New Zealand Holiday - stopover?

blondie29

Hi hope this is in the correct area!

Hoping to go to New Zealand with my BF in Nov 2012 for a wedding, flying into Christchurch.

We were thinking of maybe stopping off somewhere for possibly a week on our way over e.g. Thailand as we have not travelled before and are thinking this may be our only chance to see a small bit of the world!

Just wondering would this be the best option or would you recommend another country? We love beaches and sun!

Also which airline would ye recommend to do this with and roughly how much? We are going for roughly three weeks in total.

Thanks!

jamiecoins

well if you love beaches why not try a stopover in bali or in fiji both are great places and have great beaches like paradise

a quick search from sky scanner
7th november
dublin - fiji 829 euro one way per person
fiji to auckland between 300-450 euro pps
auckland to dublin 750 euro dates around november 22nd

have a propper search for your own dates

blondie29

Thanks for that jamiecoins! have you been to Bali or Fiji, which would you recommend the most?

jamiecoins

hi yeah been to bali for a wedding a few years back .great surfing aswell
really cheap if you know were to look accom isnt the best in some areas but there are loads of luxury villas i stayed in negara were the wedding was close to a temple on the beach was amazing have a quick image search on google and you will see what i mean

blondie29

looks fab alrite! Cheers thanks for your info! Will have to do some research now..theres too much choice hard to pick one!

esharknz

blondie29 wrote: »

Hi hope this is in the correct area!

Just wondering would this be the best option or would you recommend another country? We love beaches and sun!

Also which airline would ye recommend to do this with and roughly how much? We are going for roughly three weeks in total.

Thanks!

We are off to the Cook Islands, just over the international date line, and approx 4 hours from Auckland on our way back to visit my family in NZ. It's nothing but beaches really, but I love it.
Only downside is that the flights from LA-Rarotonga are on a Sunday only at present (Air NZ), but there would be the possibility to stop in LA too.
Cost us 1,500 each for May, but we are travelling premium economy back.

kiwipower

Bali is closer to Perth than NZ so could include a lot of extra cost and travel time.

Be careful with Fiji as there is a fair bit of political unrest there following a coup a few years back.

Cook Islands is suppose to be amazing, and I don't think quite as over done on tourism as Fiji or Samoa (though don't quote me.)

Most flights from Ireland/Europe pass through Asian countries so a stop over maybe worth considering and cheaper.

Can't speak high enough of Singapore Airlines and Singapore Airport, could be well worth checking out. CathayPacific fly through Hong Kong, would also be an interesting island to visit.

pclancy

Fiji is total paradise and well worth a stop on the way to NZ. Both Air NZ and Air Pacific fly regular between Auckland and Nadi.

DO NOT STAY ON THE MAIN ISLAND as it sucks, is full of tacky resorts and as Kiwipower said has some political unrest. Some of the best places to visit are the islands off the west coast, some of them really good value to stay on.

http://www.awesomefiji.com/ are one of the boat operators that can get you out there and source budget accommodation. I stayed up on the Yasawa islands at a place called Oarsmans Bay. It was absolute paradise.

Mo Lester

hey Op,

after new zealand we stopped off in Mana island,,, fifteen min flight from fiji airport.stayed in a hostel for a few days its tiny but nice...then stopped in hawaii. booked my flights with an english company as they were cheaper and then got aerlingus from dublin to heathrow cheap and same on return from london.

dermiestv

If you're traveling over the States, then Hawaii is always a very good option.

blondie29

thanks for all the replys!

We were thinking that maybe stopping off in asia or somewhere like that for a week before we hit christchurch as it would not be out of our way then. Tyring to keep the cost down a little, am I right in thinking that by going to Fiji it would cost alot more.

Also thinking it might break the long journey aswell, although nothing set in stone as of yet.

Where would people recommend to spend the week lets say in thailand that's not too dear either!