Frommer's New Zealand (Frommer's Complete Guides) [Paperback]

Adrienne Rewi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frommer's Complete Guides | Publication Date: February 15, 2010

Written by a New Zealand resident, and full of personal insights and opinions, this guide takes you to one of the world’s most exciting ecotourism destinations! It’s much more complete and in-depth than its major competition.

Whether you’re dreaming of hiking along the Marlborough Sound, trout fishing in Lake Rotorua, driving the Milford Road, or feasting on sumptuous green-lipped mussels or succulent lamb, this detailed guide will help you plan the trip of a lifetime.

You’ll find the latest on nightlife in Auckland and Wellington and the best places to lay your head after an adventure-filled day, too.

Frommer's New Zealand also features gorgeous color photos of the sights and experiences that await you.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Cruising the Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park is a great way to soak in its amazing scenery. See chapter 16.

Detailed maps throughout

• Exact prices, directions, opening hours,and other practical information

• Candid reviews of hotels and restaurants,plus sights, shopping, and nightlife

• Itineraries, walking tours, and trip-planning ideas

• Insider tips from local expert authors

About the Author

Photojournalist Adrienne Rewi's passion for words and writing has taken her throughout Asia and into almost every writing genre and every subject. When not organizing her next overseas trip, taking photographs, or writing her next book, she is based in Christchurch writing for numerous New Zealand and international magazines. She is the author of five editions of the bestselling travel guide Frommer's New Zealand and has published three other non-fiction titles and assorted short stories. She is a contributor to the Frommer’s publication Dream Vacations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 6 edition (February 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470497335
• ISBN-13: 978-0470497333
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Travel > Australia & South Pacific > New Zealand

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy and useful guide, October 27, 2005

By 

Eileen Galen (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's New Zealand (Paperback)

Frommer's guides don't get a lot of respect from a certain sector, it would seem. They do not invite you to be an edgy traveler, nor do they indulge the conceit shared by some US guide books that your trip must wholly original (never mind that many others will tread the same off-the-beaten path) in order to be fun and worthwhile.

This edition enables you to travel comfortably, adventurously, and happily - without spending a fortune. You will learn a lot and have a great time doing so.

It was a dependable resource for my husband and me as we drove (rental car), sailed (ferry) and flew (Dunedin to Wellington) for two weeks through the wonderful country of New Zealand. We wanted inexpensive ($65 a night, tops) motels that were clean, quiet, cheerful, and well-located, with an occasional splurge. We wanted to have fun but we did not want to surf, bungee-jump, hang-glide, or parasail, preferring cultural and historical sites, endless green meadows, the fine small towns, natural wonders (boiling mud, snow-capped mountains, steaming ponds and streams, glowworm caves and more) in addition to the exquisite and distinctive cities of this great country, and visits to friends.

New Zealand motels are great. They are mostly family-owned and their owners are on-site and try hard. Ours (all mentioned in this book) were consistently clean, comfortable, have mini-kitchens (microwave, electric kettle, small, quiet refrigerator, dishes and utensils and a work space plus coffee and tea) and you get your own little bottle of milk for your coffee or tea the next morning. Coffee is "plunger coffee," NZ for "French press." You make it with an electric kettle and ground coffee, included in the price.

The Pandora's box "mini-bar" has not completely infiltrated New Zealand. This was nice, too.

Several motels had unlimited hot water (in geothermal districts) and huge, fabulous, spotlessly clean two-person bathtubs as part of an inexpensive room.

We got terrific restaurant and other tips from the owners of these motels.

If you are in a hurry, Frommer's supplies you with especially useful "If you have only one day," "two days," etc. ideas. From these compact lists you can get a good idea of what is out there, and pick and choose as you wish. It's inevitable that you'll make your own discoveries along the way.

We tried more than a few of the restaurants, neighborhoods, motels, B and Bs, and historical and natural sights that this book recommended. No misses.

A curious tourist will find a lot that is helpful in this book. It was a handy and helpful resource, down-to-earth but not pedestrian, and I'd recommend it to any friend traveling to NZ.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good insights from a native, February 17, 2007

By 

M. Waring - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's New Zealand (Frommer's Complete Guides) (Paperback)

I thought this book had good coverage of the major locations most Americans would visit in New Zealand. More importantly, the author is a native of NZ and as such, she seemed to have some good insights into the local viewpoint. I had no difficulty finding the information I needed about every location we wanted to visit and every major hotel or restaurant that interested us. This book is probably not well suited to those who want to backpack through NZ on the cheap. It's aimed at the middle-class traveler who wants to stay in an actual hotel and eat in restaurants.

79 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great vacation spot - Ho Hum Frommer, February 6, 2004

By 

neil swiacki (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frommer's New Zealand (Paperback)

If you really like to vacation, the best way to do it is B&B's. When my wife and I vacationed in NZ, we stayed in B&B's for 80% of our trip.

Skip the big cities. Auckland is ok. But the pearls in this vacation are found when you travel by car. To the small cities. Across this geographic treasure. Here's better advice than Frommer can give: stay with the locals and learn the culture.

Kiwis love Americans. While staying on a ranch B&B, our hosts grilled fresh fish, created an incredible smorgasbord of fresh meats and served local brew. They invited their neighbors (about eight in a 10 mile radius) and asked my wife and I to "talk about the States." Price of the dinner for the two of us: $25 US.

At another small home, our hosts provided us with a five course meal, dessert and wine for about $20 each. While we ate our scrumptuous meal, we listened to our seasoned hosts as they recalled childhood stories of growing up "just over that hill." There was a large picture window overlooking their personal rose garden. About a mile away, a series of rolling green hills. Sheep grazing. The view was as pristine and peaceful as any I've seen in all my travels. When we were done with dinner, our hosts took us into their rose garden and proudly gave us a tour of their aromatic flowers.

Our hosts were 75 and 77 years old.

Frommer doesn't give much credit about the B&B's in NZ.

You'll need at least two weeks to enjoy the country. We stayed two weeks (one week on the north island and one week on the south island), then finished up with a flight to Australia to dive the Great Barrier Reef.

The south island is best. Aside from our bungee jumping (269 feet) near Queenstown, we took an exciting raft trip in Dunedin, saw the Yellow Eyed Penguins in Otago Peninsula, and were entertained by the flying Albatross at the Kaikoura Peninsula. Spectacular!

The New Zealand Bed & Breakfast Book by James Thomas offers more opportunities to enjoy this beautiful country. In the best possible accomodation - the New Zealand B&B.