gms

We are planning a 3 week honeymoon in September. Will be spending 7-10 days in New Zealand and we were hoping for suggestions on possible itinerary. We are interested in active things, scenery and wine. We are hoping to limit the travel time - we prefer to not have to move to a different hotel each night. Seems everyone suggests South Island, but I was thinking we might enjoy time in the North also to visit wineries. Also, we were in Alaska last summer and have already experienced glaciers. We did love that experience but I am wondering if perhaps we should omit that from NZ since we are short on time.

ALF

With only 10 days, I would just visit one island. There is plenty to do on the North Island, and you should get some nice springtime weather in September (it will still be cool at higher latitudes/altitudes on the S. Island).<BR><BR>If I were you, I would do some sort of adventure tour in the caves around Waitomo. I would also spend a few days in the Taupo/Rotorua region visiting geothermal locations. It may still be too snowy to do a mountain hike around Tongariro/Ruapehu. Do you want to go as far south as Wellington? Do you like to stay in B &amp; Bs? There are tons of wonderful homestays, farmstays, and B&amp;Bs, if that is what you like to do.

Bigmamma

We just returned from an amazing trip to New Zealand and Australia. We concentrated on the South Island and spent 11 days there. We flew into Queenstown and stayed 2 unbelieveable nights at Blanket Bay Lodge. We took the Dart River jet boat tour from the lodge and were picked up and returned to the lodge's jetty. We spent 2 nights in Queenstown as we did the bus tour to Milford Sound from there but as you have done Alaska, you could probably skip Milford Sound. We drove through the Haast Pass to the West Coast and up the West Coast to Lake Brunner. (It is a very simple fishing lodge and my husband wanted to fish, but otherwise, except for delicious food, there is nothing much to do there. They can arrange tours from there and can pick you up with a float plane and take you to the glacer. We took the Tranzalpine train to Christchurch. We stayed at the George hotel. (We weren't impressed by Christchurch as it is just a city) We flew to Blenheim from Christchurch and toured the Marlborough wine country. We stayed at Old. St. Mary's Convent a charming B&amp;B. The Chapel Suite which is the bridal suite is awesome. The owners are fantastic. We ate dinners at wineries. We also did a boat tour on the Marlbourough Sounds. Gorgious area. Wherever you go you will have a marvelous time.

nicole0727

Although I agree with the poster above who said focus on just one island, I would not hesitate a second in choosing the South Island. If its only wineries you are worried about missing on the North Island, go to Blenheim, Nelson, and/or Central Otago (20 min. drive from Queenstown) on the South Island. We recently went to all of them and liked them so much that we ended up with the awkward experience of trying to bring 18 bottles back home (difficult but doable). If you go to Blenheim, I absolutely agree with the recommendation of Old St. Mary's Convent. We stayed there a few weeks ago and it was beautiful and the owners were great. Also, although you hear about the glaciers all the time when people talk about the South Island, there is a lot more to see there. Since you're short on time, just skip that part of the island. We actually had only 10 days also and although we rushed around like you don't want to do, we saw everything on that island except Christchurch (we skipped it on purpose as we weren't too interested in cities) and even spent our last 2 days on the North Island seeing the Waitomo caves (a lot of fun but didn't like North nearly as much as South; saw traffic and 2 lane highways for the first time on our whole trip, scenery wasn't as breathtaking although the rolling hills around the caves were pretty and worth seeing). Since you want to skip the glaciers, you could probably do the same at a more leisurely pace. You could fly to save time also, but driving was one of my favorite things about our trip just b/c of the scenery. I would recommend visiting Blenheim and/or Nelson (Abel Tasman Nat'l Park near there is beautiful; water taxis and hike or kayak) for a couple nights each; we stayed at the B&amp;B mentioned above and at Bronte Lodge in Nelson (highly recommend it, villas steps from the water, fully stocked with fresh fruit, drinks daily, double spa baths); Grasmere Lodge at Arthur's Pass and Blanket Bay in Queenstown for 2-3 nights each if you can afford it, can't even explain how nice these 2 places are, I've never experienced anything else like it. If you want to do the Waitomo caves or Rotorua on the North Island, you could probably spend your last 2 nights doing that before flying out of Auckland. We rented a car at Auckland airport and returned it the next day and had time to do the caves (about a 2 hr drive). If you're interested in caves there are also nice ones on the West Coast of the South Island, we did an underwater rafting tour in Greymouth that was a lot of fun. Definitely underline adventure in that one though, I'm not sure how much you're into that. Good luck planning you trip and let me know if you have any questions, we just got back as I mentioned above. You're going to love it in NZ no matter what itinerary you choose!

nicole0727

Sorry, meant underground rafting, not underwater!

Pamo

I did 2 1/2 weeks in NZ a year ago -- loved both islands -- but hands down south island wins. Also -- check into Air NZ -- you can buy a ticket in the US for 3 flights within NZ for a around $300 (last yr). That would save you travel time. We loved Milford Sound and there are some nice vineyards in the Qtown area. Did not do the north part of the south island -- but have heard that is very nice. There are also great vineyards up there.

KathyNZ

I would recommend choosing to spend 7 days in either the top northern part of the south island to take in the wineries round Marlborough, or the bottom half, Queenstown, Wanaka and the wineries in between. Don't attempt both halves. For the north island the balance could be spent Waitomo-Rotorua- Taupo areas and back to Auckland if you are flying out of there. Believe me quality is better than quantity when it comes to touring NZ, our country is so diverse that you will want to come again on another visit and see what you couldn't see this time. Have fun.