rachyde

Hello, all! My husband and I are looking to plan our three-week honeymoon from here in Houston and are torn between Hawaii and New Zealand. We are both in our mid-to-late 20s and love being active and outside. As far as accommodations go, fancy hotels and honeymoon suites don't appeal to us as much as camping, hostels, and/or campervanning. We're all about taking in and experiencing beautiful places, and at times would prefer to stray from the more touristy areas, if possible. Hiking, biking, being in/on the water, learning about the local culture/ecology, and "once-in-a-lifetime" sorts of activities all appeal to us very much.

As far as timing goes, we may try to head out as soon as mid-November (we are rather used to planning out our trips quickly, especially when there is cheap airfare involved - but please tell me if this would be unwise). We are looking to avoid the peak travel season in December, and so if November doesn't work out, we may alternatively go sometime between mid-January and March.

We would be grateful to hear about your experiences visiting either of these destinations - even if it's just a pros and cons list - and would be glad to know what you might recommend. Is one generally more expensive in terms of food/lodging/local travel/activities? Anything else we should take into consideration about either place?

Many thanks, in advance, for your help!
Rachael

carbacca

reading the judging by everything you've said about yourselves and what you'd like to do it would seem that NZ is a better bet for you. we've got all of the activities that you mentioned. november works well for most of the activities you mentioned, except maybe water based ones because it wont be overly warm and our water is quite cold even on the hottest days in the midst of summer

i am a kiwi and been to hawaii, however some years ago. i dont have overly fond memories of hawaii, just too darn touristy

mmack

I know its not good form to go off topic: but have you considered Australia?

We live on Kauai but Australia is our Favorite spot: just got back from a two week trip to Lord Howe Island (Capella Lodge)and the Blue Mountains (emirates Wolgan Valley). Lots of hiking, wild life (cute wombats in the Wolgan Valley) incredible scenery, easy to get around and then there is Sydney to top it off!! Great food and wine every where!

jpatokal

I live in Australia, and if it's incredible scenery you're after, NZ wins by a country mile. The food and wine are also pretty much on par, and prices are a wee bit cheaper.

That said, if you've got three weeks, you can quite feasibly visit both! Just don't get too ambitious, Australia is big.

number_6

NZ is considerably cheaper than most of Hawaii and much less crowded. If you go rent a campervan there are tons of holiday parks in beautiful locations and you can also be quite private if you go to the more remote parts such as the west coast of the south island -- where the glaciers are. Really quite different experiences particularly if by Hawaii you mean HNL. Both are good for a honeymoon so you can't make a bad choice, but I find NZ much better. And while I love Australia, most Aussies that I know will go to NZ for their honeymoon unless they can afford Lord Howe Island. NZ is a pretty special part of the world if you want unspoiled nature.

Efrem

I doubt they'd spend much time at the airport ...

Even if you meant the city of Honolulu, that's like putting down NZ because you can't do much outdoorsy stuff in Auckland. Were they to choose Hawai'i, I suspect they'd head for Oahu's north shore or one of the other islands. While I don't know enough about NZ to compare the two for this purpose, the state of Hawai'i overall is not entirely unsuitable for a couple with their interests.

losta

Sounds like New Zealand is the place for you. With 3 weeks you can rent a camper van and travel around the South Island at your own pace. I am currently planning a trip to NZ for 2015 and it seems camper travels is very popular and you can rent them for $1200 -$1600 USD a week.

In HI hotels are more the norm. I have visited 4 Islands in Hawaii. I especially enjoy Kauai but it's a pretty small Island so for 3 weeks in HI you would be best visiting several Islands. It's fairly easy to get to HI for a week or 10 days but it's much harder to get 3 weeks to go off to NZ.

Tanya934

Been to both and definitely would go for NZ. We went on our honeymoon to NZ & Australia in early December '93 before the weather became too hot. As others have said you can hire a camper van or stay in relatively inexpensive hostels and eat a lot more cheaply than on the Hawaiian Islands. IMO Hawaii is a disneyfied Polynesia, with the exception of The Big Island, and seems to be very commercial with timeshare sellers trying to talk you into buying their goods if you are a US citizen. The seas are warmer and the beaches are great. In New Zealand the wildlife is incredible with thermal springs and walkable volcanoes as well as amazing glaciers and heli hiking, whale watching and penguin spotting. The Maori sites are numerous and the Hangi's feel less staged and you can immerse yourself more in the Polynesian culture. Have you considered doing New Zealand with The Cook Islands as a stopover to get the best of both worlds?

Kitty63

I think you would get a great deal of enjoyment out of New Zealand.

To be completely honest, it will be touristy just about everywhere you go in the times you're looking at coming, as a lot of Kiwis take their Summer / Christmas break anytime between December and March.

I would recommend that you visit both the North and South Islands - there's just so much to see, and you could take your time doing it if you were to book a campervan (Google 'campervan hire NZ' - there isn't a consolidated website gathering the best deals, unfortunately, so you will have to get individual prices). There are heaps of places you can park up and stay ... the campervan providers will have all the details.

If New Zealand is what you decide on, I'd recommend you fly into Auckland, travel North to see the sights up there, then travel back down the North Island and then do the South Island. If you love wineries then you should travel down the East side of the North Island through Hawkes Bay; but if you want mountains and adventure then you should travel down the West side through New Plymouth ... or otherwise straight down the middle, through the Desert Road (the most common route). Rotorua - just above the centre of the middle of the North Island - is extremely rich in culture and a real tourist mecca (in a good way!). Robin Williams (the recently deceased comedian), used to travel to Rotorua regularly to cycle around the lakes.

Wellington is often referred to as the 'coolest little Capital' for very good reason - not only does it have the most incredible range of cafes, nightlife and entertainment, but you could easily stay here for a couple of days and visit places like Parliament Buildings and the Beehive, ride in the cable car, and see the seals at red rocks ... there is just so much to do. (You could even venture over the hill to the Wairarapa to visit the world acclaimed wineries over there, and visit the beautiful coastline where you might be lucky enough to see a seal or two on the rugged beaches [James Cameron, the famous film Director, lives out that way]).

The temperature in New Zealand during Summer is a very tolerable 25-35 Degrees Celsius - 28/30 being the average (much cooler than Australia). And unlike Australia, we don't have snakes or crocodies!! ;-) Australia is very beautiful too, but I think based on what you've said, New Zealand would be able to tick most of your boxes for a very memorable honeymoon.

If you decide on New Zealand and would like some recommendations on things to do and places to stay (if you want to go down the hotel / resort route), don't hesitate to ask :-)

Kitty63

Ooops - I lied in my previous message - there is a consolidated site that compares campervan rental prices:

http://www.vroomvroomvroom.co.nz/campervans/

ghostchips

As if people don't know who they are.

Kitty63

*Clap clap* Did that comment make you feel superior?

There are more than one people in the world named Robin Williams and James Cameron; I was merely clarifying.