Newbie traveller help! Money, email etc on hols in New Zealand!

NorthernKitty

Thanks, will take all your comments on board! Quantas seem to be emailing me a new ticket every week, sending me an email saying my flight has changed, sending me into a panic, then me noticing that they've just been chopping and changing the flight from Sidney to Auckland by 5 minutes each time... Presume this is normal, never had a plane ticket before! 

Murphy_The_Cat

NorthernKitty said:

Thanks, will take all your comments on board! Quantas seem to be emailing me a new ticket every week, sending me an email saying my flight has changed, sending me into a panic, then me noticing that they've just been chopping and changing the flight from Sidney to Auckland by 5 minutes each time... Presume this is normal, never had a plane ticket before! 

Be sure to check out your plane's seatimg plan and pick the seat that best suits you on seatguru

Neil49

Obviously I don't know your route but you will have a change of aircraft/flight at some point.

If this is a big hub, and I'm thinking of Dubai in particular, then you need to be prepared to possibly travel to a different terminal to get your ongoing connection. Dubai airport is vast and can be unbelievably busy. We had to get an underground train to switch terminals but weren't aware of the fact before we arrived. Obviously our cases were checked through to our final destination so weren't an issue but it was a bit of an initial shock when we got off the plane.

As you have discovered, flight times can keep changing so check regularly while you are there for any ongoing amendments. You will find plenty of free WiFi available. 

zagfles

We found NZ prices a bit cheaper than the UK for most stuff (motels, eating out, touristy stuff etc). Apart from Hobbiton which was ridiculously expensive!

One thing to watch out for is taking food in, they are VERY strict about bio protection and there are big fines, stuff like fruit especially, they have sniffer dogs checking bags, when we went the sniffer dog was very interested in one of items of hand luggage, it was searched and found an empty plastic bag that had previously had some apples in!

It's not usual (IME) for flights to change frequently, I don't think I've ever had a flight change time, but i don't  tend to book far in advance.

Unless your flight times are fixed now, a tip I've mentioned here loads of time to get a good night's kip and help with jetlag is to get a long layover in Singapore and book the transit hotel, if you're going via Singapore. Not sure if other places have them, but the advantage is it's airside and bags are checked through so you don't need to go through customs, immigration etc. As you've not travelled before don't underestimate the problems with jetlag especially to NZ which is the polar opposite to the UK, allow yourself a few days to do very little to get used to the new timezone.

NorthernKitty

Thanks all for the above, am taking all this in. Am now starting to try to choose which card as suggested to try and apply for, and also work out when to book the first few days of hostel accommodation. Can't book much more in advance as am baseing it around possibly staying with relatives for a few days part-way through, so until I know how many days, if any, I'm there, I can't plan exact dates for visiting particular exotic places! 

NorthernKitty

I made it to NZ and back in one piece! Thanks for all advice! 8 aeroplanes, 2 trains, 2 ferries, 3 boats, 3 buses, about 11 coaches, and a LOT of walking, and I survived and had an amazing time backpacking/suitcasing around North Island and the top half of the south!

I used Currensea, and as emergency backup (had to get cash out a few times with it) my Nationwide credit card, managed to log on with Apple smartphone fingerprint ID thing so didn't get stopped from making payments or anything, and SIM card I used was Vodaphone bought at Auckland airport (made man behind counter swap the thing!). 

Apart from nearly falling down the side of a volcano when I attempted the Tongiriro Alpine Crossing, all went safely. 
Thanks all, you took some of my nerves away, never having left the UK before in 47 years!

youth_leader

Well done, so glad you've had a positive experience.  I'm going on a tour of NZ in October and am surprised at how Covid lockdown has affected my confidence, I'm worrying about everything considering someone else is organising it.

NorthernKitty

NZ feels extremely safe, the people are so friendly. Every time I got lost, which as I have dyscalculia and can't read maps and struggle with Smartphones, was quite often, people rushed up to me asking if I needed help, 2 people even walked with me for over 10 minutes to deliver me to my hostels and a lovely lady at an airport who I'd asked for directions gave me a lift to town, even though she lived 20 miles away from it, I later found out! Staff at a shop and a Kiwi centre volunteered to look after my hefty rucksack for a few hours so I could go shopping, etc. I realised I didn't have to be nervous about anything then! 

youth_leader

How lovely NorthernKitty.  Good to hear the people are friendly.   

Archergirl

If you bank with Nationwide make sure you take your customer number and the card reader in case you need it for secure messages, don't want to frighten you but years ago we did have a problem.
With the debit card you can get cash from you account free of charges, make sure you have a direct debit in place to pay off your credit card each month.
Do you have travel ins in place? Ours is with our Nationwide Flex account but only covers for up to 30 days so you need to apply for an extension for the extra time.

Safe travels, it will be wonderful x