Retirement holiday
 

Couple from England wanting to travel to New Zealand, Australia and Bora Bora. After such a long flight thought we would see as much as we can. Like to travel independent but not sure which way is best to do it. Any ideas for itinary would be great. Dont mind driving and mixing it with internal flights. Also is it best to stay in hotels, motels or bed and breakfast places and is the standard good. Looking to go in end of March/April as we are told not too hot then. Can stay 8 to 10 weeks if thats what is takes.
Thanks.

The more time you take for a trip like this, the better IMO.

Here's a link to our 10-day trip to New Zealand last April. Since we had a short time and had to fly in and out of Auckland, we stayed on the North Island. This may give you some ideas; also, if you search this board, you'll find my trip report.
http://community.webshots.com/user/ElendilPickle

Lee Ann

We were in NZ this past April and May and the weather was great.

We've stayed in a mix of B&B's, motels, cottages and a resort or two in both NZ and OZ and we've found the standard of accommodation to be very good. There are always exceptions, but on six trips to NZ and three to OZ, we've only run into a handful of dodgy places.

With 8-10 weeks, you'll be able to see alot. I highly recommend you try to spend some time in Tasmania as well as both islands of NZ.

Your trip sounds terrific but as Australia is so big and you want to visit two other countries as well, it's best to do a bit of reading and see what appeals to you most in Australia, then concentrate on those areas. If you visit a good book shop or library and look in the guidebooks you will get a feel for the areas/things that you want to see. Then if they are a long way apart, eg, Melbourne and Cairns, obviously you need to fly. From Melbourne to Tasmania you can catch the Spirit of Tasmania overnight ferry, you can take a car for free at certain times of the year, check their website. All the airlines have special deals, you can sign up for free newsletters - see JetStar, Qantas and Virgin Blue.

If there are no school holidays or Easter period, you can often get better prices on accommodation by looking for standby rates once you arrive in a town. If it's Easter, book well ahead. Where you stay depends on your budget and your preferences. Some people hate B&Bs, others only like 5 star hotels. If you are on a budget, caravan parks have ensuite cabins which are usually good value and you get to use all the park facilities like laundry and swimming pool etc. Also, there are huge numbers of Aussie retirees travelling with their vans so you'll meet like-minded people.
Hope this helps a bit, the more research you do, the more your plans will start to evolve.
Kay

I think that in comparison to UK accommodation you will find that both Australia and New Zealand are far and away better value for money and much higher standards as well.