Posts Tagged holidays

Ski Holidays in New Zealand – Where is the Snow Skiing in the South Island of New Zealand?

Now is the time to get excited and to get your snow gear ready to head to New Zealand this winter to have some serious fun in the snow.

Here is some up to date information on the main three South Island New Zealand ski areas.

Opening Dates 2009 ski season:

  • Coronet Peak and The Remarkables are scheduled to open on Saturday 6 June and Saturday 20 June respectively
  • Mt Hutt is scheduled to open on Saturday 13 June

CORONET PEAK QUEENSTOWN Lifts: 1 detachable Quad lift, 1 Triple Chair, 1 Double Chair, 1 T- Bar lift, 1 Magic Carpet and 1 Beginner tow lift Terrain: For Beginners 20%, for Intermediate skiers 45% and advanced 35% Season: Early June – Early October Facilities: Everything you need for your New Zealand Ski holidays and children are well catered for and if you forgot to bring any clothing or accessories you can purchase them from the Retail outlet shop Drive from Queenstown to the mountain: 25 minutes (18kms) Ski Shuttles: Daily service to/from Queenstown Operating Hours: 9:00am to 4:00pm Night Skiing: Mid July to mid September, Friday and Saturday nights 4:00pm until 9:00pm

Coronet Peak’s South Island Ski Season has open slopes and wide rolling terrain and with only a short drive from Queenstown is the New Zealand most popular ski resort It is the first New Zealand resort so this is the original one and leads the way with quality. Coronet Peak has everything for your NZ Ski Holidays – from easy beginner to rolling off-piste slopes including long well groomed runs. Whatever your style or speed, there is something for everyone to enjoy their NZ Ski Holidays including amazing views from the top.

Coronet Peak also offers night skiing which is an experience out of this world and not to be missed – only the main trails are lit up for night skiing. If you get hungry or wish to rest the West End or Rocky Gully Cafes are open for great meals and drinks At the Base lodge you can get mountain chains, tickets and rental, also food and beverage.

The Remarkables Queenstown Lifts: 3 Quad Chair lifts, 1 Magic Carpet & 1 Beginner Tow Terrain: Beginners 30%, Intermediates 40%, Advanced 30% Season: Late June – mid October Facilities: Everything you need to make your Ski Holidays enjoyable including a children’s crache, self service cafe, ski and board repair and rental, a shop where you can purchase gloves, hats and scarf’s etc Drive from Queenstown town centre: 45 minutes (26kms) from QueenstownFor clients with no vehicle a daily Ski Shuttle runs from/to Queenstown.

Across the valley lies the Remarkable’s – Queenstown’s real alpine ski area. The emphasis here is in joining in and having serious fun on the New Zealand ski slopes – especially if you are a beginner or advanced skier or rider looking for a serious adrenaline kick!

The Remarkables enjoys three sunny sheltered bowls framed by towering peaks, and is known for its friendly and very relaxed atmosphere. This New Zealand Ski area is a wonderful place to learn to ski with the easy to use chair lift. For the more adventurous ones you will find lots of challenging terrain you have never seen before. The Remarkables offers one of the longest off-piste runs on the south island. Children are well catered for. If they are ten years or younger they will receive a free day lift pass and ensure that your New Zealand Ski holidays will be remarkable and unforgettable. Check out the new tubing park – it offers even greater fun in the snow for small and big children.

In addition to the above, all Multiday Lift passes and Combo Packages to the Remarkable’s include this year free transport to/from the Queenstown Snow Centre at Duke Street (The Station) – opposite the Hotel Sofitel.

MT HUTT – METHVEN CANTERBURYLifts: 1 Quad Chair, 1 Triple Chair, 3 T-Bars, 2 Platters and 2 beginner tows Terrain: Beginners 25%, Intermediates 50%, Advanced 25% Ski Shuttles: Daily service to/from MethvenLifts operates 9 am to 4 pm daily depending on the weather

Nestled high inside the eastern rim of the Southern Alps lies the Mt Hutt New Zealand Ski Area, which receives some of the deepest, lightest, driest powder in the entire Australasia region. Overlooking the spectacular patchwork quilt of the Canterbury Plains with the blue Pacific Ocean in the far distance, skiers and snowboarders from all around the world can enjoy the longest winter season in the Southern Hemisphere.

The wide open terrain is great for first time skiers and families alike. Extreme skiers and boarders will find more different challenges they can handle. There is a newly designed children’s crache available. The beginners terrain is well catered for teaching you how to ski and ride a snowboard.Snowmaking machines are busy from early May on to ensure great snow conditions for the whole Ski season.

Mt Hutt ski area is only one hour’s drive away from Christchurch and Mt Hutt’s village – Methven is very close by. The newly introduced radio station can now broadcast live on road snow conditions and other important information for everybody heading up the mountain.In 2008 Mt Hutt experienced one of its biggest snow seasons ever and we hope this year it will be another bumper season much better prepared.

So, what are you waiting for – come and have fun in the snow this winter – you will have a New Zealand Ski Holiday experience of a lifetime?

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Why You Should Use New Zealand Travel Agents to Book Your Holiday

Travelling to New Zealand is an exciting venture; from the top of the North Island through to the South Island and onto Stewart Island there are many sights to see and different experiences to enjoy. In order to get the best out of your holiday to the ‘Long White Cloud’ you need to find a travel agent that not only can share their personal experiences with you, but also share your enthusiasm for travel. By doing this you can be assured that you are going to get the vacation that is right for you.

If you are travelling from a foreign country to New Zealand, you may find that many of the travel agents you come across don’t have a broad range of experience with NZ vacations. You are therefore provided with options of package holidays which many other people have enjoyed before you, but perhaps are not personalised to your needs specifically. Working with New Zealand travel agents, provides a solution to this problem; they are based in the country which you wish to visit, and can therefore offer you the best advice on the opportunities you are seeking.

Many people do book their own holidays online nowadays, however this option often isn’t always the best in terms of getting the most out of your stay. If you haven’t visited NZ before you can often lose track of distances between one city / town and another and therefore try to squeeze too many sights and attractions into one day. New Zealand travel agents can assist you to get the best experiences possible, by asking where and what it is that you wish to visit and then help you to compile a suitable itinerary which meets your requirements. They will also be able to offer suggestions of activities or locations for example, which may be of interest to you, but which you might not have been aware of.

A travel agent’s job shouldn’t just stop once you have booked your trip, you want ongoing support should you need further advice on accommodation or transport for instance, whilst away from home. The beauty of using a New Zealand travel agent for your holiday there, is that not only are you in the same timezone & therefore don’t have to wait until ‘business hours’ (which are most likely going to be untimely for you) to call your travel agent back home but because of their knowledge and contacts, they will be able to assist you straight away.

Look for a New Zealand travel agent for your holiday in NZ today!

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New Zealand Campervan Travel – Is it Recommended ?

What Campervan Travel means?

It may sound obvious, but there is still some people that are looking in the campervan some kind of luxury 4-stars hotel with a nice bell-boy that brings up your bags. Well, sorry to disappoint, but even if I think everybody is able to do campervan travel, you must understand that it is possibly one of the wildest ways to travel. According to this, I think it definitely fits when you are visiting wild places. In a campervan you will not have time or hour to arrive to somewhere, you’ll have absolute freedom of decision, you’ll be able to sleep wherever you want except in specifically forbidden places and you’ll be able to also take a shower or cook inside.

Campervan Travel reduces the cost of the trip then?

If you do it in the right way, it definitely does. Hiring a campervan in New Zealand can be at a cost of 30 Euros (44$) per day during April to October, which is the low season down there. In this case, I must say that the typical European, Asian or American summer holidays will fit perfectly with the low season there. Still, take into account that flights will be more expensive as it is high season in your departure country.

There are many campervan companies there, one of them called United Campervans, that have special offers with free days for hiring for a certain period of time. In fact, hiring a campervan from them for 21 days will let you pay nothing from the 14th to the 21st day. In that way, hiring 14 days has the same price than hiring 21, so it is obvious that a good option is to use it 21 days to take the maximum benefit of the offer. Furthermore, after the day 21, for every 2 payed days you get 1 free. That makes that you could take a 27 days trip paying only for 18 for example.

What about travel insurance? Does it go normally included in Campervan Travel?

Travel insurance is possibly what we hate most, but in the end it helps protecting us from unexpected situations. And in a country of such wild nature as New Zealand, probably unexpected things can happen. The rates I mentioned below include a travel insurance that cover for an excess of 5.000 $NZ. That means about 2500 Euros. If anything happens to the vehicle, you could need to pay this quantity, but anything more than this quantity is covered by the insurance company. In any case, there are other complete insurances for an extra price of 15 Euros per day of hiring in a way that whatever it happens you can be covered.

Are there facilities for the campervans? Can I park wherever I want or do I need to use camping sites?

New Zealand campervan travel makes it easy for you. Both options are open, and it will depend on you if you want to use facilities or your prefer to camp next to the beach. The price for the camping places is very cheap, and they are well-equipped. From my personal point of view I recommend to always camp somewhere else, as in the country this is allowed, but of course for a long trip you will need a place where to get water and clean the clothes, so it is good to visit one every week or so.

So, would you recommend to do campervan travel there?

Absolutely. I think that going to hotels in New Zealand would be a waste of time. You are not there to admire the cities, you are there for the natural hot spots, and those ones can’t be seen from your window. The freedom that campervan travel gives to you will allow you to enjoy from all this sightseeing even more, to the point of sleeping next to the hottest spot you can find around.

Still, I’m one of those who prefer a 4 stars hotel, what should I do?

Probably the same as I do sometimes, get a travel certificate for free that would allow you to stay for 7 nights up to 4 persons in a deluxe rooms in a 4 or 5 stars hotel. The guys that distribute these certificates have some hotels and apartments in New Zealand at Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. The discount you get by one of this travel certificates is up to a 95%.

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