My husband and I are planning a trip to New Zealand in May (both North and South islands) and plan on renting a car and exploring at a somewhat leasurely pace. We usually prefer to book all hotels ahead of time, but we are considering only booking the hotel for the first couple of nights (Aukland, where we will be flying into) and then finding hotels as we go afterwards. Is this doable or are hotel reservations a must? This will be our first trip to this part of the world and I'm not sure what to expect.

Thanks!
Tracy

Sorry, my spelling isn't too great this morning! That should be "leisurely" and "Auckland".

Do consider Motels as an alternative; we travel to New Zealand every year and would never consider a hotel if a motel was available.

Generally, you don?t need to book, but I do agree that you need to book where you are arriving and I would also suggest booking Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, if they are on your itinerary.

I have been making reservations for November (granted, it's spring there and "in" season), and have found several places I wanted to stay already booked, by the same token, I have not had a problem finding a place to stay.

I would definitely recommend booking major cities or areas you really want someplace special to stay in advance.

Personally, I usually have limited time on my vacations, so I know I won't get to see EVERYTHING I want to see, and I hate wasting one minute of my vacation looking for accommodation (we met a couple in Scotland who'd spent 4 hours the day before trying to find a place to stay with the VIC people!--yuck!!) Just my opinion, I guess whatever suits your travel style!

May should be OK - I don't think it's school holidays and it's too early for the ski season.

Pick up a copy of the Jasons Hotel/Motel guide when you arrive in Auckland and book by phone a couple of stops in advance. Your hotel should have copies of it and it's usually free. That way you've still got some flexibility.

Another option is to just go to an Internet Cafe in each town and check www.wotif.com. Good for the bigger towns especially but maybe not for the smaller places. We've had success with this even at peak holiday times. You can book up to 14 days in advance using wotif. Check out the site before you leave to get familiar with it.

Don't discount the motels - many of the 4 star ones are better value than hotels and you have your own cooking facilities - especially good for breakfasts. Many of the also provide cooked breakfasts at a very reasonable rate.

Enjoy your stay in NZ!