Hi,<BR><BR>I was wondering if anybody knows or have use a specialist for booking rooms and making other travel arrangement in New Zealand?<BR><BR>I'm planing a trip and I have seen on the web travel specialist like Designer Travel, Da Haan etc. My question is are these guys reliable and honest? I understand that I must pay all the lodging expenses to these company and they will issue vouchers for me to use with the hotels and rental cars. I sure don't want to arrive in N.Z. and find out that the vouchers are of no use! I would appreciate anybody sharing their experiences using these companies.

As a kiwi my advice is not to bother with all these so called experts. We have excellent information centres in all reasonably sized towns who are happy to book your accomodation as you travel round and also to recommend sights etc. They are overstocked with brochures and all kinds of pieces of info. So save your money until you get here and pick and choose where you would like to stay. We have hotels, B & B's, farm stays, home stays, hostels you name it, some are in the most beautiful areas you could ever imagine, a lot of beautiful farm stays are owned by americans. Have a nice time.

James,<BR><BR>While not a kiwi I have been to NZ so I have to agree with Kathy, everything runs so smoothly regarding the tourist industry in NZ that we did not have any trouble doing our reservations while already there. They have fantastic travel centers with very helpful and resourceful people.<BR><BR>Kathy, I think I fell in love with NZ, hope to go back soon!<BR><BR>Good luck,<BR><BR>McH

James:<BR>Kathy is absolutely right. New Zealand is a wonderful country to visit and to travel in. We had the good fortune to visit there in 1999 for a month and again in 2000 for 5 weeks. <BR>I made all of our reservation on line both times, and everything went perfectly. <BR>Once we arrived at our destinations, ie., Queenstown, Dunedin, Christchurch and other places, we visited the information centers that Kathy mentioned. In addition, most hotels had travel centres and were delighted to offer suggestions and recommendations.<BR>Go and enjoy. <BR>John

Hi James<BR>As a person who has been in travel in NZ and a frequent adviser on this chatroom I can say that the two companies you have mentioned are reliable and the vouchers will be OK.<BR>HOWEVER, increasingly people are booking directly with the various accommodation places.<BR><BR>What has been said is true in that we have great information centres however a large number of properties require you to book before you arrive. I would recommend that you book any special properties or location you want especially if youare traveling over the summer, or if your time is limited and you don't want the worry of where to stay. What you do depends a lot on the level of accommodation required and how much time that you have. For quality accommodation I would book ahead, if you are backpacking with loads of time wing it and get what you can find.<BR><BR>Hopes this helps<BR>Kerry

James,<BR>I live in christchurch, New Zealand, and would be happy to reccomend places to stay and things to do, depending on your interests. we have travelled a great deal here and have good inside knowledge re facilities etc. If you send me your wishes , I can recccomend an itinerary with internet /email connections .<BR>What a good choice-we have just driven from Christchurch to Queenstown -a memorable trip at any time of year.<BR>Hope I can help.<BR>Regards,<BR>Mary

Check out www.nzadventureco.com They are a small company based in Northern California but they are from New Zealand. They put together a two and a half week trip for my wife and I that was great.