New Zealand South Island. Guided tour or not?

Question

I am going with my family to New Zealand, South Island in December this year. I am thinking of taking one of the tours from the net. Opinions differ from Queenstown being the best place in the hemisphere to one big rip off. Any tips to make the best of my one week holiday?

Answer 1

It will be cheaper to rent a caravan or a car for your family and drive all the way as the scenery is marvellous. It's very easy to drive in NZ and you just need to get all the maps from the Information Counter located in all towns. Can stop anywhere you like when you are driving and very convenient too. South Island has got the best scenery in the world.

Answer 2

I pretty much agree with above.  Queenstown really disappointed me, but Wanaka about 1 hr north, east is really beautiful if you come in the summer, over run with tourists skiing in the winter.  Take a car and make the journey your self.  When I first came to live down in the South Island, I was taken back by the beauty travelling between Christchurch and Wanaka around the Lake Te Kapo area.  Everywhere is gorgeous though really you can't go wrong.

Answer 3

I suggest you hire a 4berth camper van for the week. For that time period, during december the all inclusive rate for a camper van, from Kea campers, is $290 a day. Sounds expensive, but its your car and accomodation in one. Its the deluxe one, so has a kitchen and bathroom on board. you can stay each night in a different holiday park, average cost of $40 a night (all prices quoted are in nz dollars). This gives you nighttime security, as well as access to bigger bathrooms and kitchens and people to meet. Most of the parks have swimming pools and playgrounds too, for the kids.

Just travel about at your own pace, choose the places you want to go and drive there yourself. It not difficult to drive in NZ.

Answer 4

Buy a Lonely Planet book on New Zealand, as well as a good road map right now, & start planning your trip with the aid of both of these.

Fly into Wellington, catch the ferry across to the South Island, hire a car or camper-van & start driving south.

Queenstown is stunning, but expensive. Nelson is less expensive and will afford you several cheap day trips.

It all depends on what you're looking for in a holiday. If you can tell me what you expect from a holiday, I'll do my best to give you some great advice about where to go in my home country.

Answer 5

Queenstown is a tourist trap.  This has advantages and disadvantages.  There is a lot of stuff to do, but the place is full of tourists.

The South Island is just drop dead gorgeous (except Westport).  I would hire a car and spend a couple of weeks driving around.  maybe start at Christchurch and head south to  Queenstown via Mt Cook.  Spend a couple of days in Queenstown (do a Dart River jetboat trip - all the usual jetboat stuff combined with awesome scenery.)  Fly to Milford Sound and drive back to Queenstown.

Then across the Harst Pass to the West Coast (it will be raining).  Up to the glaciers (and do a glacier walk).  Then to Picton and the Marlborough Sounds (do a mailboat tour).  You will pass close to Westport - resist any temptation to enter this town.  Down the Kaikoura Coast (whale watching tour in Kaikoura) and back to Christchurch.  This leaves out Arthurs Pass - maybe a train trip to Greymouth and back?