Best value deals for Auckland

[campocaro]

I have the possibility of a work trip to New Zealand-Auckland- in Jan 2011. Thinking of taking DH and DD10 and making a family holiday of it.Does anyone know the best deals in flights? I will be occupied 3-4 days and we may go for 3 weeks in all -is it best to 'do it yourself' in terms of getting around the country or are there any good deals that we could buy? Total budget including air fares 6K...

Sorry so basic -happy to do the research myself but I thought I'd see if MN could jump start me on this one
Thanks

We flew via hong Kong and had a stopover there for 2 nights. it added to the hours travelling but it was a great experience but Ba were crap and the flights were cramped. SWe also flew though dubai with emeirates which was brilliant and did a desert stopover for 2 nights eliminating jetlag.
I think you will find that for a family it is often better to get a car definitely and be that extra bit flexible. Especially as the roads are like being in scotland (I should know - I live here!)
We went and followed a tour-bus route around the north island addding a day or two extra and booking everything via the internet.
With kids it is better to have 2 nights in one place so you can unpack and have a rest in between!
You can even find rent-a-bomb sites where you get an older - but serviced car- for heaps cheaper....NZ is really expensive for new cars so they are a premium.
If it is just the three of you a mobile home (can't remember what they are called) is really fun just to go where you want to and have accommodation at the ready.
It is cold in the south island..so pack jeans and jumperes and remember jackets as it rains a lot in south of north island is really windy!
have a great time

sorry it was the south island we went around..flew into auckland and then onto christchurch then did a loop down to Dunedin and around to the ffords and queenstown, then went on a hike to the franz josef glacier - an experience to remember - amazing...and back to christchurch.
I would like to see north island. A good start again would be to follow a coach tour (like contiki)using their itinerary and adapting it to your family.
We loved it so much that we've decided to move there for 3 years!

Thanks-lots of good ideas there, really helpful.We had bad experience with BA when we went to Oz with DD at 11 months-they were so unhelpful. When we changed at Singapore to Cathay Pacific (I think, or it might have been Quantas) it was amazing how different and child centered they were-completely changed that part of the journey for all of us.

We would like to go via HK if poss as DH's mother is from there and we would like DD to experience a couple of days there at least.

Anyone have any experience of Air New Zealand or other carriers who go via Hong Kong?

I fly Air NZ from London to NZ every yr and they are great, their on-demand entertainment system is fantastic and they know how to make long haul as comfortable as possible.I have flown via HK and LAX and HK both are fine.

The only problem is January is summer in NZ soyou may find tickets prices quite high as its the summer holidays down there and prices don't (generally) drop until the end of Jan so if you can go a bit later its cheaper then.

for flights we use kayak.com, but air nz and singapore are always worth checking out direct -sign up for their newsletters and you get email alerts when they have offers on. Dec and Jan are most expensive time to fly here tho, and Jan is peak hols time, so you WILL need to book ahead for accom and activities rather than just turn up.

Personally i'd hire a car and arrange accomm in motels or check out 'top ten holiday parks' for their cabins. Or do the camper van hire, but remember to book your pitches ahead. kea, space, jucy are some of the big hire companies? for car hire check out Ace car rentals, based at the international airports, they usually have older saloons or wagons for btween $15-20 per day, depending on length of hire. (you get aa cover, just in case too!)

air nz via HK are fine? personally would avoid BA and quantas, and if not desperate to go via hk, would fly with singapore if poss cos they our fave!

buy a copy of rough guide! oh, and you cant always tell looking at map how long it will take you to drive somewhere-often takes much longer than you think it should have - google maps often do a reasonable job on travel times tho.

hth

Thanks all-that's really helpful