₹5.93 Lakh, 13 Days In New Zealand: Couple's Honeymoon Stuns Internet 'We Didn't Try To Make Trip Budget-Friendly...'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) An Indian couple has detailed how they managed to complete a 13-day honeymoon in New Zealand for ₹5.93 lakh, despite initial estimates suggesting that the trip could cost more than ₹8 lakh.

The newlyweds had set themselves a budget of ₹7 lakh but eventually spent considerably less. They travelled across both New Zealand's North and South Islands, stayed in private Airbnbs and used rental cars, while still making room for several major tourist experiences. They said careful planning and preparing some of their own meals helped them control costs.

Couple shares New Zealand honeymoon expenses

Sharing their experience on Reddit, the couple said they managed to keep the total expenditure at ₹5.93 lakh for two people.

“We did a 2-week New Zealand honeymoon for ₹5.93 lakh as an Indian couple - here's the full breakdown,” the couple wrote on Reddit.

They added,“We spent ₹5.93 lakh for two people on a 13-day New Zealand honeymoon from India - covering both the North and South Islands, private Airbnbs, self-drive, Milford Sound, Waitomo Glowworm Caves, skydiving, Rotorua and other bucket-list experiences.”

According to the couple, the final cost was achieved through extensive planning and by making certain deliberate choices rather than by eliminating key activities from their itinerary.

The couple provided the following breakdown of their ₹5.93 lakh expenditure:

International flights: ₹2.11 lakh

Domestic flights: ₹13,000

Visa for two: ₹30,000

Accommodation: ₹87,000

Car rental and fuel: ₹94,000

Local activities: ₹1.19 lakh

Food: ₹32,000

Miscellaneous: ₹7,400

New Zealand honeymoon: What did the couple visit?

Over the course of their 13-day holiday, the couple travelled to several popular destinations across New Zealand. Their itinerary included Auckland, Waitomo, Cathedral Cove, Lake Tekapo and Queenstown, among other locations.

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They also included experiences such as a visit to Milford Sound, the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Rotorua and skydiving, indicating that they did not limit the trip to sightseeing alone.

Explaining their approach to budgeting, the couple said,“We didn't try to make the trip 'budget-friendly' by skipping experiences. For us, staying under ₹6 lakh was more about the cumulative effect of a lot of planning decisions than finding one magical deal.”

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“New Zealand visitor visa: did we need to book flights first? 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. We received the visa in five working days," they added.

New Zealand biosecurity rules: What food can Indian travellers carry?

The couple also discussed their experience with New Zealand's strict biosecurity requirements and whether travellers can bring food from India.

“New Zealand biosecurity: can you bring food from India? We carried Maggi, snacks and ready-to-eat food from India. The important part: we declared them honestly on the New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD). One thing we found confusing while researching this was the distinction between declaring an item and the item being prohibited. 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. We were cleared in about five minutes and avoided the potential NZ$400 infringement fee associated with undeclared risk goods.”

Reddit users praise couple's travel planning

The detailed post drew positive reactions from other Reddit users, with several praising the couple for managing to cover so much within their budget.

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Livemint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)

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