Auckland – known for its Sky Tower, waterfront & harbor bridge.
It is also the largest city in New Zealand, even though it is not the capital city (that would be Wellington).
Writing a list of all the cool things to do in Auckland would require another blog post (or a dedicated Auckland blog), so I will save you from that because you want to know what SIM card and eSIM options are available at the airport.
You can get a Spark, One NZ (formerly Vodafone), or 2degrees SIM card for between 5 NZD and 112 NZD at Auckland Airport (AKL).
That is quite a spread – what gives?
It is because mostly tourist SIM cards and plans are available at the airport.
However, the validity of these plans can last for three months, so that is not too bad.
So let's review all your options and see if getting a SIM card at Auckland Airport is even worth it.
Original publication: 19th of December 2022. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Mobile Operators in New Zealand
Before I tell you about the SIM card and eSIM options you have at Auckland Airport, you first need to know about all the mobile operators in New Zealand.
New Zealand has three mobile operators and two Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:
- Spark New Zealand
- One NZ (formerly Vodafone New Zealand)
- 2degrees New Zealand
- Skinny Mobile (Spark New Zealand MVNO)
- Warehouse Mobile (2degrees New Zealand MVNO)
Sure, there are some online-based MVNOs, but it can take days before they get posted, so I would only recommend getting SIM cards that you can get in stores.
For more information about New Zealand SIM cards, check out my New Zealand SIM card buying guide.
Alright, back to what Auckland Airport has to offer to us.
Where to Buy a SIM Card (or eSIM) at Auckland Airport?
At Auckland Airport, there are multiple stores and booths selling three different New Zealand SIM cards (and eSIMs): Spark, One NZ (formerly Vodafone) & 2degrees.
Coincidentally, those are the three mobile operators in New Zealand.
Spark and One NZ have booths in the duty-free area of Auckland Airport and stores in the international arrivals hall.
One NZ's SIM cards are also sold by Relay in the domestic terminal of the airport (which is, for now, still a 10-15 minute walk away from the international terminal).
2degrees has no dedicated booth or store at the airport.
However, the Relay in the arrivals hall of the international terminal does sell its SIM cards.
Still, you have to ask for them because they are not actively advertised.
Let's go through each mobile operator to see what they have to offer us.
What SIM Cards & Plans does Spark New Zealand Sell at Auckland Airport (+Prices)?
Spark only sells its NZ Travel Packs at Auckland Airport, ranging from 25/29 NZD to 112/129 NZD.
I will list all the prices in NZD (New Zealand Dollar).
To convert NZD to your currency (let's say AUD – Australian Dollar) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.
Spark is the largest and oldest mobile operator in New Zealand – it was formerly known as Telecom before it was privatized.
At Auckland Airport, you have two locations for buying a Spark NZ Travel Pack: in the duty-free area from the Spark booth and in the international arrivals hall from the Spark store.
I mention this again because you can save some money (15%) if you buy your Spark NZ Travel Pack in the duty-free area.
You cannot miss this booth – it is just in front of passport control.
The booth is open from the first international arrivals (around 4:30) until the last international arrivals (around 1:30), so you should have the opportunity to get your SIM card there (unless your arrival is delayed until between 2:00 and 4:30 when the booth is closed).
Anyway, the following four (previously five) Spark NZ Travel Packs are available:
| Price 1 | Data | Local Minutes | International Minutes 2 | Local SMS | International SMS 2 | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 NZD | 2 GB | 200 minutes | 100 minutes | 200 SMS | 100 SMS | 3 months |
| 49 NZD | 10 GB | 200 minutes | 200 minutes | 200 SMS | 200 SMS | 3 months |
| 79 NZD | 50 GB | Unlimited | 200 minutes | Unlimited | 200 SMS | 3 months |
| 129 NZD | “Unlimited”, 100 GB 3 | Unlimited | 300 minutes | Unlimited | 300 SMS | 3 months |
1 you will be charged 25 NZD, 42 NZD, 68 NZD, or 112 NZD, respectively, if you buy your Spark Travel Pack in the duty-free area of Auckland Airport (AKL) or Christchurch International Airport (CHC)
2 to Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom & the United States
3 100 GB high-speed data, then unlimited @ 1.2 Mbps (slow)
Disclaimer: the SIM card prices mentioned in the review were current when I was in New Zealand – the offering and prices may have changed since then. To see Spark's current starter packs, check out my New Zealand SIM card buying guide
As you can see, you can save up to 17 NZD if you get a Spark NZ Travel Pack in the duty-free area as opposed to getting one in the international arrivals hall.
When you get your Spark NZ travel pack, the salesperson will ask if they can install it for you.
You can say yes to this (in case you do not have a pin to open your SIM card slot), but the correct APN settings should load automatically.
If they do not, change it to the values below:
- Name: Spark Data
- APN: internet
Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched.
Once you have inserted your SIM card, you are good to go.
Do note that Spark Travel SIM cards cannot be renewed.
However, if you wish to keep your phone number after three months (validity of each Spark Travel SIM card) or replenish your data, call, or text allowance, you can get a regular Spark prepaid plan.
And all these tourist SIM cards allow for 5G NR access – free of charge.
How much does a regular Spark SIM card cost? They are sold for 5 NZD in Spark stores (not the ones at the airports) and from resellers, like grocery stores, gas stations & convenience stores).
So should you get a regular Spark SIM card and get a regular data-featured prepaid plan or a Spark NZ Travel Pack?
I would recommend the latter – here is why.
But the thing is, Spark's tourist offerings are somehow cheaper than its regular plans.
Spark's most expensive data-featured plan costs 80 NZD, giving you 40 GB of high-speed data before throttling your speed to 1.2 Mbps while giving you unlimited data valid for 28 days.
For 68 NZD or 79 NZD, depending on if you buy your Spark NZ Travel Pack in the duty-free area, you get 50 GB of high-speed data for three months instead.
Let's say you do not need that much data? No problem. Let's take 4.5 GB of data.
Spark's Data Lovers plan, a data-only plan, gives you 4.5 GB of data and 1 GB of data for Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Spotify & Twitter, valid for 28 days, costing 40 NZD.
For a bit more, 42 NZD or 49 NZD, you can get 10 GB of data, 200 local/international minutes & 200 local/international minutes for 3 months instead.
It is unusual for the tourist-focused plans to be more affordable than regular prepaid plans… but Spark (and New Zealand) is built differently, I guess 🗿.
Lastly, can you get a Spark eSIM at Auckland Airport? Yes, you can.
Spark does have eSIMs, and they are also available to prepaid customers.
However… not all stores are aware of this (I asked multiple in Auckland and Wellington about this).
In fact, only the Spark airport store (the one in the arrivals hall and not the one in the duty-free area) knows and sells eSIMs to you and me.
The lovely lady at the Spark airport store told me that some stores are lazy and cannot be bothered with eSIM, which may be why they all told me they do not have them for prepaid customers (they would rather want you request one yourself online).
So yeah… you may have to insist, lol.
Getting a Spark eSIM does not cost anything extra.
So if you get it together with your Spark NZ Travel pack or a prepaid plan in a Spark store, you do not pay more for it.
The same applies when you switch from a SIM card to an eSIM.
Also, be sure to read my Spark review if you are interested in getting a Spark SIM card.
What SIM Cards & Plans does One NZ (formerly Vodafone New Zealand) Sell at Auckland Airport (+Prices)?
One NZ (formerly Vodafone) only sells its Travel SIM cards at Auckland Airport, ranging from 25/29 NZD to 86/99 NZD.
One NZ is the second-largest mobile operator in New Zealand, which was known as Vodafone New Zealand before rebranding to One NZ.
At Auckland Airport, you have three locations for buying a One NZ Travel SIM: the duty-free area from the One NZ booth, the international arrivals hall from the One NZ store & in the domestic terminal from Relay.
Just like with Spark, you can save 15% if you buy your One NZ Travel SIM in the duty-free area.
You also cannot miss the One NZ booth, but it is smaller than the Spark one.
The booth is open from the first international arrivals (around 4:30) until the last international arrivals (around 1:30), so you should have the opportunity to get your SIM card there (unless your arrival is delayed until between 2:00 and 4:30 when the booth is closed).
If you somehow transferred from another New Zealand international airport and arrived at the domestic terminal in Auckland instead, this Relay also sells One NZ Travel SIMs.
Anyway, the following four (previously three) One NZ Travel SIM cards are available:
| Price 1 | Data | Local Minutes | International Minutes 2 | Local SMS | International SMS 2 | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 NZD | 2 GB | 200 minutes | Combined with call allowance | 200 SMS | Combined with text allowance | 30 days |
| 49 NZD | 10 GB | Unlimited | 200 minutes | Unlimited | 200 SMS | 60 days |
| 69 NZD | 40 GB | Unlimited | 200 minutes | Unlimited | 200 SMS | 60 days |
| 99 NZD | 100 GB | Unlimited | 250 minutes | Unlimited | 250 SMS | 60 days |
1 you will be charged 25 NZD, 43 NZD, 60 NZD, or 86 NZD, respectively, if you buy your Vodafone Travel SIM in the duty-free area of Auckland Airport (AKL)
2 to Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands (not for 29 NZD plan), Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan (not for 29 NZD plan), Thailand (not for 29 NZD plan), the United Kingdom & the United States
Disclaimer: the SIM card prices mentioned in the review were current when I was in New Zealand – the offering and prices may have changed since then. To see One NZ's current starter packs, check out my New Zealand SIM card buying guide
In most cases, your phone will automatically download the correct APN settings for your One NZ Travel SIM to work.
If not, add these values:
- Name: VFNZ Internet
- APN: vodafone
Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched. I suspect the APN name (VFNZ Internet) will change in the future, but the name can be whatever (even your name if you want) as long as the APN (vodafone) is set correctly.
Note that the main duty-free store is advertising the Vodafone Travel SIM as if it sells them.
But it was not – I went to the salesperson asking for a SIM card because the Vodafone booth had a long queue, and she was just chilling.
She told me that while they advertise the Vodafone Travel SIM cards, they do not sell them 🥲 and recommended I get it at the arrivals hall instead (because there would be no queue there at 1 AM… yes, that is when I arrived in Auckland).
She was right… there was no queue at the store in the arrivals hall, but I was charged more for my SIM card.
Ah well – do not make the same mistake as me 😜.
And all these tourist SIM cards allow for 5G NR access – free of charge.
How much does a regular One NZ SIM card cost? They are sold for 5 NZD in One NZ stores (not the ones at the airports) and from resellers, like grocery stores, gas stations & convenience stores).
So should you get a regular One NZ SIM card and get a regular data-featured prepaid plan or a One NZ Travel NZ?
You can get either – it should not matter that much.
Initially, these One NZ Travel SIMs look expensive… which they kind of are.
However, most plans are valid for 60 days (besides the 25/29 NZD plan – that one is valid for 30 days instead), which somewhat explains the high prices.
With Spark, the Spark NZ Travel Packs are (somehow) more affordable than data-featured prepaid plans.
With One NZ, the prices are similar, but you can save a couple of dollars (if you buy your One NZ Travel SIM in the duty-free area at Auckland Airport).
But the savings will not be major (unlike with Spark, where the difference can be significant).
But if you do plan on visiting New Zealand for a month or two and would like your validity to be as long as possible, the One NZ Travel SIM will be more cost-effective.
For example, if you normally use 20 GB a month, the 60/69 NZD One NZ Travel SIM with 40 GB for 60 days will be a good option.
The cheapest way to get 20 GB of data with a One NZ data-featured prepaid plan would be getting a MyFlex Prepay plan with 25 GB of data and 100 local/Australia minutes for 57 NZD.
Multiply that by two (two months), and you would have spent 114 NZD (+5 NZD on a One NZ SIM card, making the total 119 NZD).
Lastly, can you get a One NZ eSIM at Auckland Airport? No, you cannot… yet.
One NZ does have eSIMs, which was delayed by multiple months, but they are for postpaid customers only.
But I have been told they should be available to prepaid customers in early 2023.
However, the same people told me that it could take until mid-2023 before you can get a One NZ eSIM as a prepaid customer, so do not get too excited yet, lol.
Also, be sure to read my One NZ review if you are interested in getting a One NZ SIM card.
What SIM Cards & Plans does 2degrees Sell at Auckland Airport (+Prices)?
2degrees indirectly sells its regular prepaid SIM card at Auckland Airport in the international arrivals hall from Relay (so not the Relay in the international departures hall).
2degrees is the youngest mobile operator in New Zealand, but it does have the best performance.
At Auckland airport, there is only one store selling 2degrees SIM cards, and it is a reseller – Take Home in the international arrivals hall.
Unlike Spark and One NZ (formerly Vodafone), 2degrees SIM cards are not available in the duty-free area, so you cannot get any discounts on your SIM card.
Luckily, 2degrees SIM cards only cost 5 NZD, so you would only be saving 0.75 NZD if you did not pay GST.
Disclaimer: the SIM card prices mentioned in the review were current when I was in New Zealand – the offering and prices may have changed since then. To see 2degrees' current starter packs, check out my New Zealand SIM card buying guide
But still… money is money 🤑.
Anyway, when you go to the Take Home store in the international arrivals hall for a 2degrees SIM card, you have to ask for one because they are not actively advertised or displayed in the convenience store.
The salesperson will ask you if you want to top up your SIM card.
I encourage doing so because most New Zealand mobile operators somewhat bar international debit- and credit cards for online top-ups.
Even with my Australian cards, I had to try multiple times before 2degrees (and a few other New Zealand SIM cards) would accept my payment… let alone if you are from elsewhere.
Back then, I did not top up because I was not sure which plan I wanted to get (that is how I found out that topping up online is a challenge, lol).
Anyway, go to my 2degrees review so that you know how much top up to purchase a plan immediately after inserting your SIM card into your phone.
Or check the photo below for a prepaid of monthly plans.
Lastly, can you get a 2degrees eSIM at Auckland Airport? No, you cannot.
2degrees does have eSIMs, and they are also available to prepaid customers.
But the Take Home store at the airport does not sell them – you have to go to a 2degrees store to get an eSIM (meaning other resellers do not sell eSIMs either).
For fun, I upgraded my 2degrees SIM card to an eSIM.
So I went to the 2degrees store on Queen Street in Auckland.
Switching to an eSIM as a prepaid customer is actually straightforward, especially when you have a 2degrees account already (which you will set up when you register for the 2degrees app).
You talk to the salesperson, say you want to swap to an eSIM, tell your phone number, show your ID, get your eSIM QR code, and you are good to go.
Also, be sure to read my 2degrees review if you are interested in getting a 2degrees SIM card.
Should You Get a SIM Card at Auckland Airport?
I recommend getting a SIM card at Auckland Airport because you will save (some) money or pay nothing extra.
Spark's NZ Travel Packs are slightly cheaper than its data-featured prepaid plans (especially if you stay in New Zealand for more than a month).
In the case of One NZ (formerly Vodafone), the savings with getting a One NZ Travel SIM are minimal unless you stay in New Zealand for more than a month too.
For 2degrees, it does not sell tourist SIM cards in general, so you can get your SIM card from Take Home in the international arrivals hall and pay nothing extra compared to getting a SIM card from another reseller or 2degrees directly.
If you do not want to get a Spark NZ travel pack or a One NZ Travel SIM for some reason or want to get a Skinny Mobile or Warehouse Mobile SIM card instead, you have some options if you do not mind traveling for a bit.
Walk for about 15 to 20 minutes or take bus 38 (towards Onehunga and get off at stop New Zealand School of Tourism and then walk for about five minutes), you can go to the Auckland Airport Shopping Center.
They have Countdown, one of the leading New Zealand supermarkets, and The Warehouse, a department store selling regular Spark, One NZ, 2degrees, Skinny Mobile (Countdown only) & Warehouse Mobile (The Warehouse only) SIM cards.
New Zealand SIM cards are sold for 5 NZD and include no credit (except for Warehouse Mobile in The Warehouse, where you can get its SIM card for 1 NZD giving you 5 NZD credit).
New Zealand SIM Card Reviews
I tried out all New Zealand SIM cards that you can easily buy from stores.
You should read those reviews.
>>> Spark Review | One NZ (formerly Vodafone) Review | 2degrees Review | Skinny Mobile Review | Warehouse Mobile Review <<<
I also tried out various travel eSIMs + a travel SIM card that works in New Zealand: Airalo (Nzcom & Discover Global), Holafly, Nomad & SimOptions + Orange Holiday World (SIM card).
You should also read those reviews.
>>> Airalo Nzcom New Zealand eSIM Review | Airalo Discover Global (in New Zealand) eSIM Review | Airalo Discover Global (in other countries) eSIM Review | Holafly New Zealand eSIM Review | Nomad New Zealand eSIM Review | Orange Holiday World Travel SIM Card in New Zealand Review <<<
Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Oceanian SIM cards.