Backpacker's Guide - The Real Cost of a 2-Week New Zealand Road Trip: Fuel, Tolls and the Cook Strait Ferry

Last checked September 2026. Fuel prices, toll charges and ferry fares change often, so treat every figure below as an estimate and use the links at the end of this guide to get current prices before you commit.

Cars are the cheapest way to see New Zealand, but 'cheap' still needs a budget. Fuel is the big variable, and fuel prices have been high. This guide gives you a way to work out your own numbers for a two-week trip, plus the smaller costs (tolls and the ferry) that catch people out.

Start With Fuel

Fuel is the biggest running cost of a road trip. To work out yours, you need three numbers:

1. Distance (km) for the trip.
2. Fuel use (litres per 100 km) for your car. Older Hondas and Toyotas are often somewhere around 7 to 10 L/100 km, but check your own car.
3. Price per litre.

Formula: distance / 100 x litres per 100 km x price per litre.

Please note: These figures are manually pulled from Gaspy at the time of writing and I intentionally picked the more costly stations across regions (this took me a proper half an hour to fact-check AI-pulled findings!). This is for your benefit, I'd rather you stay within your budget than running out of budget for fuel in the middle of a road trip. 

For the price, as at September 2026 people were reporting petrol at around $3.94 to $4.00 a litre in parts of Auckland. Fuel prices can move a lot within weeks and vary by region, station and week, so use $3.94 as a working figure for the examples below, and check the current price before you budget.

These are examples with stated assumptions, not quotes. Plug in your own figures.

Quick tip: Gaspy is the app most locals use to compare fuel prices. It's crowd-sourced, so an occasional price can be wrong, which means it's worth glancing at the station sign as well. Fuel is often dearer in remote areas, so fill up in larger towns when you can.

Tolls

New Zealand has only three toll roads: Takitimu Drive and the Tauranga Eastern Link near Tauranga, and the Northern Gateway north of Auckland. As at September 2026 the car rates were around $2.10, $2.30 and $2.60 per trip. Toll charges can change, so check the NZTA tolls page for the current amounts. NZTA says to pay within five days of using a toll road, either online or at selected service stations, and you can set up an account so tolls are paid automatically. Miss the deadline and you can end up with extra charges, so don't forget.

The Cook Strait Ferry

If you're taking your car between the North and South Islands, you'll cross Cook Strait between Wellington and Picton on the Interislander or Bluebridge. The crossing takes roughly three and a half hours.

• Fares vary by sailing, season and vehicle size, and the car prices aren't published in a simple table. Use the fare finder on each operator's website to get a quote for your dates. Interislander updated its fares in May 2026, partly because of higher fuel costs.
• Compare both operators. Interislander and Bluebridge both run multiple sailings a day, so check both rather than assuming one is full.
• Choose your fare type wisely. Interislander offers Saver, Flexible and Refundable fares. On a Saver fare you can change your sailing up to an hour before departure, but you pay change fees ($20 per person and $30 per vehicle) and there are no refunds. Flexible and Refundable cost more but give you more room to change plans. These conditions are as at September 2026 and can change, so read the current fare rules when you book.
• Turn up early. Interislander asks vehicle passengers to arrive at least 60 minutes before departure, with the booking voucher and photo ID ready.

Add whatever the fare finder quotes you to your budget, both ways if you're returning.

Driving Times: Allow More Than the Map Says

As we said in our road rules guide, 100 km in New Zealand takes longer than in a flatter country. These are rough figures before stops:

Check current times on the NZTA journey planner before you set off, and plan to avoid driving tired.

The Other Costs

• Insurance: roughly $30 to $50 a fortnight for basic cover, as we cover in the budget car guide.
• Accommodation: free if you sleep in the car legally (see our car sleeping guide), otherwise holiday parks, DOC campsites or hostels.
• RUC: only if you're in a diesel (see our RUC guide).
• A buffer for a breakdown, a tyre, or a WOF.

A Simple Budget Recipe

1. Work out your total distance from a map, then add 10 to 15 per cent for detours.
2. Calculate your fuel using the formula above.
3. Add tolls, the ferry quote, insurance and a buffer.
4. Check fuel prices with Gaspy as you go.

Check the Latest Before You Rely on This

We last checked this guide in September 2026. Fuel prices, tolls, ferry fares and timetables change often, and they may have been updated by the time you read this. Before you budget or book, check:

• NZTA: toll fees and NZTA: toll roads and how to pay
• Interislander: fares and payment options
• Bluebridge: timetable and fares
• The Gaspy app, for live fuel prices near you

Ready to Start Your New Zealand Road Trip?

At Northwest Motors we specialise in affordable, fuel-efficient, reliable vehicles that suit backpackers, with buy-back options for the end of your trip. Browse the Garage.