New Zealand Travel Deals

New Zealand Travel Deals questions and answers

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

Question: Anyone been to New Zealand?? Travel deals?
Planning my honeymoon in late oct, early nov. Leaving from LAX or Ontario Airport, trying to find good package deals?? What info should I know about traveling there, places to see, etc? Want an open travel deal rather than a group (after all it is my honeymoon and we don't want to be on an itinerary!!!)

Answer: I highly recommend looking into getting your own transportation for NZ, either renting a car or a camper. If it suits your taste, I'd go with a camper van there are several rental agencies in NZ, Wicked, Kea and Britz.

Some of the major draws in NZ is the nature and the extreme sports. Kiwis seem to like jumping off things; cliffs, bridges, buildings, pretty much anything and everything. NZ's national parks are beautiful (as is much of the country) and its hiking is considered some of the best in the World.

If flying from LAX, I'd also look into doing a stopover in Fiji, which is possible on Air Pacific (and maybe some of the other airlines). It breaks up the length of the flight and shouldn't honeymoons have at least one or two nights on a tropical beach?

 

Question: I need travel tips for Australia and New Zealand!?
I'd like to visit both Australia and New Zealand during my winter break. I've looked into booking flights and it's overwhelming because I don't know much about the region. First of all, which cities are the best to visit? Second, is it easy to travel between the two countries? Anyone gotten any good deals? I know it's an expensive time to go.

Answer: If you love the beach and the sunshine, then Surfers Paradise Beach on the Gold Coast of Queensland would be my pick for Australia. About 1 hours drive from Brisbane airport.

It has a fabulous warm climate, lots of great reasonably priced hotels, theme parks, beaches, shopping and its the number one holiday destination for Kiwi's. There is so much to do here.

In New Zealand you could start in Auckland (our biggest city) and move south. Rotorua (about 3 hours drive from Auckland) is the North Islands tourism capital with great geothermal parks, cultural attractions, outdoor adventure activities and lots more. Highly recommended.

The South Island is a beautiful scenic, adventure destination. High mountains, huge forrests, lakes. You can enjoy walking, outdoor pursuits and scenic touring in the south.

Not sure where you are coming from but you will enjoy both destinations. Hope you can fit it all in.

 

Question: What's the cheapest deal currently available for a family of four to travel to New Zealand?

Answer: Check the Sunday papers, Mail on Sunday has loads of flight offers at the back of the paper.
Or sites like:

http://www.expedia.co.uk/default.aspx?eapid=765-3
http://www.opodo.co.uk/

 

Question: New Zealand Travel Package Brochure ??

I'm a American interested to visit New Zealand for Vacation.

Looking to subscribe to a Vacation Package Deals.
Reasonable Deals.
Any place where I can sign up and received it in the mail.

Answer: There is quite alot of travel agent websites, travel destination sites for new zealand. All of them always having constant deals.

New Zealand is a great place, very beautiful. I am lucky to be living here :)

Here is a list of the websites
This website offers a free to join travel club:
http://www.goholidays.co.nz/portal/travel/travelco/displayregion.asp?region=6

This site has alot of information about NZ and travel packages, worth a good browse through:
http://www.tourism.net.nz/package-holidays/

This has alot of information about travel spots in new zealand:
http://www.kiwitravelnz.com/

And another site that is worth a good browse:
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/getting-to-nz/travel-deals/austria/travel-deals---austria.cfm/traveldealtype/hol.html

 

Question: Travel insurance advice?destination new zealand?
hi. i need to get myself some travel insurance for my yr long stay in new zealand.i dont know yet whether i will be staying in one place or doing abit of backpacking.any recomendations on what sort of insurance deal i should get or who i should go with will be much appreciated

Answer: If you are still looking for travel insurance for your trip to New Zealand, you can compare travel medical policies & prices from all the major travel insurance providers at:

http://www.insuremytrip.com/

 

Question: What is the train system like in New Zealand?
I will hopefully be in New Zealand for atleast a week next July, and I was looking at taking some of the scenic train journeys. I can get a 7 day rail pass for NZ$360, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I was wondering how comfortable trains are, and how scenic the routes really are. If anyone has traveled on them, I would love to hear of your experience.

Answer: The long distance trains are very good and comfy enough for a day time scenic journey. The scenery is spectacular, ever changing and well worth the trip. North and South Island scenery is quite different. Both islands are BEAUTIFUL!!!!

You should also spend a few days in Auckland at the beginning, a day in Wellington and a few days in Christchurch at the end.

I would recommend you start in Auckland. Take the Overlander from Auckland to Wellington (in the North Island). Spend a day in Wellington city.

Then cross over to Picton on the Inter-Islander ferry (takes about 3 hours) and from here take the Trans Coastal train to Christchurch.

In Christchurch you can hop on the Trans Alpine train which goes across the South Island - terrific!!!!!! A really lovely trip.

Return to Christchurch and have a few more days here to wander around the city.

You will have a fantastic time in NZ.

 

Question: What car rental company is the best in New Zealand?
I am debating between EZY and Avis and am concerned with roadside assistance. I will be traveling for 9 days and don't have much time to deal with car trouble.

Answer: Both give you new japanese cars, so no hassles likely. Personally Id go Avis, Ive been happy with them in the past. Ezy have ugly stickers on all there cars too, I dont like that and would remove it if renting from them.

I would recommend a Toyota Camry 4cyl if available, or at least a 1.8 - 2.0litre car. Too small is awful, and wont save you much gas. Lots of hills, passing trucks, etc in NZ.

Ive done my bookings with vroom and always been pleasantly suprised at the price compared to the quotes I had by phone/ email.

http://www.vroomvroomvroom.co.nz/

 

Question: I wanna travel round NZ, any good companys or info I should know?
I'm 22 and plan to travel round New Zealand for about 2-3 months this time next year (I'm hoping Sept til the end of Dec) but not sure where to start to find the best deals....and how much money I should save (obviously the more the better but I will be on a budget, no 5* hotels for me)

I want to stop off in Malaysia, and pop to Singapore for a week(ish) then spend most my time travelling round NZ (back packing and hostels) then another week or so in Sydney. Then back home to London in time for Christmas.....

Can anyone suggest a good travel company for flights and travel around New Zealand (I'm thinking coach or train as I can't drive and don't plan to inbetween now and then)

Also any general tips when travelling would be appriciated.

Answer: Great itinerary! I've done this trip a number of times.

First, travel agents - try Trailfinders, Travelbag, Bridge the World, or Ebookers for the best prices with the most convenient (ie amendable) tickets. Although Travelbag and Ebookers are essentially the same company, Travelbag frequently has better prices with Malaysia Airlines.

Which leads us to the next point - which airline will give you the best deal with this itinerary? You should be looking at Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, British Airways or Air New Zealand. These will all provide you with free stopovers in either Singapore or Malaysia. I'd suggest looking at an openjaw flight - flying in to Auckland and then flying out of Sydney. I'd get quotes with your travel agent for flights from Christchurch to Sydney and from Singapore to KL (or wherever you intend to go in Malaysia) but also check out airline sites. When I go to New Zealand, I always fly from Auckland to Palmerston North to visit friends, and I book my internal flight on the Air New Zealand website in NZ (rather than the UK site) and collect my tickets at the airport. Last time, I saved £300 doing this. For Singapore / Malaysia, look at Berjaya or Air Asia - they're the easyjet of the region and can be very cheap.

As for travel arrangements in NZ, there are numerous backpacker bus tours that are hop on / hop off.

http://www.greatsights.co.nz/luxury-bus-tours/757/Gray+Line+Discovery+Pass.aspx

http://www.kiwiexperience.com/?source=adwords

Check out Rough Guides and Lonely Planet for the best places to visit.

Could go into loads of detail about Malaysia, but I don't want to bore you to death... I used to live there and absolutely love the country - places to see are KL, Penang, Langkawi, Kuching, Malacca, Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh... but avoid the East Coast and the Cameron Highlands at Christmas time as it's the rainy season there and it gets seriously soggy.

 

Question: What's the appropriate clothes to wear in auckland right now?
I'll be traveling in New Zealand, driving from Auckland to Wellington, then flying to Christchurch, from Aug. 3-Aug. 17, and I'm wondering what kind of clothes to bring for the trip. I'm coming from Hawai'i, so am not very used to cold weather, but do I need to bring gloves, scarves, thick sweaters, the whole deal? How's the weather there right now?

Answer: At the moment it is very cold, even in Auckland.( the high was 13 celsius.) My computer says 9 degrees in Auckland but the temps for further south are mostly in the minuses at night and anything from 6 to about 13 daytime. Today the coldest high was 4 degrees.If you are lucky you may get days at 13-16 degrees. But you can't count on it! So you will need gloves, hat, scarf, warm jumpers,warm coat or jacket - Wellington can get cold and windy. You will need to keep an eye on the weather forecast as if you are driving to Wellington and it snows the Desert road can be closed. Right at this moment we are waiting for a storm( cyclone type) to hit the North Island tomorrow. Hopefully by the time you arrive in a couple of weeks it will be improving, but still cold. So yes, the full gear.Especially in the South Island.

 

Question: Should I rent out my house while I travel or sell it?
I am going to live in New Zealand with my partner for 2 years and am undecided what to do with the house we own. We have owned it for 1 year and was thinking of renting it out while we traveled so we had something to come back to.

My girlfriends parents would help us deal with things over here (i.e. collect rent, etc) but I'm not sure if renting would be more trouble than it is worth. I'm reading all kinds of things like having to pay tax on rent money as well as not being sure if I should rent it furnished. What happens if the washing machine breaks down and there is the cost of replacing it, etc, etc

I'd imagine there is quite a bit of legal stuff to sort out as well as implications with the mortgage we have. What happens if we get tennants who want to leave after 6 months and then we can't find some new tenants straight away

Really not sure what to do! Any advise would be great

Answer: Renting is great. you will always have a place incase something happens before 2 years.. Get the renters to sign a lease for 1 year..also try to rent to someone you know is clean and respectful. They will take care of the place..DO NOT Furnish the place..take all your stuff out..you wil never know whats broken of missing..Try a rental angerny they will do all the hard woth and take care of the legal stuff. Dont sell your home it something you own and can use in the future incase anything happens!!