Auckland to Christchurch - Queenstown to Auckland
 

Will be doing a post cruise trip in January. What is the best low cost carrier to get from Auckland to Christchurch; and then from Queenstown back to Auckland. We plan on taking a car from Christchurch to Queenstown.

There aren't that many, if any, true low cost carriers. For the routes you mentioned, flying Air NZ or Qantas will do the job just fine. Just make sure you book your tickets on the NZ version of the site, e.g., from www.airnz.co.nz or www.qantas.co.nz and not airnz.com or something.

If you can rearrange to fly into Queenstown and drive out, you will get a more scenic flight (flight path is one way due to the mountains - flying in is much better than flying out). It is also easier to get flight availability at reasonable fare between CHC-ZQN and CHC-AKL than between ZQN-AKL.

Going to Queenstwn first is no problem. Are one way car rentals in NZ a problem. Picking up in Queenstown and dropping off in Christchurch.

Presuming this is a question, it is easy to get a one-way car rental. The drop-off fee varies by date and conditions, and can be quite expensive (often higher than the cost of the rental). Also the fee is different in each direction (depends where they are short of cars). You have to check for your particular dates and if it is high, try all of the companies, each will have a different rate and fee.

Dropping rental cars in NZ can be very expensive, so call several companies to find the best deal.

We too are dropping rental cars, both in the North Island (picking up in Auckland and dropping in Rotorua) and in the South Island (picking up in Hokitika and dropping in Queenstown).

We found a good deal with Avis in the North Island and with Budget dropping in the South Island.

Hope this helps.

Thanks it does. I would prefer the car so we can stop in Mt Cook on the way. If time permits spend a night.