New Zealand

Daydreaming

What to see and do me and two friends are looking to go here, and sites which offer reasonable prices?
Thanks,
Karl

Incapuppy

Googling 'holiday to New Zealand' should start you off in the right direction ;0)

SammyD_2

It really depends on how long you are staying, how much you want to spend, what you like doing and what time of year you are going. Right now (June) it is freezing. But great if you want to ski (well, it will be in a couple of weeks). Many people like to hire a campervan and head round the North and/or South Island. Personally, I am more of a South Island fan - whale watching, glaciers, Queenstown. But none of it comes cheap, even if you are paying in pounds. North Island the highlight for me is probably Rotorua with Geysers etc. There are vineyards and wineries in most regions. If you like the beach then there is a big supply - but you need to pick your time and location.
If you don't want to rough it then most NZ'ers go for a motel option - a self catering arrangement so you get a room and cooking facilities. Check out the New Zealand AA web site for more information on accomodation generally.

dcristo

Depends if you want to check out the north or south island? If you want to experience the Maori culture, then the northern region is the way to go. If your more of an adrenaline junkie and want to do activities like hiking, mountain biking, bungy jumping then I would suggest the south island. There's Christchurch and Queenstown (adventure capital of NZ). As far as accommodation, I found it on www.kiwiaccommodation.com your dealing directly with the accommodation providers so you save a bit of money.

becominganobsessivesaver

When we went last year we used Trailfinders to book our flights and then did the rest independently (hire car, motels etc.) Think it cost about £40 extra to book the flights with the agent, but they were really helpful and advised us where to go despite not booking accomodation with them.

Highly recommend using a specialist agent rather than a highstreet one.

Also negotiate deals directly with hotels/motels. We also stayed in a couple of B&Bs which were lovely

LillyJ

It is also fairly easy to book while you are there for motels, if you are armed with a few phone numbers. I would suggest only booking a couple of days ahead unless it is holiday time, a weekend or a special event where you are going. This is because there may be somewhere that you want to stay for longer/shorter.
I love the North Island but I am biased cos I spent most of my childhood there

Lemmy_Caution

If you haven't any idea about what to see and do, why do you want to go there? What has inspired you to make this long journey to the other end of the planet? Anyhow, it is a wonderful place to visit; very friendly people, some wonderful scenery, and it it fairly easy to travel around. To the places already mentioned I would add; Fox Glacier, Dunedin, and a trip on the Alpine Express train from Christchurch to Greymouth.

patrick1

As far as flights go, it's usually cheapest to buy directly from an airline's website. I fly to NZ a lot and think the best airline is Singapore. Air NZ are quite good (have an excellent entertainment system which makes the journey a lot quicker) but they are rarely the cheapest.

Usually I go somewhere like https://www.ebookers.com and enter the dates I want to travel to find which airline is offering the best deals. Then check the prices on that airline's website - they're usually always cheaper than ebookers, Trailfinders & Flightcentre (the main travel agents specialising in NZ flights). If you

I generally avoid the ones that fly through the Middle East - eg. Emirates, Etihad as going that way involves 3 stops each way (middle east, asia, nz) and you're often forced to stay overnight in the middle east. This is not worth doing unless you've got lots of time. If you're like me and only have a couple of weeks then maximise your time in NZ - it takes a couple of days to get used to the 12 hour time difference.

Be careful with some airlines such as Malaysia - some of their flights go Heathrow-Kuala Lumpur-Brisbane-Auckland and some go Heathrow-Kuala Lumpur-Auckland. Happened to me and their website didn't even mention the stop in Brisbane. Added 6+ hours to the journey.

If you think you'll buy lots of stuff or want to take heavy gifts for your friends then travel via the US. If you travel via Asia then you'll get a 20kg baggage allowance. If you travel via the US then you'll get 2 bags of 23kg allowance. The disadvantage is the hassle with the obnoxious US immigration dept -- having to be fingerprinted (even though you're only in transit). With Air NZ you can fly via the US one way and back via Asia the other way - this lets you stop over for a day or more in either/both locations and means you get the 2x23kg baggage allowance via Asia.

If you hire a campervan or car for travelling around the south island and do the glacier circuit then go from Christchurch to Queenstown and northwards up the West coast to Greymouth. If you head the other way around then it's a lot slower as most campervans seem to head southwards down the west coast. If you're in a car then it's a pain being stuck behind a campervan as the roads are quite narrow, windy and hilly in parts.

For the flight I'd recommend getting an aisle seat and take an eyemask, earplugs (you'll probably get a screaming baby) and buy the sleeping pills that Boots sell at the airport (they're non-prescription ones). Even if you just get 3-4 hours sleep, you'll feel a lot better for it.

cundall

when do you want to go as i see prices around £900 with a stop in HongKong and LA

6889joannew

Daydreaming wrote: »

What to see and do me and two friends are looking to go here, and sites which offer reasonable prices?
Thanks,
Karl

I went to auckland city last year i was out there for 3 months its full of clubs restuarants but then you can get a short frry or a short drive and you can find some amazing places to see. The sky tower is fantastic casino, bars and just buzzing. I book my flights with nz airways at the moment they are £770 to £820 return flights.
Ive been searching for lower prices on airfare but they are quite expensive at the moment.
Also if you are after a cheap hotel to stay in we stayed in the formula1 hotel not bad not fantastic but very cheap.
Anything else ya wanna know just pm me
But ull have a fantastic time
Im in the middle of applying for a visa as i have just been offered a job and im going live in canterbury butits meant to be very quiet there

pandora205

Don't know how old you are Daydreaming but STA travel have good prices on flights. They're aimed at the student/younger end of the market.