Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Auckland or Christchurch - One Night Only

I have one night in either Auckland or Chirstchurch on a return trip from Sydney to Los Angeles. Only 24 hours! Which is the better choice for a 30 year old, single guy looking for a quick feel of the city, catch a few sights during the day, and hit a few pubs at night? Thanks for the advice.

Auckland!!! It's alot more fun, a beautiful city on a beautiful harbor, great pubs (perhaps locals can give you some up to the moment names) - hate to say it, but I was totally bored in CHC when I was there on my own & about your age - unless you're into Olde-English looking towns... zzzzzzzzzzzz

Definitely Auckland!

Auckland is an order of magnitude bigger (almost 10x the population) so it is a bit like comparing NYC to Buffalo, but Christchurch is surprisingly good. The girls are prettier and friendlier than in Auckland which might be a consideration for such a short stay. I've had some amazing experiences and think Christchurch does rather well for itself. Of course YMMV and Auckland certainly is the closest that NZ comes to the Big City. But why go to NZ for that???

I have just come back to Australia from working in Auckland for two years. And during that time I visited Christchurch several times. My vote would have to be for Auckland. There is plenty to do, particularly around the Viaduct Harbour area which is full of bars and restaurants.

Do remember, though, that if you choose Auckland it is the major NZ airport and so going through immigration and customs is somewhat slower than Christchurch. Also, Auckland airport is 30 to 60 minutes from the city (or more!), depending on traffic, and Christchurch is only about 15 mins between airport and city.

Glenn

Here's another vote for Auckland.