Itinerary help
 

Okay, Planning a NZ trip from July 31st to Aug 15th. Because of the late departure on the 31st, wont arrive in Auckland until aug 2nd. Want to see both North and south Islands. Is this enough time to see the highlights of both islands or should I stick to one island. Also, during this time frame, should I book accomodations in advance or will it be easy to find a place to stay? ANy help would be appreciated!

you would get a better response if you indicated what country you were planning to visit

Must see bay of Islands the waingaro hot springs so much to see in north but you could then fiy down to South Island not to expenisive & see Queenstown & go on the Doubtful sounds a trip not to miss .The book I found useful is EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDES NEW ZEALAND you will want to go again again

I have been doing some research since posting. After arriving,plan on renting a car in auckland and driving to rotorua. Spend 2 or 3 days there then drive to wellington. Do the rent a car companies let you drop off in wellington. I was then planning on jumping on the ferry to south island. My big question is since we leave from auckland to go home,would it be better to fly down to south island then do north island last?

Yes, you can drop off your car in Wellington and collect one in Picton using the same rental company if you plan to take the ferry. This is common practice.

If you haven't booked flights yet, you might consider flying into Christchurch (or Dunedin or Queenstown) spending some time on the South Island, then taking the ferry (or flying) to the North Island. That way you won't have to backtrack.

Accommodations shouldn't be a problem unless you plan to visit a ski area, such as Queenstown.

With only two weeks, you might want to limit your time to one island so you won't be rushed. There's plenty to keep you busy on either island for the entire time, plus some.

Have fun.

Thanks melnq8,
I was kinda leaning toward doing the south island first. However, my wife hates long flights and is not too crazy about jumping on another plane after a 10 hour flight. How long is the flight from Auckland down to Christchurch or queenstown?

The interisland flights are not very long, about an hour. NZ is about the size of California, for comparison. As the time of year you are going is still winter, I would probably stick with the North Island and spend time in the far north (Bay of Islands),which has weather similar to Florida. There is plenty to see in both islands.

If you decide to head south, I support the idea of continuing on to the South Island the first day, especially if you arrive early in the morning and can get a good connection. You will be so jetlagged that day that it is lost anyways, might as well save the travel time it would take you to get to the South Island.

Koa -

Per the Air NZ website the flight times are as follows:

Auckland - Christchurch - 1:20

Auckland - Queenstown - 1:50 nonstop, 2:40 with one stop

Auckland - Dunedin - 1:55 nonstop, 2:45 with one stop.

Some airlines fly smaller planes into other areas as well, such as Picton.