New Zealand - RV touring versus Cruising??

[mando_cpa]

Did a search and could not find any threads to specifically answer this question.

 

This is a question for a specific group of people please! For those of you who have travelled New Zealand by both the RV land tour method and also by a Cruise Ship (Princess, RCCL, ect), or for someone who toured New Zealand by RV but understands and loves ocean cruising…. Can you give me your preference and why for a trip to New Zealand? I am not looking to debate cruising over land touring in general PLEASE! I just know that many travelers to New Zealand use the RV’s to tour. However, we are avid cruisers who have travelled all over the world and enjoyed this way of exploring, I am just wondering if we truly miss the essence of New Zealand by cruising versus the RV touring route.

 

Thanks in advance for your time and feedback.

[Globaliser]

I am just wondering if we truly miss the essence of New Zealand by cruising versus the RV touring route.

You would, because NZ is really quite a big country, and much of what there is to see is either inland or takes time to get to. A cruise would be good if you want to cruise, and graze some of the ports in NZ. But if you really want to see NZ, my advice would be to do it by road.

[rdowney]

I've been New Zealand twice. The first was two weeks using a car and motels and the second was B2B Sydney-Auckland on Celebrity last winter. The cruises provided access to some scenery that is inaccessible from land and were extremely convenient for cities such as Wellington. However, I felt that some of the best parts of the South Island could not be covered from a cruise ship. Queenstown and the road to Milford Sound are reachable only with a very expensive shore excursion. The spectacular drive from Queenstown to the west coast, along the coast past the glaciers and then over Arthur's Pass cannot be done from a ship. Mount Cook is also too far inland for a shore excursion. In addition, part of the pleasure of driving New Zealand is spotting an interesting trail and stopping off for a hike.

 

We got a great deal on the cruises and don't regret going, but if I were going to New Zealand once, I would do it on land. The RVs are popular, but when I looked at the rental and fuel costs and my inexperience with large vehicles on the left side of mountain roads, we opted for a rental car and motels.

[mando_cpa]

Thanks so much for the feedback! Have a great day!

[room010]

I agree with other comments that you won't really get to see the "real" New Zealand unless you go inland and the only way to do that is by road. We have toured both the North and South Island in an RV and it was a very pleasant experience with spectacular scenary (Lake Taupo, Rotorua, Mt Cook, Queenstown, etc); mostly uncrowded roads and spotlessly clean campgrounds which always have vacancies and are often in the most delightful locations.

[moyaroo]

but be careful I would personally not want a camper vehicle of any kind be it a truck based or bigger because the rural roads in NZ are at times very twisty and steep. Driving anything big becomes a challenge. I would look for a smaller vehicle with good handling characteristics and not top heavy (a manual transmission is actually your friend on many mountainous roads).

 

Enjoy!

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We did a three week land tour of both the north and south islands of NZ last year. We looked into the cost of hiring a RV campervan and associated costs of site fees/petrol/comfort etc etc as opposed to hiring a car and staying in Bed and Breakfasts/motels.

 

We chose to hire a car and stay in B & B's. We were not disappointed. Much more comfortable and the people you meet in the B & B's were fabulous.

 

I don't know how many accidents we saw in our travels involving RV's. The roads are quite treacherous in parts of NZ for RV's especially if you are a novice with them. Doubly treacherous if you are from a country that drives on the opposite side of the road.

 

You can't really explore NZ from a cruise ship. NZ is such a lovely scenic country and the towns like Queenstown which are hard or nearly impossible to reach on day trips from cruise ships are a must. We went to Fox glacier and took a helicopter ride up the glacier to land up the top of the mountain range next to Mt Cook. Fabulous! We went to Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound.

 

When you get to any airport in NZ there are accommodation books and maps available for every part of NZ which are free. That was our bible. Enjoy your trip.

 

NZ is a beautiful country and even the people are kinda nice:rolleyes:

 

Here is my photobucket link for our NZ trip. http://s949.photobucket.com/albums/ad331/eileenjsmith/New%20Zealand%202008/

[room010]

Agree that if you are an inexperienced RV driver or nervous about driving on the left then it's probably better to hire a car and stay in motels, B&Bs etc which have the added bonus of indoor plumbing!

[mando_cpa]

CC posters are the best! Thanks to all of you for the great feedback. We have decided to ditch the cruise idea and research the RV or car/B& B route instead.

 

Have a great day and thank you for your time!

[MMDown Under]

CC posters are the best! Thanks to all of you for the great feedback. We have decided to ditch the cruise idea and research the RV or car/B& B route instead.

 

Have a great day and thank you for your time!

 

Excellent choice.

 

If you decide to choose a RV, get a smaller model, which will make travelling on narrow roads and parking in small towns much easier. NZ is a small country.

 

Although we did the Maths, so chose a car and motel method of travel, we envied the people in RVs who could take their home with them (no packing/unpacking, being able to park in out of the way stunning places, etc.).

 

The rental cost of campers have come down in recent years. Recently, we talked to a very happy retired couple from Scotland in a Happy Hippee Campervan travelling from Cairns to Sydney. They said it cost the same as a car hire. Happy Hippees are in NZ also according to their website.

 

Have fun with your research.