Travel Tips for an Affordable Cycling Holiday

If you live on New Zealand’s South Island with your own transport and bikes, then a cycling trip to ride Otago’s trails can be an easy and affordable holiday to organise. But for those visiting from the North Island or overseas it’s not so convenient to travel with your own bikes. So here are some travel tips to help stretch your holiday budget a bit further.

The Great Rides are free to use!

Firstly, the Great Rides are free to use. Unlike many mountain bike parks, there’s no cost to access Otago’s 500km+ network of purpose-built walking and cycling trails.

*Whilst free to ride, the trails are managed and maintained by not-for-profit trusts and donations are always welcome to help improve the trail experience.

What’s your style?

When you start planning a bike trip, think about the level of comfort and support you’d like and what you can afford. Do you want a fully guided and supported trip? Are you happy to plan and book your own travel independently, perhaps even consider bikepacking? Or would something in between suit your budget and style better like a self-guided tour?

On self-guided tours, one of the most popular options for riding the trails, your tour operator will organise your bikes, accommodation reservations, and will transfer your luggage from A to B each day, while you ride a pre-planned route on your own. Alone but not necessarily unaided - most tour operators offer a helpline in case you encounter emergencies or problems along the trail.

Talk to the tour operators

Local bike tour operators are experts at designing tailored itineraries to suit every style of travel and budget. Let them know your price range. They can be very accommodating especially if you’re flexible with travel dates.

Often, it's no more expensive to book with a bike tour company than reserving accommodation directly. So why not take the hassle out of your holiday and use the expert services of a professional tour planner?

Accommodation

Accommodation can be one of the major expenses on any holiday so if you can forego some luxuries, then that’ll help you stick to a budget. Think about staying at campgrounds, cabins at holiday parks or motels – there are plenty of options along Otago’s cycle trails. Do you need your own ensuite bathroom? If not, then sharing facilities is a good cost saving option.

Accommodation throughout Central Otago is often in the form of Bed and Breakfast, meaning that if you book a B&B, breakfast is included and so it’s one less meal you need to buy.

Group travel

If you’re travelling as a family or group of friends, then there can be savings from sharing accommodation, shared baggage transfers and splitting other expenses like meals or taxis and transfers. You can also share the load when it comes to bike tools and spares.

Be flexible and book early

Gone are the days of bargains for last minute bookings, and you’re most likely to get a better deal if you can book early – even a year ahead! If you can be flexible with dates, there’s more chance that your tour operator will be able to work to your budget.

Avoid Peak Season

School holiday periods, of course, tend to be busy but autumn (March-April) is also a peak season along the Central Otago trails and prices can be at a premium during this time. Ideally plan your trip in the shoulder season. In the spring and early summer between October and Christmas or from late January to the end of February is a good time to visit Central Otago.

In Queenstown, summer is the height of the season and unlike Central Otago, autumn can be a good time to base yourself in or around Queenstown.

The trails are open year-round which means winter riding possible if you prepare properly. Find out more about winter trips here.

Travel light

The lighter you can travel the better. Less bags to transfer means budget saved.

Picnic-it-up

Whilst Otago is renowned for its exceptional food and wine, and you’d be remiss not to indulge at least once whilst on holiday, there are significant savings to be had if you prepare your own packed lunch and opt to picnic at a scenic spot along the trail and perhaps save that long lunch at the pub or winery as a special treat. There are lots of bakeries along the trails and pies are a well-known cycling superfood, allegedly....

If you do stop at a winery, buying a bottle of wine from the cellar door is generally a cheaper option than purchasing the same wine from the supermarket. Pop the bottle in your luggage so it’s transferred to your evening accommodation or utilise the panniers which are usually provided with rental bikes.