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When we booked the tickets to Auckland earlier this year, it felt like we had plenty of time to plan. Now that we’re a few weeks out, I’m realizing we need to pick up the pace on the things we’re still interested in locking down before we go! This is what we have on the books for our upcoming trip to New Zealand (in addition to our flights):
- Our rental car. We very rarely rent a car when we travel, and the only time we’ve done so while abroad was in Iceland – and that had some stressful results. However, after determining we were staying on the North Island, we determined this was the easiest way for us to get from the airport to our first destination: Coromandel. We’re renting from Europcar, so we’ll have a compact SUV (with carseat) to drive on the other side of the road for the first half of our trip!
- Our Coromandel Airbnb. The Coromandel Peninsula is known for its beautiful beaches, and we plan to hit Cathedral Cove, Hahei, and Hot Water Beach, among others. Our Airbnb is more off the beaten path than we normally choose, but the lodge is gorgeous and easily accessible to all the areas we want to visit. Plus, we don’t have neighbors right next door – it’s in a conservation area – if we have a cranky toddler having trouble adjusting to the significant time change.
- Our Auckland Airbnb. We’ll then make the drive back to Auckland and return the rental car, since we’re staying in the Central Business District (CBD), and most everything we want to do nearby is within walking distance of our beautiful apartment. We may plan some day trips from here – see below for a couple options we’re looking into – but we’re excited to really take the time to scope out the city. Plus, Tyler’s parents are staying in the same building, so we’ll be able to easily coordinate adventures.
- Our NZeTAs. Of course, we couldn’t get into New Zealand without our NZeTAs. I wrote up a more thorough explanation here for how we got that set up ahead of our trip.
What we’re still looking into:
- A tour of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. This looks super cool, but isn’t generally toddler friendly. We need to look at our options.
- A day trip to Waiheke Island. Waiheke is a quick ferry ride away from Auckland, and it’s known for both its beaches and vineyards. Seems like a must-do, for sure.
- Key restaurant reservations. I want to make sure we have at least a couple strong meal options locked in, so we don’t miss out on eating the best local cuisine.
Some of this year’s other plans included…