Working holidays are a unique opportunity for young people to explore countries and careers that are new to them. Young people should see the world, experience other cultures, and try out new skills. If you’re planning a working holiday year, consider a working holiday visa to New Zealand as your gap year adventure. What could you do with a year in New Zealand? How can you build your future career or find some experiences that will be precious and unique to you for the rest of your life? Let’s dive into the five reasons to consider visiting New Zealand on your working holiday visa.

1) New Zealand is a great place for hospitality experience
The primary hiring market in New Zealand is hospitality. As one of the most beautiful places on the planet, we get great levels of tourism all year long. That means plenty of roles in service, food preparation, transportation, logistics management, rental assistants, retail attendants, and even jobs as instructors and operators.
If you’re travelling New Zealand casually, you can always pick up a hospitality job. And if you plan to enter the hospitality market, hone your resume because there are some very prestigious places to get started in New Zealand – like the exclusive ski resort market.

2) New Zealand is unique and breathtaking
Many young people choose New Zealand for a working holiday simply because it is a place worth visiting. The landscape of New Zealand is unlike any other place in the world. The breathtaking combination of green rolling hills and incredible craggy cliffsides goes beyond what you’ve seen as Middle Earth. This is a place you have to see to believe. If you’ve always wanted to explore New Zealand’s gravity-defying and exquisitely beautiful landscapes, a working holiday is a wonderful way to spend a lot of time enjoying the beauty.

3) You can always find room & board
You might not think it, but there is always a place for a young and capable person to find room and board in New Zealand. Hostels often offer discounts or free stays to those who work for the hostel a few hours a day. You can also pick up agricultural work which sometimes only pays in food and a bed. No matter where a young person on a working holiday visa might find themselves, you will be able to find somewhere to sleep in trade for a few hours work each day. It’s nearly impossible to get too tight on money during your working holiday.

4) Get in touch with the Maori culture and history
If you are interested in history and the Maori culture, New Zealand is an invaluable place for working holiday plans. Make time in your work schedule to visit the Maori villages, study the culture, and get to know the real descendants of the original Maori who populate New Zealand. The incredible thing about New Zealand’s ancient island culture is that we can still explore it. Instead of ruins, there is a thriving culture that continues to live and respect the ancient Maori ways. While your working visa may be in hospitality, you can still dip into the incredible history of New Zealand between your work in restaurants and hotels.

5) Pick up some agricultural experience
Ever want to learn what it’s like to run a farm? New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places in the world to gain agricultural experience. Trade farm work for pay, room, and board for a delightfully rural experience and a great deal of hands-on agricultural learning. Whether you’re planning to buy a farm of your own or go into agricultural management – or just want to round out your skills and experiences – working on a New Zealand farm for a few months will teach you more than any agricultural textbook ever could.