New Zealand Bus Travel

New Zealand Bus Travel questions and answers

Thinking of traveling to Manapouri New Zealand? Check out the Manapouri New Zealand vacation website and Travel Journal.

Question: What size pack is need to travel S. Island of New Zealand?
Hello. I am planning on enbarking on a trip around the south island here in New Zealand. But I only want to take a pack and a day pack. I have been looking at packs and was wondering if anyone could give any suggestions on how many liters would be sufficient. I will be traveling by bus and whatnot around for about 3 months. I just do not want to buy anything too small, ya know... Any suggestions would be GREAT!!

Answer: I travelled around New Zealand by bus and stayed at backpacker hostels using a 50 litre pack. My sleeping bag was slung underneath the pack so it didn't take up internal space and I found that I had more space than I needed. In fact right at the end I started putting the sleeping bag inside the pack .

 

Question: Best way to travel in New Zealand???
whats the best way to travel through New Zealand other than renting a car?? Is there a good rail or bus service in NZ

Answer: Renting or buying a car is really the only way to travel around NZ. Public transport is non-existent in rural areas, motoring is cheaper than in most countries and public transport, especially flying, is expensive. Some interesting, under-rated places are off the beaten track and inaccessible by public transport. But the best public transport is backpacker buses. For instance, down at this end of the country we've got the Bottom Bus which will take you door to door between Dunedin, round the coast of Otago and Southland (the Southern Scenic Route), Invercargill, Riverton, Tuatapere, Manapouri and Te Anau. These backpacker buses are reasonably priced.

 

Question: I am travelling to New Zealand in October?
I am flying from Ireland, I have 1 month to spend there before i go into Australia. I land in Auckland and i want to see both Islands. Would i be better getting a camper van or getting a bus / rail pass for travelling both Islands. Which way would be cheaper. I will be looking for hostels on the way around to.

Answer: You would find a bus pass would be cheaper than hiring a camper van. Campervans do not work out that cheaply although I think October would still be shoulder season .However the cost of petrol here is now waivering between $1.89 a litre and $2.03. If what we are being told is accurate we could be paying well over $2.00 a litre by October. Then you would have camping ground fees at least some of the time.They are more flexible and convenient on the plus side. Some of the bus passes seem to be extremely good value.If you look at my page here http://holidays-in-newzealand.com/new-zealand-bus-travel.html
you will find details of bus travel.

Here are a couple of hostel directories http://www.hostels.com/en/nz.html
http://www.backpack.co.nz

There are 2 or 3 hostels right in the city centre of Auckland so very well located.

Our trains are not the smartest or fastest.But there are a few areas it would be a very nice way to see some of the countryside - see the train section in my http.www.holidays-in-newzealand.com website for ideas.

I assume you will fly out of Christchurch?

In which case you would want to travel down the West coast, and to Queenstown and if you have time Milford Sound, then back up to Christchurch on the east coast.

I hope you have a great holiday. We have a beautiful country.

 

Question: Does anyone know of any cheap buses to travel around australia?
I found a great bus in new zealnd called the naked bus which would let you travel around new zealand for a fraction of the price of intercity buses and i was wondering if there was a similiar bus here in australia to travel around for a cheap price?

Answer: try this site it is a backpacking tour bus should be one of the cheapest ones around
http://www.ozexperience.com/

 

Question: How long would it take to travel around New Zealand?
I am coming over from Ireland in October and we are backpacking for a year, we are going to Australia but we have being told we can stop of in New Zealand if we like. We land in Auckland and fly out of Auckland to we want to travel both Islands. Hopefully we can stay in hostels, i heard you can get a ticket for bus and rail to travel all around is this true and any idea how much they are and how long they last for. To do all of this about how long would it take. When i book the ticket i have to put a date on it when i am going to fly to oz. Is the weather there nice in October. Is it expensive to fly from the bottom of the south island back to Auckland.

Answer: I'm not sure about the bus and train travel but October is defintily a nice time to go, you will find the south island rather cool though. Allow around 10 - 14days to see each island. Spots you much visit are Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown. Akaroa is a nice day trip from Christchurch, and Arrowtown a day trip from Queenstown also.

Your best bet for flying from Queenstown to Auckland is with AirNewZealand, just check out their website.

For NewZealand you will need a tourist visa, unless your planning on working there too

 

Question: New zealand in july?
I'm thinking about taking a trip/tour of new zealand in july and I would like to know some of the must sees(mainly culture and nature wise) during this time or anytime of year and how I should go see them. I have heard things about tours with Magic Bus and Kiwi experience and I was wondering if they are worth traveling on.

Answer: You didnt say where you are from but fair to let you know that its the winter here and it is freezing cold esp in the South Island. Kiwi Experience is ok to travel with. Unless you are aiming for the mountains and some snow, would recommend that you travel in the warmer months Dec to April.

 

Question: Winter Backpacking in New Zealand?
My bf and I are doing a bit of world exploration this summer (June-Aug/Sept) and NZ is one of our longest stops.
We both love camping, biking, hiking, live music (esp. local or folk) and cultural events/sights.

With our interests in mind, is there a specific region that would be able to give us the best NZ experience in 2 weeks? A few days of online research has shown me that travel from north to south island is pretty difficult/expensive, even on train and bus. If we stick with one area, we'd also love to rent out bikes. How feasible are good day trips on bikes?

Keep in mind that we're from Seattle, so rain, coffee,
mountains, volcanoes, moderate cold and ferries don't phase us.

And just to make it more interesting, our goal budget is pretty much $0. Other than splurging for a bungee jump (Just one of those things I must do), we're trying to use only camping, mountain huts and couchsurfing to survive. Any cheap/good food tips?

(PS: Are the Waitomo Caves overrated?)

Answer: I can't answer all your questions .. but I can give you some tips....

Take a look at Natural High - http://www.naturalhigh.co.nz - a great place to hire bikes from (among heaps of other adventure stuff) FYI they have depots in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Queenstown and Dunedin, and others on request, - they also do one way hires.

There are two main festivals in winter around the time you are there. - Queenstown is the most popular http://www.winterfestival.co.nz "The Southern Hemisphere's ultimate winter party! Ten days and nights of non-stop events on the slopes and in town, ranging from the wild and wacky to the glamorous and cultural. " The IN place to be.
.... and Christchurch Arts Festival http://www.cabaretfestival.co.nz

Top of the South Island - Nelson, onto Abel Tasman National Park - a great place for hiking, also Golden Bay, Kahurangi National Park, the Heaphy Track is the most popular and plenty of huts to crash out in. http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalk.aspx?id=36189
On the Takaka hill (on the way to Golden bay) there is some caves and 'Howards Hole' The biggest (natural) hole in the southern hemisphere - and yes if you are experienced, climb down it, just make sure you have enough rope – some tourists had to get rescued last week !

For caving adventure see http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=35768&act=caving
More info http://www.fourcorners.co.nz/new-zealand/kahurangi - http://www.abeltasmaninformation.co.nz

Travel is expensive in NZ - they have no real competition - although take a look at http://www.grabaseat.co.nz - they have daily specials and if lucky you can grab a bargain if you are on the site at the right time. Fares can be from $1 - $49 -Bookmark that site now!

 

Question: What size motorhome do my wife and I need for a three month trip?
My wife and I are going to live in New Zealand for three months a year so we can be near our grandchildren. We've been thinking of buying a motorhome there so we could be near them a bit, travel around a bit and have a place of our own to stay in between. We've never considered the motorhome lifestyle before.

What size motorhome would be appropriate? One rated for 4 people? 6 people? or one of those giant Greyhound bus types?

Answer: Remember that anything over 3500 kilograms gross laden weight requires a heavy traffic license to drive. It would pay, for you own piece of mind, for both of you to have this license.

Added 24 hours later;
Sorry, I've always thought the cutoff point was 3.5 tonnes, but today I was reading the latest journal from the NZ Motor Caravan Association, and I see the figure has moved up to 4.5 tonnes.
You may wish to check out the NZMCA site, it's good for buying, selling and all sorts of advice.