Big Holiday to New Zealand

[PuzzledObserver]

We have both always fancied New Zealand - thinking we might finally get round to it for a big birthday next January. Have got as far as picking up a Trail Finders brochure and been stunned by the difference between the first two suggested itineraries - 19/20 days for around £2.5K pp, and a couple of later luxury/boutique ones, similar length but over £6K!! And that’s without flights….

So, whatever we do we’re into 5 figures, which is a lot to swallow - but we will only do this once. We are (early) retired. One reason for not doing this earlier was the feeling that if you’re going to go so far, you need to go for a good long time - so I’m thinking minimum 3 weeks. More would be amazing, but obviously cost more too.

So - what is your experience of New Zealand? What do you recommend either for or against? What should we absolutely not miss? We have thought about renting a motor home, but neither of us have ever driven one, and I think a car would be more flexible. What is the general cost of living like there compared to the UK - meals out, coffees etc?

@Sulusu the fastest route is via Singapore - one flight there and then down to NZ however, you might prefer to have breaks so you can stretch and walk around eg via midddle east and then south east Asia to Australia and then across.

Do NOT go via the US if you aren’t stopping there as you have to go through immigration, retrieve bags, recheck in and then go through security - it took us 5 hours to do this in New York and we nearly missed our onward flight. A very stressful experience. Plus you have to pay for an ESTA even if you are transitting.

You will need a visa, similar to ESTA to enter NZ. It’s around £25.

@Sulusu we went with Qatar via Doha and I found the economy seats quite spacious compared to British Airways when I flew long haul to USA before.

The only issue is Doha wouldn't be anyones top choice for a layover, but it did look as if when we went in 2019 it might be possible to arrange a free hotel as a carrot to get you to do that.

Thank you for the replies. 🙂

We did 7 weeks in New Zealand and loved it.
We were 8k including flights in 2019.
We flew into Auckland and had a few days recovery just north of Auckland (check out the bird Island sanctuary for the day) then got a internal flight to Christchurch. Its cheaper to hire a car and drive south island to North Island as so many do it the other way around!

We did air bnbs and mainly cooked dinners in with lunches out (found this cheaper)
South Island definitely check out Abel tansman national park it is well worth it!!!
Wine region just south of Nelson also amazing.
North Island we loved around Hamilton and the Coromandel.

weve used trailfinders a lot as both working full time and. Haven’t got much time to travel or plan so want it to work, be nice and hit the good spots for our budget.

in your case I’d go longer, take your time and plan most of it yourself. Some of the hostels in NZ are lovely…. Trailfinders v good for flights and stopovers though.

We hired a car and booked into various B&B / selfcatering-type places. We tended to stay in each location for a few days - lots of activities in NZ are outdoors but it is quite a rainy place so we built in some wet-weather leeway. Never did get to do the Franz Joseph / Fox glaciers nor the Tongariro crossing, though.

School hols are the 2nd half of Dec, plus all of January. In fact, much of the country seems to close down from Xmas - a bit after NY 🤣
2 weeks Easter, 2 weeks mid-winter, 2 weeks end Sept-early Oct.
Outside those times, everything is less busy.

I live in NZ and have done several camper van trips in the S Island. Have yet to find a road that was too steep or too rough to negotiate. It's a great way to get around. Loads of campsites of various types & standards. Roads are NOTHING like the UK... there's the odd stretch of 'motorway' which may have 2 lanes in each direction, but nothing like this (in the S Island anyway) between large towns; roads are slow. The main road from Christchurch to Nelson, for example, includes single-lane bridges. CHCH - Queenstown is about 300 miles, but takes 6 hrs to drive (and that's without stopping for the views, walks, hot pools, cafes, or detours).

What do you like to do, or what kind of places do you like to stay?
There are overnight cruises on Milford Sound that avoid the crowds and include the likes of kayaking. Big networks of tramping (hiking) tracks. Whale watching. Dolphin swimming (IMO even better than the whales). The S Island is stunning with mountains, beaches etc,; volcanic stuff on the N Island (e.g. bubbling mud pools).

Can you mix it up with camper van/motorhome, car hire, motels (and campsites/holiday parks often have cabins/flats/motel units within them), and spoil yourselves occasionally as well?

We went out on 19th Nov 2019 via San Francisco spending 3 nights there which I loved. Then only had 17 days in New Zealand. Flew into Auckland and immediate transfer flight to Queenstown for 3 nights before picking up car. Queenstown was a good base but is very much a young backpackers town. Did the long day trip from there to Milford Sound on minibus and small boat which we preferred as more personal. Then moved up West Coast staying one night in a small b and b at tiny Makarora enroute to Franz Josef. We hoped to get a helicopter trip landing on the glacier but they were cancelled due to bad weather. Apparently cancelled more than they run. We then drove across Arthur's Pass across to the east to Kaikoura where we did the whale watching trip. Really loved Kaikoura and the boat trip. From there to Picton and over to North Island. We deliberately didn't leave so much time for the North as there seemed so much more to see in the South and although I know we missed some lovely places in the far North I definitely preferred the South Island. Contrary to several other posters I didn't like Rotorua at all. It just seemed a built up town so different from the peaceful beautiful scenery of the South. We did however stay in Whakapapa in Tongariro National Park which was fabulous.

We are not keen drivers but found driving particularly in South Island really easy. The roads were good and really quiet at beginning of December. We stayed in a mix of motels, b and bs and hotels booking all before we went for peace of mind through Booking .Com so we had free cancellation if necessary. We were also just retired and interested in beautiful scenery and wildlife. Planning it all yourself first deciding what you want to see and not miss, working out your route and then some accommodation I think is part of the fun of a once in a lifetime trip. I also found TripAdvisor forum was a great place to ask any questions on smaller details.

As someone else has said, it's best to get off the beaten track

• the lakes around Rotorua are amazing. Do check the water quality on lawa.co.nz as it can vary. Lake Rotoma has amazing water. Some Lakes have boat access only thermal hot springs and pools you can visit (lakes rotoiti and rotomahana but maybe more) It feels like a very special experience.

-a drive down the west coast of the south island is a very authentic experience. Do research good swimming spots, food and attractions.

-Napier and Wellington for small interesting cities with great food and wine

• do check out staying at mountain lodges

-if you wanted to do a road trip north of auckland there are a bunch of nice beachy towns to stop in. Matakana, snorkeling at Goat Island, do a side trip to the Poor Knights Islands, Russell, and right up to.Farewell Spit

Dont do a package deal. Book a Bach and Holiday Homes plus Airbnb are your best bet. You could also even consider DOC huts and houses.

Went January pre covid with a group, we shared the driving of car, some pre booked hotels, some booked there for 3 weeks

This is what we did
Auckland
Waiheke Island, vineyards, wine, stars

Christchurch
Kaikora whales & seals
Greymouth
Franz Josef glacier & kiwi bird, helicopter to glacier
Queenstown
Te Anau glow worms caves
Milford Sound dolphins
Dunedin penguins & albatross
Christchurch

Auckland
Hobbiton movie set
Rotarua geysers
Auckland

If we go again, we would stay longer & hire camper van

It was expensive, but worth it !

We also stopped at some small towns too

We went on a coach day trip to Milford Sound which included a boat ride

I’d go Feb/March when schools go back (bearing in mind Feb 6 is a public holiday so that week would be busy).

Id also hire a car not a motor home as it’s less restrictive - with the motor home if you need to drive to the shops you need to pack up your outdoor chairs and both go whereas if you have a car, one of you can go and the other stay behind. Also handy if one of you felt unwell but the other person could go out.

This is the official NZ tourism website - great starting point
www.newzealand.com/au/

Hope you have a wonderful time

Equal flying time to the Singapore option is via Perth with direct flights from Qantas & AirNZ. Slightly longer transit time, but an option to consider if you fancied a few days stopover, see a bit of Aus

It's a lovely place to visit. Cost of living is very high though. We went to the supermarket there and the teens were aghast and said, "$70. But you bought hardly anything!" I don't think that's something to worry about on a major holiday though.

Didn't have time

But you can fly from NZ to Antarctica !

Just wanted to pop back and say thank you for all input - I am reading them all. Not going via US is a great tip, as most of the flights I saw on the Air New Zealand website went via there.

Hong Kong is another option - but is that a good idea, with the way China is behaving nowadays?

You can also go via Singapore or UAE.

Slip slop slap!

Can anyone give information on places to look for (or places to avoid) in terms of both eating out but also buying food for meals that don't need kitchens.

As in, living in the UK, I would know not to stop for food on the motorways as food is really expensive but not great. There are long, long roads in NZ - should you leave the main roads in order to get food ? I know that in the UK every town has a McDs and Wetherspoons which you wouldn't want all the time, but will stretch the budget further when you just want some "fuel" for the body, and a transport caff or cafe in the back of a market will probably give you the food of the gods at a bargain price. But then various other places will give you much nicer surroundings and better quality food in various 'bands' in a way.
Any tips ?

Also, on these long drives, if they aren't like UK motorways with service stations...... what do folk do who need the toilet ?

Roadside cafes most likely. Mostly in small towns.

A lot of the major highways certainly up the west coast of South Island have signs along the road saying how far to the next public toilet. They were always clean and in good condition otherwise you find cafe in small towns you pass.

Thank you

We lived in NZ for almost five years in the late nineties and did a fair bit of travelling around both islands. The bay of Islands is lovely - we did some sea kayaking there. Coromondal on North Island - hot water beach, Rotorua volcanic area ( North Island). We travelled to the furthest point on North Island to cape Reinga where the Pacific meets the Tasmin sea.
If you are planning to spend some time around Auckland, then the west coast rugged volcanic beaches have some nice walks and on North shore Takapuna beach and some lovely little beaches just up the coast, nice cafes and restaurants.
Queenstown and the Milford sound. You can trek the Milford sound if fit enough, or drive and stay at a lodge there and take a boat trip. Wale watching in Kaikoda ( south Island) - amazing, we saw some amazing breaching whales.
So much to do and lovely people. Enjoy your trip !

Go see the we penguins coming in from the sea near Dunedin. It's an easy place to travel around. We cycled for almost 3 wks. Booked YHA rooms as far as we could but fell lucky & stayed in lovely places in between x

Hi there are not many "services" type pit stops I'm NZ apart from on the motorways around the outskirts of Auckland.

Pies are wonderful for a portable snack. If you go to a BP or a Shell petrol station there is a great standard of pie available also catering to veggies and vegans. You can research the award winning pie shops around the country.

Most small towns will have a standard bakery which will have filled rolls and cakes etc. There will usually be a more artisan Cafe with sourdough and really good coffee and cabinet food.

The most affordable supermarket is Pak n save (no frills but with a good std of food and produce). New World is our version of Waitrose. You pay more but the food is usually more interesting and fancy. Countdown is somewhere in the middle.

Most supermarkets will have a deli section. The smaller Metro supermarkets in the high streets of the main cities will have convenience food for workers and city dwellers.

Try Farmers Markets on weekends

In terms of budget restaurants Anatolia kebab chain is good, Tank do good salads. Fish and Chips are good in NZ esp on a budget. Burger Fuel chain do good burgers.