$259 Find Cheap Flights to South Island

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Australia to South Island departing on 8/10. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to South Island

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to South Island, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to South Island, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Cheap Flights to South Island

Cheapest return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Queenstown
Queenstowndirect$388
Christchurch
Christchurchdirect$383
Nelson
Nelson2 stops$718
Dunedin
Dunedindirect$407
Invercargill
Invercargill1 stop$840
Blenheim
Blenheim1 stop$802
Timaru
Timaru2 stops$861
Queenstown
Queenstowndirect$388
Christchurch
Christchurchdirect$383
Nelson
Nelson2 stops$718
Dunedin
Dunedindirect$407
Invercargill
Invercargill1 stop$840
Blenheim
Blenheim1 stop$802
Timaru
Timaru2 stops$861

Book Cheap South Island Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights to South Island that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals to South Island

Thu, 9 Oct - Fri, 17 Oct
Jetstar Logo
12:05 - 17:20MEL-CHC
3h 15mdirect
Jetstar Logo
09:20 - 11:05CHC-MEL
3h 45mdirect
$428Jetstar
Find Deal
Thu, 9 Oct - Sun, 12 Oct
Jetstar Logo
12:05 - 17:20MEL-CHC
3h 15mdirect
Jetstar Logo
09:20 - 11:05CHC-MEL
3h 45mdirect
$431Jetstar
Find Deal
Wed, 15 Oct - Wed, 22 Oct
Air New Zealand Logo
17:55 - 23:05SYD-CHC
3h 10mdirect
Air New Zealand Logo
06:35 - 08:15CHC-SYD
3h 40mdirect
$553Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Fri, 31 Oct - Wed, 5 Nov
Air New Zealand Logo
18:55 - 08:20MEL-ZQN
11h 25m1 stop
Air New Zealand Logo
14:35 - 07:55ZQN-MEL
19h 20m1 stop
$555Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Thu, 30 Oct - Sun, 2 Nov
Emirates Logo
08:45 - 14:00SYD-CHC
3h 15mdirect
Emirates Logo
18:20 - 19:40CHC-SYD
3h 20mdirect
$615Emirates
Find Deal
Sun, 12 Oct - Sat, 18 Oct
Emirates Logo
08:50 - 13:55SYD-CHC
3h 05mdirect
Emirates Logo
18:20 - 19:40CHC-SYD
3h 20mdirect
$617Emirates
Find Deal
Tue, 16 Sep - Fri, 19 Sep
Virgin Australia Logo
06:55 - 16:45BNE-ZQN
7h 50m1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
18:00 - 09:20ZQN-BNE
17h 20m1 stop
$709Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Sun, 7 Dec - Thu, 18 Dec
Virgin Australia Logo
10:10 - 16:40BNE-ZQN
3h 30mdirect
Virgin Australia Logo
17:30 - 18:15ZQN-BNE
3h 45mdirect
$719Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Tue, 10 Feb - Tue, 24 Feb
Qantas Airways Logo
10:20 - 21:05AVV-ZQN
8h 45m1 stop
Qantas Airways Logo
20:50 - 07:35ZQN-AVV
12h 45m1 stop
$728Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Tue, 4 Nov - Wed, 5 Nov
Qantas Airways Logo
06:00 - 21:05AVV-ZQN
13h 05m1 stop
Qantas Airways Logo
15:30 - 23:15ZQN-AVV
9h 45m1 stop
$742Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to South Island

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to South Island to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to South Island?

These are the best return prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to South Island from Australia found in the last 72 hours was to Christchurch, at $166 return. The most popular route is Brisbane (BNE) to Queenstown (ZQN) and the cheapest return airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $236.

How much is a flight to South Island?

The average and cheapest price for all round-trip flights to South Island from each origin found by users searching on KAYAK in the last month.

A flight to South Island costs $493 on average. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks was $189 for the route Coolangatta (OOL) to Christchurch (CHC). The most popular routes on KAYAK are Cairns to Christchurch which costs $558 on average, and Coolangatta to Christchurch, which costs $522 on average.

See prices from:

What is the cheapest month to fly from Australia to South Island?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from Australia to South Island, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Australia to South Island is May, when tickets cost $454 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and April, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $709 and $587 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Australia to South Island?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to South Island, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below-average price on a flight from Australia to South Island, you should book around 6 weeks before departure, which saves you about 28% compared to booking last-minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 25 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in South Island?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in South Island is Dunedin Airport (DUD), with an average flight price of $272.

Good to know

Low seasonMay
Cheapest flight$259
Best time to beat the crowds (8% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (18% more expensive on average)
Flight from Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) to Queenstown

FAQs - booking South Island flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Australia to South Island?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Australia to South Island.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Australia to South Island?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Australia to South Island is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Australia to South Island?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly from Australia to South Island with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Australia to South Island?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from Australia to South Island up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to South Island?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to South Island is Monday when return tickets can be as cheap as $642. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Friday, when return prices are $680 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to South Island?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to South Island is generally in the afternoon, when retur flights cost $339 on average. Morning departures are around 1% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to South Island is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $425.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to South Island

  • Looking for cheap airfare to South Island? 25% of our users found return tickets to South Island for the following prices or less: From Cairns $314, from Melbourne $515, from Brisbane $620
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest South Island flight deals.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying to South Island

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to South Island. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from Australia to South Island. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Australia to South Island? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.1
EmiratesOverall score based on 3334 reviews
8.1Boarding
8.3Crew
8.2Entertainment
8.0Comfort
7.9Food
Airline reviews

Food was excellent. Leg room in economy, not so good; I’m 6’-1”.

8.0 ExcellentCarlton, Aug 2025MLE - DXB
Read more Emirates reviews

Food was excellent. Leg room in economy, not so good; I’m 6’-1”.

Delayed and missed connecting flight. But Emirates took care until next day flight. Thank you

They cancelled our flight, rebooked, cancelled that one. We are now flying New Zealand Air and need a refund please. How do we get it?

Wifi was not operational for the whole trip. Other than this, flight was well received .

Food no so good. Extra charge to much for front seats cost me £163 then other people sat near me for nothing 🤬

Boarding for business class passengers can be improved. Also, when debarking the aircraft, Economy passengers are let off first due the way the configuration of the cabin upstairs.

Overall I was quite pleased with the experience; the cleanliness; the polite and attentiveness of the cabin crew; and the delicious food options.

Except for the uncleaned tray, and the delay in serving food for our section (which may have been due to the location of our row) everything else was good. The crew were very professional and responded to our requests promptly throughout the flight. We as a family were not disappointed by Emirates.

Overall was a good experience and this particular flight the crew were great too at least in business class. It’s not always the case with flydubai. Few things would make me think twice in the future on this route. 1. The arrival into T3 might sound good but it is a real pain as it takes almost 30 mins to get to terminal on the bus as the aircraft still park at T2. The bag takes even longer . If they just let us off at T2, I’d be home within 30 mins of walking off the plane. Instead it takes 1.5 hours. 2. Due to the timing, the very tiny lounge in Penang is so crowded because half the lounge is closed for Qatar crew. Hardly anywhere to sit. 3. Flydubai app and site has a long way to go and using it is very unpleasant.

Comfort poor, little leg room, cabin temperature too hot. No free entertainment. No complementary drinks. Overal experience poor and would not travel with them again.

Not a comfortable trip, the seats are not good, and they look old.

Lost my luggage and brought someone else luggage to my airport.

I flew United from San Francisco to Auckland. My connecting flight from Auckland to Christchurch was canceled with no explanation. I was finally told the cancellation was due to fog. Even though it was clear when we landed. I am from San Francisco, I know what fog is! And I didn't see any fog. I was told the next available flight was 7 hours later. Unacceptable, they should have had a flight ready to go as soon as it was deemed safe to take off.

Our original flight was cancelled from SFO to AKL on 6/16/25. So we had to stay overnight at a hotel after a 12-hour layover plus 3-hour delay before the cancellation. Then had to fly to LA and then to AKL the following day losing an entire day of our vacation in NZ, that we can never get back.

Two hours was not enough time to transition from the international to domestic terminal. You have to go through customs, a biological hazard check, gather your luggage, take a bus to the domestic terminal and recheck your luggage. The bus was slow and crowded and the lines to recheck your bags were very long. We missed our connecting flight. Initially, the Air New Zealand officials were not helpful at all in helping to get us on another flight. Told us we would have to buy another ticket for a flight 11 hours later. Found another agent that was more helpful. He helped arrange to get us on standby for another flight three hours later. Had to ride in jump seats next to the flight attendants, but at least we eventually got to out destination.

Full flight. Flight attendants were harried. Otherwise, fine for the typical cramped seating conditions in coach.

Great! Flight was delayed by 30 mins but all was great. Thanks.

The 10hr flight was a comfortable as it could be in row 57. The food was just very bad….bland and soggy!

The business class upgrade meant a good sleep on the way home after a long week away. Excellent service, great food, and comfortable seat/bed for the journey.

I love the “boarding from the back” idea - it’s so much better than the “Zones” idea that many others use. Also, the inflight wifi was a first for me! Very nice to have on a 13-hour flight!

Overall experience was good but what really impressed me the most was the care the flight attendants took of a sick passenger who was sitting in front of me. The flight attendants would come and check on her quite regularly providing her support and comfort. Brilliant service!

Only answered OK and poor as there was no entertainment and I didnt have any food

4.5 hr international flight. We got a glass of water. Ranks up there with Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Spirit and Frontier. Expected better.

Gluten free options less explicit on business class, but great service

Very good… seems the virgin staff particularly in the lounge and in flight exceeded expectations.

I liked everything about the experience but would have liked some free snacks!

Crew was great but flight was delayed almost three hours due to a technical issue and we had to go back to the terminal and wait for another one.

Being told why we delayed three hours and not even given an apology by someone. Not a word. Not my airline of choice ever.

Checked Baggage line up was long but moved quickly, rest of the process, boarding, crew was excellent

Virgin has always provided a smooth and comfortable flight. This one was no different. Seats are comfortable. Staff are great. This is my favourite airline.

by the time they got to our row, they were out of some of the food options. games and movies were great but maybe more game options like tetris or pac man would be great

A few more inches of legroom is all i ask

Great as usual, some delays but well communicated and made up for in the air

Business class points redemption - good value for points paid, dubious value if out of your own pocket, domestic class business product okay for this length of flight. The flight left and arrived on time, crew were good, aircraft was a bit old and tired, but still miles ahead of their competitors in Virgin and Jetstar.

Airline running better than post Covid, proper boarding process now implemented, some aircraft feeling a bit old and tired, crew fine, online experience better.

We were upgraded and after just a short delay in attending to a safety check we were on our way. Would definately fly Qantas International on their Dreamliner again.

Five hour flight instead of four hours due to westerly headwinds which wasn’t the fault of Qantas !

I tried to check in online but was unable to do so. I stood in line for nearly two hours to check in. American Airlines was understaffed. When I finally got to the kiosk to check in, I was still unable to check in. No AA staff was available to help. Finally one of the airport security agents who was helping passengers became of lack of AA Staff told me: “I think the reason you can’t check in is that you are starting your name with an upper case letter when you write it. Just write it with all lower case letters.” That did allow me to check in. HOW COULD ANYONE POSSIBLY KNOW THAT IF THEY USE AN INITIAL UPPER CASE LETTER TO SPELL THEIR OWN NAME, AA WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO CHECK IN?????? Then I had to wait in line over half an hour again to drop off my baggage. Although I arrived at the airport 3 hours early, by the time I got to the gate, they had already started boarding.

One of the oldest most uncomfortable "lay down" seats I've ever experienced. Old plane and old seats that don't lay flat. The seat back does not even recline - at all. Instead the legrest awkwardly extends to fill the gap between a small cubby into which you must insert your feet/legs. I am 5' 11" and could not lay straight but had to tuck my knees. Ticket was also very expensive. Would not recommend flying business/first on Finair from Melbourne to Bangkok and will not do so again myself.

The wifi was out. Otherwise it was great flight. Richard, as CSM, was excellent.

Late leaving and desintuon board showed ‘gate closed’ when they hadn’t even commenced boarding!

Flight was delayed more than 1.5 hours. Gate changed multiple times

The good thing is that the flight got us from Darwin to Brisbane. However, it would have to be the most uncomfortable flight I have ever taken and if I can possibly avoid flying Jetstar again, I will.

I was treated poorly in Dunedin by check in crew, then my bag was lost in Auckland. Never again.

no announcement about why we where delayed which is very poor

It was better than I expected. Thought $5 for a small cup of tea was a bit much!

Overall good trip I find seats a bit hard. We were waiting on board for about an hour for 2 passengers with some document issue. This main our arrival late for our pickup person.

15kg allowance is outrageous. Change of time a few days before departure and more than 2 hours of delay in the end. The worse we’ve taken so far in Oceania.

They added the weight of my back to the carryon luggage and charged me NZ$75 for being over 7 kg.

stuck in the aircraft for over three hours due to engineering work, significantly delayed and made a lot of passengers missed the connecting transport, no mention any compensation

Everything you need to know for your flight to South Island

Cabin class types available on flights to South Island

Cabin classes available on flights to South Island. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.

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