Some nice ski season prices, and I'm always looking at Christchurch flights (close to Mt Hutt, Porter's Heights, Mt Cheeseman etc)
Examples:
2-6 Aug $298 Return
17-25 Aug $299 Return
25 Aug -3 Sep $299 Return
Airline: Air New Zealand
Alliance: Star Alliance
You're closer to the (potentially better) snow in Queenstown.
1.5 hours drive from Chch to most, or you can stay closer at the base.
On the other hand, flights and accommodation and food tend to be substantially more expensive in Queenstown.
You can always drive to Queenstown from Christchurch too, which is worth doing if you haven't done it before. Lots of mountain scenery, blue mineral lakes etc
It's a 6 hour drive from Christchurch to Queenstown. You might save $ on the flights but you lose a lot of time driving there and back. I guess it depends if you're planning to see other sights around Christchurch or just going straight to the snow.
Yeah absolutely. Would be a shame to go all the way to NZ and not see some of it though!
@pdtmathieson: yeah prolly wouldn't wanna do it with kids in the back, and it's not gonna be as interesting driving back after a big few days of skiing. Just want to get on the plane and go home.
@Frozensage: True mate, I did this pre-kids. That said, going all that way to ski with kids is going to be a nightmare, even though Australian snow fields are more expensive (ignoring that they probably aren't as good) you would probably end up ahead by just driving one car.
Just want to get on the plane and go home.
Why travel in the first place? Driving through the countryside doesn't have to boring. It gives you time to think, and is part of the adventure :D
I agree… It is great drive from christchurch to queenstown… I have done it before and would love to do it again. Nature at its best.
How does Christchurch compare to Queenstown for snow?