Do you have a holiday during your internship in NZ? Make the most out of it and go for a city trip to another city in New Zealand. We already wrote a blog post about the best things to do during a city trip in Auckland and a blog post about how to get the most out of a Wellington city trip. But here’s how to get an amazing city trip in general.
Inspiration: Google, Instagram, and Pinterest
There are so many ways to decide what places to visit and what to do on your city trip. Probably the first thing that comes to mind is Google. Simply enter “city trip Wellington” or “what to do in Wellington” and many ideas will pop up. But there’s so much more. Take Instagram, for example. You will see immediately what it looks like without having to read loads of text. Or Pinterest, which is similar to Instagram but sometimes includes URLs to useful webpages as well. Another advantage of Instagram and Pinterest is that you can save it to folders. Use the little flag next to picture on Instagram or the pin symbol on Pinterest.
Use Google Maps or Maps Me
Recently, Maps Me has entered the world of travellers. Many world travellers cannot live without it anymore. The advantage of Maps Me is that you do not need internet. Save the map in advance including pins of spots you want to visit and Maps Me tells you how to get there.
About the same goes for Google Maps. You can create folders like “restaurants” or “museum” and save spots to these folders. You can always see those pinned spots on your map plus where you are which makes it easy to get there. Unlike Maps Me, Google Maps won’t tell you how to get there. However, you can see where you are and figure out yourself how to get to the spot.
Only decide where to go, not when
It’s very tempting to make an extensive schedule and decide in advance where to go and when. After all, you’re only in the city for such a short amount of time and you don’t want to miss out on anything. You want to make sure to make the most out of every second of your city trip. But actually, not scheduling every single minute is way more fun. If you like a museum more than you had expected, just stay a bit longer. If an activity turns out to be more expensive, just don’t go only because you scheduled it. If something is boring, just leave. If you had planned to have lunch at a certain place but on the way you see a place you’d prefer to have lunch, just go there. Do not feel restricted by your own plans. The best way to explore a city is to explore. Let it be.
Have a budget
Make sure you know how much you’re allowed to spend. This obviously depends on the city and your goals but $70 a day for activities and (public) transport is a good way to go. If you are planning to go to the most luxurious restaurants and when shopping is a priority, your budget has to be higher. If you have done city trips in the past, find out what you have spent in the past. Note that New Zealand is quite an expensive country so these budgets might not be very similar but it’s something to look at. Once you have decided what your budget is going to be, you can start saving money.
Make sure your budget matches your friend’s
Not having the same budget on a city trip as your friend is the most annoying thing EVER. If your budget is higher, you will have to leave things out because your friend cannot afford it. This means you can’t have your dream city trip as you have to skip stuff you wanted to do. If your friend has a higher budget than you, you’ve got two options: getting into debt or “deprive” things of your friend. Both situations are bad and can cause fights and sad faces – which is what we obviously want to avoid! So make sure your budgets are in the same ballpark. A side note… there are exceptions, for example when it comes to shopping. If you simply have a more expensive taste, it makes sense that your budget is higher. We’re mostly talking about activities and food here!
Don’t go out every night
After exploring the daily life of the city, it makes sense you want to explore the nightlife as well. But be careful with that one. Perhaps you’re familiar with nights out becoming mornings out and waking up after lunch the next day. Every now and then, this is great, but if you are in a city for only three days and you go out twice, you definitely miss out on what the city has to offer. Mornings in cities are very different from afternoons and evenings; it’s quieter, there are different kinds of people to spot on the street, and there are different activities. Try to find a balance between having drinks, partying, and taking rest. For example, have drinks until midnight and wake up at 8 am to enjoy a lovely morning for four hours. We suggest you have all three kinds once: one night partying (preferably the last night), one-night having drinks, and one-night resting.
Don’t take too much luggage
You’re only away for a couple days, you won’t need five dresses and four sweaters. You really don’t. Bringing too much luggage is very expensive and mostly unnecessary. But most importantly: the less you take, the more you can take home! Use the space for things you can only buy in the city you’re visiting. The key to successful travelling is saving space for unique souvenirs.