kwmather

Hello:

I am starting to plan a trip to New Zealand--a self-drive trip of both islands over 14-15 days. Does anyone have a recommendation on a package deal, either camper van or rental car staying in hotels and B&Bs? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I'm not sure where to start. Oh, and what is the best time of year to go--kinda off-season?

Thanks!

Kmather

Melissa5

kwmather, the best season depends on what you want to see and do. For example, November is a good month to see the Fiordland crested penguin on the west coast of the south island on Monro Beach...but early February is a good month to see the Yellow-Eyed penguins and babies at Penguin Place on the east coast of the south island, Otago Peninsula.

You'll need to do some more research to figure out what you really want to see and do. Also, I suggest that with 2 weeks, you choose only 1 island. 2 weeks is enough time to do half of one of the islands. With our recent 2 week trip, we focused on the southern half of the south island.

New Zealand is big! And gorgeous...

NoFlyZone

We just got back last week from a 3 week trip to NZ. We used the NZ Travel Network (http://www.nz-tour.net/) to make the car rental, rail and hotel arrangements. They were absolutely fabulous and the price was right.

There was a major screwup in reservations one day but they came through with flying colors (at no small expense to themselves) and no time nor enjoyment was lost. Major kudos to that type of operator. We would use them again in an instant.

Jed

<a self-drive trip of both islands over 14-15 days.>

It would be possible, but you would not be able to get out of the car and see anything.

Best way to start is to read books, study commercial itineraries, and determine what interests you.

kwmather

Thanks to all of you that responded to my questions. I will definitely do some more research and thank you "No Fly Zone" for the web link!

Kmather

Lisa1224

Stick to the South Island. We just returned 1 month ago from 2 weeks on the South Island and wish we had more time there. The best weather would be February. We went in the middle to end of January and had really good weather. A little cool (but they said they were having the coldest summer in 62 years) but still very nice.

kwmather

Thank you, Lisa. I've been coming to the same conclusion myself.

Kmather

travelbugguy

If you've got heaps of time, maybe do a self drive. If you've only got 2 wks, that's not long, pack lots in and go with Active New Zealand. They'll show you the best scenery in the most time and you don't need to rent a car. They can point you in the right direction for flights also.

seetheglobey

When we went, all the agencies that we found had good packages but they would recommend expensive hotels/motels to stay at. In the end we made our own itinerary (thank you Internet), e-mailed B&B owners on our own, got awesome deals and had a great time ... We probably saved 30-40% by booking overnight accommodations on our own ... but then again, if you do not want to do that yourself, you van pay someone else to do it

SenohDH1

Hi KW. Just got back not too long ago. The camervan portion of our trip was absoulutely the best part. We went with KEA. This is a german company. Wee noticed lots of other vans and companies. Ours seemed among the best. Maui also seemed nice. We had a King size bed, bathroom and it was great not to pack and unpack during this part of the trip. I agree with Lisa that the South Island is the way to go, unless you have more time. Roads can be tough to navigate in the winter. http://www.newzealand.com/travel/i-s...sites_home.cfm This site is great and these i-sites are all over and extremely helpful. The best part is that they are free and you can e-mail ahead and get an agent to help you. That's what I did and we e-mailed for several months and set up the whole trip. It was great. On this site, they also have suggested itineraries, but beware, sometimes they underestimate the driving time. The roads wind all over the place, but they are in great shape. Let me know if you want more info. it was definately incredible.

Mademoiselle

Hi Kmather,
I looked into the self drive trip and decided to go solo, get our own car and accommodations.

I went during mid Feb to early March and thought I thought I was confirmed for a rental car, it was not to be, it was only a quote that they gave me or something like that, basically you have to book before arriving when in peak season.

We scrambled to find a rental car before leaving the US and had no such luck, it was an agonizing few hours at the airport trying to secure any vehicle. We finally got a car through Avis, all other car rental agencies at the Auckland airport didn't have any availabilities for us.

So off-season I would say would be April and probably November or so. Mid February was peak, that's all I can vouch for.

My favorite B&B was in Omaru http://www.highwayhouse.co.nz/ Norman and Stephanie are awesome, they gave us great advice on places to eat and things to do. We saw the miniature penguin colony and spotted a yellow-eyed penguin on the beach. I liked this small town. It's a bit off the beaten path (Omaru that is), but we set out for a looong drive from Milford Sound (Te Anau) to Christchurch so knew that we had to stop somewhere in between and the closer to Christhurch the better. I wish we had more time in Dunedin.

tropo

kwmather - like someone else on this posting, my wife & I got back from the North Island of NZ about a month ago. Great weather in Feb/March (in fact we swam just about every day, Lake Taupo, Haihei Beach on the coramandel, East Cape, etc) The previous we did to NZ was 28 years ago, and that was 6 weeks campervan of both islands. Gosh Auckland has more traffic now, and where did those motorways come from?
This last trip was a "beach/cafe/winery" trip with a bit of sightseeing thrown in.
Just my sixpence worth of advice - if you want to see something different in the North Island, and not touristy stuff, try some of the themed highways, which we did....1. Forgotten Highway, starts near Stratford (out of New Plymouth) and heads towards Lake Taupo region, not much traffic but loads of great scenery & interesting pub enroute (stay the night to meet interesting locals), then "East Cape" Highway, to see beautiful coastline, maori churches, little forgotten villages. Then try to do the "Coramandel" Drive around the peninsula. Have a swim at Haihei Beach & walk to Cathedral Cove, coffee/lunch at one of the beaut cafes at Coramandel town. Along the western coast of Coramandel Peninsula is a very scenic coastal highway. If you have the time to walk some of the beaches after a storm, you could pick up some very large green lip mussels near the shore. We saw a guy doing just that.
P.S. Try the mussel dishes in restaurants cooked in coconut juice, washed down with a NZ Sauvignon Blanc)
Sorry to ramble on, but I do love NZ, its a lovely country.
Next year we are going to re-visit the south island, & take in Abel Tasman National Park & walks, and kayaking on the Marlborough Sound near Picton. Then there is the mussel seafood restaurant at Havelock.

kaneda

Twice I have driven around both islands in about ten days and seen lots and lots. It is very easily doable, staying at the many B&B's. Get yourself a Loinely Planet guide which is absolutely packed with information and buy a good map (rather than relying on the rubbish one the car company give you).

Garages do a great selection of hot pies so if you want a snack, check them out. Fish and chips seems to be the local dish. Very good.

Note. You do not take your car on the ferry but drop it off one side and pick up another one the other side from the same company.

kaneda

Make that LONELY PLANET guide to NZ.

We could do with an edit facility here.

heathy

Mmmmm... " driven around both Islands in about 10 days and seen alot... " alot of road I'd say.
As for the pies in garages... Kiwis resort to these at times of desperation . Good advice about " The Lonely Planet Book " though.
Im sure Kaneda means well, but it would be a traversty to gallop thru the country. Sadly lots of tousists do this and then tick NZ off their "to do " list. Every season has its merits , depends on your interests. Aim for quality not quantity and Im sure you'll have a splendid time.

Chenoa

2 weeks to both North and South would be touch and go. I suggest that you stick to just one island. We did 17 days for South in end mar-early apr 05, and we were on the road everyday.

We stayed at BBH backpacker hostels in doubles with or w/o ensuites. For the price, there's little to grumble about. If you intend to self-cater (which we did), all kitchens are well equiped, although some are better than others. www.bbh.co.nz

The only B&B we stayed at was a Dunedin - The Albatross Inn. http://www.albatross.inn.co.nz/
This is a homely and inviting B&B at NZ$140/night. We stayed on the ground floor - that's the one beside the front entrance. The bedroom is not featured on the website. I feel that it's much nicer (and romantic) than those shown.

I can recommend EZY car rentals in CHC. Their rates are very competitive and the Nissan 1.6 sedan served us well. They offer free airport transfers to/from their depot very near the airport. www.ezy.co.nz

For travel guides, I find THE ROUGH GUIDE most detailed.

Happy Planning!

Chenoa

You may be interested in my trip report here.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...enoa&fid=3

Chenoa

Opps. wrong link above.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34597632

Calling forum moderators: We really should have an edit function here!!

Jed

As usual, Robespierre found a way to edit a post.

You click on 'view', then 'go to', and find the 'post a reply', then correct it, and post. It should come out with the new post.

It requires you finding the post, so if it is too old, it won't work.

Once, it posted both my new reply along with my old.