Touring New Zealand with Family This Summer

Unified on 21/09/2016 - 22:22

We are planning to tour New Zealand this summer so thought of asking my OzBargainers the best approach, tips, tricks etc

  1. Timing wise december probably after mid-december
  2. 2 x Adults and 2 x Kids (Walker and Year-2)
  3. Duration 10-14days total trip
  4. Fly to any of the points so can start the Road trip and cover most places sequentially (Need help whether this is a great idea or now)
  5. I have looked into the map there are two islands as per http://www.newzealand.com/au/destinations/
  6. We would like to see places by "take it easy" so best places are must and then 2nd best places to consider. Wondering 14days maximum is enough or not to see both islands. A great highlights at http://www.newzealand.com/travel/library/g20162_1.pdf
  7. Initial thinking of touring on a Camper-van so can take our own pace and stop-start if we like to rest plus kids are tired. Need a good Camper-van so sleeping is comfortable and secured!
  8. If Camper-van is not viable or getting too expensive, then next would be hire a car but then accommodation needs to sort out. I am under impression that we can avoid this buy using the Camper-van which can also be cheaper to hire. Correct me with exact details if I am wrong
  9. Food to eat must and what to avoid for obvious reason and not suitable to aussies!!! lol
  10. Places to stay and places to avoid for historical/obvious reason. We aim to tour with family so want to avoid unnecessary hassles!
  11. Any other tips, tricks, suggestions, savings & recommendations are welcome!

I would really appreciate if I can get the experience if someone has done it with similar trip members so can try to simulate.

Cheers & thanks in advance :-)

Travel

Comments

  • nrg2010 on 22/09/2016 - 06:08

    Google camper vans NZ, and see if you have the budget during peak season.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/09/2016 - 07:01

    https://www.cheapies.nz/ :)

  • Skramit on 22/09/2016 - 09:34

    2 weeks is definitely not enough to see both islands properly if driving. If I were you I would start with the south island and spend 2 weeks doing it properly coast to coast. Go back in a few years and do the north island.

    When my wife and I did a driving tour, we flew in to Christchurch (worth seeing) and flew back out of Christchurch. In between we drove south to Queenstown via the various scenic places and then up the west coast via the glaciers which I highly recommend. You can easily kill 2 weeks with a trip like this. Make sure you allow 3 or 4 days in Queenstown for all the fun stuff and scenery there.

    There are a lot of good 'cheap' accommodation options, especially lots of quality backpacker hostels in NZ but if you prefer a camper van, go for it.

  • inherentchoice on 22/09/2016 - 09:53

    I love New Zealand.

    If you can go outside of School holidays (e.g. before mid-December or after mid-late January) things will be cheaper, especially flights.

    By flying into Christchurch and out of Auckland (or vice versa) you will only need to pay for the ferry once, and you will also save yourself a lot of km and fuel money. However the rental companies may charge you a slight premium for a one-way trip. Also I suspect renting from Christchurch to Auckland will be cheaper than Auckland to Christchurch, so get a few online quotes.

    You may be able to snag an uber cheap relocation deal on a camper or car via imoova or a similar site/company. However you will have to hold off on booking until a week or two before you arrive, and you will have be limited days to relocate the vehicle, although sometimes you can pay for extra days at full price. For example they have a dozen relocations on offer right now from Christchurch to Auckland for October, for only $5 a day with free ferry for the vehicle and driver.

    http://www.imoova.com/imoova/relocations

    This site might be better with 142 relocations available from Christchurch, some including fuel:

    https://www.transfercar.co.nz/search?travellers=&pickup=cust…

    14 days is enough IMO, but you probably want to spend most of them on the South Island. For me the best sights to see are: Milford Sound, Queenstown, one of the glaciers, Rotorua, Wellington and Auckland, plus the awesome scenery in between. At some point you may want to do activities like jet boating, rafting or the luge at Rotorua or Queestown. I also really enjoyed floating through Waitomo caves in an inner tube, aka 'Black Water Rafting'.

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