My friends and I will be starting our trip in Auckland and then will only have about 6 nights to visit north and south. I would like to know if we should

1. Rent a car and drive to South Island and then back to Auckland (departure city)

2. Fly from Auckland to Christchurch, rent a car and then drive our way back to Auckland.

3. Fly from Auckland or Rotorua to Christchurch and then fly from Queensland back to Auckland.

We are not sure of our itineray yet but know we want to see the cities I already mentioned.

Thanks in advance for your help.

In six days, you can?t see New Zealand. I just took some friends around the country in six weeks and there was a lot that they didn?t see.

You need to decide what you want to see and plan around it. Probably no more than four stops.

If you give us an idea of what your interests are we may be able to help.

My strong recommendation would be to forget Auckland and the North Island altogether with the time you have. Fly in and out of Christchurch instead and tour the more spectacular South Island.

I spent 7 nights/8 days in NZ recently and originally considered a plan such as yours. It just didn't work out - flying in and out of Auckland and then down to ChCh used up too much valuable time. Driving to the South Island was not practical because of the distances involved and the need to coordinate with the ferry accross the Cook Strait.

In the end, we flew in and out of Christchurch and focused all our time on the SI. What an amazing place. The week we had was nice, but it really would have been great to have stayed longer.

Thanks for your advice. I think we will spend all of our time on the South Island. Will we be missing a lot in Rotorua?

srand: We were hoping to see Rotorua too. But in a short trip, I think you'd be better off focusing on the SI - most "bang for the buck" as it were.

srand:
i agree with the other folks. ditch aukland. head for the hills on the south island. although we really enjoyed our stay on the north island, rotorua was a bit touristy but we enjoyed the volcano hike and soaking in the mineral baths, however, it was much more peaceful and pristine on the south island. lots of scenic driving from the mountains to the glaciers. the locals we met on the ni told us to stick to the west coast of the si and it was beautiful. so, i can't comment on chch. the driving takes longer than you would think. so, plan accordingly. have fun!