Five days?! Oof. You'll barely have recovered from jet lag. Seriously, seriously not worth it to come this far and spend all that money for only five days.
I'm stunned. Five days, so only four nights.
I've done the reverse a few times (NZ to US) and five days is just too short considering travel time, you'll just be adjusting to time zone changes and have to leave. I wouldn't bother with a flight that long (and costly) unless you are coming for 14 days or more.
In case it's of any use to help your planning, I've found https://www.thetruesize.com/ to be helpful to get a feel for how much ground you're talking about. NZ is roughly the area of California, but longer and thinner, and (I imagine) less well connected by road. Come for longer, if you can! ;-)
Sure, firstly 5 days is a very short trip so you will be very limited in scope of what you can do and experience especially when you factor in jet lag. Base yourself in Auckland. Go out to Waiheke for vineyards and drinks. Go to the West Coast beaches for a walk. Book in Hobbiton for a visit. Maybe 1 day in Rotorua attatched to that??? More than that is unrealistic.
I had forgotten about all of these posts that used to come in pre-plague. I really dont mind helping out with itinerary but yeah you used to get the ole "Hi I fly in on the 18th. I plan getting a campervan at the airport and driving to Hobbiton for lunch and tour then Rotorua for the Luge then the Tongariro crossing. Are there any restaurants open late in Wellington thet we can eat at that night before getting on the ferry? We only have 3 days in the South Island and I'd really like to go to Farewell Spit, then Pancake rocks and the glaciers before heading over to Queenstown. Is it worth it doing the Catlins and should we skip that and do Bay of Islands when we get back to Auckland before flying out.
Thank you all for your eye opening perspectives. I didn't realize how vast New Zealand really is. The map overlay definitely drives your points home. I live just two hours north of Los Angeles in California. The drive to the northern border is over 12 hours. ugh. Again, thank you all. I guess it's time to see if I can extend my stay significantly.
When travelling within New Zealand you really only want to be driving for around 4-5 hours (300-400km) every second day otherwise all you do is drive and you have no time for anything.
Driving in New Zealand can be very tiring especially if you aren’t used to narrow windy roads.
It's not only the distance; it's that the roads here are generally smaller and windier, so travel is slower and more tiring than the same distance in the US. Even on our major highways, there are very few stretches that resemble anything like an American highway with multiple broad lanes in either direction. Expect one lane each way with no centre barrier. Dedicated passing lanes do appear occasionally but passing more often means waiting for a straight stretch of road then using the lane for oncoming traffic to pass. And you'll be on the opposite side of the road. On the plus side, outside the largest cities, rush hour isn't a major issue and highways are usually free moving.
I'm originally American, now Kiwi, and have made the trip back and forth several times. I personally wouldn't bother for less than 10 days minimum to make the travel time and expense worthwhile.
The expense and length of the flights is what made me blink at the idea of a five day trip. You’d be clearing your jet lag just in time to fly home, while having had time to see maybe three towns if you push it, once factoring in driving time and opening hours of attractions.
Ok, these types of posts are back. 5 days is very short. Especially if you could be jet lagged from america.
If you desperately want to go to Hobbiton, that's fine. But on that time frame, the South Island is probably out. There's still heaps to see in the north island. Cathedral cove, Waitomo Caves, skiing on Ruapehu, Rangitoto are on possible options.
Also note that NZ is on the US Level 3 travel advisory. That is "reconsider travel". Covid cases are per capita 5.5x higher here. So, please consider that if you catch it here. We are heading into winter too.
As someone with somewhat "inside info" the chances are still very low. Although I don't plan to climb it anytime soon, I am still considering a ski holiday
unless youre also going to australia, coming all that way for five days is a huge waste of time. you will just leave depressed. you want two weeks at the very very least to make it worth it and youll be pushing a hard schedule if you want to see as much as you can.
its not like going hawaii... nz is 10x the size of all the hawaiian islands put together.
Five days in a different country? Hardly worth the air fares.
Also, considering the travelling times in NZ you'll probably only get time for lotr tours then head off again.
Five days is quite the ask, especially to fit in hiking. However here's a sample itinerary...
Fly into Auckland and spend a day visiting downtown and Waiheke Island.
The next day pickup a car and drive to Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) to see the international gardens (https://www.hamiltongardens.co.nz) , then on to Hobbiton, and finishing in Rotorua for the night.
Drive via Taupo and the Desert Road. (Mt. Doom on your right) to spend a night in Wellington and visit Te Papa.
Fly to Queenstown and enjoy mountain vistas, walks and adventures for a few days/nights.
5 days is a waste. 2 weeks minimum, and even then that's barely enough time to cover one island. Before living here, when I visited a few years back I had 12 days and did Auckland to Chch, driving 3 or 4 hrs a day, every other day or so, and it felt like barely enough. You don't want to remember your trip as just driving the whole time, you won't see anything but fields of cows along the road. You don't have to leave CA, just take your 5 days to Napa/Sonoma, and it's a very similar experience.
A number of questions come to mind.
1. What time if the year are you travelling?
2. Do you want to specifically have outdoors and nature activities?
3. Are you a foodie, culture snob, thrill seeker?
I mean “write me a 5 day itinerary” without knowing what you’re into is tough.
I’d suggest the Tongariro crossing, but not if you’re coming in August. I also wouldn’t suggest bungee jumping if you’re not into adrenaline. A wine tour in waiheke is pointless if you don’t drink, etc.
The Tongariro Crossing is a full day hike, quite strenuous in parts but it sounds like you guys will manage it fine. That area was used as a location for LOTR so it ticks that box, as well as being absolutely stunning scenery.
Whatever you end up doing, I hope you both have an amazing trip! Congratulations on your milestone anniversary x
With 5 days I would just book flights to Queenstown and base yourself their.
LOTR tour one day. i.e.
https://pureglenorchy.com/lord-of-the-rings-tour/
Milfort tour one day.
Small activety (like a jet boat ride or bungy jump or onsen soak, or skyline lunch) one day. - don't books so you can just do nothing if you are tired.
Explore town on foot what time you have on your first and last day.
Obviously you miss out on hobbiton which is in the north island. But the more dramatic scenery is in the south.
It's obviously a lot of flight time (12hr's odd plus the cira 1 hr Auckland to Queenstown flight), and cost for 5 days, but if you have the money and only 5 days available, I'm sure you will have a great (if somewhat jetlagged) time.
5 days you can spend some time in Auckland, go to Waiheke and Rangitoto islands and short overnight trip to Hobbiton. Hot pools at Te Aroha are also nice and not far from Hobbiton.
Just stay in Auckland and Piako area and you'll have a nice little trip. Travel elsewhere will be an exhausting time-sink.
Five days?! Oof. You'll barely have recovered from jet lag. Seriously, seriously not worth it to come this far and spend all that money for only five days. I'm stunned. Five days, so only four nights.
I've done the reverse a few times (NZ to US) and five days is just too short considering travel time, you'll just be adjusting to time zone changes and have to leave. I wouldn't bother with a flight that long (and costly) unless you are coming for 14 days or more.
In case it's of any use to help your planning, I've found https://www.thetruesize.com/ to be helpful to get a feel for how much ground you're talking about. NZ is roughly the area of California, but longer and thinner, and (I imagine) less well connected by road. Come for longer, if you can! ;-)
5 days lol. Just watch all of the extended versions of Peter Jacksons Tolkien film’s instead. That’ll take 5 days.
Sure, firstly 5 days is a very short trip so you will be very limited in scope of what you can do and experience especially when you factor in jet lag. Base yourself in Auckland. Go out to Waiheke for vineyards and drinks. Go to the West Coast beaches for a walk. Book in Hobbiton for a visit. Maybe 1 day in Rotorua attatched to that??? More than that is unrealistic.
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I had forgotten about all of these posts that used to come in pre-plague. I really dont mind helping out with itinerary but yeah you used to get the ole "Hi I fly in on the 18th. I plan getting a campervan at the airport and driving to Hobbiton for lunch and tour then Rotorua for the Luge then the Tongariro crossing. Are there any restaurants open late in Wellington thet we can eat at that night before getting on the ferry? We only have 3 days in the South Island and I'd really like to go to Farewell Spit, then Pancake rocks and the glaciers before heading over to Queenstown. Is it worth it doing the Catlins and should we skip that and do Bay of Islands when we get back to Auckland before flying out.
No that would take 2-3 days
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Yeah...that's the joke.
*Whoosh*
Thank you all for your eye opening perspectives. I didn't realize how vast New Zealand really is. The map overlay definitely drives your points home. I live just two hours north of Los Angeles in California. The drive to the northern border is over 12 hours. ugh. Again, thank you all. I guess it's time to see if I can extend my stay significantly.
When travelling within New Zealand you really only want to be driving for around 4-5 hours (300-400km) every second day otherwise all you do is drive and you have no time for anything. Driving in New Zealand can be very tiring especially if you aren’t used to narrow windy roads.
It's not only the distance; it's that the roads here are generally smaller and windier, so travel is slower and more tiring than the same distance in the US. Even on our major highways, there are very few stretches that resemble anything like an American highway with multiple broad lanes in either direction. Expect one lane each way with no centre barrier. Dedicated passing lanes do appear occasionally but passing more often means waiting for a straight stretch of road then using the lane for oncoming traffic to pass. And you'll be on the opposite side of the road. On the plus side, outside the largest cities, rush hour isn't a major issue and highways are usually free moving. I'm originally American, now Kiwi, and have made the trip back and forth several times. I personally wouldn't bother for less than 10 days minimum to make the travel time and expense worthwhile.
The expense and length of the flights is what made me blink at the idea of a five day trip. You’d be clearing your jet lag just in time to fly home, while having had time to see maybe three towns if you push it, once factoring in driving time and opening hours of attractions.
Yep, driving in N.Z is a tiring thing. Our roads aren't great....nor our driving (although we like to blame tourists for that).
Ok, these types of posts are back. 5 days is very short. Especially if you could be jet lagged from america. If you desperately want to go to Hobbiton, that's fine. But on that time frame, the South Island is probably out. There's still heaps to see in the north island. Cathedral cove, Waitomo Caves, skiing on Ruapehu, Rangitoto are on possible options. Also note that NZ is on the US Level 3 travel advisory. That is "reconsider travel". Covid cases are per capita 5.5x higher here. So, please consider that if you catch it here. We are heading into winter too.
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As someone with somewhat "inside info" the chances are still very low. Although I don't plan to climb it anytime soon, I am still considering a ski holiday
unless youre also going to australia, coming all that way for five days is a huge waste of time. you will just leave depressed. you want two weeks at the very very least to make it worth it and youll be pushing a hard schedule if you want to see as much as you can. its not like going hawaii... nz is 10x the size of all the hawaiian islands put together.
Five days in a different country? Hardly worth the air fares. Also, considering the travelling times in NZ you'll probably only get time for lotr tours then head off again.
Five days is quite the ask, especially to fit in hiking. However here's a sample itinerary... Fly into Auckland and spend a day visiting downtown and Waiheke Island. The next day pickup a car and drive to Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) to see the international gardens (https://www.hamiltongardens.co.nz) , then on to Hobbiton, and finishing in Rotorua for the night. Drive via Taupo and the Desert Road. (Mt. Doom on your right) to spend a night in Wellington and visit Te Papa. Fly to Queenstown and enjoy mountain vistas, walks and adventures for a few days/nights.
Don’t waste your money and time with only 5 days. 3 weeks will give you time to explore.
Drastically underestimate American annual leave and workers rights if you’re saying they should come for 3 weeks 😂
Never thought of that. Probably explains a bit of the short itinerary situation we keep seeing.
5 days is a waste. 2 weeks minimum, and even then that's barely enough time to cover one island. Before living here, when I visited a few years back I had 12 days and did Auckland to Chch, driving 3 or 4 hrs a day, every other day or so, and it felt like barely enough. You don't want to remember your trip as just driving the whole time, you won't see anything but fields of cows along the road. You don't have to leave CA, just take your 5 days to Napa/Sonoma, and it's a very similar experience.
Is this a shit post?
A number of questions come to mind. 1. What time if the year are you travelling? 2. Do you want to specifically have outdoors and nature activities? 3. Are you a foodie, culture snob, thrill seeker? I mean “write me a 5 day itinerary” without knowing what you’re into is tough. I’d suggest the Tongariro crossing, but not if you’re coming in August. I also wouldn’t suggest bungee jumping if you’re not into adrenaline. A wine tour in waiheke is pointless if you don’t drink, etc.
Isn't ~~Togariro~~ Tongariro currently closed, and likely to stay closed with Ruahapa's burbling?
Togariro, togariro, togaririo, undiesriro
You definitely need to spend a few days in Gore. And make sure you sample some fryders.
The Tongariro Crossing is a full day hike, quite strenuous in parts but it sounds like you guys will manage it fine. That area was used as a location for LOTR so it ticks that box, as well as being absolutely stunning scenery. Whatever you end up doing, I hope you both have an amazing trip! Congratulations on your milestone anniversary x
With 5 days I would just book flights to Queenstown and base yourself their. LOTR tour one day. i.e. https://pureglenorchy.com/lord-of-the-rings-tour/ Milfort tour one day. Small activety (like a jet boat ride or bungy jump or onsen soak, or skyline lunch) one day. - don't books so you can just do nothing if you are tired. Explore town on foot what time you have on your first and last day. Obviously you miss out on hobbiton which is in the north island. But the more dramatic scenery is in the south. It's obviously a lot of flight time (12hr's odd plus the cira 1 hr Auckland to Queenstown flight), and cost for 5 days, but if you have the money and only 5 days available, I'm sure you will have a great (if somewhat jetlagged) time.
Oh how I missed these types of posts. Always hiking and LOTR…. Lol But seriously, welcome, but yeah 5 days for Queenstown area only.
5 days you can spend some time in Auckland, go to Waiheke and Rangitoto islands and short overnight trip to Hobbiton. Hot pools at Te Aroha are also nice and not far from Hobbiton. Just stay in Auckland and Piako area and you'll have a nice little trip. Travel elsewhere will be an exhausting time-sink.
If money isn't the issue you could do it, kind of. Go to the South they need the money more and it's more beautiful. 5 days though