Planning a trip to Thailand for 10-12 days in March, but with the recent political issues, we are rethinking other locations. What about New Zealand compared to Thailand? We love the beach and warm water activities. We would spend most of our time near the water/beach. Want the weather warm-hot. We are coming form Ohio. Was looking forward to Thailand's fresh food and a day or two in the fun city of Bankok and some culture/Temples. Would New Zealand or Thailand be a better choice at this point? NOt sure price of New Zealand compared to Thailand
Interested in opinions….

Stick with Thailand.

New Zealand is not a beach destination. More of an outdoors adventure destination with natural scenery with lots of geothermal features to see (kind of a Yellowstone but with sheep instead of bison, bears, elk, etc). That is a ridiculously simplistic description of a wonderful country, but the point is that it is not what you are looking for. Average high temp in Auckland is 71F in March and cooler to the south. Like September in Ohio.

OTOH, average high of 91F in March and not much rain.

Between those tow Thailand, no question. If you are nervous about the political situation, opt for Bali instead.

stick with thailand

Beware of spam posting and be aware that the real website for Nok Air is https://www.nokair.com

Thanks so much for catching that, Hanuman. Is this the same group that sells fake tickets for Lao Air and the domestic Myanmar airlines?

Probably the same "kind" of people Kathie and I've noticed a few postings to the fake web site here on Fodors.

Thailand, definitely! I understand your concerns about instability, but there really is no comparing the two. I'm not sure when you need to book by, but maybe monitor it for a few more days, and if you feel comfortable, book it - or try to stay away from hot spots. I arrived literally two days after the protests ended a few years ago. Thailand is really amazing.