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It can be so difficult to know how much to budget for a holiday. And those online estimates are always so vague and extreme. You know the kind, they tell you that you can spend $5000 per night staying in a royal suite, eating all your meals at Michelin star restaurants or you can spend $20 per day if you eat bird seed exclusively and sleep on park benches. What about the in-between? What do people spend for nice accommodation and quality meals without getting carried away? So here is everything we spent for a week in Nouméa, right down to the cheesy souvenir t-shirts and the last chocolate éclair.
Expense | Cost CFP | AUD | US |
Flights Sydney to Nouméa return | 138,793 | 1,936 | 1202 |
Resort accommodation including most meals and drinks | 340,100 | 4,743 | 2944 |
Les Petits Choux: Baguette and café éclair | 710 | 10 | 6 |
Boulangerie St Honor: Lunch for 2 and 2 chocolate eclairs | 2,720 | 38 | 24 |
Boulangerie St Honor: Lunch for 2 and 1 éclair, 1 croissant | 2,560 | 36 | 22 |
Lunch at Le Bout Du Monde near the ferry wharf | 4,500 | 63 | 39 |
Asian Noumea Market
| 2,565 | 36 | 22 |
Auchan Quai Ferry supermarket
| 3,313 | 46 | 29 |
Souvenirs from the airport
| 5,890 | 82 | 51 |
Airport transfers (return) | 15000 | 210 | 130 |
Total cost for 2 people | 516,151 | 7,200 | 4,469 |
Total Cost
Total cost of the trip, including airfares from Sydney, accommodation, food, souvenirs, alcohol, etc. came in at AUD $7,200 for 2 people. I have seen much cheaper airfares from Sydney though, at around $550 return per person. If you went for the cheapest room option at the resort, you would pay CFP 18,796 / AUD 264 / USD 164 for a garden bungalow.
Accommodation
For me the accommodation is not usually a highlight of the trip. Typically I go places to see those places, not to hang out in the hotel or resort. But this was our honeymoon so this was different. Initially I looked at the Maldives because I loved the idea of an overwater bungalow but then I discovered it takes at least 16 hours travel time and 2 flights to get from Sydney to the Maldives.
Nouméa in contrast is a direct 3-hour flight from Sydney. Sold!
A night in an overwater bungalow at DoubleTree by Hilton Nouméa Ilot Maitre Resort is currently advertised at CFP 3430 / AUD 481 / USD 299 per night.
You’ll notice the total cost listed in the table above is a lot more than this. That’s because it also includes the meals and drinks we had at the resort. You could spend less than this by stocking up on supplies at the supermarket. Check out this post to see where to go shopping in Nouméa.
To learn more about staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Nouméa Ilot Maitre Resort, check out this review I did a while back.
Currency and Conversions
The currency of New Caledonia is the Pacific franc, abbreviated as either CFP or XPF. The Pacific franc has a fixed exchange rate with the euro at CFP 1,000 to €8.38.
Unlike the Australian or US dollar that is divided into 100 cents, the Pacific franc is the smallest unit of currency.
Paying by card?
Most major hotels, shops and patisseries in Nouméa accept major credit cards like Visa and Mastercard. If you’re travelling outside Nouméa or staying in guest houses or tribal accommodation you should take enough cash to pay for your accommodation. We needed cash to pay for our airport transfer. I highly recommend getting some cash out to be safe. We got cash out at the airport on arrival.
Transfers
If you want to pre-book an airport transfer to the centre of Nouméa, the New Caledonia tourism website has a list of providers:
https://au.newcaledonia.travel/plan-your-trip/transport/transport-in-noumea/
A shared shuttle service will cost around 2,500 XPF per adult. A private transfer will cost around 7,500 XPF or around $118 for 2 people. We booked with Allo Transport: http://www.allotransports.nc
We took the private transfer option. Taxis are also available from the airport. A quick google search suggests a taxi would be around $85 to $110 AUD / US$53 to US$68. I like to have a car waiting for me instead of queuing up for a taxi so I often opt for a pre-booked transfer.
