The Best Paid Campsites in South Island New Zealand

Last Updated on 23rd February 2021

This post on the best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand contains features of previously gifted and collaborative work. Please see my disclaimer for more.

When it comes to ranking the best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand, I feel like I’ve got it on good authority to share some of the very best (and worst!) with you guys after staying at 17 during our South Island road trip!

After travelling around the South Island for over 5 weeks, Matt and I had the pleasure (most of the time!) of experiencing campsites in almost every corner of the island. From luxury accommodation in Milford Sound, to camping in a carpark up a mountain, we’ve certainly experienced it all on our South Island trip.

If you’ve got your own South Island campervan road trip planned soon, I’ve included all the paid campsites that we stayed at, including the good and the bad, and ranked them in order of best to worst!

Here’s your ultimate guide to the best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand!

P.S. My guide to the best free campsites in the South Island will be going live very shortly so keep an eye out for that!

A definitive guide of the best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand!

Living in a campervan for over 5 weeks is no easy feat, especially if you’ve never done it before.

But it is incredibly rewarding to experience #vanlife for the very first time and know that you’re about to embark on the most insane adventure of your life!

After travelling around South Island New Zealand in a campervan for the last 5 weeks, Matt and I have experienced our fair share of paid and free sites and today’s post is all about the best and worst of the paid campsites we stayed in!

Paid campsites in South Island New Zealand

When you’re travelling in a campervan around New Zealand, you’ll have the choice to stay at free, low-cost or paid-for sites.

Matt and I stayed at a combination of all three during our South Island road trip and we managed to split our time between paid and free sites almost 50/50!

The main reasons we stayed at paid sites (and you’ll need to, too!) is to use the shower, laundry and heating facilities. Most paid sites have a range of excellent facilities that you can make full use of; here’s my ultimate list of the best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand!

Getaway Te Anau Holiday Park – best campsites in South Island (overall)

Getaway Te Anau was our favourite paid site that we stayed in during our whole 5 weeks in the South Island.

The games room and enormous TV room were a huge bonus for us and the kitchen was also incredibly spacious (very lucky as it got busy on a night).

The showers were slightly intermittent with the temperature but overall I loved it; the hairdryers were also a huge bonus and the general layout of the bathroom was lovely.

Rating: 9.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Wi-Fi
• Hot shower, hairdryer
• Games room
• Spacious kitchen (no utensils)
• Incredible location
• Huge TV room
• Spa and hot pools
• Laundry

Cost: $44NZD powered site for two people (we got a discount via Campermate for $35NZD).

Location: 128 Te Anau Terrace, Te Anau, 9600

Carters Beach Top 10

Carters Beach Top 10 Holiday Park was only one of two Top 10 campsites we stayed in during our entire 5 weeks (there are actually 50 Top 10 sites throughout New Zealand – silly, I know!) and we actually stayed there two nights.

The weather was so bad during our stay so we spent most of the time in the kitchen and games/TV room which were so lovely. The staff were incredible and the bathrooms were my favourite out of any site we stayed in. There were around 5 blocks located throughout the park, each with their own seperate toilet and shower which I loved as it meant you didn’t have to try and manoeuvre getting dressed in a cold shower block!

The other slight qualm I have about Carters Beach Holiday Park was that the water didn’t taste very nice at all, it was almost grassy! Apart from that, I loved our stay here!

Rating: 9.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry
• Huge kitchen and dining area (no utensils)
• Seperate TV and games room
• Free Wi-Fi (although not the best, we had good data signal though)
• Amazing toilet and shower blocks, hairdryers!
• Right next to the ocean
• Lovely staff
• Kids’ play area and inflatable bouncy castle ~thing~ in the ground

Cost: $48NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 57 Marine Parade, Westport 7825

Geraldine Top 10 Holiday Park

Geraldine Top 10 Holiday Park was the other Top 10 park we stayed at and we also stayed here two nights as well (can you sense a theme with the Top 10 campsites?!).

While we didn’t love it quite as much as Carters Beach, Geraldine was a lovely place to stay with excellent facilities and lovely hosts!

We also went to the village’s local 80s disco night for a couple of hours which was great but the drinks were just a tad pricey!

There was a 6 minute time limit on the showers which is understandable in order to save water and of course you can shower in just 6 minutes but when you’re only showering every couple of days and living in a campervan, it’s nice to have the luxury to spend as long as you want in there!

Other than that, I’d highly recommend this campsite!

Rating: 9/10

Features and facilities:

• Great, spacious kitchen (no utensils)
• 6 minute limit on showers, hairdryers
• Lovely village setting of Geraldine
• Laundry
• 73 powered sites, 40 non-powered

Cost: $45NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 39 Hislop Street, Geraldine, 7930

Lake Hawea Holiday Park best paid campsites in South Island (for the power shower!)

Lake Hawea Holiday Park was arguably one of the most beautiful paid-for campsites we stayed at; with stunning views of Lake Hawea and the sites nestled within the trees, it was so photogenic!

The owner was such a lovely lady and let me borrow a hairdryer as there aren’t any in the bathrooms. The cleaner was very rude and abrupt when we asked her a question but apart from that, it was such a lovely place to stay.

Rating: 9/10

Features and facilities:

• Amazing showers (in the unisex bathroom!)
• Stunning views of Lake Hawea (both sunset and sunrise)
• Lots of sites and cabins underneath the trees and near the lake
• Laundry facilities
• Kitchen (utensils)

Cost: $45NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 1208 Makarora-Lake Hawea Rd, Albert Town 9382

Queenstown Holiday Park & Motels Creeksyde

While the Queenstown Holiday Park Creeksyde was one of the most expensive sites we stayed at during our entire South Island road trip, we did actually end up staying here two nights!

Our original plan was to stay for one night, explore Queenstown the next day and then head off to a free site. However, we actually got tattoos in Queenstown and then visited the Winter Festival and practically the only free site in Queenstown was an absolute disgusting dump so we headed back to Creeksyde!

It was a lovely place to stay and despite the hefty cost of a powered site, I’d highly recommend it!

Rating: 8.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry
• Multiple kitchen facilities dotted around park
• Stunning mountain views
• Cool and quirky toilets, showers, hairdryer
• Central location in Queenstown

Cost: $55NZD powered site for 2 people ($56NZD in peak season)

Location: 54 Robins Road, Queenstown, 9300

Milford Sound Lodge

Milford Sound Lodge is the only campsite in Milford Sound so you really haven’t got much choice when it comes to staying there (freedom camping isn’t permitted in this area either).

At $30NZD per person for a powered site, it’s definitely the most expensive campsite in the South Island but they can charge a premium price as there’s no other options!

The site itself was beautiful, with spectacular views of the mountains and the Sound itself just round the corner. There’s also no signal whatsoever along the Milford Sound Road but you can purchase 500MB of Wi-Fi for $7.

Rating: 8/10

Features and facilities:

• Lovely spacious kitchen (utensils)
• Individual showers and toilet cubicles rather than a big block
• Beautiful views right next to Milford Sound
• Laundry
• Wi-Fi available for purchase

Cost: $30NZD per person for a powered site

Location: Milford Sound Highway, Fiordland National Park, 9679

Rainforest Retreat Franz Josef best paid campsites in South Island (for the spa pool!)

If you follow me on Instagram (which you totally should btw! 😉 ), then you might have seen that we were very unlucky with our visit to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier as the weather conditions were so terrible; we couldn’t see a thing!

However, our stay at the Rainforest Retreat campsite in Franz Josef was very pleasant and the beautiful rainforest surroundings made it a very idyllic place to stay.

The showers were lovely and warm, although there was a light timer that didn’t last very long and meant I had to run out naked to switch it back on! There were hairdryers and even a pair of ghd hair straighteners which made up for it!

There’s also a jacuzzi hot pool that’s free to use for guests at the Rainforest Retreat which was lovely even in the rain. There’s nowhere to put towels or clothes however, which meant ours got very wet in the rain (as far as I’m aware, they are planning on building a shelter in the near future!).

Rating: 8/10

Features and facilities:

• Free unlimited Wi-Fi
• Free use of on-site jacuzzi pool
• Laundry facilities (outside, next to the kitchen!)
• Hot showers, hairdryers and ghd straighteners!
• Beautiful setting and location

Cost: $42NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 46 Cron St, Franz Josef Glacier, 7886

Glentanner Holiday Park Mount Cook

After a bit of a touch-and-go experience with regards to whether we’d actually see Mount Cook or not, we were incredibly lucky when the fog cleared and we were greeted with the most amazing sunny skies for our trip to Aoraki National Park.

We decided to stay at the Glentanner Holiday Park on our drive back as we’d had a busy day exploring and it was such a great place to stay!

We didn’t actually use the shower facilities in this campsite but the toilets and showers seemed very old and the doors seemed far too low down so you could almost see right underneath and over the top!

The kitchen/dining/lounge area was one of our favourites however as there were so many utensils and cooking/eating space! The views of Mount Cook really made this campsite and I’d definitely stay again!

Rating: 8/10

Features and facilities:

• Huge kitchen with so many utensils
• Amazing dining/lounge area
• Toilets and shower block
• Spectacular view of Mount Cook and Aoraki National Park

Cost: $50NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: State Highway 80, Mount Cook, 7946

Beach Road Holiday Park

We didn’t spend too much time in and around Invercargill as there isn’t an awful lot to do there but the Beach Road campsite was a very nice place to stay.

It was still in the throes of autumn when we stayed here and the sunset looked stunning on the autumnally coloured trees. The bathrooms were fine and the showers were nice and hot but the light went out after 10 minutes (it’s so silly for campsites to have this policy in place!) and the hairdryer was broken when we were there.

Apart from that, I enjoyed our stay here and I’d recommend it as a campsite if you’re in the Invercargill area!

Rating: 7.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Nice kitchen and dining space (no utensils)
• Free (limited) Wi-Fi
• Laundry facilities
• Showers and toilet cubicles, hairdryers
• Very near the beach in Invercargill
• Cute site with numerous locals

Cost: $36NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 375 Dunns Road, Invercargill 

Twizel Holiday Park

We stayed at Twizel Holiday Park the night before we drove to Mount Cook and while it did look like a winter wonderland, it was bloody freezing. It was so cold and icy in fact, that 3 people slipped down the slope coming out of the kitchen and dining block!

From what we gathered from the locals, the town of Twizel seems to be perpetually covered in fog and mist so it’s not the prettiest place but the campsite itself was more than adequate!

Rating: 7/10

Features and facilities:

• Kitchen and dining (no equipment)
• Hot showers but bathrooms are freezing in winter
• Good place to stay before driving to Mount Cook
• Very foggy nearly all the time
• Sites right next to the facilities

Cost: $44NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 122 Mackenzie Drive, Twizel, 7901

Waikawa Bay Holiday Park

Waikawa Bay Holiday Park in Picton is almost as close to the top of the South Island as paid sites go! It’s a lovely and quirky site with lots of odd features, signs and trinkets.

The only little qualm I had with this site was that the washing machines and dryers were at totally opposite ends of a building which was a bit of a nightmare to carry our wet clothes from the washing machine to the dryer!

Rating: 7/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry
• TV room (no TV inside though, just sofas!)
• Huge outdoor BBQ and seating area
• Nice showers and bathrooms
• Relatively small kitchen and dining area (no utensils)

Cost: £36NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 5 Waimarama Street, Picton

Leith Valley Holiday Park

Leith Valley Holiday Park was a lovely place to stay in Dunedin and despite the fact that we didn’t enjoy Dunedin at all, this campsite was a pleasant place to stay.

The lounge area was great and was equipped with plenty of dining tables, chairs, sofas and even a pool table and table tennis!

The owners were nice and friendly until it got to 9.55am the morning we were leaving and they kept coming every couple of minutes to see when we were leaving (bearing in mind check out time was 10am and we were fully aware of this and there was no one else in the campsite!).

Apart from that, the campsite was lovely and we were parked next to a little stream.

Rating: 6.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry facilities although the machines were pretty terrible and we spent $18 trying to dry all our clothes
• Good kitchen and dining facilities
• Pool table and table tennis in lounge area

Cost: $40NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 103 Malvern Street, Dunedin

Mount Somers

We were the only people staying in a site at Mount Somers which was a good thing really as the sites seemed pretty packed in together.

The bathrooms also weren’t the absolute best, they were clean enough but very cold and there were no hairdryers or hand dryers; just towels which seems a bit gross if there’s lots of people!

The kitchen was very small but had lots of utensils and the local village pub meal we enjoyed of steak sandwiches and fries was a definite highlight (although there were very strange locals in there!)

Rating: 6.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry
• Small kitchen with utensils
• Nice sites on the grass
• Basic facilities overall
• Lovely food at the local pub

Cost: $32NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 87 Hoods Rd, Mount Somers

Albert Town

Albert Town campsite isn’t technically a paid campsite as it’s operated on a donation box system. However, it is required for you to pay your camp fee into the honesty box as someone comes round at 6am every morning to collect it and check who has paid (you put a receipt in your window so they don’t have to wake you up!).

There’s no real facilities here apart from a flush toilet which was pretty standard and relatively clean. The camping areas were huge and we found a stunning spot right in the trees next to the river.

Rating: 6/10

Features and facilities:

• Flush toilet
• Hand wash and pot wash sink
• Beautiful spots in the trees, right next to a little river that’s joined on to Lake Wanaka.

Cost: £10NZD per person in an honesty box

Location: State Highway 6, Albert Town

Jackson’s Retreat Alpine Holiday Park

I have quite a lot to say about Jackson’s Retreat Holiday Park, simply because I’m very conflicted with my review of it!

The park itself is lovely and situated just before Arthur’s Pass so we spent the night there before driving the couple of hours through the usually notoriously bad roads (we were lucky that we had such a pleasant drive!). It rained the entire time we were at the campsite which was such a shame as we really wanted to go and see the glow worm dells that are on the site!

The lounge/dining/kitchen area was lovely and warm and well equipped with everything. However, that’s where the positives end for me.

We booked online via Campermate (which we don’t normally do, we just rock up!) as it advertised that you could get the 10GB of Wi-Fi for free when you booked online instead of paying $6 when you arrive.

However, when we got there and showed the owner our booking, she said we’d booked through a third party and not their offical website which was very misleading as they’d put the third party website on Campermate themselves!

So we had to pay for the Wi-Fi which wasn’t the end of the world, but not ideal. We also tried to check in a bit earlier (which we’d done with no problems at all on almost every single campsite we’d stayed in) and she tried to charge us $10 an hour for the privilege! We drove off and then came back at 2pm to check in…

The other guests were also so annoying and didn’t tidy up after themselves and the owner just seemed quite entitled in general. The showers were great as they had separate areas inside the cubicle to shower and then get dry but there’s a light timer in the bathroom that’s apparently 12 minutes, however it went off twice while I was in the shower and I definitely wasn’t in there more than 24 minutes!

I loved the site itself but the experience we had just wasn’t incredibly enjoyable so I can’t personally recommend it but it’s a nice place to stay if you’re about to go through Arthur’s Pass and need a break!

Rating: 5.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry (in an outhouse)
• Big kitchen/dining/lounge area with utensils
• Glow worms walks
• Hot showers, hairdryers

Cost: $46 non-powered site for 2 people

Location: 4464 Otira Highway 73, Arthur’s Pass, Jackson’s, Greymouth 7840

Amberley Beach Camping Ground

Amberley Beach Camping Ground was the first site we stayed at when we got our second van in the South Island.

Similarly to the Albert Town campsite, it’s not exactly a conventional paid site and works on a donation box policy. There are however, powered sites which is great for only $7.50 each!

The toilets were also remarkably clean and there was even a hand dryer which is definitely a rare occurrence when it comes to free/low-cost campsites!

The only reason that I’ve ranked it so low is that it’s incredibly basic for the price you pay, other than that, it’s a great place to stay if you want power but don’t need to shower!

Rating: 5.5/10

Features and facilities:

• Flush toilet
• Powered sites
• 2 minute walk to the beach

Cost: $15NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 1 Chamberlain Ave, Amberley 7481

219 On Johns Holiday Park Christchurch

This campsite was definitely my least favourite paid campsite we stayed at during our 5 week South Island road trip, which is a bit of a shame as it was our last night in our Escape Rentals campervan.

The site seemed to consist mostly of permanent residents which is totally fine but it all just seemed a bit run down and “rough”.

The showers were the least clean we’d seen out of all the sites we’d stayed at and the other people staying there just didn’t have a very nice ~vibe~.

It’s a great location for dropping off your van in Christchurch but if possible, I’d personally avoid staying here as it just wasn’t very nice.

Rating: 5/10

Features and facilities:

• Laundry
• Showers and toilet blocks
• Powered sites
• Small kitchen (no utensils)
• Dining and TV area
• Near to Christchurch CBD and Airport

Cost: $30NZD powered site for 2 people

Location: 219 Johns Rd, Belfast, Christchurch 8051

Best paid campsites in the South Island!

Wow! That post turned out to be way longer and way more in-depth than I anticipated!

I really hope it helps you guys out when planning your South Island New Zealand road trip! Make sure to keep an eye out for my ‘best free campsites in the South Island’ blog post that will be live very soon!

Pin for later – best paid campsites in South Island New Zealand!

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Have you ever stayed in a paid campsite in New Zealand? What was your experience with them? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @imjustagirl_16.