JoJo76

It seems that the main holidays in New Zealand are at Christmas. Do many people take a break mid winter too.

Where do kiwi's go on holiday outside New Zealand?

garryhg

A lot of Kiwis go to Oz,Pacific Islands,Cruises hear are quite reasonable to some of the Pacific Islands..But a lot of Kiwis simply go to there batches..Its a big thing here to have a batch..

Its harder to take a break mid winter,kids are only off school for 2 weeks in July and the weather tends to be very wet..(well in Jaffa land anyway)...Jacky

nero

Most of the kiwis I know (families) tend to go to the Gold Coast (Australia) or the Islands (Fiji, Raro etc). The younger crowd can go anywhere that they can afford or deem as fun (China, South America, Japan, Himalayas, Indonesia, Thailand etc).

All of this can be interspersed with weekends away camping or visiting friends or family at a kiwi batch. Hope this helps

JoJo76

Thank you both for the replies.

Has anyone been to Tonga or Cook Islands? I've heard they're fantastic too.

Are they more expensive compared to Fiji?

nero

I have only had friends go to the Cook Islands a number of years ago for their honeymoon, they flew all the way from the UK! But they absolutely loved it and they said it was to die for. As for cost knowing them and it being a honeymoon I am sure it cost a bit. That is not to say that there are not cheaper or more affordable options.

Look forward to hearing other peoples thoughts as both of these are places we would love to visit.

scrubbedexpat094

We have been to Rarotonga & stayed at the Pacific Resort on Muri beach. It was fantastic. Had the most relaxing week of our lives, snorkelling, swimming kayaking, & doing the tourist thing. One of the best holidays we've ever had. We intend to go again but will also head to Aitutaki as well next time.
I believe it is more expensive than Fiji but I don't want to give my hard-earned dollars to a corrupt leadership. Cook Islands also use the NZ$ so just go with your cash, debit & credit cards. Piece of cake

BEVS

We spent time in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa back in '97. They were all different from each other and a great experience. Our personal favourite was Samoa , however Tonga does seem to be the most cost effective from NZ. Time it to whale watch.

As others had said, Kiwis seem to head for Oz or the Pacific Islands if they do take an offshore holiday. We don't know many kiwi families that afford to take winter breaks or , in fact, can afford to take holidays off shore. The few we do know have family in Oz that they visited with. The others grabbed one of the bargains flights and budget breaks - both were 5 nights in Samoa. Mostly it seems to be the two week shutdown which starts at Christmas. Those that have a bach head for their holiday homes , otherwise it is camping.