IdahoTraveler

Hi, new poster here. Am finalizing 3/4 week trip to New Zealand in April 2007 and am curious as to whether we should prebook some of the more popular tours, i.e., Milford Sound Boat Trip. Is April a popular tourist month to visit New Zealand?

Melnq8

Dec-March is the high season in NZ.

You shouldn't have any problems in April, unless you're visiting during local school holidays.

This site lists all NZ school holidays:

http://www.minedu.govt.nz

BTW - we visited NZ in April/May of 2005 and were told by a local that April is the most stable month in NZ weather-wise. We had some great weather.

ElendilPickle

We prebooked our dolphin swim in Whakatane in April 2004 because the company offered a discount for Internet reservations. Our small boat (about a dozen people) was full, too.

It doesn't hurt to see if there are any discounts given for prebooking.

Lee Ann

IdahoTraveler

Thanks for the quick answers. Will check out any discounts for prebooking.

Jed

We were in NZ in March/April 2005. That is supposedly not the busiest visitor time, but some of the tours were full, such as Doubtful Sound overnight, Te Anau caves afternoon. Some were crowded, such as the Tranzalpine, and it was even hard to get a last day place in FJ.

Since the cancellation policies are mostly very good, I would suggest that you make hotel and tour reservations as soon as you are reasonably sure of them. Check the policies.

wlzmatilida

Hi Idaho,

I always recommend that clients pre-book tours that are an absolutely a "must do" to be assured that you get on the tour you want.

This is especially true if you're only in an area for a short amount of time. If you have a week's stay somewhere it's not as much of a concern because you have some flexibility.

As a good example, last year I had 4 girls who's "must do" of their trip was to swim with dolphins in Kaikoura. They had a total of 2 weeks in NZ, and only one day in Kaikoura, so it was a no brainer to pre-book the tour. They told me afterwards that many people just drove up in the morning hoping to get on and they were left on the dock as the boat sailed out.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Kiwi Specialist