New Zealand in February

Delboy

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couple of questions on New Zealand.
Heading there in February for 3 weeks which is high season for tourists and was wondering if it's possible to travel around getting accommodation and booking trips at short notice such as Milford Sound, Franz Josef Glacier, staying in Queenstown ,Te Anau....by short notice I mean the day before for trips and on the day itself for accommodation

thanks
 
Delboy,
I visited New Zealand last Feb and found it was possible to book some items at short notice, but if I was you I would put a little time & effort into planning your trip. The New Zealand Tourist Board website has an excellent travel planner which gives full listings of accommodation and activities. The link is http://www.newzealand.com/travel/UK-Ireland/. After some advice from friends of mine, I used to travel planner and found it really helpful. There is so much to see and do that you need some sort of plan, especially in high season, or you'll miss out on some things. Enjoy your 3 weeks, it's one of the best holidays I ever had.
 
hi Delboy,

i would allow maybe a 2 days for the more busier regions of NZ during that time, queenstown, te anau etc. to book accomodation. its a busy time of the year for tourists and even the kiwi's themselves for travelling around the country. as atmurphy said the website www.newzealand.com is an excellent website to plan your holiday there. after 3 weeks you will be wanting to stay longer i bet you, fantastic place NZ.
 
I was there in March last year and booked a couple of places before I got there but mainly just arrived in a town and found somewhere. Booked somewhere for 1st night just to avoid the hassle.
Booked our car here 7 year old corolla but it was fine and much cheaper to rent then other places [broken link removed]

Stayed in the Thomas hotel in Queenstown (google it), brillant location and view and cheap. Room was pretty basic but it is right in the centre overlooking the lake. Feb will be busy so might be worth booking.
Wanaka was also a town I really like about an hour from Queenstown- discovered it by accident and there is a place about an hour north of Greymouth Punika (or something) it was one of the best places we visited and discovered it by accident. Milford sound is about 5hrs away from Queenstown so would give yourself more then a day to break the journey.
Also found the New AA website very useful.
 
When I was in NZ I took the Magic Bus around the whole country for the very reason of ease of booking accommodation at short notice etc. When you're on the bus you tell them which trips and accommodation you want to do that day and they sort it for you (they obviously have a deal with a lot of hostels to reserve a certain amount of rooms) and pick you up again as many days later as you want.

They're cheaper and more regular than public transport to travel with too.
 
Myself and my husband visited the South Island in March last year and went to the places you are intending to visit, dont miss Kaikoura! We hired a campervan which I thoroughly recommend (hadnt ever done anything like it before but hooked now!). We had no problems at all booking trips, camp sites etc on arrival but February may be a little busier. Its a truly wonderful place.
 
Hi,

I spent 3 weeks in NZ in Jan 2006. You won't go too wrong in buying a Lonely Planet. We just had no specfic plan so we booked accommadation the night before we landed in a town or area. Worked out brillantly. The hostels and B&B's recommended in the book all proved to be good. Also check out the main tourism website, [broken link removed]

regards

Leon.
 
Myself and my husband visited the South Island in March last year and went to the places you are intending to visit, dont miss Kaikoura! We hired a campervan which I thoroughly recommend (hadnt ever done anything like it before but hooked now!). We had no problems at all booking trips, camp sites etc on arrival but February may be a little busier. Its a truly wonderful place.
were the campervan people good to deal with?service,price etc.and could you recommend them,we are hoping to go in feb2010,could i get the name of the company,to make enquires please.
 
HI Tarad

Would be interested in finding out the campervan hire name and also a list of the recommended camping sites you stayed at on the South Island!

Thanks
 
Its 9 years since we went but also did the campervan - totally recommend it and hooked since like previous poster - brings you to places that you would not otherwise go to - also gives freedom to make your own cup of tea !!
Only problem is the campsites do not allow campfires, unlike the USA
A campervan may look expensive at first but factor in what you save in food costs, also means you don't eat fried food every day. Maui used to be a big camper company, but try - have used them for USA many times and always cheaper than dealing with the rental company direct.
Its a great country, we had 3 weeks but still not enough, did not even get to Milford Sound.
If travelling from North to South island with campervan , need to prebook the ferry a few days ahead at that time of year.
 
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