indian couple spent Rs 5.93 lakh on a 13-day New Zealand honeymoon trip under budget.
- Flight tickets cost Rs 2.24 lakh, covering international and domestic flights within New Zealand.
- They followed visa guidelines by submitting a detailed itinerary and avoided non-refundable tickets.
An Indian couple who travelled to New Zealand for a honeymoon trip earlier this year has caught social media's attention after sharing a detailed breakdown of the cost involved. The couple said they spent Rs 5.93 lakh on the trip that lasted 13 days, with the majority of the budget going into flight tickets, activities, accommodation and car rental.
The couple stated that preliminary research showed that the honeymoon trip would cost upwards of Rs 9 lakh while their budget was capped at Rs 7 lakh. However, with some planning, they managed to pull off the trip well under budget.
"We did a two-week honeymoon in New Zealand from India in late March-early April this year," the couple wrote in a social media post.
"Before the trip, we kept seeing estimates of Rs 8-9 lakh+ for a couple, while our budget was capped at Rs 7 lakh. So we weren't sure we'd be able to do the trip the way we wanted. With a lot of planning and some deliberate trade-offs, our final spend came to Rs 5.93 lakh."
The couple said their international flight tickets set them back by Rs 2.24 lakh. This covered their journeys from Delhi to Auckland and Queenstown back to Delhi, as well as a domestic flight from Auckland to Christchurch.
The couple shared that they did not purchase non-refundable flight tickets before applying for a visa, which cost them Rs 30,000.
"We weren't sure whether to book flights before applying. We followed Immigration New Zealand's guidance and didn't purchase non-refundable tickets before the visa was approved. Instead, we submitted a detailed one-page itinerary with our application along with a cover letter," they said, adding the visa was delivered in five working days.
During the 13-day trip, the couple travelled to the North and South Island, covering regions like Auckland, Christchurch, Mount Cook, Waitomo and Milford Sound among others. They stayed in Airbnbs throughout the trip, which cost them Rs 87,000.
"We didn't try to make the trip "budget-friendly" by skipping experiences. For us, staying under Rs 6 lakh was more about the cumulative effect of a lot of planning decisions than finding one magical deal," they said.
As for food, the couple said they carried maggi, snacks and ready-to-eat food from India and declared them honestly on the New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD).
"Declaring an item doesn't necessarily mean you can't bring it into New Zealand. It means you're being upfront about what you're carrying and allowing a biosecurity officer to assess it," they added.
Check The Post Here:
We did a 2-week New Zealand honeymoon for ₹5.93 lakh as an Indian couple — here's the full breakdown
by u/travelplanninglab in InternationalTravelIN
Social Media Reactions
As the post gained traction, social media users appreciated the couple for sharing a detailed breakdown of their itinerary and helping others.
"Very reasonable trip. Kudos," said one user while another added: "Thank you for sharing such an informative travel guide on New Zealand. The details you included were really useful, and I appreciate you taking the time to put this together."
A third commented: "The advice regarding Biosecurity NZ is spot on. If in doubt, always declare, because you will definitely be caught otherwise. This also includes any food from the flight you might be carrying with you."
A fourth said: "It's an extremely beautiful country. We actually went multiple times (across multiple seasons) because of how much we liked it. While the North Island is quite nice and all, the South is something else entirely. All our subsequent trips have been South Island only."
