Since we are travelling to New Zealand in May with two kids on a three week vacation we wanted some advice on the holiday parks. Will it be better to stay in the motel units in the holiday parks or would it be better to stick to the usual motels?
Top 10 Holiday Parks in New Zealand
Recent Activity
View all Australia & the Pacific activity »
- 1 Travel to NZ with a dog
- 2 6 hour wait at sydney for flight to brisbane. Any ideas to pass the time?
- 3 Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine itinerary help
- 4 Help with 4 weeks on South Island!
- 5 Hotels in Australia
- 6 Australia 18 day trip advice
- 7 Sydney airport to Circular Quay least expensive option
- 8 BEWARE: Avoid Wicked Travel
- 9 3 weeks in NZ self drive
- 10 Careful before booking any short-term accommodation on NSW Coast
- 11 Micronesia- when to visit
- 12 Seeking hike companion for Stewart Island (southernmost NZ)
- 13 Melbourne Airport / Rental Car Question
- 14 Please Help my New Zealand 10 days trip Itinerary...
- 15 10 Days in NZ South Island - Feedback?
- 16 Help me plan my April - May trip to Australia
- 17 1st trip to New Zealand
- 18 Melbourne--in the summer is air conditioning a must ?
- 19 Hotel suggestions near Brisbane airport?
- 20 South Island of New Zealand end of May?
- 21 Foodies, help! Melbourne Chinese Restaurant recommendations
- 22 Experience with GrabOne
- 23 Lone Traveler!
- 24 Know a good Charter Co. in French Polynesia?
- 25 Shared charter boat in French Polynesia
We stayed in Top 10 holiday parks but we had a campervan. I guess that if you stay in a holiday park you have all the facilities (swimming pool, playgrounds, kitchens, BBQ, etc...) that you wouldn't have in a usual motel. I like holiday parks with kids as they can run around outside - which is not possible in motels.
Motels would have private kitchens in your unit, often a BBQ outside, and you'd have a TV. The holiday parks have the outdoor spaces, although I didn't think the rooms were as nice as most of the motels I've used. The location and amenities in holiday parks can vary quite a bit.
On our vacation, we mostly stayed in hostels. However, we did stay in 2 of the Top Ten parks and loved one of them. Here was the difference.
At Franz Josef, we rented a kitchen unit and it was wonderful.
It was like a motel room.. it had a TV, a fully equipped kitchen and bunk beds, and a nice front porch, where we sat out at night.
We didn't have our own bathroom, but it was right next door. ANd I do mean right next door. IT was only steps from our door. WE loved it there.
THen in Wanaka, we stayed in a room that was not a kitchen room, and we weren't as happy. In all the hostels, the communal kitchens were fully equipped. ...so we thought the communal kitchen at the Top Ten would be the same. It wasn't. It had a fridge to use, but there were not pots or dishes or anything. I suppose if you knew this ahead of time, and took your own stuff you'd be ok.
But if you could get a kitchen cabin, like at Franz Josef, I think I think it would be great.
Most holiday parks or Caravan parks in NZ have fully equiped kitchens which you can use and in comparison to most other holiday parks in the world they are of a much higher standard. In fact there was/is one in Queenstown that even has a spa. I can guarantee that you will always get a good one there.
We have stayed at over 40 different holiday parks in NZ, and consider it a good way to go. Most have 'tourist flats' that range from rustic cabins to a row of motel-style rooms. In general, tourist flat rooms are less expensive than hotels/motels, and (as mentioned above), you get to meet many fellow travelers in the communal dining facilities. Some of the most interesting and colorful folks I've met in NZ were sitting at a table in a holiday park.
One word of advice - We have stayed at several Top 10 Holiday Parks, and they are perfectly fine, but don't let the name fool you. Some of the best holiday parks are independent, and not part of any franchise or chain. I guess it depends on how adventurous you are - Top 10 will be dependably clean and reasonably well-kept (similar to KOA in the U.S.), but some of the best will be encountered by happenstance.
Another word of advice - every darn holiday park in the entire country has at least one trampoline. There must be a law! This becomes problematic with small children, who will beg to bounce on the trampolines, but you may not want them to. We became progressively more and more lax over the months, starting out by just saying 'no!', then agreeing, but only if there is one adult spotter, then OK as long as there is one spotter, then you can spot each other, then 'oh what the heck!'.