Wellington eSIM
In Wellington you connect to Spark or One NZ, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The median across the country is 68 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Spark and One NZ
- Real speed in New Zealand
- 68 Mbps median, 18 Mbps for the slowest tenth542 travellers across New Zealand, rolling 90 days
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Wellington
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $6.89 | $6.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $3.63 | $10.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.98 | $14.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $2.39 | $23.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.94 | $38.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $1.66 | $82.89 |
How New Zealand compares across Oceania
- Speed rank
- 2 of 10 destinations we sell in Oceania
- Regional median
- 30.5 Mbps
- Consistency
- The slowest tenth still reaches 26 percent of the median
- Upstream networks
- 2, Spark, One NZ
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Australia, 76 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Guam, 52 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 4: Auckland, Queenstown, Wellington, Christchurch
- tenth percentile
- 18 Mbps
- Behind these figures
- 542 travellers, rolling 90 days
Landing at Wellington International Airport (WLG)
- Airport
- WLG / NZWN
- Distance
- 6 km from the centre of Wellington
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalWellington Airport provides free wifi. The network is named WLG Airport FreeWiFi and you complete a short online form after connecting before you get access.
Getting into Wellington
- Metlink Airport Express bus to the Wellington CBD (WLG)
- Metlink bus route 2, connecting to trains at Wellington railway station (WLG)
Worth knowing about Wellington
- Wellington Airport has no rail access and is too far from Wellington railway station for a link to be built, so buses and taxis are the only options.
- Its single runway is only 1,815 m long, which caps aircraft size and limits non-stop flights to southeastern Australia and the South Pacific.
- Wellington is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state, at 41 degrees south.
- Metlink buses and trains have accepted contactless Visa and Mastercard, physical or on a phone or watch, since 3 March 2026. A 1.5 percent fee applies to each fare.
- Contactless card payment on Metlink covers single adult fares only. There are no free transfers until the Motu Move national ticketing system arrives, and you must tag on and tag off with the same card or device.
- Cash is still accepted on Metlink buses and trains but costs at least 25 percent more than Snapper or a contactless card. Metlink says cash fares will be discontinued by March 2027.
- The Snapper app manages the account and top ups but cannot be used to tag on. Travellers who want the Snapper fare need the physical card.
- The Metlink app gives real time stop departures and journey planning and works without an account. An account only adds favourites and service alert notifications. It does not pay fares.
- The Airport Express AX runs between Wellington Airport and Wellington Station every 10 to 20 minutes, seven days a week, taking about 25 to 35 minutes depending on traffic.
- The Airport Express accepts cash, contactless debit or credit cards and Snapper. The adult fare is 12 dollars by cash or contactless and 9.23 dollars by Snapper.
- Airport Express buses carry free wifi, USB charging and luggage racks. Off peak discounts and free transfers do not apply to this route.
- The airport stop is in the ground floor carpark about 100 metres from Door E, and the city stop is Wellington Station Stop B, about 150 metres from the main concourse.
- Wellington Airport's shop directory lists eleven retailers and no mobile operator store, so a local SIM is not something to count on inside the terminal.
- The Wellington Harbour Ferry from Queens Wharf to Days Bay does not accept Snapper. Metlink asks for contactless payment or EFTPOS, bought at the East by West ticket office on Queens Wharf or onboard.
- The Wellington Cable Car climbs 119 metres over 609 metres of track between Lambton Quay and Kelburn in three to five minutes, departing every 10 minutes. It was originally built in 1902.
- Interislander is KiwiRail's Cook Strait ferry and connects the North and South Island road and rail networks between Wellington and Picton. It carries about 52,000 rail wagons a year.
- Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, Wellington's central library, offers free unlimited internet on all your devices throughout the building.
Sources for this page
Other cities in New Zealand we cover
- Christchurch
- 305 km from Wellington, nearest airport CHC
- Auckland
- 493 km from Wellington, nearest airport AKL
- Queenstown
- 647 km from Wellington, nearest airport ZQN