bk3

If you could only carry/consult one guidebook on NZ which would it be?

My search in this forum found that the most recent guidebook discussion was back in 2004 w/no real consensus.

Any new thoughts?

Don't worry I'll be back asking some specific ?s but 1st wanted to get a basi overview.

fwiw, on a whim, i scored a ticket to LAX-SYD-AKL in Jan 2008 and will have @16 days on the ground.

So far, my plan is to spend the 1st few days in AKL getting acclimated and maybe doing a day trip.

The bulk of the trip will likely be spent on the SI and the few posts I've read so far have made me want to do the Doubtful Sound cruise. (although I'm not quite clear how the cabins are configured)

Given my solo status, i think i want to base myself in a few key areas and explore the surroundings rather than drive myself to exhaustion trying to hit (almost) every site.

Not sure yet but I'm also wondering if it makes sense to switch my departure from AKL back to SYD w/ a a SI city. Any thoughts?

ok so much for waiting to pose my questions but I do look forward to reading all the threads and learning the ropes from all you experts!

thanks

Yelpir

So far I have found the Rough Guide to New Zealand extremely helpful in planning my trip. It is the book that I will be taking with me. It has lots of useful maps and pretty detailed information on what to see and do in each place. It is thick, with rather small print, so there is a lot of reading and a lot of information but it is easy to read.

mlgb

Guidebooks do add a bit of weight and there is so much free information available when you arrive at Auckland airport, that I'm not sure I'd bring one. Why not check a few books out of your library now and see if one of them is worth while carrying. Lonely Planet is not bad if you are a budget traveler.

Melnq8

I don't use guidebooks much anymore as the Internet is my main source of research. I do have a collection of Lonely Planet guidebooks which I refer to for specific information about a given area. I don't pay much attention to their accommodation recommendations, but I've found their area information to be comprehensive and very helpful.

Soooo, if I could only carry one guidebook it would definitely be Lonely Planet.

As for your upcoming trip, if you plan to spend most of your time on the SI you might want to depart from the SI. However, it all depends on your airline and whether or not they have direct flights from CHC to SYD. Some flights from the SI connect in Auckland anyway.

wlzmatilida

Hi bk3,

So...you must be on Qantas with the routing you gave...If NZ is your primary destination I don't think it makes sense to switch to Sydney and then go to...say Christchurch, unless, of course, you've never been to Sydney and want to spend a few days there.

I think it's better to get to your destination and begin your vacation. My recommendation would be to spend your first day in Auckland, see the sights, maybe do a day trip, have a nice dinner, get to bed early and then head for the South Island (since that seems to be your focus) the next day.

Mlgb, no need for the extra weight - just hit Kinko's and photocopy the pages you need!

I don't use guidebooks for this part of the world, but I love the Eyewitness Guides for Europe and I just photocopy what I need.

Ok, I'll admit it - I'm so organized (or some would say anal), that I print out what I need, as Melnq said, from the net and pages from the guidebook (maybe like a time saver like the floorplan of the Vatican) and then I color code them and put them in a plastic binder, with the confirmations from hotels, tours, etc, (the kind with that "spine" thingie) in order of my itinerary. It's flat, doesn't take up any room in my travel bag/purse, and when I get done with one destination, I move it to the back.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

woodie

Hello bk3:

Carry a guide book? Seldome if ever.

I am retired so I have the time others may wish to spend doing other things - like work - ugh.

First I go to our main library and take out all the books I can find on my destination.

I glance through them to find the one that gives me most of what I want.

Next, I go out and buy the current issue of that publication. Read through it marking with a yellow high liner and also using sticky tabs.

Once I have found those places of most interest, I enlarge copy a map of the country and make my brief notes in the margins with an identifying line to the town name which I also yellow mark.

Next, I prepare a route of travel for myself.

Depending on the destination, I may contact a travel agent for input on sights and accommodation.

Now I note all those items on my computer making myself my own itinerary.

Where I have used a travel agent, I include those sights, hotels or accommodations with contact data such as e-mail, phone and name of proprietor, hours of viewing and any other important data.

Now, I insert those tips that apply to my travel from various sources, mainly this forum.

I add special recommendations on lodging, restaurants and spots to see.

When I have used a local travel agent, I have them make the reservations. I feel that a good agent will do better for me that I can on my own when I have never visited that country, or for other reasons. If they can not make a living at their job, I will not be able to call on them in the future. I hope to get what I pay for but do not expect to get without paying. I certainly never would work without getting paid.

Not too long before travel, I print my itinerary [about 15 sheets] and that is what I take with me, not a whole book.

On arrival, particularly New Zealand, I visit an i site for local maps and I am set.

I do not carry a heavy travel book but I have everything I want.

Like I say, I am retired, but even so, considering that I only make my trips once a year, I feel it is worth the effort to know where I am going and what is there once I arrive. I do not want to miss something great that might be only several km off my route. At the same time, I do not want to spend any of my [precious] time visiting some place of interest to others but not to me.

No one else can make my choices and I can only make a good choice if I am informed.

The cost of buying a travel book is very little considering the total cost of the trip. The cost of my time to research the travel is also well invested considering that I want to get my best adventure out of my time away on vacation.

Help you? I hope so. I do not believe in short cuts to get where I want to be.

Woodie

Melnq8

Wow, Melodie, and here I thought I was anal! I do the same thing with my hotel confirmations, car rental reservation and e-tickets (manila envelope though).

I usually cut and paste bits and pieces of info I've found on the Internet - such as walks I've found on the DOC site, recommendations from fellow Fodorites, etc, into a WORD document, then when I've got it organized in chronological order, I print the lot.

Problem is, as I travel I have to remind myself to refer to my notes, as I tend to get distracted once I'm there.

wlzmatilida

Woodie,

Bless you for your kind words and support of travel agents. (permission to clone you?! I'm sure your local agent appreciates your business and your thorough research!

Melnq,

nice to know you're not alone huh?

Go ahead an try my clear plastic thingie, I think it would work better than your manilla envelope, and you'd probably look at it more instead of getting distracted.

It can really be helpful - on my last trip to Italy, I printed out a bunch of information on Ostia Antica which turned out to be very helpful as they were out of maps and I had my own as well as some history (because in case you can read Italian, you'd be out of luck and the signage is very limited to begin with)!

Even carrying this further, when I'm on a business trip I take my video camera (doing a bunch of hotel inspections back to back...well, by the end of the day, they can blur together) so I can have a record to either show clients or refresh my memory with rates and what's good or bad about the hotel.

On a personal vacation, (which I use in business too), I'm driving and my husband's recording info on a tape - "today we drove from X to Y, which took 2 hours, stopping off at this cafe for lunch where we had an amazing helping of fish and chips - $20 NZD." Then I usually type up a trip report from the recording and have it on file.

Melodie

woodie

wlzmatilda:

Thank you for the compliment but I am really only doing what is good for me.

The facts are:

A [good] travel agent will know and have better contacts than I will ever have.

Using such an agent gives me those benefits.

No agent, no matter how good, can know what I like to do/visit/see/reside at and so on. They certainly can not know what I do not like. It is up to me to first of all know what I want and secondly to tell that to the agent.

In order to know what I want, I must know what is available at my choice of destination to then let the agent know. The better I do my research, the more satisfactory my travel will be.

So, you see, I do it all for myself and I get the benefit.

Well, in all my working years, I would absolutely NEVER consider working for nothing. So why should anyone else? Besides, if the good agent is not financially supported will they be there another time when I want to use them? Hardly.

It obviously makes very good sense to book through such an agent and then to let others know that the agent was good.

My wife and I like to travel to different places, at times within the same country, but to see new sights and places. Without past experience in any specific location, the [good] agent is very important to us.

I write this because I would like to see all good agents prosper and stay active in business.

Woodie

caligirl56

Melodie,

I also use a binder with tabs for each destination. Despite the fact that it has "saved us" many a time--I get teased A LOT for using it (primarily by my family). My husband is actually embarrassed to have me pull it out--he says no one should be that organized.

I guess my binder is a bit awkward. It is just a normal one. It does not lay flat in my luggage the way yours does. What kind, exactly do you use?

Neil_Oz

Our last two Lonely Planet guides weigh 400 and 550 gm, not much of an imposition considering how much help they've been. I also travel with a folder containing odds and sods - a set of travel doc copies, maps, Fodors threads and the like.

We also used LP in NZ and while I can't compare it with other guides, it did the job for us. As for being oriented to budget travellers - well, that's us anyway, for the most part. And I did notice that LP's Bali-Lombok guide provided write-ups on the Oberoi, for example, as well as a fair sampling of upmarket restaurants.

bk3, with only 16 days in NZ I wouldn't spend too long in Auckland, as nice a city as it is. If you take a couple of days to poke around you won't exactly run out of things to do, but you do need to try to do justice to other parts of the country.

Elizabeth_S

We had the Eyewitness NZ book which was good but I have to say the free information available at the "I" stores was terrific and all we ever needed.

mjs

I found the Moon book to be the best and I also have Frommers, Lonely Planet, Fodors and Eyewitness.

Mademoiselle

Lonely Planet. I searched and searched, read and read, and I think this was the best for me. It's not that thick either, and the info was good. I would pretty much recommend Lonely Planet only for NZ and South America. Not for any other countries/continents that I've been to.

Two friends who went to NZ the same year that I did (last year), also used the same book (with the whale on the cover), and they seemed to like it.

For travel atlas if you are driving, I highly recommend the HEMA map, I loved it!

Sarvowinner

It depends on where I'm going, if I'm spending a lot of time in one country I'll take a guidebook (toss up between LP and Rough Guide) but if I'm hitting a few countries I tend to do research and printout relevant info. I find if I'm staying in a city for only a couple of nights the Arrival Guides are great & free - they maps, restaurants and sightseeing ideas and are only about 10 pages long.

www.arrivalguides.com

I do the same as you Wizmatilda except I then take it to Officeworks or Kinkos to be wire bound with a plastic front page and card board backing sheet.

Last year I went around the world combining business and pleasure. It's works really well having all the internet booking on hand, with brief guides.

wlzmatilida

Caligirl: Are you from CA too??

I also use a binder with tabs for each destination. Despite the fact that it has "saved us" many a time--I get teased A LOT for using it (primarily by my family). My husband is actually embarrassed to have me pull it out--he says no one should be that organized.

SURE, HE'S EMBARSSED NOW, BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU'RE SAVED BECAUSE YOU'RE SO ORGANIZED...BET HE'S GLAD THEN!


I guess my binder is a bit awkward. It is just a normal one. It does not lay flat in my luggage the way yours does. What kind, exactly do you use?

I THINK I GOT MINE AT KINKO'S - BUT ANY OFFICE SUPPLY PLACE WOULD WORK. IT'S JUST A THIN PLASTIC COVER, WITH A "SLIDE" PLASTIC SPINE, HOPE THAT'S DESCRIPTIVE ENOUGH.

Regards,

Melodie

caligirl56

Melodie,

Yes, I'm from CA--the Bay Area. What a cold August we're having!

Thanks for the tips about the binder. I just found one that is sort of soft but still has the pockets that I like in front and back. It's black so it will blend in better (my other one was white)--maybe my husband won't be as distressed by it. We'll see, I guess.

bk3

a very belated thanks to all!

I took your suggestions and checked out the various guides. If I do decide to go that route I'll probably choose LP.

I can't believe i've procrastinated so long in making my plans but i do have some definite ideas of where i want to focus my stay so get ready the onslaught on new ?s.

thanks again!

longhorn55

Another vote for Lonely Planet for New Zealand. Also, bk3, if you're mainly interested in visiting the South Island, then I'd recommend skipping Auckland and heading straight there. We just didn't find that much in Auckland to interest us, especially compared to what you can find on the South Island.
Melnq8 and Melodie, it's heartening to know that I'm not the only one out there that makes a notebook of confirmations, Word Documents of info I find on Internet travel sites, etc. I call it my "Bible" and put everything in a plastic binder which has individual plastic sleeves--one sleeve per document. My kids used these types of binders in school in Australia and, fortunately, I kept some when we moved back to the States because they don't have anything as handy here. On our recent trip to South Africa, I jokingly told my spouse and kids that if a lion got me on safari, just to take the "Bible" and they could easily continue with the vacation. We all laugh about the "Bible", but it sure makes for a stress-free vacation! (And I really have fun doing the research to put it together.)

mrwunrfl

Be careful, if you change your departure city then the airline might REFARE the ticket to the current price.

I copy guidebook pages and print out itinerary info and put it into a a clear plastic envelope (large enought to easily accommodate 8.5" x 11" sheets) that has a flap with a string that is used to close it.

Like a manila folder but plastic (so it won't tear) and transparent (so you can actually read two pages without opening the folder). Also it is not rigid like a binder so it flexes in the luggage.

There are also clear plastic folders with a zipper on a long side. Like a zip-loc baggie but firmer.