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Flying to New Zealand

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited January 2023 in General Chat
I'm planning on going to New Zealand for a month in february and im looking to book the flights in the next day or so.

the only thing is im quite scared of flying and the amount of time it takes to get there is worrying me! im definitely going but i just wondered if anyone has been there before, which airlines they flew with and which they would recommend. i thought that it took 24 hours but most of the flights are coming up at at least 28/30 hours :| and the cheapest ones can take up to 3 days!

at the moment the cheapest flights i can find are with Emirates airlines, they stop over in Dubai and take 28 hours. iv heard emirates are a good airline. there also some flights with Lufthansa airlines that stop over in Hong Kong.

which is best? or any other recommendations? i need help! hehe :]
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I love Singapore, and when we flew to Sydney Air NZ were pretty good. Likewise Emirates.

    I used to fly to Australia reasonably frequently and all those airlines were good. That said, Singapore had the best entertainment and the best food.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ohh there are several schools of thought on this one - most people say that its best to do it all in one go as quickly as possible and to take lots of valium. The other which i'm in is to break up your journey and get a break off the plane in between and possibly stay overnight somewhere so you get some rest.

    I like lufthansa - and would choose them becuse they tend to run A340's which has a better seating lay out than a jumbo - and because they are pretty free with the booze and speak to me in german. But i'm sure emirates are good as well
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    Wyetry wrote: »
    The other which i'm in is to break up your journey and get a break off the plane in between and possibly stay overnight somewhere so you get some rest.

    Yeah I'd agree with this - I did it all in one go with Singapore airlines and although in terms of comfort it's probably one of the best flights I've been on, it was WAY too much in one go and took me a good week to get over it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote: »
    do it all in one go as quickly as possible and to take lots of valium.

    :D

    Nah seriously, I'd reccomend going to your nearest STA travel and getting them to sort you out with a stop over somewhere for a night or more, if you wanna see a bit more of the world.
    I did it all in one go to Australia in May, only with hour long connections in Abu Dhabi and Singapore....and it was a fucking MISH! I can't sleep on planes and I get real un-comfortable... I don't even wanna think about it. lol
    However the airline I flew with in May (Etihad) are another arabian airline, and they're really good. Great service, great film selection... only problem is, you will have to stop for at least a connection in Abu Dhabi.
    This time I flew with Qantas....they're a bit meh. Shit film selection and I keep hearing stuff about them having to do emergency landings... staff are australian and really friendly though, and you don't have to stop anywhere for connections before your chosen stop off destination.
    I second Singapore as a pretty cool place to stop off....it's like a very modern, westernised Bangkok. It has a huge mixture of Malaysian, Chinese, Indian and Western Cultures...and because of this, has a great selection of food. Really enjoyed myself there.
    I think there are loads of places where you can chose to stop, like Bangkok, Beijing, Tokyo... although some of these places are rather out of your way, and will make the flight even longer. Singapore is en-route.
    Or you could stop in Brisbane and come visit me on the Sunshine Coast, we'd come pick you up from the airport and drop you back off again!:D
    I'm hoping to go to NZ for a couple of weeks in April next year, I'll probably be flying with Jet Star or Pacific Blue, because they're the cheapest. They only fly from Australia though I think....luckily I've done most of the harsh flight. :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know i thought that taking vallium on a flight only happened in the movies but one of my friends is travelling to Aus in a few weeks and nearlly all my other friends said that they all took vallium on flights as well - I think you can get it from your doctor - but i'm sceptical.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hmm thanks for the views! see we'll definitely be making a stop off, because im flying with my 78 year old nana :p and she cant handle it all in one go. shes been lots of times before though, about 8 times, and shes never had a stop off where you like, actually stay in a hotel room over night - once when she was flying with malaysian airlines she got the use of a hotel room for around 6 hours but thats it.

    whats worrying me now is i cant actually find a flight that only has one stop! the ones i can find is...manchester to dubai, dubai to sydney, and sydney to auckland. that still only takes 28 hours but thats taking off and landing 3 times! which is a bit much for me haha. ahh its so stressful this is, i wish i could just find the perfect flight hehe. ed im going to STA travel tomorrow to ask about stuff but im wondering whether they'll be able to help me because isnt it just for young people and students? will they be able to book a flight for my nana too?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They will normally help you but they are geared towards students and those under 26 and often they dont' have amazing deals if your not. The other option is to call someone like trail finders.

    Alternatively it might be worth going to london and getting the Air Newzealand flight that goes via LA as thats only one one stop in LAX for a few hours - however its unlikely to be much under 24 hours - but you could stop off for a night en route - if you ask then they shoudl be able to tell you if its any difference in price. Also if you have a longish stop getting a day room in an airport hotel makes all the difference as you can have a bit of a lie down and a shower and not feel so crap before you get on the next flight.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry, you beat me to it! I've just been looking at the Air New Zealand site, because when we flew to NZ from Heathrow we stopped off there for a couple of days (we also then flew on to Fiji but that was just our itinerary, it's possible to just go straight to NZ from LA). We found the stopover in LA really helped break up the journey. On the way back we only stopped there for a couple of hours and it was a bit traumatic as my boyfriend got called to security for having a bottle of lighter fluid in his rucksack :yeees: but that's another story...
    I can't remember exactly how long the flight took to be honest, but Air New Zealand is a good airline - there was plenty of in-flight entertainment and the food was fine.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    yay this is exactly what i wanted to hear because we've just more or less decided to go with air new zealand :) there is one stop off in los angeles and we have the option to stay overnight there or just stay there for a few hours before getting back on the plane. my nana has actually flown 14! times to NZ and shes been 6 times on air NZ and said its really lovely. we're just going to book it on the website. im quite excited now. thanks so much for all your opinions though they really helped!

    now just to decide what to do while im there! stupidgirl did you go travelling there? any recommendations of places to go? iv been looking at tours with STA travel, there'll only be me going on the tour so it should be fine, theres one for 8 days around the north island there. i also have family there who i'll be staying with including my cousins who are at uni in auckland and have promised to show me around the city :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote: »
    I know i thought that taking vallium on a flight only happened in the movies but one of my friends is travelling to Aus in a few weeks and nearlly all my other friends said that they all took vallium on flights as well - I think you can get it from your doctor - but i'm sceptical.

    Nah - That's what I did. Same when I went to Canada. Not a super-long flight, but getting those precious few hours made the difference. Actually, I got 17 hours of sleep on my way to Aus, and so I didn't even really suffer jetlag. Made the difference in the first few days of my trip, whereas my travel buddy didn't and was just fooked.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    God, where to start?! We did indeed travel, we were in NZ for 6 weeks (in a camper van!) and went to both the North and South Islands. I would recommend the following:
    1) The Sky Tower in Auckland - worth doing just for the fab views and watching people bungee jump past your very eyes (North Island)
    2) Zorbing in Rotorua - getting inside a big plastic ball with some warm water and being pushed down a hill at high speed, absolutely hilarious (North)
    3) Sandboarding in the Bay of Islands - getting on a body board and skimming down the side of an enormous sand dune, terrifying but completely exhilirating (North - we went on a day trip with Awesome Adventures while we were up there which was great)
    4) Skydiving in Lake Taupo - my absolute highlight, literally! Taupo is the cheapest place to do it and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I jumped from 15000 feet with a 60 second freefall - it was amazing (North)
    5) Shopping and checking out live music in Wellington - we saw Fat Freddy's Drop and Shapeshifter, two fantastic Kiwi bands, on New Year's Eve in Wellington which was class and the shops are great (North)
    6) Swimming with dolphins in Akaroa - this is a small, pretty French-style town where we went swimming with Hector's dolphins - they are the smallest species of dolphin and are very sweet and friendly (South Island)
    7) Luging in Queenstown - basically go-karting down a big hill but with the added bonus of stunning scenery and a cable car ride to get to the top (South - among other stuff, it's the extreme sports capital so there is loads to do)
    8) Ice hiking in Franz Josef - awesome experience. Unlike anything I've ever done before. You wear spiked shoes and trek across a glacier for a couple of hours with your guide, it's tiring but worth it (South)
    9) Whale watching in Kaikoura - again, awe-inspiring. We saw two whales on our trip but you often see more and other animals like dolphins etc. Watching them in the wild is mesmerising (South)
    10) Mountain walking near Lake Wanaka - we did the Rob Roy walk near Wanaka which again was tiring but stunning views and gorgeous weather (South - or anything there, it's beautiful)
    11) Combined boat trip/walk in Abel Tasman - this is a national park-type area which is all preserved, there are some fantastic walks and you can go kayaking as well plus view seal colonies etc on the boat. Oh and you have to have fish and chips from the Fat Tui stand! Lush! (South)

    Those are the ones that spring to mind, I'll go through my photos and add anything else I can think of. Our bible was the Lonely Planet for New Zealand though, there's loads of good information and advice in there. Also, if you fancy joining a pre-organised trip with other people (we did it in Fiji and my brother did the one in New Zealand and recommended it highly) try the Kiwi Experience. Basically you travel around on a big green coach and get to try out loads of fun activities and see the sights, accommodation gets sorted out for you and there's lots of added extras. We made some really good friends on the Fiji Experience too and have some great memories.
    Hope that helps :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wyetry wrote: »
    I know i thought that taking vallium on a flight only happened in the movies but one of my friends is travelling to Aus in a few weeks and nearlly all my other friends said that they all took vallium on flights as well - I think you can get it from your doctor - but i'm sceptical.

    Yeah we all took Val on our ways back from Thailand. It also saved our arses on those long un-comfortable train abd bus journeys through Thailand and Laos.
    You can only get them from doctors with a prescription, something you don't need in Thailand... you can pick them up from most pharmacy's.

    Firey, make sure you see some of the South Island too.
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