B5.3.6 New Zealand: Coach Travel
Description
This article is from the New Zealand FAQ, by Phil Stuart-Jones and Lin Nah with numerous contributions by others.
B5.3.6 New Zealand: Coach Travel
Buses go pretty much everywhere there are main roads. There are many
different options with several companies including the Backpacker buses for
which you buy a ticket to travel the whole country and get on and off when
you wish (prices for Backpacker buses fluctuate wildly due to a price war).
Here is some miscellaneous information (prices quoted are in $NZ).
Auckland to Wellington overnight; around $45 - $50 per person (full fare -
$96).
Intercity bus currently (March 96) has only one bus per day north and south
along the West coast.
There is a daily bus between Queenstown and Dunedin, via Cromwell, each
way, but you will not be able to make connection in Cromwell without an
overnight stay.
There is a small van bus that travels between Invercargill and Dunedin via
the Catlin region that is a beautiful trip. For details, contact Charles
Eggen.
Most(?) coach lines run strictly point to point. If you want to stop in
the intermediate sections, you will need to pay more.
eg.
Intercity coachlines:
Greymouth - Queenstown $125
or
Greymouth - Franz Josef $42
Franz Josef - Fox Glacier $10
Fox Glacier - Queenstown $87
totalling $139
Mount Cook Land Line:
Nelson to Queenstown $144
Wanaka to Queenstown $25
More from Lin Nah:
"There's a coach pass for the North Island. It is for bus travel only with
Intercity. I am going to type excerpts from the brochure.
"North Island Coach Passes
Convenient passes for travel throughout the north island on any intercity
coachlines scheduled services linking the major cities, towns and tourist
destinations in the North Island. Coaches operate daily between main
centres..."
"All passes are designed to offer you the freedom to get off and on the
coach where and when you want. Valid for up to 3 months with travel being
on a standby basis. However for a reservation fee of $3 per sector, you
may reserve seats in advance." (A sector is from where you get on to where
you get off the bus.)
"North Island Value Pass
Offers flexibility for travel between Auckland and Wellington. Adult -
$95."
"There are 2 routes. You either go from Auckland - Waitomo - Rotorua -
Taupo - Wellington, or Auckland - Thames - Rotorua - Taupo - Wellington.
You won't be eligible for any discounts (i.e. no student or YHA discount).
There are other combinations, for example you can go Auckland - Thames then
go round the Coromandel Peninsula, Tauranga, Rotorua and Wellington for
$130 per adult. The second combination is Auckland - Waitomo Caves -
Rotorua - Whakatane, Opotiki, Gisbourne, Napier, Taupo, Wellington for $180
per adult.
"Which option you take depends on how much time you have. The $3 booking
fees do add up. However April (unless it is Easter Break) is not peak
travel and you may get away with not paying the booking fee.
"There's a travelpass which offers travel with Intercity (bus), Tranzscenic
(train) and Interislander (Cook Strait ferry; Wellington - Picton). You
can buy the pass for travel within an island or one for both island. (I
presume that within one island means no Interisland ferry). There's also
an option where you can include Ansett airline as well.
"This pass is valid for a set number of days. You can buy a 10 day pass or
a 3 week pass (the price varies of course). You are only allowed to travel
a certain number of days within the duration of your pass, e.g. you can
travel for 5 days over a 10 day pass, 8 days over a 3 week pass.
"There are tour services that do Auckland - Wellington with overnight stops
along the way (probably Auckland - Waitomo - Rotorua, night stop in
Rotorua, Rotorua - Taupo - Wellington, etc.). They will have stuff like
accommodation booked for you and stop for the sights along the way.
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