I have 2 weeks in the south island and 1 week in the north island (or three weeks total). It doesn't matter where I fly in, but I'll need to fly out of Auckland.
Which of the below options would be best?
1) Fly into Christchurch, drive a loop around the South Island, then fly to Auckland for a small North Island loop
or
2) Fly into Queenstown, driving throughout the South Island then taking the ferry to the North Island, ending in Auckland?
You can do option 1, and take the ferry, but either way, I would take the ferry as it's a great attraction in its own right. Great views through the Marlborough Sounds.
The only problem with 1 is the time it would take to do this. Also, there's little to see in Christchurch itself, but you could see Akaroa, about 90 mins south, which is a gorgeous town, then Mt Cook and across to Queenstown, then the Haast pass and along to the West Coast Glaciers and finally up across the top to Picton and the ferry. This can be done in 2 weeks, but does include some big drives. Also, in Queenstown you'll probably want to see Milford Sound which is either a 12 hour round trip (including 2 hour boat tour) or, a 2- 3 day event with overnight stops at Te Anau there, back, or both.
If you do 2 you cut out one side of the south Island - you see Queenstown, Milford and then either the west coast glaciers, or Mt Cook, the Christchurch region, Kaikoura and up to Picton.
On the north island Wellington is worth a day or two, then up to Rotorua and Auckland. A 2 week south/1 week north split is usually about right.
Thanks Harry!
Question: if I do option 2, I would probably drive north for a day or two just above Queenstown before going back south and making a loop around the island. Would this be best or is there a better way of going about it?
Milford Sound is a big focus for me, so I plan to dedicate at least a few days to the area, hopefully camping.
We have always found it cheaper and more flexible to drive... but if you do not have the luxury of time, might as well fly. I already posted about something related to this. Just focus on going around Queenstown and its surrounds...
Option 2 - fly to Queenstown, spend a day or 2 there, 3 days to Milford and back and overnight stay, then either head up the west coast via the glaciers, or east coast via Mt Cook.
On balance, I'd do Mt Cook and the east coast, but either will be great
A lot depends on how much you like driving - it does get you to places you might not otherwise see but flying obviously saves time. I agree with Harry that taking the InterIslander is part of the experience. I preferred Doubtful Sound to Milford (although I never went to Milford so I can't really make a comparison). I chose Doubtful knowing it to be less 'commercial' and was not disappointed. Backpackers at Manapouri was good but make sure they don't palm you off with one of the 'old' huts. Global Village backpackers at Greymouth was great - one of the best anywhere I've been (and I've visited 55 countries). Did a great 1-day walk out of Blackball from there to finish at the pub at Barrytown (where out transport back to town was the local school bus!). Queenstown is a great party and adventure activity town.
Since you have a good three weeks in New Zealand, you may want to consider renting a car.
But you must know that ferry companies will charge you to bring a vehicle across Cook Strait. Also note a $1,000 + your car rental fee applies if you do not return your vehicle to the same island you picked it up from.
The other cheaper (and more practical) option is to drop off your vehicle before your ferry crossing and pick up a new one on the other side.
You may want to have a look at this page for more info .
2 points in the post above are wrong.
Most car hire companies DO NOT charge a $1,000 fee for one way hires, or any fee at all in fact, providing you're taking the car between major centres. Eg, our recent 11 day one way hire from Christchurch to Queenstown in a 4WD with Avis cost about $900. In 2010 a 3 week hire from Auckland to Queenstown cost about $1400. If you used a local NZ company using used cars, rates would be even cheaper.
You usually do NOT need to pay for your car on the ferry. In fact, the major car companies like Hertz don't let you take the car on the ferry. Instead they require you to drop the car on one side, walk on the ferry, and collect another car on the other island. However, this is still regarded as a single hire, so you get the benefits of a long term rental, and don't pay for 2 cheap rentals.
However, some of the NZ car hire places like Apex do let you take the car on the ferry, and thus pay for the cost of the transfer. This might cost you more.
Unless you are going skiing you don't need a 4WD. A normal car hire with a good 2nd tier company like APEX will cost you about $50-$60 a day depending on the level of insurance you choose. Rent-a-dent can be as little as $30 a day for a long hire.
Both your options are quite viable. Option 1 might work out cheaper on car hire (2 circular hires vs a single S-N hire. Option 2 will show you quite a bit more countryside, including Picton & Wellington.
There is no wrong answer!