What is the best way to travel internally in newzealand.

hii guyz....im looking forward to spend a month in the kiwiland somewhere in the end of this year.....but am a lil zapped about the best way to travel in newzealand. I land at auckland and then i will visit christchurch, wellingdon, queenstown,taupo, mt cooks, fox glaciers n the other glacier ...dunt remeber da name ( almost everything covered i guess...hehehe). now the way i figure it out is that the cities i wanna visit are distributed in da south n north islands which means i cant do da entire journey on the bus.......internal plane travel would cost me a lot.....n i have no idea on the train service in the kiwiland.....so the bus seems the most appropriate option as of now......i have heard about the INTERCITY and NEWMANS...being the two comapnies who offer these services......would bus be an ideal option....n if yes then how long would the journeys be to the cities mentioned above....

Any local advice from a kiwi or an individual tourist who has travelled extensively in newzealnd would be highly appreciated....cheerz.

I hired a campervan, and its a great way to see NZ. The place is literally a juggernaut for tourism and you cant turn a corner without seeing some attraction, I think you can miss out without your own transport.

The downside of a campervan is that you dont tend to meet many Kiwis, bar the ones who own the caravan parks.

Lots of people hitch in NZ too.
Youll love the place, its beautiful. dont miss the countryside around Mata Mata (hobbiton, from Lord of the Rings) - even if you dont like the film, the place is worth a visit, just for its natural beauty.

Hi Afro

There's lots of options for you

• Campervan agree that this is the best way to get around. It might be tad expensive for you on your own tho with hire and petrol costs. It would be about $30 ish a day for one of the small Wicked or Escape vans plus another $20 ish a day fuel (depending on how much driving you do.

• Intercity/Newmans Bus Its actually the same company The cheapest way to get around by far. Get yourself a pass with however many hours you need to travel by bus. They connect to pretty much everywhere both North & South.

• Tour 3 major companies operate in NZ for more organised tours. Kiwi Experience is the young party minded tour (expensive); Stray for the more discerning travel and goes to more unusual places (mid); Magic is the cheapest and depending on the driver you get it ranges from great to poor. A good way of meeting lots of travellers, but kind of limits the opportunity to branch out on your own and meet the real people, especially on your tight schedule.

• hitch hike its free, VERY easy as everybody wants to give you a ride, gets you into some crazy adventures

• bicycle yes, it can be done

• train still quite expensive compared to buses and not the same coverage - you'll need to find something to get around locally too

I think that about covers it. If you need more advice on your trip, I'd be happy to help.

[ Edit: Edited on Mar 13, 2007, at 2:40 PM by phileas ]

Hi, I have also just visited NZ and find that it is a wonderful country to visit. Four of us travelled for two weeks and we used a hired car from EZY rentals. There are lots of maps and brochures, with details of estimated travelling time, so travelling is easy.

The rentals are cheaper for longer duration and we can pick the car near the Airport as they will pick you up when you phone them from the airport.

Have consideration for the time taken to travel as too long a drive, and you would have lost the time to explore and do some sightseeing.
We made the mistake of being too ambitious and travelled around 600 miles per day. E.g from Greymouth to Queenstown.

Thus, in my opinion, for greater flexibility , if travelling in a group, better to rent a car.

For accomodation, www.wotif.com and www.jasons.com are very helpful.

Try to get a good bargain from Air New Zealand where they package for you flight, hotels, rentals at very ,very good rates !

yoo guys.....we r just the two of us so i guess hiring a campervan could be a lil to exp for our liking......i think the bus ride seems to be more appropriate.......but can anyone tell me about the ride in the bus as to how comfortable it actually is.....cuz the distances between the cities are huge n i dont wanna be jacked in da bus for too many long hours......are the buses have sleeper seats or one has to sit down and undertake the journey.....

Hey thanks a lot guyz neways.......always advisable to seek pro opinion of people who have been there n done that......keep rollin in any further suggestions on this topic.....see ya

Quoting Afrodiziac

i guess hiring a campervan could be a lil to exp for our liking......

digging in on the campervan idea...

I forgot to mention that you are saving accomodation costs, i.e. $23 average per person per night if you stay in a budget hostel dorm. So, for the two of you that's $46 a day which practically pays for the hire of the van and a bit of a petrol if you sleep roadside (be careful of the signs!) or will save you $20 ish a day if you stay in campsites.

For showers and the like, you can pay a hostel $5-10 a day to use their faclities. Mountain streams and lakes are free

Quoting Afrodiziac

are the buses have sleeper seats or one has to sit down and undertake the journey.....

the buses are just buses, no sleepers. you get a seat, adequate leg room (unless you're a giant) and there's a toilet on board.

The distances are not huge, the longest you'll likely do is 3-4 hours which is nothing on the scheme of things - enough time for a quick read on your next stop, some ipod action and a cat nap.

Lots of good advice here, can't disagree with much of it at all.
However, there are a couple of trains routes that would be nice
to see the country on.

The TranzAlpine, Christchurch to Greymouth via Arthur's Pass
Nat. Park, is rated as one of the 10 most scenic railway
journeys in the world. I haven't been on the other 9, well
maybe a couple of them, but I would agree with that assessment.

Another route is the train from the Ferry point at Picton
to Christchurch. All day, but a comfortable ride and very
scenic.

[ Edit: Edited on Mar 14, 2007, at 7:19 PM by agss241 ]

For best experience - get a motorhome. Motorhome is somehow diff from campervan. As the name, Motorhome is like a mobile home. It have bed, stove, windows, toilet and electricity. You can park your vehicle at motor lodge or camper site at the end of the day to clean up the waste and recharge the batterry for a fees (around 20). As this is more luxurious compare to campervan, the price is also double or triple it depends on the duration and season.

eg : http://www.maui.co.nz/

For cheapest solution, Purchase a Campervan. Campervan range between 800- few thousand. The transfer fees is about 10 - 20 dollar and the process only take an hour or two. But be advise to signup with AA travel to get 24/7 onroad coverage as you nvr know the condition of the vehicle. normal coverage for a year is about 60 - 120 dollar

So let say u buy a campervan for 1500 and resell it 1 mth later for 1200. with all the fees, it only cost you max 450 which is still cheaper compare to renting a campervan which cost you at least 600 dollar.

p/s : it might take some times to sell yr vehichle, so a week or 2 before you go. start posting in the web/cafe/shoppingmall and on the car itself or even talk to the dealer