What is the best way to stay and travel in New Zealand?

Question

I will be taking my family (2 Adults and 2 Children) for vacation to New Zealand South Island. We plan to spend 2-3 weeks from end of Nov to early Dec to explore the places of interest here. We plan to travel on our own instead of joining a tour package.

1) Is it better to book a campervan and travel around or to book a car and stay in motel/hotel along the way?

2) Can you recommend good websites that offer good information and value for money bookings of campervan and hotels?

3) When is the year end school holiday in New Zealand?

4) Is there any itinerary that we can follow during our 3 weeks stay here?

5) Can you recommend good tour agents in New Zealand who may be able to assist us ?

Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

I would recommend booking through House of Travel, a top nationwide Travel Agency in NZ which will give you all the information you need and be able to book your travel from beginning to end.

Answer 2

1) a campervan is definitely better..cheaper n easier..there are many camping areas around south island..

3)high school ends start of dec bt primary schools are open til the 20th of dec usually

4)id say u go clockwise:i mean--example:if u start from chch then u go down to dunedin,invercagill, stewart island then back up to te anau (and the sounds), queenstown , wanaka, twizel, the west coast(hokitika-greymouth), up to nelson and kaiteriteri beach then back down to kaikoura and akaroa.

Answer 3

December is the high season and things start getting expensive (like campervans accommodation). I would shop around for a good campervan deal now. I would not spend the whole 3 weeks in a campervan you will go stir crazy.

Maybe just do November in the Campervan as its cheaper in November being a shoulder season month.

Below are the best things to do in New Zealand. This will help you plot your way around NZ depending on what you want to do.

Enjoy your trip.

Answer 4

1. This time of year is starting to be the busy time...but you should be ok to get accommodation if you need it in the larger centres, but in some smaller places it MAY be harder ( eg I worked at the information centre in Franz Josef ( Glacier) where its quite isolated and while there are quite a few places to stay they were occasionally booked out).

I would go by yourselves as it gives you more flexibility to do what you want for as long as you want.....

2. look below for some options that may be of help/

3. School ends near Christmas and will be off until around Waitangi Day ( Feb 6th) so you miss the school rush there!

4. You might...if you hire a campervan is to try going in the opposite direction to the main flow....which I think is north to south.....you can find some deals as some companies need to get cars, campervans back in the "starting" places eg Auckland, Picton, Christhcurch, Queenstown and will give you better deals often if you end in those places.

Most people agree the South Island is more scenic, the North has more main centres, people and culture...although there are exceptions......If you want to see more scenery then do a circuit around the South Island...I personally love the West Coast of the South Island...I think its spectacular....but look at the AA travel ( 101 things kiwis love...it will give you an idea as to the things WE like in NZ).

If you look at the sites you will get some help. Maybe you could work out a possible route and then ask again to see if thats fesible and ask for places to see or that places people recommend.....there are not a huge number of roads in some places so some routes will be easy...I guess the direction might be of greater issue....Anyway have fun. I love New Zealand. After travelling around Europe, the natural beauty here is REALLY hard to beat.

Answer 5

camper van for sure! defiantly a great experience where you will really see what NZ has to offer, although it is getting more expensive as petrol is now $2.12 per litre! to stay at camp grounds is about $15 adult per night and about $11 per child per night, but it is essential to stay in camping grounds for safety reasons not that we are a REALLY unsafe place.

school holidays are July, September and end of dec-jan, its a great time to go properly around feb/march as you won't be required to pre book, but if you want to go around Christmas it will be extremely busy with new zealanders holidaying and pre booking will be essential. I'm not sure what tour agents but must sees in nz, starting from top to bottom of nz is:

bay of islands

Auckland

rotorua(at least 3nights)

tauranga

hawkesbay

christchurch

queenstown

hope this is helpful

Answer 6

Personally I would take the car option and stay at motels along the way, although it is getting busier at this time of year, there is still plenty of available accommodation although it may help to book ahead in places like Queenstown to get the best deal. (Pick up an AA accomodation book at the Airport) There are often tourist cabins available at camping grounds too.

I imagine you would be flying into Christchurch. From here I would travel south to Timaru and then head inland on state highway 8, past the gorgeous lakes, to Wanaka and on to Queenstown.  From here its an easy drive down to Te Anau and Milford Sounds (remember your insect repellent in Milford though!). After that I would make my way back up to Queenstown, through to the Haast Pass and up the West Coast of the country to see some totally incredible scenery. Once you get as far north as Wesport, head inland again and take highway 6 up to Nelson and spend some time exploring this beautiful region, especially the area around Golden Bay.  Continue around the coastal roads - Picton/Kaikoura until you find yourself back in Christchurch.  

Check out the AA Travel NZ website before you come, they have some fantastic ideas for what to do and where to stay that includes prices.

Answer 7

do yer self a favour , dont pre book anything, just play it by ear, i'm talking from experience, hire a car, doesn't have to be top of the range, there is always heaps of cheap motels even at that time of the year , just take off for the day and start looking for something when you get fed up with driving or find somewhere you like the look of, having a itinerary is not a good way to explore new zealand, you will see more just cruising round, and no pressure, hope you enjoy your trip

Answer 8

Definitely rent a camper van.