How Much Does It Cost To Skydive In NZ?

In short: NZONE Skydive in Queenstown and Skydive Wanaka both charge NZD 379 per person for a 9,000 ft tandem jump, NZD 469 at 12,000 ft and NZD 575 at 15,000 ft. The Wanaka jump with a Queenstown return transfer runs NZD 399, 489 and 595. Photos and video add NZD 220 to 395, and Skydive Wanaka charges weight surcharges of NZD 50 to 100 at check-in. Before you lock in a jump height and photo package, check the guide to who gets turned away from a tandem skydive in Queenstown and Wanaka for the age, weight and medical rules each operator enforces on the day.

For the full picture on choosing between the two towns, see the Queenstown vs Wanaka skydive comparison. That guide walks through scenery, drop zone setting and logistics, while this one stays strictly on the money: what each option costs, what each price includes, and where the extras creep in.

A tandem skydive in New Zealand costs NZD 379 per person for the 9,000 ft entry jump with both operators covered here, rising to NZD 575 for 15,000 ft. In United States dollars the three bookable tours start at USD 215.27, USD 210.16 and USD 221.25 per person respectively at the 9,000 ft level. Every price is per person, for the jump itself, before photo add-ons, weight surcharges or transfers.

The two operators in this corner of the South Island, NZONE Skydive in Queenstown and Skydive Wanaka at Wanaka Airport, price their tandems by altitude, and the ladder is identical at both: NZD 379 for 9,000 ft, NZD 469 for 12,000 ft and NZD 575 for 15,000 ft. NZONE states those figures on its own prices page, and Skydive Wanaka lists the same ladder on its prices and packages page. What you buy with each step up is freefall time: the operators describe up to 25 seconds at 9,000 ft, up to 45 seconds at 12,000 ft and up to 60 seconds at 15,000 ft, speeds NZONE puts at 200 km/h. According to NZONE, the flight to altitude takes 15 to 20 minutes and the canopy ride down 3 to 4 minutes, so the altitude choice changes the freefall portion, not the mechanics of the day.

Three tours are bookable here, and their advertised from-prices in US dollars differ slightly, partly from currency conversion between booking platforms and partly from what is bundled. NZONE Skydive, which starts in Queenstown and includes a courtesy coach from the NZONE Skydive Centre at 35 Shotover Street out to the drop zone at Drift Bay on Lake Wakatipu, starts from USD 215.27 per person. The 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive, meeting at Wanaka Airport, starts from USD 210.16. Wanaka Skydive, Transfers Included starts from USD 221.25, and that higher figure buys the return ride from central Queenstown, about 1.5 hours each way, on the days it runs.

A note on those review counts. NZONE Skydive's 4.7 rests on 1,479 reviews and the 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive's 4.8 on 295, so those two are the only ones with a pool large enough to compare. Wanaka Skydive, Transfers Included shows 4.7 from just 3 reviews, which says little, and it should not be read as a rating verdict either way. Price-wise the three from-prices sit within about eleven US dollars of each other at the entry altitude, so the decision rarely comes down to the base fare alone.

What Do The NZD Operator Prices Actually Cover?

The NZD 379 to 575 ladder covers the tandem jump itself: the harness and gear, the flight to altitude, the jump with a tandem master, and the canopy ride down. At NZONE it also covers the coach from the Shotover Street centre to the Drift Bay drop zone and back. It does not cover photos or video, weight surcharges, or, at Wanaka, a ride from Queenstown.

NZONE's price is genuinely door-to-drop-zone from central Queenstown, in the sense that you check in at the shop at 35 Shotover Street and the included coach carries you the rest of the way to 786 Kingston Road, Drift Bay. NZONE Skydive lists no hotel pickup, so you make your own way to its Shotover Street centre. The operator describes the whole experience as about 3.5 hours from check-in to return, though it also advises planning for a good part of the day, because a booking carries a check-in time, not a jump time, and weather holds can stretch the schedule. Self-driving to the drop zone is allowed, but you still have to check in at the Skydive Centre first, so there is no way to skip the town-centre start. Parking at Drift Bay is limited, which is another quiet argument for the coach.

Skydive Wanaka's base prices assume you are already in Wanaka. The jump base is at 14 Mustang Lane, Wanaka Airport, and the 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive tour's pickup option is the Wanaka i-SITE shuttle point at 103 Ardmore Street, selected when you book and with a request to arrive ten minutes early. There is no Queenstown transfer on that tour. If you are staying in Queenstown and want the Wanaka jump anyway, that is what Wanaka Skydive, Transfers Included is for, and its price ladder of NZD 399, 489 and 595 works out to NZD 20 more per altitude than jumping at NZONE, with the trade-off being about three hours on a coach across the day.

One cost detail that surprises people at NZONE: a card surcharge of 1.2 percent applies to non-New-Zealand Eftpos payments at the drop zone and to all phone payments. It is small, but it is real, and worth knowing if you are budgeting to the dollar, especially when a group is paying for several jumpers plus photo packages on one card.

How Much Extra Are Photos And Video On A NZ Skydive?

Photo and video packages add NZD 220 to 395 per person on top of the jump, at both operators, and they are never bundled into a tour price. NZONE's Handicam is NZD 220, the Freefall package NZD 333 and the Ultimate Combo NZD 395. Skydive Wanaka's Essential, Freefall Photos And Video and Ultimate packages land on the same three numbers.

The cheapest tier at both operators is a wrist-mounted camera flown by your tandem master: NZONE calls it Handicam, Skydive Wanaka calls it Essential, and both charge NZD 220 including GST. The mid tier at NZD 333 puts a separate camera flyer in the air with you, which produces outside shots of your freefall rather than footage of your face. The top tier at NZD 395 combines both cameras. NZONE details its packages on its photo and video page, Skydive Wanaka on its own photos and video page.

Two practical points shape the value calculation. First, the camera-flyer packages cannot be pre-booked with NZONE and depend on a flyer being available on the day, so budget for them but do not count on them. Second, personal cameras, phones and smart glasses are not allowed on the jump at either operator, a rule the operators attribute to NZPIA safety requirements, so the add-on packages are the only way to get in-air footage.

If a 15,000 ft jump with the full photo tier is the goal, the honest way to budget is to add the two published figures yourself: the jump at NZD 575 plus the Ultimate package at NZD 395, per person, before any transfer or surcharge. Skydive Wanaka notes that only one person can be filmed by a freefall camera flyer at a time, so a group wanting outside footage of every jumper should expect the day to space those jumps out. Having the photo decision made before you travel keeps the spend deliberate rather than an impulse at check-in.

Wanaka Skydive, Transfers Included suits travellers staying in Queenstown who want the Wanaka scenery without hiring a car. The tour starts from USD 221.25 per person, cancels free up to 24 hours before departure, and runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Check availability for your dates, and see the Wanaka skydive guide for what the jump itself is like.

Do Weight Rules Change The Price Of A Skydive In NZ?

The surcharge ladder belongs to Skydive Wanaka only, and it applies to its two tours, the 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive and Wanaka Skydive, Transfers Included. NZONE's pages do not publish surcharge amounts, so the honest answer for a Queenstown jump is to phone the operator on +64 3 442 5867 before booking and ask what applies at your weight. Both operators' terms say limits vary by drop zone and day, and that at most drop zones the maximum is 110 to 115 kg, with extra assessment above 110 kg. Skydive Wanaka also asks that anyone over 95 kg tell its reservations team before the jump date, which is worth doing to avoid a surprise at the drop zone.

Minimum weights differ too, and the difference matters for families: NZONE requires 40 kg, Skydive Wanaka 30 kg, and both require a minimum height of 1.2 m and a harness that fits. Children 12 and under may jump from a maximum of 9,000 ft at both operators, with every child assessed by the tandem master on the day. The full rules are in the Queenstown skydive weight limit guide.

What Does Getting To The Jump Add To The Cost?

Getting to NZONE adds nothing: the coach from 35 Shotover Street to the Drift Bay drop zone is in the price. Getting from Queenstown to Wanaka adds NZD 20 per altitude on the transfer-included tour, about NZD 399 versus 379 at 9,000 ft, and it costs you roughly three extra hours of travel across the day, since the transfer runs about 1.5 hours each way.

That NZD 20 gap is the cleanest value comparison in NZ skydiving, because the jumps themselves are priced identically at both operators. What the extra money and time buy is the scenery of the Wanaka side, a landing at a private farm near Wanaka Airport, and a day trip in a scheduled shuttle rather than a rental car or a long self-drive. The transfer runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, meeting at the NZONE Skydive Centre on Shotover Street, and the operator advises allowing up to 6 hours for the whole experience. Note that friends and family who come along to Wanaka are welcome at the airport base, but the operator says there is no safe spectator viewing at the landing zone itself, a detail worth knowing if a non-jumping partner is part of the plan.

If you are basing yourself in Queenstown and purely optimising cost and time, NZONE Skydive is the shorter day at about 3.5 hours door to door, and its price already includes the ride to the drop zone. If you are already staying in Wanaka, the 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive from USD 210.16 is the cheapest of the three tours in US dollar terms, and the i-SITE shuttle pickup at 103 Ardmore Street covers the short hop to the airport. The trade-offs, not the base prices, should decide this one.

NZONE Skydive is also the most reviewed option by a wide margin, at 4.7 from 1,479 reviews, which makes it the default for travellers who want the biggest base of past customers behind a booking.

Mistakes That Trip People Up When Budgeting A NZ Skydive

The five costliest mistakes are budgeting only the jump price and forgetting the NZD 220 to 395 photo tier, ignoring Skydive Wanaka's NZD 50 to 100 weight surcharges, assuming hotel pickup exists, comparing the 9,000 ft from-price while planning to jump at 15,000 ft, and booking a tight next-day schedule with no spare day for a weather rebook. Each one turns a planned budget into an unhappy surprise.

Photo and video packages are bought at check-in rather than booked ahead. Travellers book the jump, arrive at check-in, watch the package briefing, and buy the NZD 395 Ultimate tier on impulse. Deciding your photo budget before you travel, including deciding to skip it, keeps the spend deliberate rather than emotional. The weight mistake is the quietest: the surcharges are payable at check-in, in NZD, on top of everything else, and only Skydive Wanaka publishes the amounts.

The schedule mistake deserves its own sentence. Skydives are weather-dependent at both operators, the first move is a rebook rather than a refund, and a full refund applies only when no other date works, which is why the Skydive Wanaka transfer listing advises booking your first available day and keeping a spare one free. Free customer cancellation runs to 24 hours before departure, and bookings stay valid for 12 months, which softens a forced change but does not rescue a fly-out-the-next-morning itinerary.

There is also the paperwork mistake, which costs nothing in dollars but can cost you the jump entirely. Both operators require government-issued photo ID for everyone on arrival at the drop zone, and anyone under 18 needs written parental or guardian consent, with a parent or guardian present at the drop zone unless consent documents have been arranged with staff in advance. A family that arrives without the consent sorted can lose the slot, and rescheduling inside 24 hours carries a 100 percent fee. Small administrative details, real money.

Common Questions About Skydive Costs In NZ

How Much Does It Cost To Skydive In NZ?

A tandem skydive costs NZD 379 per person at 9,000 ft, NZD 469 at 12,000 ft and NZD 575 at 15,000 ft with the Queenstown and Wanaka operators. The bookable tours start at USD 210.16 to USD 221.25 per person at the 9,000 ft level. Photos and video add NZD 220 to 395.

Is Skydiving Cheaper In Queenstown Or Wanaka?

The jumps cost the same at both operators, NZD 379 to 575 by altitude. The 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive has the lowest USD from-price at USD 210.16, NZONE Skydive starts at USD 215.27 with the drop-zone coach included, and the Wanaka tour with the Queenstown transfer starts at USD 221.25.

What Is The Total Cost With Photos And Video?

The jump and the photos are priced separately at check-in. A 15,000 ft jump is NZD 575 and the top photo package NZD 395, both per person, so add those published figures together for your own total. With the mid-tier camera-flyer package, use NZD 333 instead.

Are There Extra Charges For Heavier Passengers?

At Skydive Wanaka, yes: NZD 50 for 95 to 104.9 kg, NZD 75 for 105 to 114.9 kg and NZD 100 for 115 kg and over, payable at check-in. NZONE publishes no surcharge amounts, so ask them directly before booking.

Does The Price Include Transport?

NZONE Skydive includes its coach from 35 Shotover Street to the Drift Bay drop zone. The 3-Hour Wanaka Skydive includes a Wanaka i-SITE shuttle pickup only. Wanaka Skydive, Transfers Included adds the Queenstown return transfer for NZD 20 more per altitude. No tour offers hotel pickup.

Can I Get A Refund If The Weather Cancels My Jump?

Both operators rebook first, weather permitting on another slot or day, and refund in full only when rebooking is not possible. You can also cancel free yourself up to 24 hours before departure, and a booking stays valid for 12 months from its original date.

The short version: plan on NZD 379 to 575 for the jump, decide your photo budget of zero to NZD 395 before you arrive, check the weight surcharge rules that apply to you, and keep a spare day for weather. Whether you jump with NZONE over Lake Wakatipu or head to Wanaka, the numbers above cover the core price, though NZONE states no weight surcharge amounts and a given day may price differently on the live booking page.