Holiday homes booking out fast, Aucklanders urged to look further afield for their New Year's plans

Bachcare says there are fewer available properties close to Auckland this year. Photo / Bachcare

Holidaymakers who have left their plans a little late could be caught short, as New Year's Eve accommodation across New Zealand are at full capacity.

The latest data from Bachcare show there's 33 per cent less accommodation available when compared with the same time period last year.

Several regions close to Auckland are already all booked out, according to Bachcare spokesperson Zaina Razzaq.

"Areas such as Coromandel South, Matakana, Waikato, Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty are now at full capacity.

"There are a very small number (less than 3 per cent) of properties still open in the Far North, Waiheke Island Coromandel North, Hawke's Bay and Northland."

People who want an extended holiday should look further afield to places like Nelson, Ruapehu or Canterbury.

Razzaq says the lockdowns have had an effect on how people book their holidays with more people choosing to book closer to Auckland.

"There are more properties available in areas like Fiordland, Marlborough, Nelson and Wairarapa this year compared to 2020. We are putting this down to a general reticence around travelling too far if they get sick or have to go into lockdown or potentially with the uncertainty, they just didn't have enough time to plan a getaway further away."

For people who might be working over the New Year period, it's good news – properties do open up into January for those wishing to get away as the crowds head back to work.