The Budget Accommodation Guide to New Plymouth© NZPocketGuide.com
The Budget Accommodation Guide to New Plymouth

New Plymouth: A Guide to Cheap Long-Term Accommodation [2024]

© NZPocketGuide.com

A Guide to Cheap Weekly Accommodation in New Plymouth

The city of art, the city of mountains to sea, the city of gardens, walkways and museums… Whatever attracts you to New Plymouth, it’s likely to make you want to stay here longer than anticipated. Whether it’s for an extended stay of sightseeing or you’ve found a job as part of your working holiday, you’re probably going to need to find cheap long-term accommodation in New Plymouth.

Because New Plymouth is split into many suburbs, we have put together a quick list of the suburbs where you are likely to find some cheap weekly accommodation, as well as outlining how far away they are from the city centre. This guide to cheap long-term accommodation in New Plymouth is also split into accommodation types, so you can just skip straight to short-term or longer-term options.

So find a place to stay in New Plymouth using our nifty guide to cheap long-term accommodation in New Plymouth!

Which New Plymouth Suburb to Find Long-Term Accommodation?

There is cheap long-term accommodation found all over New Plymouth. Here’s a quick rundown on what to expect in each New Plymouth suburb in relation to New Plymouth’s city centre. For more about New Plymouth, check out New Plymouth – Guide for Backpackers.

Note: CBD refers to Central Business District i.e. New Plymouth city centre.

  • New Plymouth Central – Location: city centre. Distance from CBD: you’re in it. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$185.
  • Bell Block – Location: east of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 10min drive/1h30min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$200.
  • Blagdon – Location: west of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 5min drive/40min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.
  • Brixton – Location: east of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 15min drive. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$200.
  • Ferndale – Location: south of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 7min drive/50min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$190.
  • Fitzroy – Location: east of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 5min drive/30min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$190.
  • Frankleigh Park – Location: south of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 6min drive/40min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.
  • Glen Avon – Location: east of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 7min drive/44min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.
  • Hurdon – Location: southwest of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 9min drive/1hour walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.
  • Lynmouth – Location: west of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 4min drive/27min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$190.
  • Marfell – Location: southwest of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 7min drive/55min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$170.
  • Merrilands – Location: southeast of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 7min drive/45min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$170.
  • Moturoa – Location: west of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 6min drive/48min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$170.
  • Royal Heights – Location: southeast of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 9min drive/55min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$190.
  • Spotswood – Location: west of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 6min drive/50min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$150.
  • Standon – Location: east of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 4min drive/25min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$200.
  • Vogeltown – Location: south of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 5min drive/33min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$190.
  • Welbourn – Location: south of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 5min drive/32min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.
  • Westown – Location: southwest of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 5min drive/31min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.
  • Whalers Gate – Location: southwest of the city centre. Distance from CBD: 8min drive/1h07min walk. Average weekly rent for a room: NZ$180.

Note that prices are approximate and are subject to change.

Ducks & Drakes Hostel© http://imgur.com/a/EW9vi

Hostels in New Plymouth

Hostels are a good place to start when looking for cheap long-term accommodation in New Plymouth. Not only do they provide an affordable base for rental-hunting but many also offer weekly rates.

There are 4+ hostels in New Plymouth. While Ducks & Drakes and Ariki Backpackers are based in the city centre, the hostels of Egmont Eco Lodge and YHA Sunflower Lodge are based in the suburbs.

Because of the limited number of hostels in New Plymouth, make sure you book your night in advance, especially during the peak season (summer) and especially for our favourite hostels in 5 Best Backpacker Hostels in New Plymouth.

Expect a night in a New Plymouth hostel to be NZ$26-$32 per dorm-room bed per night. Note that prices are approximate and are subject to change.

You can always keep the cost of living down along with an extended stay by working for accommodation in a New Plymouth hostel. For tips, have a look at How to Find Work for Accommodation in New Zealand.

Pexels© Pexels

Renting a Room in New Plymouth

Renting a room is common practice in New Plymouth to keep the price to a minimum when staying for the long term, usually done if you have landed a job in New Plymouth as part of a working holiday.

Expect room prices to be around NZ$180 per week. That’s a room to yourself in a flatshare or houseshare. You may find cheaper, around the NZ$120 per week mark, for a shared room. Note that prices are approximate and are subject to change.

For advice on how to find a room to rent in New Plymouth, have a look at our 6 Resources to Find a Room to Rent in New Zealand. Renting a room involves a more complicated process than staying in short-term accommodation, so get clued up by reading The Paperwork Process of Renting or Flatting in New Zealand.

pixabay© pixabay

Airbnb in New Plymouth

Stay with a local in New Plymouth! Airbnb, the online network of peoples spare rooms available for accommodation, is pretty popular in New Plymouth, especially in the city centre, Strandon, Fitzroy, Merrilands, Bell Block and Blagdon.

Like hostels, Airbnb stays can provide a cheap room while finding something long term. Alternatively, some Airbnb hosts offer weekly rates for cheap long-term accommodation in New Plymouth. Plus, consider an Airbnb room for a more convenient suburban location and something different from the hostel experience.

Although the average price for a room in New Plymouth is NZ$215 per night, it is possible to find accommodation around the NZ$60-$120 price range across the New Plymouth, such as the city centre, Blagdon, Whalers Gate and Fitzroy. Note that prices are approximate and are subject to change. 

For more information about Airbnb, check out Everything You Need to Know About Airbnb in New Zealand and 10 Tips to Make the Most of Airbnb in New Zealand.

The Budget Accommodation Guide to New Plymouth© Unsplash

Holiday Parks and Campgrounds in New Plymouth

New Plymouth is a camper-friendly city. It welcomes both freedom camping along with a range of commercial holiday parks to make use of the facilities. Plus, most hostels open their gardens to campers who want to pitch a tent and make use of the facilities.

Holiday Parks and Tent Sites in New Plymouth

You can pitch a tent and make use of the facilities at the following backpacker hostels:

Note that prices are approximate and are subject to change.

For campervan powered sites and tent sites, check out the following holiday parks in New Plymouth:

Note that prices are approximate and are subject to change.

Freedom Camping in New Plymouth

New Plymouth is one of the last remaining cities in New Zealand where you can freedom camp anywhere on public land as long as you have a certified self-contained vehicle and do not stay at banned areas listed on the New Plymouth Council website.

To let things continue this way, make sure you are respectful when freedom camping in New Plymouth. The maximum time you can camp in a place is three days. Within those three days, make sure you use your own amenities: toilet, shower, etc, and use public toilets, dump stations and dispose of rubbish in transfer stations at Tongaporutu, Waitara, Inglewood, Okato or on Colson Road in New Plymouth. Get up-to-date information on the local council website listed in Freedom Camping Rules in New Zealand: Region by Region.

For information about camping, check out our guide to Camping in New Zealand and Accommodation Guide to Holiday Parks in New Zealand.

More About New Plymouth

That’s it for our guide to cheap long-term accommodation in New Plymouth. Here’s everything else you need to know about staying in New Plymouth:

Sources:

The information in this guide has been compiled from our extensive research, travel and experiences across New Zealand and the South Pacific, accumulated over more than a decade of numerous visits to each destination. Additional sources for this guide include the following:

Our editorial standards: At NZ Pocket Guide, we uphold strict editorial standards to ensure accurate and quality content.

About The Author

Laura S.

This article has been reviewed and published by Laura, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of NZ Pocket Guide. Laura is a first-class honours journalism graduate and a travel journalist with expertise in New Zealand and South Pacific tourism for over 10 years. She also runs travel guides for five of the top destinations in the South Pacific and is the co-host of over 250 episodes of the NZ Travel Show on YouTube.

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