New Zealand stop overs

[dartagnon]

My wife and I are planning to go to New Zealand for approx 4 weeks in January/February 2012 and would appreciate any advice re stop overs while getting there.
Can anyone recommend a travel site which would allow us to book flights which include these stop overs and can ABers recommend which ones to stay at (eg Hong Kong or Singapore or hawaiii) and for how many days. We would be staying with relatives in Aukland at the start and then hiring a car to explore, and again any advice would be appreciated re places to see and car hire etc...
Last year we booked Florida over the internet and saved a lot of money, but it looks like I'll need to go to a travel agent and pay their add ons, which I'd obviously like to avoid.
Thanks in anticipation

[DTCwordfan]

HK, Sing, 3 nights (used to live in HK) and probably KL

Sing is Sing - shops etc reasonable food. Stay in the best hotel you can afford - and dont be afraid of contacting the better ones and see if they have deals.

Not much difference between the Island and the Mainland in HK - personally would go for the former....I lived there for nearly 4 years. Plenty of very good restaurants and Sing people go to HK for the food - HK is the NY of the Far East, the three Fs - fast filthy and fun.

Good time to go as it isnt hot - could be a little rainy.

KL is not as attractive but you ahve the advantage of the countryside around like Genting and Cameron Highlands (hire car needed - unlike HK and Sing).

Whats your budget a night, what do you like to do before I comment further - NZ is truly amazing........beauitiful varied landscapes, great people, food, arts and very literate.

[Buenchico]

All of the major airlines allow you to book packages which include both flights and stopovers. For example, here's Air New Zealand's website:
http://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/
At first glance the search facility seems only to enable you book single or return flights, but there's also a 'Multistop' link. Click on that and you'll be taken to a new page, where you can book stopovers as well as flights.

On the BA website
http://www.britishair...trycode=GB&eId=101001
the link you require is labelled 'Book multi-city'.

I can personally recommend Singapore for an unforgettable stopover:
http://app.www.sg/

Chris

[dartagnon]

Thanks DT
We've been saving for this for a few years, so money is no object. Once we've spent a few days with my wifes sister in Aukland then we'll be off to explore and I'm sure we'll be obliged to spend a few days with them before we return home. I presume KL is Kowloon and I'd never even considered it as a stop over.

[PipinHull]

More likely Kuala Lumpur?

[DTCwordfan]

I spent 5 weeks out of season with an Avis Mazda sports car (which we took over to the South Island - Waikatomo, Rotorua, Auckland, Nelson, Christchurch (beautiful evening drive down the coast), Dunedin, Christchurch, Mt Cook Glacier, Queenstown, Doubtful and Milford Sounds (a must) - all the way to the bottom to Invercargill (like Morecambe but great Bluff Oysters), Alexandria, Greymouth (where the accident was) and its a long drive up the coast to Fox Glacier, back to Malborough and Nelson, over to Taupo, Gisbourne/Coramandel, back to Auckland and a wee expedition north.

Take your cameras! The ex and I went through 70+ rolls of film.

[237SJ]

KL is Kuala Lumpur. As DT says there isn`t a lot in KL if you just want a city stop. I would be inclined to go out via the west and stop somewhere like fiji then come back through the east and do Hong Kong or Singapore. I prefer Singapore but Hong Kong is a bit more exciting.

[Buenchico]

KL means (I assume), Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia Airlines offer some of the cheapest flights to NZ, connecting via their hub in Kuala Lumpur:
http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en.html

Chris

[DTCwordfan]

Great food and wine and very reasonable back then. We were getting top flight lodges for $NZ150 - 200 (end 90s) but this included a massive dinner (5 courses) and wine as well as breakfast and often 'upgraded' to their best suites.....even stayed at Huka lodge but that is a place where you don't look at the bank account. (We had the advantage of $US150 a night to pay for car/hotels/food etc as it was 'annual leave home'

Many restaurants are BYOB - the courtesy is to ask if you can tip - many will not accept it (all part of your experience). And you can only eat rainbow trout if you catch it - the fishing and golf is brilliant and they are truly sports mad - get to a rugby/cricket match if you can

[DTCwordfan]

KL is indeed Kuala.....

[DTCwordfan]

My first experience of NZ ways was in the then Regents Hotel in Auckland. We arrived on a Sat am (place closes down at lunch time for sport and on tele there was an All Blacks C side vs Romania with a young .fullback called Cullen!). Evening we dined by the harbour and turned in.

Sunday am - wife dead to the world and headed downstairs for a coffee and the paper. Some obnoxious bloke going on about the coffee - "Why can't you serve a decent cup of fecking coffee like the fecking Hyatt Regency" in a very loud voice etc etc. The waitress serving him disappeared to come back about 10 to 15 mins later with him fuming.

She was carrying a large silver tray with pots. "Sir, if you want a coffee from the Hyatt Regency, a pot of coffee from the Hyatt Regency you shall have." (in a loud voice).

He was gobsmacked and stitched up; the room was laughing.

My conclusion, "I already like this country"

[DTCwordfan]

Brilliant food - they eat the best - wonderful meat/fish/veg and fruit - seriously all we needed were their breakfasts and dinners - along with a pot of tea early pm and their 'nuclear' scones with fresh jam and thick cream........

The Timara Lodge in Malborough prided itself on all produce and wines coming from within 60 miles of the Lodge and it was probably true - guest invitations from Daniel LeBrun (a Frenchman making a very good Methode Champagnoise) and Vivasour 1st ever bottle Cab Sauv/merlot.......

By the way - tip - you soon learn - if there is a Jap sign outside the establishment, run a mile - not because of our friends from the Rising Sun, but because of Rising prices.

[delmac85]

it is possible to do your trip without a travel agent, we managed a couple of years ago, booking excursions etc at the same time, we also got married out there and did all that online as well. We used a company called 'Escape Rentals', even if you don't use them its worth looking at there site to see ther vans.

[DTCwordfan]

When you look at a map, you will think thats some 3 to 4 hours......No all day.......yes 3 to 4 hours of driving - then the stops for the scenery and photos,, stops for the wonderful arts and crafts shops (we used Fedex to ship home and 'avoid' customs), then talking to folk and they love to talk.....even the Chinese. We were in this small town overnighting in a motel for visiting Milford Sound (absolutely stunning) and the only restaurant was a Chinese. When they heard we were from HK (and despite being gweilos), they were out with free sizzling bambi and free this and that.......

You will also realise NZ is a long way from anywhere.......take good sunglasses as the air is crystal clear and it hits you square on at Auckland airport.

[DTCwordfan]

We did it without booking, some phoning ahead as we were in the premium hotels/lodges .....

[vindi48]

Unless "dartagnon" (I really like that - suppose your name is Charles and you Parisian with armour in the wardrobe - wonderful) wants to go all asian, why not consider a stop-over at Vancouver. That route needs less time with bum on seats than the asian routes. Air Canada Heathrow/Van, take 3 days or so at Van with a direct flight to Auckland on the best airline around, Air NZ. Book both flights on-line through the airlines's www site but watch Van/Auckland as there are only 3-flights weekly at present - and it takes 13 hours.

At Van I suggest using St Regis hotel (see Trip Advisor as it is the #1 hotel - in town centre and close to all you may need). In January you could even take an Alaska cruise - 5 days or so if money abounds. Send winter clothes home before leaving Van for Auckland.

You can book a NZ rental car through the UK offices of any car company. Don't bother about where to visit in NZ until you arrive as the rellies will put you right. Take 2-weeks each in North & South Islands. You can take the rental on the ferry between islands. Don't be misled by any map sizewise as merely to drive around the South Island is some 2000 kms (1250 mls).

You will enjoy.

[askyourgran]

Travelbag were really helpful planning our Australian trip, We stayed in Singapore on the way out and Bangkok on the way back, but the travel agent was willing to work out flight times hotels etc for any destinations plus we got 5 free internal flights thrown in. They also arranged airport pickups and guides at each destination for us who advised us of places to go and see. Singapore is nice to visit but I wasn't over keen on Bangkok, although the Golden Palace visit was OK. We could have had Fiji and a two day visit to America, but at the time the flight times didn't quite work out so we settled for Bangkok and home.