We've been planning this for a few years now and have put it off. Now we have decided to bite the bullet and do NZ in March'14. DW and I. Without kids. We're both 37. We may be joined by my brother and SIL.

The plan is to do both islands. Maybe 6 nights in NI, 12 nights in SI. 3rd week of March into April. We will rent a car and drive around. Interests are around experiencing NZ this being our first trip, natural beauty, doing rather than seeing, outdoors, culture, etc.

Questions for NI:
We want to do Rotorua and Wellington for sure. Maybe 2 nights each. The other 2 nights juggling between Bay of Islands/Reinga or elsewhere. Does Auckland warrant a stay? Heard both sides of the argument. Suggestions?

The other question is if we take a bus point to point for the entire NI portion of the trip, does it work out more economical than if I were to rent a car?

SI - Pretty straightforward. Taking west coast route from Picton.
2 nights in wine country in Blenheim/Renwick
1 in Nelson. Then straight shot to FZ. Is this a long drive?
1 in FZ
2 in Wanaka
3 in QT
2 in Te Anau and onto Milford
1 night spare to fit in somewhere inbetween.

We plan to fly out of QT.

Thanks a lot in advance.

<The other question is if we take a bus point to point for the entire NI portion of the trip, does it work out more economical than if I were to rent a car?>

You'll have to do the math on that one.

Nelson to Franz Josef is a seven hour drive...without stops. I don't suggest you do this. Perhaps overnight somewhere along the way; maybe Punakaiki, Greymouth or Hokitika.

Suggest at least two nights in Franz Josef (or Fox) as you'll have long drives on either side. One night won't give you any time to do much while there.

I assume you're taking the ferry from Wellington to Picton?

If so, keep in mind that APEX covers the cost of the ferry in their rentals (for the car, not sure about the passengers).

Suggest you consider Franz Josef to Wanaka, then Wanaka to Te Anau, then Te Anau to Queenstown. This puts you in QT at the end, before your flight and prevents two separate stays in QT. Remember Te Anau to Queenstown is a four hour drive, w/o stops.

I haven't looked at the calendar, but also suggest you avoid the long Easter weekend if possible. Good Friday through Easter Monday - busy time.

Thanks melnq8. The times seem a little off on google maps but I guess that's not counting stops, breaks, etc. QT to Te anau says 2 hours flat.

Don't think I wanna drive 7 hours. Greymouth seems a good stop. We primarily wanna get a hang of the glacier maybe do a half day hike. Fox over FZ or vice versa? Other options in the area?

Sunsind

Susind86, You will be in your car all the time if you are planning both islands and a ferry crossing with the itinerary you have in mind.

NZ doesn't look large on the map, but there are distances to be covered that are a bit deceptive. NZ roads, like Australian roads, are not autovias. The surfaces are mostly good, but also mostly single-lane in either direction. In open countryside you should count on 80-90k driving speed, but on the South Is, in mountain areas and passes and the west coast you will have winding drives and much slower driving speeds.

As for Auckland, yes it's worth a stay for a couple of nights. It had a big spruce-up for the Rugby World Cup a couple of years ago, and there's plenty to see in surrounding islands and coastline.

We are from Australia and have family on the South Island who we visit quite regularly. We're planning finally to give the North a bit of a workout in March '14, and are allowing 10 days for a quick driving trip. On present estimates, we think that's enough.

The South, from our various visits to my sister and her husband's family, requires a slower pace to take in its absolute beauty. Not just the scenery, the food, the active life, but the people. They are the friendliest people on the planet.

Don't rush NZ, or you'll miss the best of it.

Best wishes for a great trip, you will like it.

Hi, sunsind86,

Re bus over car. A thought: travelling by bus means the driver will see more although it doesn't give you the flexibility of detouring to follow an interesting road sign, or stopping to look at something that catches your eye. If you take the bus to Rotorua why not hire a car while there?
From Rotorua catch the bus to Wellington. Many of the great things to do in Wellington are accessible by foot or local bus.

Good to see someone wants to come to Wellington. It's a great little city, compact and easy to move around.

My mistake, it's only two hours from Queenstown to Te Anau. I was thinking Queenstown to Milford, sorry.

Fox vs Franz - the village of Franz Josef is a bit larger and has more services than Fox - more restaurants, more accommodation, a small grocery store, etc.

The glaciers themselves differ, but not so significantly that I'd recommend one over the other. They're both interesting, but if you have only time for one, just toss a coin, or choose based upon the village that offers more of what interests you. For example - Franz is closer to Okarito, so if the lagoon and a possible kiwi spotting tour interests you, it'd be a good option. Fox offers Lake Matheson, so if that appeals, choose Fox, etc.

We walked to the terminal face of both glaciers in the same day once, and we found the walk to Fox Glacier more strenuous than the walk to Franz Josef - it was rocky and treacherous in spots, but only took an hour return. However, every time we take the walks, they feel different, as the valley is ever changing.

<You will be in your car all the time if you are planning both islands and a ferry crossing with the itinerary you have in mind> Thanks for the heads up mareeS55. One of the things we do not want to do, especially considering this is our first trip is do a whirlwind trip and I guess it's always tempting to get in as much as possible. The other thing though is we live in India and you know they say, if you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere, but point well taken.

Thanks for the tip dottyp. We did the math and it's a question of a less than $100 either way, and we definitely like the flexibility of turning off and heading into some town if it looks interesting, so we'll probably keep the car. Wellington was always in the plan, I have some family there but Te Papa, the harbour, hill views, it seems a nice city. Plus we live on the coast and my father is in shipping - I guess I have a thing for harbours ;-)

Melnq8 - we are not accomplished climbers or even fitness enthusiasts and are moderate at best. We may just stick to FZ if the town offers more in terms of character, we still want to drive upto Matheson, maybe take a walk and see Mt Cook views. I am a photography buff so I definitely want to catch some shots of that.

I am still undecided on Reinga and Bay of Islands. If we decide to skip it and just do a day in Auckland, 2 in Rotorua, and 2 in Wellington, it gives us another day in SI. It's still a bit fluid at the moment until I nail down my dates and flights.

Thanks again.

No special skills needed to walk to either glacier. I wouldn't say Franz Josef has more character, but it definitely has more accommodation and restaurant choices. You'll drive through Fox village on your way to/from Franz Josef; plenty of photo ops on a clear day. Lovely area.

Auckland is good place to stay and go to popular surrounding places. I would always suggest to have a car rather than going for bus.

This is what this revised plan is looking like now. Yet to book flights, but will probably take Jetstar into Auckland from Singapore arriving at 9:30am. So we have probably noon onwards to spend in Auckland. Going to give Bay of Islands a miss on this trip. Can't be helped I guess.

Auckland - 1 night
Rent a car. Drive to Rotorua stopping by Waitomo en route
Rotorua - 2 nights
Drive to Wellington. En route Taupo, any other stops? Drop off car at W'ton. dottyp is it true I don't need a car to drive around within Wellington? I usually don't prefer driving within the big cities. Is public transport good in most of the bigger cities? Do rental companies usually have you drop off the car at Wellington and give you another in Picton or do you load the car onto the ferry?
Wellington - 2 nights

Ferry to Picton. Pick up rental car.
Blenheim - 2 nights. Any suggestion for a nice vineyard / farmstay acco in the area?
Nelson - 1 night
Punakaiki / Greymouth - 1 night
FZ/Fox - 2 nights
Wanaka - 1 night

I want to get to Milford direct from Wanaka. The plan is to bypass Qtown, head to Te Anau, break for lunch and reach Milford by 4pm in time for the overnight cruise. We decided this is something we really want to do. Is this doable from a drive standpoint? I still want this to be a relaxed drive, stopping by to view the sights along Milford, do a couple of the walks, etc. If not I have to break journey in Te Anau. Apart from being a stop off point for Milford (and I honestly don't mean to be rude here to the locals, it's just probably my ignorance), what can I do in Te Anau for a day?

Te Anau / Milford - 1 night

Drive to Queenstown
Queenstown - 3 nights

Our goal for this trip is to have as wide ranging an experience as possible in each of the places we go to. Maori culture, geo thermal activity, harbour views, big city life, glaciers, cruises, etc... Once I nail down this broad itinerary I will need some helo from you Fodorites on specific activities in each of these locations that add to the uniqueness of the places we travel to.

Thanks a bunch.

APEX will let you take their cars on the ferry. I'm not aware of any other rental car agencies that allow this; others require you to drop off at the ferry terminal and re-collect on the other side.

Please don't underestimate the travel times. NZ looks small on a map, but it's long, roads are narrow, winding and generally one lane in each direction. It takes much longer to get from Point A to Point B than you might expect, and that's not even considering all the reasons to stop en route.

Wanaka to Milford is a five hour drive one way. That leaves little time to explore en route. The sights and walks are plentiful and stops will substantially add to the travel time. You'll be hard pressed to drive for five hours, stop for lunch and walks and take a cruise all in one day.

There's nothing IN Milford, save the boat dock, a café and one place to stay. Te Anau, on the other hand, is a small town, with plenty of accommodation, cafes, etc. In addition to some wonderful walks, Te Anau has the lake, access to the glow worm caves and the theater shows Ata Whenua almost hourly. Details here:

http://www.fiordlandcinema.co.nz/ata-whenua-shadowland

You'll definitely have a diverse wide-ranging experience, but you'll also be very busy.

Personally I would be adding in going to Kaikoura on the eastern side of the SI and then down to Christchurch over to Mount Cook.
Kaikoura is simply beautiful-mountains that go right down into the ocean (think Big Sur in California) with whales,seals and other aquatic life due to the upswelling of two currents meeting there.
Having been to Mt. Cook twice in the past 40 years it is still stunning and an amazing place to spend a day or two among beauty and the stillness of the mountains.

While at the glaciers, take a helicopter trip. One of the best things I have ever done!

I know time is limited, but if you like gorgeous scenery and nature walks, I'd find a way to spend a night or two in Abel Tasman. I probably would not drive from Rotorua to Wellington. I really like Wellington, but I don't go to NZ for the cities, and with limited time, I'd skip it and fly from Rotorua to Nelson (for Abel Tasman).

If needed, you could shave a night from Rotorua. The main things to do are to visit a Volcanic Park (I love Waimangu) and do a soak at your hotel or the Polynesian Baths. You might do a hangi (the Maori version of a luau) in the evening. You could do all of that with one night.

Hi,sunsund86.
I guess it depends on where you are staying and what you want to do, but for the most part Wellington is walkable. The buses are regular and go to all parts of the city and suburbs. What are you planning to do here? Perhaps if you can post your ideas I can help further. Just let me know in the next 4 weeks as we'll be on the other side of the world for 3 months after that. Dot

Three months?! Where ya going dotty?

Sunsind - your trip is very similar in length to the one we are trying to plan. so far we are planning to spend 7 nights on NI and 10 on SI but I am finding it terribly difficult to decide what to leave out. we really want to see the Bay of Islands, Rotorua and Wellington but the distances are quite long, and it cuts down the time we've got to see the south.

flying from Rotorua to Nelson is an idea, but then we miss Wellington.

I'm finding this one of the most difficult trips to plan i've ever had!

Good tip Songdoc on flying to Nelson from Rotorua.
annhig - I know the feeling. I've been meaning to add Kaikoura but it seems at the expense of Abel Tasman or vice versa. It's tough to decide what to leave out.

Sunsind86, your current itinerary looks like an almost exact reverse of the itinerary we're doing in July. 19 days starting in QT and ending in Auckland:
- 3 nights QT (incl Glenorchy)
- 2 nights Te Anau (incl Milford Sound)
- 1 night Wanaka
- 2 nights Franz Josef (may switch to Fox)
- 1 night Punakaiki (hit Hokitika on the way)
- 2 nights Motueka (Abel Tasman, have kids with us so we're skipping the wineries)
- 3 nights Wellington (visiting cousins, that's why so long)
- 1 night Taupo (just to shave an hour off the Welly - Rotorua drive)
- 2 nights Rotorua
- 2 nights Auckland (hit Waitomo on the way)

I'll post a trip report probably late July, so you can find out how it went!