Family Adventure: Exploring New Zealand with Kids

This guest blog is penned by Lonneke, a Netherlands-based mother of two, who shares her exciting family trip to New Zealand when her boys were 2.5 and 4 years old.

The Flight to New Zealand

YES! We booked our flight! Our next family adventure is New Zealand with kids. We booked our flight with China Airlines, with a stopover in Taiwan. Considering the long journey, we booked a hotel for the day to rest and relax.

Our flight route is from Amsterdam to Bangkok to Taipei. In Taipei, we have a 10-hour stopover. After this break, we continue our flight to Brisbane, switching planes for our final lap to Auckland. We anticipate exhaustion after these flights, so we’ve planned the first 2 days in Auckland as “off” days. We hope to pick up the camper on the third day. Now, it’s time to hunt for the best RV deals!

Finding the Perfect RV

After hours of online research, we found our RV; a 4 berth budget. The budget part means we pay €3.500 for 26 days. Although it’s a significant amount, it’s a great deal! This way, we will have more money to spend on various exciting activities during our trip. The only downside of a budget RV is that it can be a little older; but that’s fine by us!

With the flight and the RV booked, it’s time to plan the route. We aim to do a round trip from Auckland. Other wishes include spending a night on a farm, bike riding through a vineyard, and of course, seeing all the major highlights.

Hotel in Auckland

As we start and finish in Auckland, we want to book our hotel there first. One of our favourites is the Scenic Hotel. It’s very central, offering apartment-style accommodation with two bedrooms and a small kitchen. It’s a good choice when you expect to wake up in the middle of the night due to jetlag. We want to explore a little more before making the reservation.

Planning the Route

We started planning our route last weekend. In the one month we have for this trip, we want to visit the Southern and Northern islands. As we are travelling in the peak season, we want to book campgrounds in advance. The downside of booking ahead is that we aren’t as flexible as we would have liked to be.

Our first nights will be in a hotel in Auckland. On the third day, we will pick up the RV to start our road trip. We plan to visit Coromandel, Rotorua, Taupo, Hawkes Bay (wineries), and Wellington. We intend to spend two nights in every new place before heading to the Southern island.

This is the first draft of our travel plan. I am so excited for our trip to New Zealand with kids! We applied for a Top 10 discount card. This card gives you discounts on campgrounds, excursions, activities, and so on. In the coming week, we will look at our route on the Southern island.

Already love New Zealand with kids!

TO BE CONTINUED…

Tips & Tricks for Traveling to New Zealand with Kids

• Check several websites to ensure you get the best deal possible on your RV
• Apply online for your Top 10 Discount Card
• Start prepping the kids months in advance by telling them about the upcoming trip, long flight, and the beauty of the destination; show them photos and videos of New Zealand