New Zealand
Wellington: how much to budget
Plan €2029 for 7 nights in Wellington, return flight from London included, or €1275 travelling cheap. On the ground that works out at €192 per person per day.
- From
- €99/day
- vs. London
- 107%
- Best month
- Jan
Your trip to Wellington
Set the length, the number of travellers and the comfort level: the figures recompute here.
€2,029
per person, flight included
- on the ground
- €1,344
- flight from London
- €685
- per person per day, on the ground
- €192
InstantTripCost estimate
Full 7-night budget breakdown
Per-person estimate including flights from London, split across the six expense categories.
per person · Comfort
| Category | Budget | Comfort | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | €582 | €685 | €1028 |
| Hotel | €343 | €448 | €700 |
| Food | €231 | €546 | €1218 |
| Transport | €56 | €126 | €315 |
| Activities | €28 | €126 | €385 |
| Misc | €35 | €98 | €315 |
| 7-night total | €1275 | €2029 | €3961 |
Flight from London (annual median).
Unit prices
comfort
Enough to check the total yourself, line by line, at the comfort level you picked.
- €12
- Breakfast
- €22
- Lunch
- €44
- Dinner
- €6
- City ride
- €18
- Site admission
- €192
- A full day
Orders of magnitude derived from our measured ranges, not surveyed venue by venue. Prices vary by neighbourhood and season.
The three tiers
What a budget traveller, a comfort traveller and a premium traveller typically spend.
Budget
€90
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €49
- Meal
- €11
- Transit / day
- €8
Comfort
€160
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €64
- Meal
- €26
- Transit / day
- €18
Luxury
€319
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €100
- Meal
- €58
- Transit / day
- €45
Why visit Wellington
Wellington is the world's southernmost capital, and also the windiest city on the planet by average wind speed. Neither title is trivia for a budget: they decide the best month to go. This is the southern hemisphere, so local summer runs December to February, when the daytime high sits around 18°C. That's the window to aim for, and it's also the hotel high season.
Wellington's free cultural lever has a name: Te Papa Tongarewa, New Zealand's national museum, with free admission. It's the city's flagship attraction, and you spend half a day there without paying a cent. The Wellington Museum and the City Gallery, also free, round out a top-tier cultural program at no cost.
Second reflex, the currency: New Zealand pays in New Zealand dollars, not euros. The prices shown here are converted, but on the ground every payment goes through an exchange rate, and a card with no foreign transaction fee saves you 2 to 3% each time.
On lodging, the gap between a dorm and a hotel is huge. A well-rated hostel in the center runs around €11 to €15 a night for a dorm bed, while a mid-range hotel sits closer to €64 a night. The center is very compact and walkable, which cuts the transport bill from the start. For two people at mid-range comfort, plan roughly €130 to €180 a day excluding flights.
Weather & best time to visit
Average temperatures and conditions by month in Wellington.
Best month to visitJanuary
Where to sleep in Wellington
Choosing a district
Wellington is one of the few capitals where nearly all lodging fits inside a tiny downtown, hemmed in by hills and the harbour. Price tracks the type of stay, hostel dorm or hotel room, more than the neighborhood: it's a twenty-minute walk end to end across the center. Booking early for the southern summer (December to February) noticeably changes the bill.
Te Aro - Courtenay Place
The nightlife heart, around Courtenay Place and Cuba Street, the densest street in New Zealand at weekends. This is where the backpacker hostels cluster, so the cheapest nights in town.
Lambton Quay - CBD
The business and government district, along Lambton Quay, walkable to Parliament and Te Papa. Plenty of mid and upscale hotels that discount at weekends once the office crowd leaves.
Thorndon
North of the center, around Parliament and the Wellington Botanic Garden, residential and quiet. A few small hotels and guesthouses like the Shepherds Arms, often a notch cheaper than the CBD.
Oriental Bay
The upscale waterfront bay, along Oriental Parade and its beach, ten minutes on foot from Te Papa. Harbour-view hotels like the Copthorne, the priciest in town.
The hotels we measured
Accommodation picks by price range.
Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers
Hostel, decent (7/10) from 3,524 reviews.
Trek Global Backpackers
Hostel, decent (7.9/10) from 1,962 reviews.
The Cambridge Hotel & Backpackers
Hostel, well rated (8.1/10) from 1,588 reviews.
The Cambridge Hotel & Backpackers
Hostel, well rated (8.1/10) from 1,588 reviews.
Aura Hotel
Hotel, standard (5.7/10) from 513 reviews.
Shepherds Arms Hotel
Hotel, standard (6.7/10) from 446 reviews.
Ramada by Wyndham Wellington Taranaki Street
Hotel, well rated (8.4/10) from 3,654 reviews.
Quest on Johnston Serviced Apartments
Hotel, well rated (8.2/10) from 1,973 reviews.
Rydges Wellington
Hotel, decent (7.9/10) from 4,179 reviews.
All observed hotels in Wellington
24 of 24 surveyed properties shown, the cheapest in each tier. Nightly rate for a 2-night stay arriving 15 October 2026.
| Hotel | Category | Rating | From / night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Waterloo & Backpackers | Budget | ★ 7 | €11 |
| Trek Global Backpackers | Budget | ★ 7.9 | €12 |
| The Cambridge Hotel & Backpackers | Budget | ★ 8.1 | €13 |
| The Cambridge Hotel & Backpackers | Mid-range | ★ 8.1 | €13 |
| Haka House Wellington | Budget | ★ 8.2 | €15 |
| Worldwide Backpackers | Budget | ★ 8.2 | €18 |
| Aura Hotel | Budget | ★ 5.7 | €27 |
| Aura Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 5.7 | €27 |
| The Marion Hostel | Budget | ★ 9.2 | €28 |
| Shepherds Arms Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 6.7 | €30 |
| Shepherds Arms Hotel | Budget | ★ 6.7 | €33 |
| Halswell Lodge | Mid-range | ★ 5.2 | €39 |
| Willis Wellington Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 7 | €52 |
| U Boutique Hotel, SureStay Collection by BW | Mid-range | ★ 7.5 | €53 |
| Mercure Wellington Abel Tasman | Mid-range | ★ 7.3 | €57 |
| Richmond Guest House | Mid-range | ★ 7.9 | €57 |
| Ramada by Wyndham Wellington Taranaki Street | Luxury | ★ 8.4 | €73 |
| Quest on Johnston Serviced Apartments | Luxury | ★ 8.2 | €74 |
| Rydges Wellington | Luxury | ★ 7.9 | €79 |
| Sojourn Apartment Hotel - Ghuznee | Luxury | ★ 8.9 | €79 |
| West Plaza Hotel | Luxury | ★ 7.9 | €79 |
| Copthorne Hotel Wellington Oriental Bay | Luxury | ★ 7.9 | €87 |
| Oaks Wellington Hotel | Luxury | ★ 8.5 | €89 |
| James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor | Luxury | ★ 8.5 | €93 |
Eating in Wellington
Concrete benchmarks to set your meal budget, from the morning coffee to dinner.
Wellington claims more cafés, bars and restaurants per head than New York, and that density pulls prices down at the low end. The best value stays fish and chips, often better in the suburbs than downtown, around €8 to €12 a portion. The city is also a surprising capital of Malaysian food and Turkish kebabs, found everywhere for a handful of euros. For a late fallback at any hour, 24-hour chains like Night 'n Day serve pies and noodles at rock-bottom prices. On the going-out side, the craft beer scene is well known, with pints around 11 to 14 NZD (about €6 to €8), and bar entry is usually free.
Moving around Wellington
Transit, distances and the smart moves so you don't pay the tourist tax.
The center is walkable, which is the real saving here given how compact the city is. Beyond that, the Metlink network (buses, trains, ferries) runs on zones with the Snapper card or contactless, both cheaper than a cash ticket. A single 1-to-3-zone ticket costs 3 to 6 NZD depending on distance (about €1.70 to €3.40). If you move around a lot, the Metlink Explorer day pass for Wellington City (zones 1 to 3) is 13 NZD (about €7) and pays off from the third ride. From the airport, the Airport Express is 8.95 NZD with a Snapper card; the real budget trick is to walk 700 meters to Hobart Street for the Metlink Route 2 bus at about 4 NZD, roughly half the price.
Things to do in Wellington
Recommended activities and tours.
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori for 'the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand and the National Art Gallery.
National museum
Sacred Heart Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and of Saint Mary His Mother, better known as Sacred Heart Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral church on Hill Street, Wellington, New Zealand. It is the parish church of the Thorndon Catholic parish (founded 1850) and the seat of the Archbishop of Wellington.
Church
St Mary of the Angels
St Mary of the Angels is a Catholic church on the corner of Boulcott Street and O'Reily Avenue in Wellington, New Zealand. It is the parish church for Wellington Central and one of the major churches of the city.
Church
Futuna Chapel
Futuna Chapel is a building in Wellington, New Zealand designed by the architect John Scott. Built by the brothers of the Society of Mary, the chapel is named after the Pacific Island of Futuna on which the missionary Peter Chanel, to whom the project is dedicated, was martyred in 1841.
Church
Wellington Museum
Wellington Museum (formerly the Maritime Museum and Museum of City & Sea) is a museum on Queens Wharf in Wellington, New Zealand. It occupies the 1892 Bond Store, a historic building on Jervois Quay on the waterfront of Wellington Harbour.
Notable place
Zealandia
Zealandia (Māori: Te Māra a Tāne, lit. 'the garden of Tāne'), formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected natural area in Wellington, New Zealand, the first urban completely fenced ecosanctuary, where the biodiversity of 225 ha (just under a square mile) of forest is being restored. The full name is Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, often shortened to Zealandia.
Museum
New Zealand Parliament Buildings
The New Zealand Parliament Buildings house the New Zealand Parliament and are on a 45,000 square metre site at the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington. From north to south, they are the Parliamentary Library building (1899); the Edwardian neoclassical-style Parliament House (1922); the executive wing, called "The Beehive" (1977); and Bowen House (in use since 1991).
Architectural ensemble
Te Ngākau Civic Square
Te Ngākau Civic Square is a public square in central Wellington, New Zealand, between the Wellington central business district to the north and the Te Aro entertainment district to the south. The square is bounded by Jervois Quay, Harris Street, Victoria Street and Wakefield Street The square is enclosed by council buildings, each with a distinctive architectural style: Wellington Town Hall and council offices, the Michael Fowler Centre, the Central Library, the City to Sea Bridge, and the City Gallery.
Square
Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery
The Adam Art Gallery (in Māori: Te Pātaka Toi) is a purpose-built arts gallery located in the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand.
Art museum
City Gallery Wellington
City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand.
Museum
Places referenced on Wikidata. Admission prices vary by season - check each venue's official site.
Paying less in Wellington
What moves the needle
What each decision takes off the €2072 total, strongest lever first.
- − €651
Travel cheap rather than mid-range
Hostel or entry-level hotel, local canteens, public transport. Accommodation is where the gap opens up.
- − €384
Stay five nights instead of seven
Two fewer nights also removes two days of meals, transport and sightseeing.
- − €224
Travel as a pair
The room is shared, nothing else is. Travellers themselves name this as the strongest lever.
Differences computed from our own measurements, for a 7-night mid-range stay, excluding flights.
6 tips on the ground
- Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum, is free: the biggest cultural lever of the trip, half a day at no cost. The Wellington Museum and the City Gallery are free too.
- A well-rated hostel in the center runs around €11 to €15 a night for a dorm, against roughly €64 for a mid-range hotel: one of the widest gaps among capitals.
- The Metlink Explorer day pass for zones 1 to 3 is 13 NZD (about €7) and pays off from the third ride of the day.
- From the airport, walking 700 meters to Hobart Street for the Metlink Route 2 bus (about 4 NZD) costs half the price of the Airport Express at 8.95 NZD.
- Fish and chips, often better in the suburbs than downtown, stays the cheapest meal at €8 to €12 a portion.
- A card with no foreign transaction fee avoids 2 to 3% lost on exchange with every New Zealand dollar payment.
FAQ
FAQ - Wellington
- How much does a week in Wellington cost?
- For seven nights, plan roughly €693 per person on a budget (a dorm hostel around €49, free museums, fish and chips, day-pass transport), and around €1,344 at mid-range comfort with a mid-range hotel near €64 a night, excluding flights.
- What's the best month to visit Wellington?
- December to February, the southern summer: highs cap around 18°C, mild for walking, with the longest days. Wellington is the windiest city in the world, so expect wind in any season. Winter (June to August) drops toward 11°C highs and stays rainy, but prices are lower then.
- Is Wellington an expensive destination?
- Moderately, a little pricier than Auckland, but with real saving levers. Mid-range lodging runs around €64 a night, but a dorm drops to €11 to €15, the national Te Papa museum is free, the center is walkable and fish and chips feeds you for under €12. The heavy line item is the flight from Europe, not the stay itself.
- Cash or card in Wellington?
- Card works everywhere, including Metlink transport via contactless or the Snapper card, both cheaper than cash. Bring a card with no foreign transaction fee: paying in New Zealand dollars with a standard card often costs 2 to 3% more on exchange.
At a glance
Wikidata, Wikipedia and Open-Meteo data
- Population
- 216k
- Area
- 444 km²
- Elevation
- 0 m
- Language
- Māori, English, New Zealand Sign Language
- Currency
- NZ$
- Time zone
- UTC+12:00
- Founded
- 1839
- Avg. July temp.
- 10°
- Avg. Jan. temp.
- 17°
- Rainy days / year
- 127
inhabitants
NZ Dollar
9° - 11°
15° - 18°
About
Wellington in brief
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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