Stopover recommendations for NZ trip with kids

[thewalrus]

Hello,
We are taking our kids, aged 8-11, to new Zealand next year. It'll be our first long haul trip as a family. So I'm after airline and stopover experiences/recommendations. Currently cheapest option is via dubai and Australia. Anyone done a dubai stopover? Other likely possibilities are Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, but they're looking more expensive. Back in the pre-kid days where I went onong haul flights I rated Singapore Airlines and changi, is that hopelessly out of date?!

Hello. I live in NZ and my parents often stop in Singapore to break the journey for a few days. I also have a friend who has done it with children. She stayed in the Swissotel Merchant hotel which is pricey but she said it was fantastic as the kids could just chill out by the pool and catch up on sleep which helped prevent jet lag.

My hubby and I (before children) have booked into the hotel in Changi airport for a few hours to sleep and shower before the next leg. It worked really well and definitely made a difference to jet lag. I'm sure that would be an option for you. The airport also has a swimming pool you can use.

We're planning our trip to the UK in September and unfortunately can't go via Singapore as we normally do as the Singapore Grand Prix is on and so there are no flights! We're going to go via Dubai instead. It does actually work out almost three thousand NZ dollars cheaper to fly Emirates instead of Singapore Airlines! And although i haven't flown Emirates for a few years I remember it was a really good experience!

Hope that helps!
Good luck planning your trip!

Emirates is a very good airline, the seat pitch on the a380 is decent and the food and entertainment are great too. Changing planes in Dubai airport is very straight forward.
I've always done flights to Australia and new zealand straight through with no overnight stopover as I find that works best for me with regards to getting over jetlag (I've never flown long haul with children though).

We just keep going to be honest but we have been fortunate enough to see many countries en route before. I do recommend Singapore and Hong Kong. Dubai is ok but it's only 7 hours from the uk. I'd prefer to be further into the journey.

Singapore and Hong Kong both great. Changinairport particularly good.

Singapore is a good stop, especially if you can spend a couple of days. The zoo is amazing - would recommend the night safari: www.google.co.uk/search?q=singapore+zoo+night+safari&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#imgrc=ovBr5H2wyuV_QM:
If you just have a layover at he airport Changi is my preferred stop, as it has a swimming pool, cinema etc

We have recently moved to NZ from the Uk and travelled with our DC 6 and 4. We flew Emirates who were brilliant but we found the 16 hour Dubai to Auckland flight just too long for all of us. On previous journeys we have flown through Kyoto, Seoul and Singapore and much prefer the roughly 12 hour flights. The only place we have actually stopped for any length of time was Singapore and this was pre kids. We find it easier to travel straight through with the kids so its over and done with. When we have had 1 night stopovers it's been a real pain!

Night safari sounds amazing! We'd all love that.

Probable plan is to go straight there and have a couple of days stopover on the way back. Want to get to NZ as soon as possible to benefit from the end of summer there, and will be sad to leave NZ as DH and I both love it there and we will be saying goodbye to some very dear friends who we then won't see for at least a few years. From that point of view, Dubai is quite appealing as will have done most of the travelling/time zones and we can relax a bit. Am definitely hankering after a SE Asia stop myself, but not sure how relatively easy that'd be with the kids.

If you don't want to do much, relax at the beach or pool in Dubai. Singapore has great hotels and shopping. If you want to see a bit of life, go to Hong Kong. Far more interesting and worth 3/4 nights. It is old and new all jumbled up. You can get to Dubai anytime from the UK.

Hong Kong is great for a stopover. It's 11 hours from HK to Auckland with Cathay Pacific.
You could stay at Novotel city gate which is close to the airport and really near to HK Disney (one metro stop to the Disney line) and also the cable car to Lantau Island starts from here. Hotel is at the end of the tung Chung line and you can be at HK station in 30 mins.

I think HK is worth more than a trip to Disney!!! There are sights and smells and a different culture to explore. Markets, the Peak, modern architecture and the older narrow streets, not to mention the food. There are some brilliant walking tours which give you a real insight into HK. If you stay a bit lnger, you do not need to be near the airport and other areas are better for exploring.

Plenty to show children without resorting to American culture.

We've been back and forth from UK to NZ a few times with our DC, and we've always stopped in California - either San Francisco or LA. It's been brilliant every time (except the time difference is a bit hard to manage)! But I think in terms of making it more of a holiday than just somewhere to break up the flight, I'd highly recommend it. We always fly Air New Zealand (code share with Virgin if going via San Francisco) - they are amazing with kids and the "cuddle class" seats are great as well. Although reading the above posts, I quite fancy Hong Kong now as well!

We do Australia once a year. Did a Dubai stop once - never again. Airport was pretty nothing and the split of flights made the long leg horribly long.

We always do Singapore, and either stop for a few days (very kid-friendly) or more usually do 12-18 hours and get a family room at the airside hotel (you don't go through immigration). Have a good sleep in a bed, swim in the pool, free cinema and games zone, outdoor gardens and a decent soft play area, plus lots of shops etc. Since we started doing the 12-18 hour stop we don't really get jet lagged any more - arrive in Australia at around 7am, have a kip around 3pm if needed then push through until 9 or so.

We fly longhaul often to Singapore and honestly wouldn't want to fly with any airline other than BA or Singapore Airlines. Also think Singapore would be an excellent choice for a couple of days stopover.