Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

NZ by Princess cruise or land tour?

drsel

By drsel,
in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers

 Share

Recommended Posts

drsel

drsel

Posted
Posted

Considering how vast and beautiful New Zealand is, would it be better do it as a separate land tour or on a Princess cruise from Sydney, with stops at 6 ports in New Zealand?

 

How many nights are required in each of the main sightseeing cities to cover all the must see must do attractions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aus Traveller

Aus Traveller

Posted
Posted (edited)

Whether you go on a cruise or a land tour depends on what you want to see and do and whether you feel you can undertake a land tour with constant touring and moving to different accommodation every couple of days. You would see much more on a land tour than on a cruise. I suggest a two-week or three-week land tour would be ideal because there are great things to see between the main towns/cities.

 

A land tour can be either self-drive (very easy for NZ) or with a tour company. You asked how many nights are required in the main cities. That would vary. Often the answer would be "two" and on other occasions it would be "one" as you would be sightseeing through the day, then move on the next day for more sightseeing. That is the way we usually do a travel holiday, but some others prefer to base themselves in one spot for a while and travel out from there. That works well in Europe, but (in my opinion) not so well in NZ and not well in Aust where the 'sights' are not close to each other.

Edited by Aus Traveller
Link to comment
Share on other sites
getting older slowly

getting older slowly

Posted
Posted

Having done many cruises to New Zealand... a land base tour would to better if you want to see lots....

 

But it really comes down to what you want to see and the time available....

 

On a cruise... you would down only do a couple of things from a wide range of thing to do...

 

Land based will give you time to enjoy what you would like to see

 

And totally agreed with Aus Traveller

26 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

 You would see much more on a land tour than on a cruise. I suggest a two-week or three-week land tour would be ideal because there are great things to see between the main towns/cities.

 

It is a great place to visit... and are looking forward to our next holiday there

 

Cheers Don

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, drsel said:

 

Considering how vast and beautiful New Zealand is, would it be better do it as a separate land tour or on a Princess cruise from Sydney, with stops at 6 ports in New Zealand?

 

How many nights are required in each of the main sightseeing cities to cover all the must see must do attractions?

 

Yes, much better to do a land tour, as for how long, that is dependent on so many factors, time, money, interests are just a few.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mr walker Holiday Sharing Rare

mr walker

Posted
Posted

I think we came up with the best option for us for our NZ trip last year. We had cruised NZ previously & so had visited most of the regular ports, and were keen to see some other places, not readily accessible on a port visit day.

 

We did a 12 day self- drive tour ahead of a 10N cruise from Auckland back to Sydney. It was a wonderful experience, certainly added to by some advice from posters here on CC, particularly OzKiwiJJ. We visited Christchurch, Aoraki/Mt Cook, Queenstown [3N], Franz Josef, Westport, & Picton on the Sth Island, travelled to Nth Island on ferry, & stopped at Mt Ruapehu [2N], Waitomo & Auckland ahead of the cruise [Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Akaroa, Dunedin & then the sounds before Sydney.

 

We had a great trip & of course, wished we could have spent even more time travelling in NZ.

 

Hope you get to do something similar perhaps. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
drsel

drsel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Yes, much better to do a land tour, as for how long, that is dependent on so many factors, time, money, interests are just a few.
I would prefer to spend 3 to 4 nights in each of the main tourist cities.
I would like to cover all the must see and must do attractions. Usually these are all covered using a city pass, like in Europe.
We know how to budget well and avoid wastage of cash. We always do tours on my own and never ship excursions.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
drsel

drsel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I think we came up with the best option for us for our NZ trip last year. We had cruised NZ previously & so had visited most of the regular ports, and were keen to see some other places, not readily accessible on a port visit day.
 
We did a 12 day self- drive tour ahead of a 10N cruise from Auckland back to Sydney. It was a wonderful experience, certainly added to by some advice from posters here on CC, particularly OzKiwiJJ. We visited Christchurch, Aoraki/Mt Cook, Queenstown [3N], Franz Josef, Westport, & Picton on the Sth Island, travelled to Nth Island on ferry, & stopped at Mt Ruapehu [2N], Waitomo & Auckland ahead of the cruise [bay of Islands, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Akaroa, Dunedin & then the sounds before Sydney.
 
We had a great trip & of course, wished we could have spent even more time travelling in NZ.
 
Hope you get to do something similar perhaps. 
Right now we are planning a long land + Cruise tour of Australia, new Caledonia
I was wondering if I should I do a Cruise from Sydney to New Zealand also
Link to comment
Share on other sites
drsel

drsel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
New Zealand isn't like Europe. Much of the more spectacular scenery isn't near the cities. You really need to drive around to see it. And even in the big cities there is nowhere near as much to see as in a major European city.
What are the costs of travelling and sightseeing in Australia and New Zealand compared to US and Europe?
much more expensive?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, drsel said:

What are the costs of travelling and sightseeing in Australia and New Zealand compared to US and Europe?
much more expensive?

Hard to say as it depends on the type of accommodation you choose etc, and also on the exchange rate. If you're coming from the US or UK it's probably a bit cheaper.

 

This was the thread that Mr Walker started when he was planning his trip. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, drsel said:

I would prefer to spend 3 to 4 nights in each of the main tourist cities.
I would like to cover all the must see and must do attractions. Usually these are all covered using a city pass, like in Europe.
We know how to budget well and avoid wastage of cash. We always do tours on my own and never ship excursions.

Well you might need wards of 6 months and $200,000 to do it properly then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
drsel

drsel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Well you might need wards of 6 months and $200,000 to do it properly then.

Haha, are you scaring me?

 

.I better stick to my US$ 2800 Cruise which visits only six ports in New Zealand.

 

I will get to sample New Zealand and figure out if it is better than Switzerland, Austria, USA, etc

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Wow!! What type of tour are you thinking of that would cost $200,000? When we are travelling by road we usually budget for a 'per day' cost and wouldn't spend big bucks.

He's probably dreaming of touring in a luxury limo and staying in luxury lodges. 🤣

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aus Traveller

Aus Traveller

Posted
Posted (edited)
5 minutes ago, drsel said:

More like US $200 per day

I think we could travel for AUD$200 a day. 🙂 That is for two people, not per person. 🙂

P.S. Maybe AUD$300 a day for two people staying in mid range motels and obviously not splurging on expensive meals.

Edited by Aus Traveller
Link to comment
Share on other sites
drsel

drsel

Posted
  • Author
Posted
That would be about NZ $300 a day. It's doable if you're happy to stay in motels (and most NZ motels are very nice) and don't go to fancy restaurants for meals. 
Thanks, do you have ready made itinerary for a budget tour of Australia and /or New Zealand?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OzKiwiJJ Great Review Rare

OzKiwiJJ

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, drsel said:
9 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:
That would be about NZ $300 a day. It's doable if you're happy to stay in motels (and most NZ motels are very nice) and don't go to fancy restaurants for meals. 

Thanks, do you have ready made itinerary for a budget tour of Australia and /or New Zealand?

No, this is a forum not a travel agent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...