Final Travel Prep
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New Zealand in a tour? |
 Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:51 pm |
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| Hey guys, i'm in Sydney at the moment and i'm planning to leave to do the East Coast when my friend gets here on Nov 3rd. Having spent 3 weeks here already i'm going crazy with boredom. I'm thinking that there is no way that i can stay in Sydney until he comes over. My current accommodation runs out on Monday 5th October. So i'm thinking that with this 4 weeks until he meets me, i could go to New Zealand. I've seen some 21 day Adventure Tour but it's about 3000 Australian dollars. Is there any cheaper tours that anyone knows of? Also, what are my option with getting a tourist visa for NZ....how long can i get and what do i have to pay? Also, how much do you think a return flight from Sydney to NZ would be? I know people will probably tell me to buy or hire a car when i'm over there as it would save money and give me more freedom, but because i'm not a very experienced traveller i would rather do it in a tour. Also, because then i know that i've covered everything, even if it is in a shorter amount of time. Any help/feedback would be appreciated. Cheers. | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 20 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:56 am |
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| I wouldn't do a standard bus tour e.g contiki but rather a hop on hop off service, therea re a few companies that do them and they are all much the same check Kiwi Experience, Magic Bus and Stray
Flights won't be amazingly cheap as so close to the date just have a look on Expedia or below copied from http://www.travelindependent.info/ontheroad.htm#Moving%20around Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific: Prior to 2000 cheap-fare alternatives to Qantas and Ansett had failed, but then came Virgin Blue and Jetstar, which both have excellent domestic coverage with fares from about 35USD - (Jetstar now being the budget arm of Qantas). Virgin Blue also flies to the Pacific Islands (getting to Fiji, Tongo or Samoa, will cost about 400USD return) and Jetstar into Asia – Bali and Bangkok among others. Also worth a mention are Rex (Regional Express) on the East coast, Skywest on the West coast (worth noting for Perth to Broome (skipping the Gibb River Road)) and Air North for the northern half. Between Australia and New Zealand, Pacific Blue has cheap flights from about 150USD and competition is fierce with Jetconnect (see Qantas NZ site) and Jetstar. Between Oz and NZ routes such as Brisbane to Christchurch and Melbourne to Dunedin make exploring much more effective than the standard Sydney to Auckland route. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 963 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:45 am |
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| I just did a quick search on Jetstar for you, and you can fly from Sydney to Aukland on the 10th of October and return on the 31st for $204 Aussie Dollars. Bargain.
Book quickly though. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 5217 Posts |
| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:27 pm |
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| Hey
I did an adventure tour & found out that Stray is actually the same company, only hop on/ hop off so id recommend that, you go to the same places but have 2 pay for your own meals/trips/accom. |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 16 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:02 am |
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| Yeah, if i did a tour then i'd include all activities/meals etc such as this adventure tour http://www.adventuretours.com.au/23-day-all-of-new-zealand/
I just want to know if there are any tours with a similar set-up which people could recommend, or is the adventure tours the best one out there? |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 20 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:06 am |
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| I can highly recommend Stray...I had a wicked time doing the north island with them...
Wouldnt recommend Kiwi which I did the south island with...I felt Stray put in the extra effort to find the decent sports and the drivers were both more knowledgeable and a better laugh |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 1061 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:04 am |
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| Good to know-I have just booked with Stray, doing both North and South islands with them, starting end of December. Can't wait! | |
| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 13 Posts |
| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:38 am |
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| hey,
glad i saw this post, i thought Kiwi and magic bus were the only options i had... i think i'll probably choose stray now for my trip 
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 164 Posts |
| Posted: Thu Oct 1, 2009 2:20 pm |
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| looks like i just missed suggesting this one but for future reference there are a couple of other tours options:
http://www.flyingkiwi.com http://www.contiki.com http://www.hakatours.com have a great trip  |
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| Back to top | Location: Unknown | 5 Posts |
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