jessi23659

I'm flying to Australia in December with frequent flyer miles (miracle!) and so my flight back is via Auckland. I decided that it therefore might make sense to spend a few days in New Zealand before heading back, and so the plan is to fly into Auckland on Sunday and back home on Wednesday night. But does it make sense to spend the four days in Auckland, or should I fly down to Queenstown or some other part of the south island and spend the time there (sacrificing more time to flying, but still getting a full two days of touring in)? I need help, as I've heard the south island is amazing, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra flying time or that I'll really be able to see anything in two days. Is four days in Auckland worthwhile? Should I skip the Auckland layover and just head home a little early?

Thanks for any suggestions!

hobbes

I'd say defi don't skip NZ. I enjoyed my day at Waiheke near Auckland, liked Devonport and the general feel of Auckland - my trip report has details. I'd combine Auckland with something else within driving distance on NI rather than get another flight to SI for just 2 days.

kiwi_rob

I agree. If you have only a few days, spend them in the Auckland region, north or south of the city. Leave the South Island until another trip when you have more time available.

Bushranger

If you really want to get down to Queenstown for the Fjords and Lakes one way you could look at it is seeing if you can skip the Oz to Auckland leg and pay for an additional flight Oz direct to Queenstown.
It'll not be much more than Auckland to Queenstown anyway and if they'll allow you to do that, every possibility of scoring a sales special.

www.bestflights.com.au is a good site to register with for emails on sales and www.webjet.com.au for airfare prices generally.
Book direct with airlines on finding a good price.

Other than that, it does not usually take too long getting through Auckland immigration and customs and domestic terminal is very close with plenty of Auckland to Queenstown flights you should be able to get a reasonable connection.

Alternately, what they call northland, north of Auckland has some pristine areas and you'll hardly brush the surface with a few days.

Songdoc

I haven't been to the Northland yet, but it looks beautiful -- and quite accessible by car from Auckland. (I'll be going to the Northland in May.)

Another possibility is to drive (less than 3 hours) to Rotorua. The city itself is nothing special -- but some of the surrounding volcanic parks were fantastic. Waimangu Volcanic Park was unforgettable. Totally different from spectacular Queenstown -- but still, a highlight.

mlgb

If you get a good connection and not much layover time, then it does make sense to me to fly down to Queenstown directly from the airport. It will take you just as long to get out of the Auckland metropolitan area by car. The scenery is spectacular, there is lots to do for a few days.

I would return the evening prior to your flight back. Then you would have Wednesday to see a bit of Auckland, take a ferry to Devonport from Auckland, and not have to worry about missed connections on Wednesday.

It takes about an hour each way to go from Auckland airport to the city center. The Airbus is the way to go. Unless it's a weekend, I don't recommend driving yourself into Auckland center.