Hello all,

We are planning to visit the north of the south island in august 06. I am looking for nice accomodation (B&B are preferred) around $100. Do you know some nice one?

Thanks,
Olivier

We liked The Blue Moon, which is located in Riwaka, Motueka, a mere 18 km from Abel Tasman via Marahau, the main gateway to Abel Tasman Nat'l Park.

www.thebluemoon.co.nz/

We also enjoyed the Old Schoolhouse Cottage, located in Tasman, about 30 minutes from Nelson, and 15 from Motueka - a good base for Abel Tasman.

http://www.cottagestays.co.nz/oldsch...se/cottage.htm

We stayed at the Ocean View Chalets in Marahau and the hosts, views, and accomodation were terrific. Pictures of the chalet and our review can be found on tripadvisor at http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...th_Island.html

The website for Ocean View is:
http://www.accommodationabeltasman.co.nz/

Hi Melnq8,

Do you have any personal photos (interiors, views) of the Old Schoolhouse cottage that you'd care to share?

I was also looking at Nelson Coastal Barnstay, specifically their Wheki Cottage, and wondering if you knew anything about that place.

Or if you have any other suggestions in this area. I'm looking for a private cottage with ocean views (up to NZ$300). Thanks!

Hi Patty -

I don't have any digital photos of the Old Schoolhouse interior, but you can see it in detail here:

http://wairarapa.co.nz/anticlock/vin...hoolhouse.html

I've run across Nelson Coastal Barnstay, but haven't stayed there. I certainly would though - it looks nice. It's also located in Tasman, the same area as the Old Schoolhouse. BTW, the owners of the Old Schoolhouse also own a property in Nelson.

In August we stayed at Maple Grove Cottage, which is located in Upper Moutere, between Nelson and Motueka. We really liked this place, but it's more of a country stay - no ocean views.

www.maplegrove.co.nz

We've also stayed at Almyra Villa in Mapua. It's a very nice property, but it's in a neighborhood overlooking Mapua -

http://www.tandmholidays.com/almyra/index.htm

I recently ran across Almyra B&B -it's on the Tasman Peninsula and right on the waterfront from the looks of it - haven't stayed here though -

http://www.almyra.co.nz/index.htm

On our trip in August, we ran across The Resurgence, which looks like a nice, posh (pricy) place to stay:

http://www.cottagestays.co.nz/theresurgence/cottage.htm

There are some other listings here that you might find helpful:

http://www.cottagestays.co.nz/regions/nelson.htm

Hope this helps.

Thanks! I'll check those out.

Patty, we stayed in a lovely place in Motueka. It is not a stand-alone cottage, but the back of the house in which the owner lives.

He has two rentals here. We stayed in Seaview. It is basically a studio apartment - with a lovely view of the sea. The apartment is a decent size...a pretty small bathroom, however. Nice outdoor space. A walking/running paths is right out the door. The pictures on the website accurately reflect the rental. It is within your price range.

It is not really within walking distanace of town - a five minute drive (or less). To Nelson, I recall it being about 30 minutes. It was very convenient to go to Abel Tasman. The owner helped us with dinner recommendations and booking the water taxi.

The other rental is less expensive - I can't speak to it, since we did not see it.

http://www.coastalpalms.co.nz/

LauraT -

Looks like a great spot - I've added the link to my every growing list of places I'd like to check out.

Thanks, Laura!

We spent several wonderful nights at Larchwood House in Tasman - between Mapua and Motueka. We would go back to that area just to stay with the hosts again. See my trip report from 3/21/08
http://www.larchwoodhousetasman.co.nz/

Another place that we considered that appears to have ocean views is Sandstone House in Ruby Bay.

PJtravels -

Larchwood House looks great too - so many nice places to stay, so little time...

Thanks for your suggestions too, PJTravels!

I have to admit I've kind of switched gears and am leaning more toward Australia now, but I'll keep all of these places in mind as I definitely want to plan a separate trip to New Zealand.

Thanks again!

If you switch to Australia, we spent a month there in October/November 2006 - mostly wine tasting and hiking. In the McLaren Vale, stay at Willunga House and be sure to tell Rosie and Kingsley "hi" from Marty and PJ.