Every year, there is a virtual stampede for cheap tickets to New Zealand. After all, very few places offer such an amazing combination of raw natural beauty, legendary cuisines, adrenalin pumping adventure sports, and a smashing shopping scene.
Tips for Visiting New Zealand
New Zealand, the ‘God’s Own Country’ is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The creator generously bestowed the destination with almost every ingredient. Quite unsurprisingly, travellers from almost all corners of the planet spend money on tickets to New Zealand. Here is some useful travel information about the country.
New Zealand Flight Tips and Popular Airlines
Considering the distance between UK and New Zealand, it may not be possible to come across a scheduled non stop flight to the country however there are a number of connecting or hopping flight options from UK airports to choose from.
Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Thai Airways, Qantas, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada are some of the airlines that operate convenient routes from Heathrow to New Zealand hopping at their respective hubs.
Booking tickets to Christchurch or Auckland makes perfect sense as the destinations have a plethora of airlines arriving into them from UK and other parts of the world.
Country’s national carrier, Air New Zealand apart from United Airways, and British Airways operate flights from Heathrow to Auckland via Los Angeles. Many airlines flights are operated in codeshare arrangement with their codeshare partners.
Emirates operates flights to Auckland via Dubai while Air Canada flies via Vancouver International Airport. Royal Brunei offers competitively cheap tickets to New Zealand and operates flights to Auckland via Brunei.
A short stopover on way to New Zealand in the fascinating Far East destinations which serve as hubs for many airlines could add an extra zing to your holiday. For Example, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines,Thai Airways and Malaysian Airlines fly to Auckland via their hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok andKuala Lumpur respectively.
Since non-stop flights are not available and one cant help flying indirect. Booking individual legs of the itinerary separately can provide travellers with the choice of their transit or stop over destination as well as greater savings.
As a general rule, booking your flights in advance can lead to substantial savings. Booking business class flights to New Zealand from Heathrow and arriving in popular ports such as Auckland or Christchurch would provide one with more options to choose from.
New Zealand flight tickets sell most for holidays during the summer months of December to February.
Cheap Holidays in New Zealand could be planned easily with a little careful research before booking the arrangements. Booking a complete package holiday including flights and hotels can save a considerable amount.
When to go & weather
For great outdoors one should visit during November to April, the warmer high season months. The summer months of December to February witness the country at its liveliest with plenty of sports events, concerts, and food and wine festivals. However, the far North can be too rainy during the summer months. Those looking for snowy delights would do best to visit during June to August. Usually, it snows the hardest during these months and this is also the skiing high season.
While in New Zealand
New Zealand is full of wonderful dreamlike destinations. There are scores of other delightful places tucked away in the North and South islands which brim with abundant charm.
Auckland
Hordes of travellers snap up tickets to Auckland to experience the feel of its numerous crowd magnets. The ‘city of sails’ is a hit with sports and cultural enthusiasts apart from those seeking electrifying nightlife and delightful food scene. Tour through fabulous vineyards, take on the dizzying heights of the Harbour Bridge Climb & Bungee, discover wonders of the volcanic Ranitoto Island, and capture the jaw dropping views from atop the Sky Tower. Mount Eden and One Tree Hill are Auckland’s popular activities.
Christchurch
Christchurch, with its postcard perfect beauty and more than 270 parks is fondly known as the ‘garden city’. Indulging in tremendous mountain sporting action, sampling the finest of New Zealand wines, gorging on scrumptious cuisines, spending endless days on exhilarating sightseeing, dancing away the nights, and shopping for exquisite leather, sheepskin, and woollen goodies all make Christchurch the stuff, dream vacations are made of. Climb the Port Hills in Christchurch for breathtaking views.
Queenstown
The wining and dining capital of New Zealand also lures travellers with its skydiving, skiing, skating, canyon swinging, bungee jumping, hunting, and white water rafting. Winter Festival from late June to early July is a great time to book air tickets to arrive in Queenstown.
Lying north to Wellington is the Kapiti Island which is popular amongst bird lovers and protects some of the rarest birds in its nature reserve. Apart from extremely rare flightless Takahe and the nockturnal Kiwi, the reserve is home to birds like Robin, Stitchbird, Saddleback, Kakariki, Kaka, Kereru. Mount Victoria in Wellington is worth exploring while in the city.
Dunedin’s (south island) magnet attraction, the Larnach Castle is the country’s only castle and with a long and interesting history dating back to 1871 makes a great outdoor retreat. Take in the breathtaking views over the Otago Peninsula. Flagstaff Hill is another of the city’s charming attraction.
Getting Around
There are many ways of travelling around in New Zealand. Bus travel makes for a cheap and efficient way of sightseeing. Options for travel by bus include Flying Kiwi Adventures, InnerCity Coachlines, GreatSights New Zealand, Naked Bus, Atomic Shuttles, and Backpacker Buses. There are also plenty of choices for tourists who prefer to travel by car. One can hire a car or join a car pool service. Similarly, buying a car and selling it off at the end of the stay is another cheap option. New Zealand’s scenic landscape also makes motorcycling one of the favourite ways of travelling. A less adventurous but cheap option is to travel by air as quite often the cost of domestic flight tickets work out to be lesser than rail travel or driving.
Useful Tips for New Zealand Flights and Holidays,