bms153

My husband and I ( in our 60's) are planning a month visit to NZ in March or April. Can you recommend hostels that would be appropriate for us? Plan to visit the major attractions and towns but have not set itinerary yet. Also any recommendations on B&B's, home stays, farms. thanks for your help.

Melnq8

Which areas?

mlgb

You can use the reviews on places like Hostelz.com and bbh.co.nz to get an idea on which are quiet or more party type hostels. The BBH rating system I find reliable if you stay in the mid-80s and above. Most hostels have some private rooms.

I found the YHA hostels to be a mixed bag, the kitchen facilities are usually good but the walls can be very thin. Some of them are awfully noise (I had a particularly bad room in Queenstown). The YHA in Mt. Cook is excellent and books up well in advance.

bms153

thank you for your response. Haven't gotten a firm itinerary as we are just starting to plan the trip.May visit Aukland,Christchurch, Te Anau, Queentown, Mt. Cook,Dundelin. We are opened to suggestions as must SEE.

mlgb

Christchurch had a bad earthquake a year ago. You may not want to include touring the city as many things are still closed.

Lots of good trip reports here, you may want to look at the one from indiancouple.

Melnq8

I highly recommend The Croft B&B in Te Anau.

Florida1

Last summer DH and I stayed at the Captain's Landing B&B in Auckland. It is in the Devonport neighborhood. The ferry to/from the downtown area is a 5-10 minute easy walk away. Devonport is a nice area to walk around-has some shops and restaurants right down the street from the Captain's Landing. Margaret was a wonderful hostess and serves a fabulous breakfast in their dining room overlooking the harbor. Would definitely stay here again.

britomart

Our goal was to stay in hostels on our trip to NZ, but I often found that in the larger cities, the price for a hotel room was not much more than the hostels. In the smaller towns, we had great experiences at all of the hostels that we stayed at and found that there was usually a good mix of ages, lots of families traveling together, and very little "party" atmosphere.

In Paihia (Bay of Islands) we stayed at Captain Bob's in the ensuite ($86 per night). This was a great little hostel and was our best value of the trip.

In Picton, we stayed at Tombstone Backpackers in the apartment ($110 per night). Very clean, recently updated and a great hostess who bakes scones every morning.

Te Anau, Lakeside Backpackers. $86 per night. It had the youngest age group of people in the communal areas, but everyone was friendly and noise was not an issue. The room was ugly but it had a great location and the front desk recommended Redcliff restaurant and it was our best meal of the entire trip.

Kaikoura: Bay Cottages, $100 a night. Friendly, helpful owner, clean, cute room.

I think all of the hostels we stayed at were BBH rather than YHA, which as someone else pointed out, I think YHA's tend to draw a younger crowd.

britomart

Forgot to mention: If you are going to Abel Tasman area, check out Riwaka Heights rental home. This was the loveliest place we stayed at. Beautiful grounds and views and very helpful, friendly owners. It sleeps 6 and is a bargain at $110 a night: http://www.nzstays.co.nz/Nelson-regi...ghts-6166.aspx

mlgb

Favorite Homestay/farmstays over the years, and I think the age brackets will be compatible with the hosts.

Karamea..Worth whatever they are charging, especially with the home cooking. My breakfast included a fish cake with whatever came up in the net that morning. Dairy farm.
http://westcoastbeachaccommodation.c...mmodation.html

Martinborough..Oak House. If you are into wines this is a chance to stay with one of the contract winemakers in Martinborough, the dining room is amazing even if the bedrooms are a bit old fashioned. It IS a bargain, especially if Chris offers to kill a bottle of his unoaked chardonnay with you. Must like cats. http://www.burings.co.nz/

Kuaotunu (Coromandel)..Drift In. Great breakfasts, amiable host. Near some nice beaches, up on the hill with a view from the deck.

golfernz1

You need to do some google searches, study a map and plan your itinerary then look at the accommodation. Check out hostelworld.com, there you will see the ratings by guests. Then check out each hostel's own website of the ones you like the look of.
You don't say if you are hiring a car or if you normally drive on the left or right hand side, have you been to New Zealand before? I assume you are driving if you are considering farm stays.
Check out jasons.co.nz for this and other types of accommodation.
What is your budget, if you can indicate that would help otherwise you'll get recommendations from $25 to $300 and beyond?
What are your interests, gardening, walking, museums etc as that could make a difference to where you stop?
I'm in your age group and I don't consider hostels anymore, I book on websites that have last minute deals for hotels or motels that have some comfort and privacy, at my age I feel I deserve it.
As you are coming here for a month I guess you have some knowledge of our attractions which are many so let us know so we can hlep you.