Student bars in Wellington

Those who are travelling miles from all over New Zealand to study at the Victoria University in Wellington will be scared, excited and longing to throw themselves head first into the full student lifestyle. For many, this consists of what happens after the lectures, when the students leave behind the confines of the lecture halls and head off downtown to the student bars of Wellington.

Don’t be put off by the exterior of the Downtown Local, once inside it is comfortable with a great atmosphere and one of the favourite student hang outs in Wellington. With live sports on the TV, cheap drinks and food, quiz nights and happy hours its the perfect bar for students. The Establishment has some of the cheapest drinks you will find anywhere, and free champagne for ladies on a Wednesday guarantees a full house.

While the exterior of MVP may look like a line dancing club with its giant neon cowboy, it is in fact a very hip club featuring numerous young bands and has a great atmosphere. There are daily drinks deals and 2-4-1 deals on Cocktails every Wednesday. Mighty Mighty is another cool den with an interior akin to a rain forest. There’s a small cover charge to get in. live bands play all the time and there are great priced jugs available.

The big Kumara is one of those places that brings together everything you imagine when you think of students. The music is loud, the crowd is wild, the cheap drink flows freely. It’s open late and tends to be the place where everyone ends their night, and groups who have gone out separately meet up to get hammered, if they aren’t already. You can get in here whatever state you are in or however bad you look, the ultimate student bar.

The San Francisco Bath House, or SFBH, was formerly known as Indigo, and since its revamp is more popular than ever. It’s a premier gig venue and all the top indie acts perform here. Most of the shows are free too, and a combination of this and the great cheap drink deals makes for a helluva night out.

Kitty O’Shea’s is, as the name suggests, a Irish inspired bar. It’s a great place to hear live music free of charge, and while there are few drinks offers the prices are low enough not to matter. There are 3 main bar areas in Jet; central, downstairs and dance floor, the latter of which is always heaving and not for the claustrophobic. Downstairs is the place to be to relax in comfy chairs and put the world to rights over a few beers.

Club K is the place to head if you love all things karaoke. Everyone’s a singer when they have more alcohol that blood in their system, and the appreciative crowds, in a similarly hammered state, will boost you even more. A diverse clientele and cheap drinks make this a great hangout. The Shack is the place to go if you like your shots, they come fast and cheap and many crawl out of the door in the wee small hours.