DH and I are likely going to be in Auckland from December 29 to January 4. We are looking for suggestions of things to do during that time. And maybe hotels that are convenient to the cruise docking area as well.
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I’ll be the first to admit that I’m jealous.
Cannot offer any suggestions as the only friends who traveled to New Zealand as tourists had pre-arranged itineraries focused on fly fishing.
https://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/discover-experiences-in-auckland/
I spent my time in NZ on the South Island (Christchurch was our base)–only flew into Auckland. Two pieces of advice (and I’ve posted this before when people post about going to NZ or Australia). I flew straight through from Boston–changed planes in CA. First, I’d go business class for the extra room. Second, don’t take off your shoes. I made that mistake on the second part of the flight and I could get them back on when we landed. My feet were really swollen. It was crazy. Have fun!! I loved New Zealand. The scenery is spectacular and the people we met were very friendly.
We are flying direct to Auckland from JFK…nonstop. No plane changes. It’s a long flight so I plan to walk around a lot.
Business class is…over $15,000 a person. It’s a thought only.
Another question…anyone have credit card suggestions? Something where we aren’t paying extra because we are abroad?
We stayed at the QT Auckland both our first and last night in NZ. It was convenient to walk to some things. We didn’t do a lot there, but we did have dinner on the water and take a food tour.
Advice the guy who did our reservations for NZ gave us was to NOT get there and crash, but to try and adjust yourself to the time there even on the first day. We got there in the morning, checked into the hotel early, and then off we went to our food tour.
We have multiple cards with no foreign transaction fees - American Airlines, SW Airlines, Chase Sapphire (not the really expensive one but the $99 one), and maybe even our Costco card.
ETA - I do think compression socks are a good idea for that really long flight. I think it may be the only flight I ever noticed my ankles were swollen some, even with (not very tight) compression socks.
I got the Apple Card (no international fees)
I also considered the Costco Card
I have the lowest level Chase Sapphire, and a BJs Capital One. We also have a Discover Card.
Maybe I should upgrade my chase or capital one?
capital one venture x gets you plenty miles and also lounge access
Your Chase Sapphire should have no foreign transaction fees.
We also flew Air New Zealand business class LAX to Auckland and it was a really nice experience. We had just an overnight as we were in transit to Tonga.
About $15,000 per person from JFK…and there are two of us.
I’ll check my chase card and capital one to see what we need to do…
Following. We will be there around the same time, though for a few less days. We are flying in the other direction, which a plane change in LAX to AUK. We lose a day. Because of the time of year, I actually opted to take a longer layover than I probably needed to, but with potential weather issues and it being the holiday season in case there was any problem with our flight for any reason, there are two additional flights between ours and the other ones that get us to LAX. There’s only one flight a day from LAX to Auckland and I certainly don’t want to miss it. All ears for suggestions of things to do, but we’ll have less time there.
I’d also be interested in hotel suggestions.
You could also look at the skycouch option on Air New Zealand. I haven’t tried it but it looks like an interesting concept.
I know it’s a long flight, but I think we are doing Quantas and economy. Lots of time to walk around…and I’d rather spend my money on other parts of this trip.