With only 10 days, I'd definitely stick to one island, and I'd recommend the South Island. Distances are much greater than they appear on a map, and roads tend to be narrow and winding; it takes more time than you might expect to get from Point A to Point B.

Having said that, there's a very good trip report here written by Indiancouple - they visited both islands in a short time, so you might want to take a look.

"Too cold" is relative...we love NZ in the colder months, but we tend to swim upstream. I wouldn't hesitate to visit in May...in fact we're spending three weeks on the SI this June and we're hoping to do quite a bit of hiking.

A popular self-drive circuit on the SI looks something like this:

Christchurch-West Coast/Glaciers via Arthur's Pass and Greymouth-Queenstown-Te Anau-Milford Sound-Wanaka-Mt Cook-Christchurch.

This drive distance calculator will give you an idea of travel times/distances.

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/main/td-calculator.php

I've been in late April, there were a few cold days at the south end of the south Island.

If you are going to stick with that first part of the itinerary you may not want to do much on the SI. At the most fly Wellington Queenstown roundtrip, see Milford Sound.

Can you add more days?

Thanks for your responses Melnq8 & mlgb. I will go through the trip report.

Unfortunately we cannot add any more days to our trip. It's going to be just the 10 days. We could probably cut short the time we spend on NI.

Can you pls tell me the "must-see" on the NI & SI? That may help resolve my confusion.

Melnq8 - Glad to hear you will be visiting SI too this year. What temperature can we expect in SI in May?

That may depend on your interests and background. I was deprived of snowy landscapes & mountains as a child, and had a surplus of tropical beaches. So for me the Milford Sound/Fiordland & Queenstown area still holds the #1 attraction in NZ, and is the most typical landscape image that people have of NZ.

I think if you grew up inland in the Rockies, you have a different opinion!!

We want to focus on the scenic aspects of NZ. We have enough adventure activities here in the US.

For info on weather in NZ take a look here:

http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/weather-and-climate.html

The entire SI is scenic - you really can't go wrong. The least scenic drive on the SI (IMO) is along the east coast from Christchurch to about Oamaru - other than that, it's all good.

The highlights of the SI generally are the glaciers and west coast, the Queenstown area, Milford Sound and Mt Cook. The problem is that getting to all of them takes time and involves a bit of driving.

You might consider flying to Queenstown, basing yourself there and concentrating on QT, Glenorchy, and Milford Sound. You'll have plenty to do, believe me.

Here's a SI slideshow to whet your appetite:

http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00e3-3548-f06e?lb

Thanks for the link. I had come across that link too when we were researching about the weather patterns.

Thanks for the list of places in SI Melnq8. Can you tell me the highlights of NI too?

The slideshow was awesome. Shows why you love SI so much

Can you please tell me some good site where I can book cars and hotels? Can you suggest some good hotels and car rental agencies?

Thanks

Apex and Avis are both good, Apex rents older cars and Avis often has discounts.

Try Avis.co.nz direct and apexrentals.co.nz

I use the auto club (aa.co.nz), wotif.com, and bnb.co.nz for researching lodgings. With wotif you can check with the individual hotel as well.

Also you can sign up with milleniumhotels.com for email specials.

That said, I don't really have a favorite hotel in Queenstown.

Thanks for the list mlgb. Should we fly to the SI after finishing Rotorua or drive onward to Wellington and take a ferry from there? Is the drive to Wellington worth the time?

If you do want to see the southern Alps, Milford Sound, & Queenstown think I'd fly from Rotorua.

The "problem" with NZ is that there is very little bad scenery. The center of the north Island has Tongariro which is scenic, plus the crossing gets you to see the Marlborough Sounds. And Wellington is an attractive city with some interesting things to see (Zealandia and Te Papa). There just isn't enough time to see everything good in 10 days.

If you haven't yet been to the tourism website, www.newzealand.com it has some driving itineraries to give you a start.

Also search out indiancouple's trip report here.

mglb I am going through indiancouple's trip report right now. I am hoping to narrow the list of places from that. Will let you know abt the progress.

apnc -

Another vote for APEX. We've also used National and Budget on several occasions and haven't had any issues.

I won't be much help with the NI - I've only been there once and unlike the SI, I haven't been tempted to return (yet).

Once you narrow where you'd like to stay I can suggest a few specific lodging options.

Has anyone used Ace car rental? Is it good?

I have never used Ace because they require a nonrefundable deposit at the time of booking.

mlgb, How much do they ask? Is this apart from what we need to pay for the rental??

APEX will charge 20% of the rental cost if cancelled 48 hours or less prior to arrival, so read the fine print.

I assume the ACE deposit is applied to the rental and that you only lose it if you cancel or drastically amend the booking, but you'd need to check with them to make sure.

http://www.acerentalcars.co.nz/

It is on their website buried under Payment Terms

"All online bookings require a non-refundable 5% deposit to be taken"

There is nothing about cancel within x hours and get your money back. Be careful, they are not the only "noname" company to require this.

Thank u Melnq8 & mlgb. We will read the fine print carefully. We have almost chalked out our itinerary. I will post it soon.

Our tentative itinerary is:

May 4 - Arrive at Auckland and spend the day in Auckland and Devonport.

May 5 - Rent car. Head to Coromandel - visit Hahei beach, Cathedral Cove, Whangamata and halt at Tauranga.

May 6 - Wai-o-Tapu, Waimangu, Tongariro and Huka Falls and halt near Lake Taupo

May 7 - Drive to Wellington - Can you suggest what can be seen while driving there?

May 8 - May 13 - SI. I want some help with drafting the itinerary for the SI. Please help.

We want to cover Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier. We will be flying back to Auckland from Queenstown on evening of May 13th.

Any modifications to the NI plans? Also help with charting the SI trip route.

Thanks.

Can't help with the NI.

I assume you're flying into Christchurch? What time does your flight arrive?

Drive Christchurch to Franz Josef via Arthur's Pass and the West Coast - approx 5:45, 395 km - spend two nights

Drive Franz Josef to QT, via Fox Glacier about six hours, 381 km

Queenstown - three nights - from here you can make the long day trip to Milford Sound (very full day), explore QT, Glenorchy and Arrowtown

You can either visit Fox Glacier on the way to QT, or from Franz Josef, or stay in Fox Glacier and visit Franz Josef on the drive from Christchurch...all depends on what you want to do at each glacier.

We are taking the first ferry from Wellington to Picton. What can we see on our drive to Franz Joseph from Picton? I should probably modify ur suggestions slightly to fit our trip down from Picton.

The drive from Picton to Franz Josef is 531 km, about 7.5 hours. Are you planning on doing this the same day your arrive via ferry from Wellington?

On the NI there isn't a whole lot to see on the way to Wellington. Instead of Taupo, you might consider trying to make it as far as National Park, which is the main sight after Taupo. You can drive up into the visitor center from Hwy 47. The scenery on the Desert Road is nice, but I understand it can be very cold in winter. After that it's rural mostly, you could pass near Mt. Bruce and might have a view of Kapiti Island, depending on what routing you take. I'd try to arrive in Wellington as early as possible as it's more interesting than what is enroute.

For driving distances you can use the Auto Club website that Melnq referenced above.

Melnq8 we plan to stop at Hokitika and drive to Franz Josef the next day.

What is the best way to experience Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers? Are the heli hikes worth it? If so, which one should we book?

We used Fox Glacier Guides for our helihike. It was definitely worth it for us, but only because the weather was fantastic. It took us several trips to the SI before the weather was good enough for us to shell out the $$$ for the helihike.

There are beaucoup walks around the glaciers - loads of nice tracks if you like to walk.

<< What is the best way to experience Franz Josef and the Fox Glaciers? Are the heli hikes worth it? If so, which one should we book? >>

We just got back.

In order to go ON a glacier, you have to book with an approved guide company (which will provide you with the necessary instruction and equipment).

I believe there is only one approved company for each glacier:
(1) Franz Josef Glacier Guides, and
(2) Fox Glacier Guiding.

They both offer different types of tours -- bus or helihike, half day or full day. Be sure to select a tour based on your fitness level.

Woody

Thanks Woody. Where did you stay when you visited Fox and Franz Joseph? Which tour did you use? Do we need to carry our snow shoes?

Will we need chains for the car tires?

Welcome back Woody - glad to hear you had a good trip.

Here's our revised itinerary. Does this sound good and do-able?

May 4 - Arrive at Auckland (6:30 am). Head to Rangitoto. Lunch at Devonport and head back to Auckland. Walk around Auckland.

May 5 - Rent car. Head to Coromandel - visit Hahei beach, Cathedral Cove, Whangamata and halt at Tauranga.

May 6 - Visit Wai-o-Tapu. Lunch at Lake Taupo and drive straight to Wellington.

May 7 - Ferry to Picton. Drive to Punakaki and halt at Hokitika.

May 8 - Half day hike at Franz Josef glacier. Visit Lake Matheson and stay near Fox Glacier.

May 9 - Hike Fox Glacier. After lunch head to Wanaka and halt at Wanaka.

May 10 - Drive to and spend time at Lake Tekapo. Head to Queenstown in the evening and stay there.

May 11 - Drive to Milford Sound. Spend some time there and head back to Te Anau and halt there for the night.

May 12 - Spend time in Te Anau and head back to Queenstown in the evening.

May 13 - Spend the day in Queenstown and fly back to Auckland in the evening.

May 14 - Visit Piha beach and then drive to the airport.

Does the plan look good? Any changes Melnq8 & mlgb? I would appreciate your input too Woody since you just returned from the trip

Can you also suggest a place where we can see the haka dance? Can you also suggest good souvenir shops? I'd like to get some Maori craft work.

<May 7 - Ferry to Picton. Drive to Punakaki and halt at Hokitika.>

The drive from Picton to Hoki is 5:35, about 392 km. This will make for a long day after the three hour ferry ride from Wellie to Picton.

<May 8 - Half day hike at Franz Josef glacier. Visit Lake Matheson and stay near Fox Glacier.>

The drive from Hoki to Franz Josef is about two hours. You've not given yourself any wiggle room if the weather is bad for a half day hike and there are cancellations (assume you mean guided hike?).

<May 10 - Drive to and spend time at Lake Tekapo. Head to Queenstown in the evening and stay there>

First of all it's a three hour drive from Wanaka to Lake Tekapo, then a 3:40 minute drive from Lake Tekapo to Queenstown. From Tekapo it's only 99 km more to Mt Cook (each way)...normally I'd say if you're going that far you might as well see Mt Cook, but this whole day doesn't make sense to me. You've got 6.5 hours of DRIVING in the opposite direction - and for what? To see a lake? You'll see some very nice lakes in Wanaka and QT as it is.

Thanks for your feedback.

We were also doubtful about the trip to Lake Tekapo. As you suggested, we should probably spend more time at Wanaka and skip Tekapo.

We have also allocated 2 days for Fox & Franz so we can do half day guided hike atleast on 1.

Your drive times per day should be checked on the aa.co.nz website. They look pretty long to me if you also plan on doing sightseeing. Good luck.

mlgb & melnq8, Can you help create a little more stress free itinerary please?

Consider flying between the two islands as I suggested above.

Although, I'm not sure at this point that you can find any discounted airfares.

If you must drive on the North Island, you might skip Rangitoto and Auckland all together, and head to Rotorua on Day 1. Then you can take two days/3 nights to sightsee around Rotorua/Taupo and Tongariro. The last night at Tongariro. The following day it should take about 5 hours to reach Wellington by the shortest route (Hwy 1). In Wellington, Te Papa Museum closes at 6 pm, Thursdays at 9pm. Zealandia (Karori Sanctuary) by night pickup is approx 5 pm. I think you have to reserve the evening visit ahead of time.

Will you be needing to return your car in Wellington or can you take it across? Be sure you know what time the car rental closes if you need to return.

Thanks mlgb. Since we are taking the ferry we plan to take the car along with us. Can you give me a similar plan for SI too?

May 7 is terrible, I think you will find it far longer than suggested by Mel. Check the weather forecast that night. If it is bad for the west coast, do not go that way. I just want to reiterate all of Mel's concerns about having no leeway for weather. If it is okay, I wouldn't plan getting any farther than Westport. May 8 It will take about 3 to 4 hours the next day to get to Franz Josef. So you will have half a day May 8 and then half a day May 9. Do they do glacier excursions in the afternoon? If so you may want to book it PM May 8 and allow am May 9 in case of cancellation. I think I would add a second night on May 9 at the glaciers. On May 10 drive to Queenstown. Scratch Tekapo, you won't make it.

May 12, Spend half a day in Te Anau (to do what?) and head back to Queenstown mid day. I don't suggest night driving at all.

I would put together another itinerary which leaves out the west coast, IE Kaikoura, Akaroa, Mt. Cook/Tekapo, Queenstown.

Thanks mlgb. If we fly to Queesntown from Wellington, how should we plan our trips to Fox and Franz? Can you pls tell me?

You just drive there and back.

hei Melnq8

i have been following this thread closely for last couple of days as i too have a Honeymoon Plan in making for NZ in June.

Could you please help me with the Indian Couple's report on the NI & SI that you are mentioning in this thread, coz i am not able to find it. Would like to see and have a understanding about how i can make a start of the itenary.

Please note indiancouple had 15-16 days, not 10, and very good weather luck.

http://www.fodors.com/community/australia-the-pacific/16-days-all-over-new-zealand.cfm

Hi Melnq8 & mlgb,

As per your advices, we have decided to fly from Tauranga to Christchurch.

Our revised itinerary now is:

Day 1 - Auckland
Day 2 - Hahei Beach and Cathedral cove and halt at Tauranga.
Day 3 - Rotorua, Wai-o-tapu.
Day 4 - Early morning (7 a.m.) flight from Tauranga to Christchurch. Drive via Arthur's Pass Franz Joseph.
Day 5 - Half day hike Franz Joseph.
Day 6 - Half day hike Fox. Halt at Wanaka.
Day 7 - Explore Wanaka. Either stay at Queenstown/Wanaka itself.
Day 8 - Milford Sound. Halt at Te Anau (Don't want to drive too much at night)
Day 9 - Head to Queenstown.
Day 10 - Half day more at Q'town. Fly out of Queenstown back to Akl.
Day 11 - Half day at Akl and fly back home.

Does this look better?

I also wanted to know if we need to book all the hotels in advance or if walk in will be possible.

Looks better. I would book those flights asap to be sure you can get one of the grab a seat fares. If they are gone you may also be able to get a Grab A Seat fare from Rotorua instead of Tauranga.

Since you are talking about May, be sure you have a backup plan for the west coast in case of bad weather.

Grab a seat fares are at www.airnewzealand.co.nz

mlgb we booked our flight tickets using houseoftravel. We weren't too happy with their booking charges but the same fare is just non-existent if we try booking directly on Air NZ site.

Also can you tell me if we need to book the hotel accommodation in advance? As you said, we want to keep the west coast plans flexible as per the weather.

Hello Melnq8, (sorry to interrupt)

I've been following some of your posts and looked at your other postings. You obviously know a lot about the South Island. I will be traveling alone to NZ-South Island. I am very active and would like a multi sport group trip. I posted a question last week. On my forum the company "Active New Zealand" was recommended and it looks perfect for me. Before I book I am interested if you have known anyone who has taken one of their 2 week trips of the SI?
It was suggested that I reach out to you. You're quite the expert.

Again I can tell you are not into group trips but thought maybe you'd run across those who have taken them and had a good experience.

Hi Dora -

I know a couple who took a tour with Active NZ several years ago...they specifically wanted an activity driven tour before they started a family. They're both quite sporty and they really seemed to enjoy themselves. At one point I had their itinerary because I was trying to build a database for some fellow expats, but I've searched and can't locate it, so unfortunately I don't know which particular tour they took, or how long it was.

Enjoy NZ, it's a special place.

Thanks Melnq8. I'm signing up now. The south island trip looks amazing.
Dora

apnc

I just got back from NZ where we spent 8 nights, even fewer than you have planned. We managed it by using intra-island flights and being very selective in what we did.

We spent 3 nights in Queenstown (did a day trip by bus to Milford from Queenstown - and we opted to splurge and fly back from Milford to Queenstown. This made for a day that began at 7:30 a.m and ended at 5:30 p.m, whereas by bus both ways would have meant a day that ended at 8 p.m. or even later. As it was the day was still very long and I didn't have time to do the short walks I would have liked to do.)

Much better had I the time would have been to spend 2 nights in Te Anau (in addition to time in Queenstown) and done a self-drive to Milford as a day trip from Te Anau, not Queenstown. As for your 8 May itinerary, I don't advise trying to drive from Wanaka to Milford and then back to Te Anau as you have planned on 8 May. This is a very long day - almost as long as a bus tour day trip in both directions from Queenstown. And the daytrip bus tour drivers are much more familiar with the road and thus are more efficient than an individual driver.

Therefore one option would be to forget about doing Milford Sound this trip, add the Te Anau night to Queenstown, and instead drive out to Glenorchy during your time in Queenstown; Glenorchy is fabulously scenic but doesn't involve anywhere near as much driving as the Milford Sound pilgrimage.

OR:
I believe there is a glacier, Rob Roy I think it is called, in Mount Aspiring park which is near Wanaka. Perhaps melnq8 has some ideas about your seeing this glacier instead of Fox/Franz Joseph, since if feasible it would allow you to fly onward to Queenstown and consolidate more of your time in the Queenstown-Wanaka-Te Anau region. Doing a bit of both islands in 8 nights is possible (I know because I just did it) but as I said, one must be quite selective.

Thanks for your suggestion Sue_xx_yy. Our Milford Sound trip is not finalized. We are planning to think about it dependant on weather. As you suggested, we may alter it and visit Glenorchy.

How was the weather during your trip? We are excited as our trip dates are almost near

That's what we did - waited to see about the weather before making a decision about Milford. I feel your pain - it is so hard to choose in NZ - so many lovely places, so little time! But try to assume you'll be back, it will keep you more relaxed. I am myself already dreaming about another trip.

Weather required layers of clothing as we had anything from tee shirt weather to times when two cotton sweaters, a windbreaker, and a hat and gloves were necessary (the latter I wore when hiking around the Whakapapa ski fields, which were not yet open for skiing but had patches of snow around from an early storm). We were lucky with the sun, only one drizzly day, I wish you likewise.

Enjoy your trip, and report back how it went!

Thanks Sue. Fingers crossed for good weather. Will report back after our trip.

Further to Sue's post, Rob Roy Glacier is accessed from Mt. Aspiring Road, west of Wanaka. The road is unsealed past the Treble Cone turnoff. Here you enter the West Matukituki Valley; the road can be rough and the fords are often full following rain. Beware if you're driving a low clearance vehicle!

The Rob Roy Valley Track is accessed via the Raspberry Flat carpark. It crosses the West Matukituki River via a swing bridge and then climbs through a gorge to the top of the valley, which offers views of the Rob Roy Glacier. It's a beautiful challenging hike. Allow 3-4 hours, 10 km, 6.5 miles.

It's no substitute for Fox or Franz, but may be an option if you're looking for a nice hike with glacier views.

We had an awesome trip. Thanks a lot to everyone for your valuable ideas and suggestions. A special thanks to melnq8 and mlgb. Highlights from our trip (in the order seen) - The boiling water at Hot Water Beach, Cathedral cove views, hiking on Franz Joseph, kayaking on lake Wanaka, cruise on Milford Sound.

It was raining at times but mostly cleared when we headed out for sightseeing. Only thing we missed out was the heli hike. It was too cloudy for the helicopters. But Fox Glacier slowly revealed her majestic self when we reached the view point. The fog suddenly vanished for a few minutes.

Already missing NZ and thinking of planning the next trip More detailed report to follow soon.

Waiting with bated breath apnc. Details please.