With the Australian dollar soaring, a visit to our most popular overseas destination has never been better valued. New Zealand’s proximity, excellent skiing, spectacular scenery, and generally laid-back lifestyle (almost comatose in places) make it a great place for a vacation or extended trip. In 2008, nearly 900,000 Australians visited New Zealand. Recent marketing pushes from the NZ government have kept people coming back – it’s hard not to get a little excited after a bad week at work when those ads come up…it really is a great place to relax. So what is the best way to get there and get around?

Flights to New Zealand

There are plenty of great deals to New Zealand, with some decent competition for your money from different airlines. This has made flights cheaper than ever, but be warned, early booking is still key as cheap seats will sell out well in advance, especially at peak times. Direct flights to Queenstown from Australia are always full during the winter.

Important tips for booking flights to New Zealand:

• New Zealand’s international airports are Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown (limited direct flights from Oz in ski season)
• A good time of year to buy tickets is January. Air New Zealand will launch its special offers around this time and seats will be available for later in the year (for ski season or flights through September).
• Splitting your return fare between two airlines is one way to save money: Qantas, Virgin Blue or Air New Zealand may be the cheapest on the way to Auckland, while Emirates is often the cheapest on the return leg (a good opportunity to fly a major airline). Check online for one-way fares instead of round-trip fares. A little searching will save you money.
• Generally you should budget around $450-$500 Australian return inc. tax for flights to New Zealand. Cheaper than this and it’s a great deal.
• Direct flights to Queenstown are sure to be closer to $600 tax included if you arrive early
• Virgin Blue is the only budget airline that flies to all three major airports from Australia
• Lan Chile and Aerolineus Argentina can sometimes have cheap seats as they stop here on the way to South America (via Auckland)
• New Zealand is the most popular international destination for online flight bookings and there’s really no need to use an agent if you’re happy to book online. Save the commission that commission agents will charge you for booking on the web

Around the World with Star Alliance New Zealand is an easy stopover on the way to the states or the Pacific Islands.

At One World, Qantas or Lan Chile will take you there, whether you’re on your way to the United States or South America. Counts as part of the Australian region on continent-based tickets.

Best time to go Fall (March to June) or spring (August to November) are good times to visit. Fares are cheap at the moment and there is less tourist traffic in the popular places. The colors are great and your vacation will certainly be more relaxed. In the South Island September – October is a great time with the combination of changing seasons and snow capped mountains making for spectacular drives.

As in Australia and around the world, try to avoid local school holidays as prices will be higher. Try to avoid January, the first week of February, April, and the first weeks of July.

Move

rent a car

The cheapest time to rent a car is during the winter months, from June to October. The wide variety of rental companies and the strength of the dollar mean it’s an easy and affordable way to get around any time of year. $40 a day will get you started. Check out the big carriers like Hertz, Easy Rent and Budget, along with plenty of smaller carriers.

motorhomes

Renting a campervan has become one of the most popular ways to experience New Zealand, and with good reason. It will give you total freedom and it will be a little cheaper than staying in hotels during your entire stay. There is a huge network of camping spots where parking or otherwise going out at night in the backcountry is much easier than on Australia’s east coast – rarely will you be hassled by a ranger at 6am trying to fine you with $300 for parking in a public place. (those rangers, they’ll get you)

Generally a campervan will set you back around $100.00 per day with all the bells and whistles. A good tip is that buying comprehensive travel insurance in Australia will save you on your car insurance in New Zealand. A decent Australian policy will have high rental vehicle excess cover, allowing you to choose the cheapest motorhome insurance option. The travel insurance policy will be amortized several times.

Check out companies like Britz, Pacific Horizon, KEA, Apollo and Maui. There is a lot of competition for your dollar.

Make sure you understand the different road conditions in New Zealand – winter driving through narrow sleet and snowy roads can be very difficult and spoil any trip.

For longer stays, buying a car is an option: second-hand cars can be quite cheap, and the process of changing ownership is easy (just a trip to the post office).

Put your car/motorhome/person on the inter-island ferry

Getting around between the two islands with your car or on your own is easy and quite reasonable. Ferries run 5 times a day between Wellington in the north and Picton in the south. Keep an eye out for deals on these sites:

-Inter Icelandic

-Blue Bridge

Expect to pay around $50 NZ dollars for a single trip without a car.

backpacker buses

New Zealand is by far one of the easiest countries to get around with a backpack. An almost perfect network of hostels is served by excellent public buses or, the easiest option, backup buses like the Kiwi Experience. The latter is a hop on hop off style bus that will take you around the islands at your own pace, with convenient stops at major attractions and outside the door of selected hostels. If you can put up with the weird white shoe Brit wears spending daddy’s money, then this can be a great way to see the islands, with plenty of options for adventure activities along the way. Also check the ‘magic bus’ and ‘lost trips’ websites for similar services.

Lane

There are some fantastic scenic train trips in New Zealand that are reasonably priced and a great way to ditch the rental car for a few days. In the North Island, you can travel between Auckland and Wellington, or in the South Island, the Christchurch-Picton train is always popular. The latter encompasses the Kaikoura mountain ranges on one side and the Pacific coast on the other. The trip takes about five hours, goes through 22 tunnels and is highly recommended.

domestic flights

Currently Zuji or Air New Zealand are two sites that will allow you to book and pay for New Zealand domestic flights online. The prices are quite cheap; budget around $90 tax included one way from Auckland to Wellington as an example.

Accommodation – As with flights, booking well in advance is the key to getting a reasonable price for accommodation. If you’re winging it and booking just one night and hiring, be aware that in New Zealand’s ski season and school holidays accommodation options dwindle very quickly. Also, there can be a big difference in price across agents and different websites. Be sure to take the time to look at at least a few options before you book.

Ski? Cheap rates and packages, along with decent snow, make a ski trip to New Zealand an easy option over expensive and fickle travel within Australia. A week in New Zealand can really be cheaper than staying at home.

The main difference between Australia and many other destinations is that you can’t stay right on the snow (with the exception of Cardona, above Wanaka, and these apartments are booked months in advance). You’ll be staying in nearby towns, but this isn’t a big deal, as transfers to the mountains are cheap and being in Queenstown on any given night during ski season isn’t a bad thing.

Booking early is key, especially for large groups. Try to book flights and packages in January – there are always plenty of deals available. Consider booking late in the season, August through October. The snow is quite dependent and you will avoid price spikes.

main regions

queenstown

New Zealand’s capital for both skiing and adventure activities, Queenstown has never lost its appeal. You can ski in up to 5 areas, including nearby Wanaka. There’s accommodation from most digs to plenty of backpacker-style options that we generally lack at resorts in Oz. Queenstown is great in the summer too, with plenty to keep you busy outside of the mountains.

wanaka

About 70 km from Queenstown, Wanaka is a great tourist hub, although less crowded and hedonistic than Queenstown. It’s a cheaper option than Queenstown, but it has less scenic value and comes with little of the village-style atmosphere you get from its flashier neighbour.

Mount Hutt

Mt Hutt enjoys the longest ski season in the South Island due to its status as one of the highest ski fields in the southern hemisphere. It is only a 1.5 hour drive from Christchurch. Accommodation options are Methvan or Mt Hutt, ranging from simple budget motels to luxury resort style.

Mount Ruapehu

Located on the North Island, Mount Ruapehu is little known to people outside of New Zealand. For the locals, this area represents constant snow and the most developed ski areas in the country. Tour operators virtually ignore this region, although it is the first choice of many New Zealand locals during the winter. Heliskiing is best done in the South Island, along with other adventure activities.

Heliskiing For heliskiing trips or scenic flights over parts of both islands a multitude of options abound. Just be sure to check the security record of the carrier you choose.

Some other helpful tips Stay longer than the average five days most Aussies do – a month’s worth of travel here should leave you wondering what the rush is to get home.

Don’t bother buying road maps – the Value Tours brochure, from any agent in Aus, has a full rundown of accommodation options and a decent free map. Kind of like an NRMA guide. Failing that, the free tourist maps when you arrive are just as good.

Always check offers in January for the ski season

Also look to skiing in the North Island for something different.