I'm 22 and plan to travel round New Zealand for about 2-3 months this time next year (I'm hoping Sept til the end of Dec) but not sure where to start to find the best deals....and how much money I should save (obviously the more the better but I will be on a budget, no 5* hotels for me)
I want to stop off in Malaysia, and pop to Singapore for a week(ish) then spend most my time travelling round NZ (back packing and hostels) then another week or so in Sydney. Then back home to London in time for Christmas.....
Can anyone suggest a good travel company for flights and travel around New Zealand (I'm thinking coach or train as I can't drive and don't plan to inbetween now and then)
Also any general tips when travelling would be appriciated.
Thanks
2006-10-17 04:54:55 · 14 answers · asked by samdawsoniow 3 in Travel ➔ Australia ➔ Other - Australia
Great itinerary! I've done this trip a number of times.
First, travel agents - try Trailfinders, Travelbag, Bridge the World, or Ebookers for the best prices with the most convenient (ie amendable) tickets. Although Travelbag and Ebookers are essentially the same company, Travelbag frequently has better prices with Malaysia Airlines.
Which leads us to the next point - which airline will give you the best deal with this itinerary? You should be looking at Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, British Airways or Air New Zealand. These will all provide you with free stopovers in either Singapore or Malaysia. I'd suggest looking at an openjaw flight - flying in to Auckland and then flying out of Sydney. I'd get quotes with your travel agent for flights from Christchurch to Sydney and from Singapore to KL (or wherever you intend to go in Malaysia) but also check out airline sites. When I go to New Zealand, I always fly from Auckland to Palmerston North to visit friends, and I book my internal flight on the Air New Zealand website in NZ (rather than the UK site) and collect my tickets at the airport. Last time, I saved £300 doing this. For Singapore / Malaysia, look at Berjaya or Air Asia - they're the easyjet of the region and can be very cheap.
As for travel arrangements in NZ, there are numerous backpacker bus tours that are hop on / hop off.
http://www.greatsights.co.nz/luxury-bus-tours/757/Gray+Line+Discovery+Pass.aspx
http://www.kiwiexperience.com/?source=adwords
Check out Rough Guides and Lonely Planet for the best places to visit.
Could go into loads of detail about Malaysia, but I don't want to bore you to death... I used to live there and absolutely love the country - places to see are KL, Penang, Langkawi, Kuching, Malacca, Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh... but avoid the East Coast and the Cameron Highlands at Christmas time as it's the rainy season there and it gets seriously soggy.
Have a fab time!
2006-10-17 05:25:33 · answer #1 · answered by Sarah A 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Get an ISIC card for some great discounts in numerous places. There are plenty of cheap hostels throughout NZ for accomodation & some may be willing to exchange a bed for work in the hostel if you are interested (ie, cleaning, etc). Most NZ hostels do not provide bedding though so be sure to bring along a good sleeping bag.
Within NZ, the coaches (Intercity) are good and relatively frequent & inexpensive, especially if you are willing to do the overnight (late) ones. You can get passes for unlimited travel on Intercity as well. You will likely meet people at the hostels who are driving as well and won't mind adding another person to a leg of the trip for gas money. This is a good way to get to some of the out of the way areas and also to do the drive through the Otago Pennisula.
Now, 22 & English, I'm placing odds you enjoy a good piss up :-) If so, you would like the Kiwi Experience backpackers bus tours. You buy a ticket that has several legs on it, hop on and off the bus as you wish but you can only do each leg once. This is a fun trip if you like to drink at night, most people who do not don't enjoy KE. The coach is typically driven by former backpackers and they know lots about where to go at all the towns and will help you to book accomodation (hostels) & activities in each place. So this is an easy way to see the country without a lot of effort. Also a great way to meet other people. If you do this though, KE does not go past Christchurch, so you will not get to Dunedin & South Otago areas. I would recommend that you get with some of the others on the tour, at least one that can drive, and jump off in Christchurch. Rent a car and drive to Dunedin, stopping for the penguin tours in Oamaru & at the boulders. See the tourist centre in Dunedin for maps of the Otago peninsula drive then head off. End up in Queenstown where you can pay a fee to drop the car and rejoin the tour there, or go back on to Christchurch and re-join the tour from that point.
Good luck & have fun!
2006-10-17 07:15:02 · answer #2 · answered by nativeAZ 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You will find the best deal in the youth hostels when you get over there. There will be lots of offers, as the budget package deals are highly marketed there.
The only thing I would recommend you get before you go is a HI youth hostel membership. It costs £6 in Scotland, and is more in England I think.
You can buy it wherever you go, but you will need to give an address so it is best to buy it where you currently live.
There may still be some skiing in Sept - Nov, so you might want to organise your journey around that. Otherwise, at your age I would recommend Queenstown (South Island) as a must. Fox glacier, and 90 mile beach. The Coromandel peninsula (North Island) was spectacular, as were the hot water beaches (dig a hole in the sand and a bottle of wine and have a hot tub all to yourself).
If you go to somewhere like Penang Island in Malaysia, you can stay in really cheap motels and the like. They are right next to 4 and 5 star hotel complexes, for which you can use the facilities if you dress appropriately (I think you are allowed).
I wouldn't spend a lot of time in Singapore, as it will be expensive for you.
Buy train tickets in Malaysia and not in Singapore. (It is cheaper)
2006-10-17 05:56:03 · answer #3 · answered by James 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've been there about 6 times and love it. Look on the Internet for for flights as you should be able to find good flight prices with quite a few of the airlines. When you get to NZ the best way to see everything is to join one of the tour buses like Kiwi Experience or similar. If you decide to use the rail system or buses they are much improved and you should be able to buy a pass that allows you unlimited travel for both over a set period. The backpacker accommodation is good and generally cheap - people are friendly - food and wine excellent. Have a fab time I'm addicted to the place
2006-10-17 05:14:07 · answer #4 · answered by feebee 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can do this yourself. You don't need a travel company. I was there in November and December last year, and I stayed in hostels the whole time. They are WONDERFUL there...so much nicer than in the US. Get yourself a copy of Lonely Planet New Zealand and plan your trip. What you decide to do depends on how much sightseeing you like to do and how athletic you are. Here's a link to my blog of the trip to give you an idea of what I did and where I stayed. Obviously you will customize your own trip http://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=16254770 Start reading from October 31 on. Do your homework and book your airfare soon. I traveled by train whenever possible since they take in the most scenic areas imaginable. Buses are OK. Flights within New Zealand aren't really expensive, and, with a limited amount of time, you should fly as often as you can.
You're going to have the time of your life.
2006-10-17 16:32:59 · answer #5 · answered by Bobbie 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
just arrive on the cheapest flight (cheapestflights.co.uk, ebookers.co.uk) and seriously you will get so much help and assistance from anyone in the airport. australia and new zealand are SUCH friendly countries. book travel once you arrive as they will tell you the best deals going at the time. different bus companies have different specials on all the time (loads of people travel by bus, they're cheap and safe) and train fares change all the time.
there are so many youth hostels in both countries. its probably a good idea to have one booked for the first couple of nights after you arrive. check out the YHA ones (you may need a YHA membership, check their website) as they are so highly thought of all over the world, and change later on for a cheaper one if desired.
lastly, there are not only friendly locals but hundreds of backpackers everywhere who have already been there and done that, and love to tell you all about it, so make friends (which over there is really easy) and listen.
i hope you have a great time. we did!
2006-10-17 05:06:33 · answer #6 · answered by gwendolynpearce 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When I went this year I went to Flight Centre and they checked up on the best deals at the time and they will find you the cheapest flight as possible. I flew with Emirates for £815 and it was excellent value. Lots of legroom and great staff. In relation to hotels to stay in find a cheap hotel here first and Flight Centre can help there too but shop around then go to the i-SITE Visitor Centre all the major cities have them and they will help you book the best hotels on your budget for you then and there.Lots of people were doing it, some even did it as they landed so its a popular way of travelling, you can book all your hotels in one go or book as you travel. The i-Site Centre can also book travel for you and recommend everything you need to have a good and safe trip, they basically do everything for the traveller.I loved it in NZ and I'm planning to go back. Good luck and have a great time and I know you will. If you need anymore help ask me to e-mail you and I'll help you as much as I can.
2006-10-17 07:50:23 · answer #7 · answered by GaryUKB 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I spent 4 months in new zealand after high school and it was the best time/money I spent. It's so well setup for both expensive and inexpensive travelling. The best way to learn about it is hostels, talking to people and seeing what others are doing. Then you can learn how you want to craft your trip. Be careful about theft. As safe as it is for violent crime, nz (and aus) have extremely high petty theft rates. I lost probably 1000$ in backpacking gear in a christchurch hostel.
Wellington is a very enjoyable city to party in and walk around, I enjoyed my time there so much. I hope to live in wellington someday...
2006-10-17 06:54:32 · answer #8 · answered by longdis 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The harbour-side city of Auckland is New Zealand's correct city and the lively economic heart of the nation, know it with hotelbye . Auckland can be referred to as the "City of Sails" and it sprawls out in helter-skelter fashion between Manukau Harbour (to the west) and Waitemata Harbour (to the east) with the lightweight central city area correct near the waterway. For most visitors to New Zealand, Auckland is the point of arrival, and several days soaking up the ethnic and outside attractions here should really be on every tourist's to-do list. The monuments, museums, and art galleries listed below are a number of the finest in the country. The suburban coastline of the town is speckled with great beaches, and the hawaiian islands of the Hauraki Gulf give a taste of New Zealand's spectacular national park landscape close to the city's doorstep. Auckland is surely a town worth seeing.
2016-12-20 21:42:25 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In Sydney you are able to benefit from the natural beauty. From unspoilt beaches to community gardens and, of course, the shining harbour, Sydney is just a town worth visited and with hotelbye you may have the chance to do that. The Sydney Harbour Bridge or "Coathanger," as the residents call it's one of the places you should not skip in your trip here. This place was the city's best-known landmark ahead of construction of the Opera House. Reinforced by significant double piers at each end, it absolutely was built in 1932 and remains the world's biggest metal arc link, joining the harbour's north and south shores in one bend growing 134 metros over the water. Along their period run two railway lines and seven counters for path traffic, the path of which is often diverse based on traffic flow. Also, to master about the exciting history of the bridge's construction you are able to go to the museum in the south-eastern pier.
2016-12-20 15:24:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋