I wanna travel round NZ, any good companys or info I should know?

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Sarah A

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 Â£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!

gwendolynpearce

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!

nativeAZ

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!

Jess H

Hi,

Maybe try Trailfinders. I got my round the world ticket from them, but I am not sure if they do offer more than that in one country. But they were really good.
NZ is fantastic and I spent 6 months there and trying to get back out as I am 'home' sick for it!!

nzfish75

NZ is one of the greatest places to travel around!

In case you didn't know (and were planning on using it) the Kiwi Experience is locally known as the f**k bus - may or may not put you off!

Have fun!

longdis

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...

feebee

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

ljtorano

try these websites might help you
www.newzealand.com
www.purenz.com
http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101-must-dos-for-kiwis/

GaryUKB

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 Â£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.

starlight_princess20

Call Swain Tours. They specialize in trips to Australia, New Zealand, Asia... Everyone that works there is either Australian or from New Zealand so they would be a great help.

www.swaintours.com

Purple girl

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.

Omgitshim1

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 Â£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)

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