Free WiFi: Staying connected without paying the earth.

It can be costly to stay connected when travelling in New Zealand, but a little research and clever planning can save you $100's of dollars.

Speak to any New Zealander about the cost of accessing the internet and they’ll bemoan the price New Zealanders pay to access the world wide web.

The cost to gain access to the internet though our big two telco’s – Telecom and Vodafone, especially on smartphones like the iphone, tablets like the ipad, and other portable devices like laptops and notebooks is exceptionally high - especially compared to the rest of the world.

Travellers fare even worse when they get to their booked accommodation’s. It’s a widespread occurrence in hotels across the country to charge $30 a day for wireless internet access, if they even have wireless as many hotels unfortunately still only trot out the good old fashioned cable connection – which isnt much good if you’ve only got a wireless only device like an ipad. Try searching for hotels’ wireless (or not) internet charges when your looking for accommodation, they very rarely display prices on their websites – and with good reason, they know you’d run a mile.

Thankfully there are other ways to stay connected while you travel around New Zealand. The good city of Wellington provides Free WiFi in the central city to all and sundry. The accommodation chain Scenic Circle offers Free WiFi in it’s public areas and if you search hard enough you can find smatterings of free WiFi and interent offers at select hotels, hostels and backpackers. Ronald McDonald even helps us all out, delivering free WiFi across their New Zealand restaurants.

Magicbus, the bus network for backpackers and independent travellers has rolled out Free WiFi everyday onboard all it’s buses operating the length and breadth of New Zealand, making it the largest rolling hotspot in the country. Sure, there are parts of New Zealand where the service drops out, in those remote areas where what you’re passing through is probably grabbing your attention anyway.

So don’t get ripped off, do your research and stay connected with friends, family and the world outside of New Zealand while you travel, without paying through the roof.