jrandall

Hi
We are a family of four ( two teenagers ) heading to NZ for 3 weeks, roughly, in February.
I would like some help in itinerary planning and lodging, etc...I don't want a tour per se but don't have time to do this all on my own ( did it for five weeks in Italy and it was time consuming ). Do you have any recommendations for someone who is something between a travel agent and a tour company? Budget is flexible ( don't want to be ripped off, but will spend when warranted ).

I would appreciate your help.
Thanks in advance!

jrandall

cheryllj

Why don't you try a package deal with an airline (like Air New Zealand) with hotels included? Maybe expedia or travelocity will have package deals also, if you don't want to research hotels on your own.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "something between a travel agent and tour company." If you want someone to choose your hotels for you and arrange rental cars and other transportation, that's called a travel agent.

jrandall

cheryllj

Thanks...by way of explanation, what i mean is that i know some of the hotels/lodges that i would like to book, but want someone to coordinate with the calendar, geography, transportation, etc.

jrandall

tropo

jrandall - go to your travel agent, get brochures on NZ, and between your brochures and this travel board, you will quickly pick out destinations & mode of travel that will suit you. You will notice that there is a well worn track used by most tourists in respect of each island, ie.
North Island - Bay of Islands, Rotorua region, Coramandel Peninsula, etc.
South Island - Christchurch,Kaikoura, Picton (Marlborough Sounds), Abel Tasman National Park, Fox Glacier, Queenstown, Milford Sound, etc.
driving in NZ is easy as long as you keep to the left, and slow down on the winding road sections.
Depending on the time of the year that you want to go, you may have to prebook your accommodation with your travel agent prior if its the high season, or in the low season you can freelance with your accommodation. Personally, I prebook my accommodation (through one of chain of motels)with my agent, then I book the airline ticket & car rental separately. I do this as I can usually get a discount fare & a reduction on my rental car (but not on accommodation), but I do tend to book well in advance.
I will be in the south island in 2 weeks time.

tropo

jrandall, gee by the time I typed my reply, you had replied.
I can now see that you need to put the whole trip into the hands of a travel agent.

cheryllj

jrandall: If you don't want to use a regular travel agent, then your only other option is to book a package tour (it does not have to be guided, but you can get airfare/hotel/rental car as one package) --

OR use the very helpful people on this board to plan your trip yourself. I vote for the second option, but I enjoy the planning part. And it's usually cheaper to book directly yourself. It doesn't have to be that difficult, if you tell the experts here where you want to go and when, and what your budget is.

wlzmatilida

Hi Jrandall!

Here's some help for you - go to the official site for NZ Tourism listed below.

http://www.newzealand.com/travel/USA

Then look at the heading "Before You Come" and drop down and click on "Find a Kiwi Specialist Travel Agent". Click on that, and then it will take you to a screen where you enter your state and you'll be able to find a local agent who specializes in New Zealand.

Hope this is helpful!

Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist

mlgb

There is a standard "tourist loop" in the South Island. Check the newzealand.com and aa.co.nz (auto club) websites for recommended itineraries. Also you can read some of the trip reports posted here on Fodors which are pretty detailed.

The aa.co.nz site is also good for finding hotels.

Copthorne/Millenium is a reasonably good hotel chain, if you don't want to do much hunting.

http://www.millenniumhotels.co.nz/

jrandall

hello all and thank you...found someone who is indeed a travel agent, working with me and seems great.
sorry to be slow to respond with thanks...
jrandall