13 Day North + South Itinerary Critique
Hi all!
My wife and I are planning our first trip to New Zealand for next March, and would love some feedback on our first draft of our itinerary. A little about us: we're in our thirties and in decent shape. Things we tend to gravitate towards on trips include beautiful scenery, wildlife, easy to moderate hikes/walks, live music, zoos/aquariums/museums, and food. We're also big LOTR fans and would like to visit some of the film locations.
Fly Hartford > Auckland
Days 1-2: Auckland (Rest on first day - maybe zoo or aquarium. Second day pick up rental car and explore)
Day 3: Hobbiton, stay in Taupo
Day 4: Tongariro National Park/Taupo (Not doing the crossing, but probably will be hiking!)
Days 5-6: Wellington (Zealandia, WETA, Te Papa)
Day 7: Fly Wellington > Queenstown
Day 8-9: Queenstown (Possible day to trip to Glenorchy or Arrowtown on one day)
Day 10: Te Anau. Glowworms!
Day 11: Milford or Doubtful Sound. Stay in Te Anau
Day 12: Queenstown (This wound up being a bit of a bonus day. Would this be better spent somewhere else?)
Day 13: Fly Queenstown > Hartford
How'd we do? Anything we're missing out on?
Nothing is booked at the moment, so we still have some flexibility to shuffle things around. 2 weeks is about what we can manage, but squeezing in one more day might be possible if the situation really called for it.
One big piece of feedback I'm sure we'll get is that it would be better to focus on one island. That's fair enough, but we wanted to at least try to work something up with a smattering of both islands. This is the biggest trip we've taken and we may not ever get to come back, so it would be amazing to experience at least some of the highlights. Obviously, seeing everything would never be possible in our timeframe.
We really wanted to visit Mt. Sunday and Kaikoura, but couldn't really find a way to make it work. Again, can't see it all!
Be honest and unmerciful. Thanks very much for any and all feedback!