to ask for ideas how to get to New Zealand cheapest and easiest with 4 year old

[ButterfliesinSpring]

My DS will turn 4, and we have a family wedding to go to in Aukland mid Feb 2017 where it would make a lot of people happy if we did succeed in getting there.

I'm a single mum (seperated from DH) and money's tight but another family member has offered to cover flights and expenses up to 2k

From searching online this would only cover flight costs, is there a cheaper route - like we could get a flight to somewhere else then an onward flight or several that anybody knows of?

I can't see him managing such a long flight with only one stop-over without it being hell for me and the other passengers as it is...

[Onsera3]

I've done it with Qantas, BA, Malaysian, Virgin, Air NZ, Cathay and all were fine. I'd prefer Air NZ- but Cathay ends up cheaper. However they do codeshares.

Singapore has the nice climate but the hotels are most expensive. I find HK more reasonable and have a good airport hotel we always stay at with mall attached for fast food, supermarket.

Auckland definitely has some transport issues but the buses are not too bad in central areas.

[SavoyCabbage]

The flight won't be a walk in a park but it's ok. I've done it with my two dds on my own a few times. You will be amazed at how much tv they can watch. Mine love it. They always wear their pjs and I just let them watch tv and play on iPads as much as they want.

[GrouchyKiwi]

We went with Etihad last year and it was pretty good. We used Expedia to find the cheapest deal then booked with the airline separately. They have an on-flight nanny to help with the children if you want. I can't tell you how much it was because we spent a couple of days in Melbourne before going to NZ and that made it more expensive, plus we booked each leg separately (I don't recommend that). I would think, though, that £2,000 would cover your flights without any trouble.

DD1 was nearly 4 and she was pretty good on the flights. The other time she has flown to NZ with us she was 20 months and that was hard. DD2 was 16 months and she was a lot more difficult.

In my experience (as a Kiwi...) NZers are very keen to show people their country so you might be able to bump around the country a bit if you want to, staying with various relatives. Auckland and Wellington have fairly decent public transport; other cities less so, though there are buses.

[babybythesea]

I've done the NZ trip with a 1 year old, then with a 4yo while I was 5 months pg, then with a 6 yo and a nearly 2 yo.
They will surprise you with how well they cope.
We have found Singapore Airport a dream with kids - a climbing frame, plenty of little nooks tucked away with comfy chairs, a koi pond, and a butterfly garden.
We tend to fly Singapore Airlines - staff have always been ace, newer planes (slightly more room) than when we went with BA. It's not the cheapest though.

We fly out at about 11.00pm. Keep the kids going and going and going and then they pass out fairly quickly on the first flight. And sleep for most of it. Off the plane, run them around the airport looking at everything, playing on the climbing frame, back on to the second plane. Films on the in flight entertainment, a couple of games, they often doze off halfway through that one too.

I never sleep as I worry that if I do, that will be the moment they wake up! I arrive wrecked. But the kids cope amazingly well.