The winning formula to find the best baches

Baylys Beach - $289,000.

If you are looking to buy a bargain bach this summer, you should fill up the petrol tank.

New figures from home valuation site Homes.co.nz reveal every hour you drive out of Auckland saves you $100,000 off your beach pad.

Some of the best beach bargains for under $320,000 were found in the Far North - some with coveted sea views.

Buying a bach or cabin in a campground can also get sand between the toes for a good price.

Jeremy O'Hanlon from Homes.co.nz found the township with the highest sales under $320,000 was Opononi, followed by Omapere, Mangonui and Ahipara.

Come closer to Auckland and the price quickly creeps up to $400,000.

This year there were five sales under $400,000 in Kerikeri and Paihia - all with sea views.

"If you are willing to spend around $400,000 you can shave time off your drive and head to Kerikeri, Paihia or Tairua," O'Hanlon said.

"There were quite a few sales at that price this year in those areas."

Figures from QV also reveal slim pickings for affordable holiday home spots within three hours of Auckland.

Opononi - $355,000.

Andrea Rush from QV said many coastal spots that were affordable two years ago have since seen values jump as much as $200,000.

One place to bag a bargain, however, was Baylys Beach near Dargaville - just over a two-hour drive from Auckland.

The coastal settlement had a QV.co.nz median E-Valuer of $336,400.

"There is great surf at Baylys and there are still plenty of properties for under $300,000," Rush said.

Another of Rush's picks was Port Waikato, just over an hour south of Auckland on the west coast and which still had baches for under $400,000.

Rush also pointed to surf town Raglan, but warned that some properties were on leasehold land.

Baylys Beach - $289,000.

"Raglan offers some great cafes, a pub and music scene in the summer months and boutique shops as well as its famous surf break," Rush said.

Once affordable Waiheke Island has seen massive value growth over the past 18 months.

"Even Surfdale, which offers some of the island's more affordable properties, now has an QV.co.nz median E-Valuer of $841,250 and values there have risen by around 60 per cent since the peak of 2007," Rush said.

Rush said the best bet for an affordable bach on the east coast and within three hours of Auckland was the Thames side of the Coromandel Peninsula, where coastal settlements such as Te Puru still offer more affordable coastal property.

The small town has a Median QV.co.nz E-Valuer of $494,550.

And at Kuaotunu on the other side, there are opportunities to buy into holiday parks.

"It's idyllic and not built up at all and has the biggest icecreams on the peninsula," Rush said.

Mangakino has been popular for those looking for affordable lake properties in the central North Island, and the QV.co.nz median E-Valuer there is only $160,000.

Rush said Taupo and Rotorua also offered reasonably priced properties with strong growth over the past two years.

Both offered lakes, restaurants, bars and great outdoors activities such as mountain biking and kayaking, as well as the mineral hot springs.

The QV.co.nz median E-Valuer for Rotorua was $354,270 and for Taupo was $408,943.