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Aoraki Mount Cook in December
Great month: December is in the middle of the recommended season (November – April). Lupin season at Lake Tekapo can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of April, 4 months away.
2 days in Aoraki Mount Cook in December · from ₹30,413 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
What’s on in December
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Lupin season at Lake Tekapo
Purple, pink and blue lupins line Lake Takapō and the road to Aoraki from mid-November to late December, the most photographed weeks of the year. Book Tekapo rooms early and come at sunrise for the light and the space.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹30,413 for two
- Room a night₹9,900
- Food a day, each₹4,290
Mid-range
₹65,610 for two
- Room a night₹18,150
- Food a day, each₹9,900
Luxury
₹1,44,882 for two
- Room a night₹35,750
- Food a day, each₹23,100
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for New Zealand yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Christchurch (CHC), 206 km away
Then: Transfer · 4h (Rental car (self-drive), per vehicle)
Flights from India: from 4 cities, one way from ₹54,000
Fly into Auckland (AKL), 862 km away
Then: Flight · 10h (Flight via Christchurch + coach (Aoraki/Mount Cook))
Flights from India: from 8 cities, one way from ₹54,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
E-visa before you fly for up to 270 days, about ₹24,260
- Apply online for a New Zealand Visitor Visa on Immigration New Zealand's Immigration Online (immigration.govt.nz), at least 6 weeks before you fly and earlier for December to February. Indian passports can't use the NZeTA.
- Pay the NZ$341 visa fee and the NZ$100 tourism levy (IVL) online, together about ₹24,300. If INZ asks for your passport or documents, the VFS Global centres in India handle them for a service fee.
- Upload your passport, a photo, 3-6 months of bank statements, flight and hotel bookings, a letter from your employer or business, and your income-tax returns.
- The visa comes by email as an eVisa (nothing is stuck in the passport): print it and carry it.
- Before you land, fill in the free New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) online or in its app, and declare all food on it: undeclared food brings an instant NZ$400 fine.
Carry: Passport valid for at least 3 months after the day you leave New Zealand; Visitor Visa (eVisa) printout; Return or onward ticket; Proof of funds: NZ$1,000 per person per month of the stay (NZ$400 a month if your accommodation is paid), about ₹55,000 a month; Hotel bookings or a host's invitation for the whole stay; NZTD confirmation.
The fee rose to NZ$341 plus a NZ$100 levy in October 2024; older guides quoting NZ$211 are out of date. INZ moved visitor applications to its enhanced Immigration Online system in September 2026, so check the current steps and processing time on immigration.govt.nz before you apply.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in New Zealand in December
Also in season this month.
- Waitomo · great month
- Auckland · great month
- Bay of Islands · great month
- Christchurch · great month
- Dunedin · great month
- Kaikoura · great month
- Lake Tekapo · great month
- Napier · great month
Nearby in Mackenzie Country & Aoraki:
Want this as a real plan?
Aoraki Mount Cook in December, day by day, priced for your group.