13 days New Zealand (both NI & SI) - Final Itinerary - Request for Feedback
 

Hi friends,

My wife and I (25 & 28 years respectively) are visiting NZ in November, 2015. We will be landing in Auckland on 15th Nov afternoon and leaving from Queenstown on 28th Nov afternoon.

I have prepared the following itinerary after detailed research on several forums and would like to hear your feedback / comments before finalizing:

15th Nov - Arrive in Auckland at 2:30 PM and check-in at hotel. Rest of the day for resting and general sightseeing around the hotel in CBD.

16th Nov - Explore Auckland for half day (need suggestions for what to do) and leave for Rotorua by Intercity bus departing at 3:45 PM (have already booked the bus).

17th Nov - Full day in Rotorua. We are interested in exploring the thermal attractions in and around the city and related activities. Not very keen for the Agrodome show and Maori cultural events. Kindly suggest the best places to visit and things to do for the full day. We can hire a car for the day if required.

18th Nov - Leisure around in Rotorua. Visit to the Government gardens and Polynesian spa. Idea is to keep this day light in order to recharge ourselves. Leave for Auckland by Intercity bus departing at 5:00 PM (have already booked the bus).

19th Nov - Have booked the Intercity day trip to Bay of Island departing from Auckland at 7:45 AM and returning at night.

20th Nov - Have booked a morning flight from Auckland to Christchurch reaching there at 10:45 AM. Get into rental car (Apex Rentals) from the airport and check-in at hotel. Full day for sightseeing and activities in Christchurch - Botanical Gardens, Punting on the Avon etc.

21st Nov - Leave in the morning for Mount Cook in car. Stop at Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki for food, pictures etc. and reach Mount Cook by late afternoon. Check in at hotel and visit Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre in the evening.

22nd Nov - Hooker Valley trek in the morning followed by Glacier Explorers boat tour at 3:30 PM. Overnight at Mount Cook.

23rd Nov - Leave early morning for Wanaka and check in at hotel. Sky diving in the afternoon followed by general sightseeing around the lake.

24th Nov - Puzzling world in the morning followed by visit to Arrowtown on the way to Queenstown. Reach Queenstown by evening and check-in at hotel. Return the car.

25th Nov - Have booked the Intercity day trip to Milford Sound departing from Queenstown at 7:20 AM and returning at night.

26th Nov - Activities in Queenstown - Bungy, Swing, Gondola, Luge etc. Kindly suggest other good activities / attractions in Queenstown.

27th Nov - Reserve day for activities and other sightseeing in Queenstown. Have kept two full days in Queenstown so as to not miss out on any adventure due to paucity of time (Not sure if two full days are enough though!).

28th Nov - Checkout from hotel and say our goodbye to this wonderful place and head back home with lots and lots of unforgettable memories.. :)

Please tell me how it sounds and any improvements that can be made in our plans. Can't wait for this trip of a lifetime to begin. Literally counting days now!!!

A couple of suggestions of things you might enjoy doing:

1. Rotorua--Black water rafting. This adventure involves descending into a cave with an inner tube. You float through the dark on an underground waterway, seeing glowworms. The most famous company that offers this adventure is Black Water Rafting Company, but other companies do it just as well. (We went with a smaller company, but I can't recall the name now.)

2. Queenstown--The Skyline Queenstown Luge is TONS of fun!

It sounds like a well thought out itinerary, although it'll be very busy and yes, two days in QT will only allow you to scratch the surface. Do note that Nov 20 will be only a half day once you collect your car and get sorted. Suggest you plot your course to save time bustling about.

Enjoy, NZ is a beautiful place.

I'm not fond of longhorn55's suggestion for the Black Water Rafting. It's located in Waitomo, over a 2-hour drive away from Rotorua. Why spend you one full day in Rotorua on a bus for 4-5 hours to get to an activity in another area?

Thanks everyone for your advice. I also feel that going all the way to Waitomo will not make much sense for us. We are more interested in experiencing the geothermal wonders in Rotorua and explore related activities around the area (Not very keen for the Agrodome show and Maori cultural events). Also would like to avoid taking a rental car but can do so if required.

Kindly suggest the best places / activities to visit there.

@longhorn55 - I looked up the Skyline Queenstown Luge. Looks quite interesting. We'll definitely include this in our schedule. Thanks :)

Looks like you have an action packed 2 weeks planned and your itinerary looks well thought out. A few comments/suggestions for consideration:

17th Nov: Rotorua. The main geothermal attraction is Whakarewrewa which is worth a visit. If you go to Whakarewarewa then probably not worth seeing the others.

Although if you get a car one awesome off the beaten track place is Kerosene creek about 30 min from Rotorua. Not a very inspiring name but there is a hot water spring which flows through the native forest and ferns. There are a series of pools to soak in. How many people can say they have sat under a natural hot water waterfall? The best thing about Kerosene creek is that it is not a commercial operation so it is free.

There is a zip line trip I have done in Rotorua which is also well worth while but not geothermal related. http://canopytours.co.nz/

If you are into mountain biking there are some of the best NZ trails in the redwood forest. You can rent bikes.

19th Nov: Auckland to Bay of Islands. There is not a lot to see on the 4 hour bus trip from Auckland up to Paihia. Once there, the main points of interest other than Waitangi are the scenic beaches and islands. It wouldn’t be practical to experience those in a day trip. I would consider abandoning this part of the trip and tack a day on somewhere else. 8 hours on a bus .... shudder

Your South Island section looks fine
Have a great time