NZ’s currency is the New Zealand dollar ($).

Banknotes are printed on polymer, a type of plastic that will survive a trip through the washing machine!

Notes come in $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations. There are 10 cent, 20¢, 50¢, $1 and $2 coins.

Note: 10 cents is as low as it goes. Smaller coins have been taken out of circulation so prices are rounded up or down to the nearest 10¢.

The NZ$ usually sits around:

• US$ 60-65 cents

• GBP 50-55 pence

• Euro 55-60 cents

• Aus$ 90-95 cents

• Yen 75-85 yen

For up to date exchange rates, see Bank of New Zealand/exchange-rates

Costs

The strength of the NZ dollar will make perhaps the biggest difference to foreign visitors, but even then New Zealand is a fairly expensive destination.

• At the budget end (staying in hostels or holiday parks, rarely eating out, walking and visiting mostly free sights), you might be able to get away with about $100/person/day.

• A more average budget for most visitors (staying at standard hotels, eating out once a day, going to the full range of sights and taking public transport), would be around double that, at $200/person/day.

• Up that again and $300/person/day buys a pretty high-end experience, with smart hotels, meals at the full range of restaurants and taking taxis around town whenever you feel like it.

Note that traveling solo will probably raise any of these per-person-costs by at least a third for all except budget travellers.