My husband and I are planning a 3 week trip to New Zealand this March. Our initial plan was to rent a campervan and explore the North and South Island. We still want to do this, with some stops at nice resorts in between. We just left a travel agent (who specializes in New Zealand) and she was recommending areas that made it seem like we would spend A LOT of time driving. We don't mind driving, but don't want to drive for hours to see more scenery. We want to do a lot of hiking, kayaking etc. Have heard good things about Queenstown also. My questions:
1. What are the "must" sees and how much time should be spent there?
2. Will it be hard to find hotels/lodges without reservations in March? The agent was saying "yes", but she also gets her commission from the hotels/tours. We don't want to be on any kind of "structured itinerary".
3. If you were to do a campervan for only North OR south, which would you choose.

Thanks you so much for any advice! I will also continue to read the boards for more advice, but am just feeling overwhelmed at the moment

We went in March several years ago. We made our rezzies about 4 months in advance - if you want certain lodges (when not camping) I would agree with travel agent - also March is break for many schools/colleges and we bumped into many parents visiting their children who were doing their semester abroad in NZ/South island. We arrived Christchurch, rented car, drove to Arthur's Pass where we stayed at McSweeney's Wilderness lodge (www.wildernesslodge.co.nz/ - doable drive from morning arrival at airport. Lovely scenery. Fabulous lodge: offers kayaking, hiking (many different levels offered, alone or w/ their guide) , fishing, rounded up sheep/ etc - we spent 4 dys there - then drove Arthurs Pass over to Pancake ROcks and back down to Franz Josef Glacier for 2 days/excursions there - hike rainforest, glacier, etc. - from there we went to Wilderness Lodge lake Moeraki (also a McSweeney eco-lodge; and 4 days there - kayaking out to tasman sea, beach walks, hikes, night walks/fly fishing/ etc - and then down to Queenstown for 4 days for other activites (lunch at winery, bungy jumping, etc) and drove up to Christchurch for a few days and headed out. You have more time than we did, so I would do Milford/Doubtful which we sorely missed but look forward to someday. You will have a ball - look at wilderness lodge web pages, they were both delightful spots. There are also a lot of good itineraries posted here, put "South Island Itineraries" into search bar when on Australia forum and see what you find ! you will love it.

Planning a trip to NZ can definitely be overwhelming - so much to see and do, so little time! I'm a long time fan of the South Island - have only been to the North once in seven visits to NZ and so I'll concentrate on what I know - the South.

"Must See" suggestions are going to vary from person to person, but most people tend to visit the following places on their first visit to the South Island:

Milford Sound, Queenstown, Franz and Fox Glaciers, Christchurch, Kaikoura (whale watching), Nelson, Mt Cook, Pancake Rocks, Lake Tekapo.

Dunedin is also a popular stop, but it's quite a bit south and sometimes hard to fit in.

"Must Sees" aside, I much prefer the less popular spots in NZ. There are some great places out there that not many tourists ever take the time to see.

You can spend alot of time driving in NZ - distances are deceiving when looking at a map, as there are alot of narrow, squiggly roads, and it's always tempting to stop to take a walk, check out some hidden gem, etc.

The following site can help you plan your itinerary as it gives driving distances and estimated times between locations:

http://www.accommodationz.co.nz/distances2.html

I use this site when planning all my self-drive itineraries. We like to limit our daily drives to about four hours, but it's not always possible. However, the scenery is usually very pretty, so driving isn't such a bad thing.

We have a three night rule - no less than a three night stay per town/attraction. This works well for us, as we like to take the time to fully explore an area before moving on. It gives us two full days in each location, plus part of the day we arrive. We're also big hikers, so we need time to get in a few hikes!

I suggest you narrow your options, based on what YOU like to do. There's no way you can see all of both islands in so short a time. Yes, you can hit the highlights in three weeks, but you'll spend most of your time traveling from point A to point B.

North or South? The answer for me is always going to be the South.

Good luck and have fun!

As melonq8 says driving is slow in NZ. Even if you don't make stops, it takes a long time to get anywhere. There are very few 4 lane highways. It's mainly 2 lane roads. If you average 50 mph, you are doing well. Forget cruising along at 70-75mph. Most roads are winding and hilly with lots of local trucks and slow drivers (except for the kids who are crazy!). Three hours of driving is enough on your stress level, which means 140 miles if you don't stop.
Have fun!

I think finding accom. in March shouldn't be too difficult. If you do have particular places already in mind it certainly would'nt hurt to prebook. A great site for last minute rooms at great rates is www.wotif.com
I use it all the time and have never had any problems.

I love the Melnq8's 3 night rule, I may have to adopt that one myself as it makes good sense.

Happy planning ~