Starting to plan a 4 week trip to New Zealand in mid November. Looking for advice please on best routes/airlines from UK ex Birmingham or London.

I don't know if it's the very best route, but Air New Zealand flies from Heathrow to Los Angeles and then on to Auckland.

Lee Ann

You would be better off seeing a travel agent and talking to them regarding what airlines fly from the UK and what countries you wish to go through.

Emirates are very good for travel from the UK to Australia and New Zealand. They fly from both Manchester and Birmingham direct to Dubai and then to onwards to the Antipodes. It saves going through the nightmare of Heathrow.

If you live near Birmingham (as I used to) then Emirates are probably your best bet in terms of overall cost (i.e.inc. cost of driving/train to Heathrow. Their fares are usually a bit more expensive from Birmingham than Heathrow. Most routes, apart from Air NZ, seem to route via Sydney. I usually find the best deals at Trailfinders, www.trailfnders.com . They sometimes have IT fares which include a few nights accomodation in the fare.

Thanks everyone. Offers at the moment seem to be for flights up to end June. Do you know if flight prices are usually better now for November or is it worth waiting til nearer the time?

These days it is nearly always better to book as far in advance as possible for long haul flights. Especially so now as November is the high season for New Zealand and Australia