The Rough Guide to New Zealand 4

When purchasing a NZ guide book, I wanted the best one so that I only had to buy one book. I reviewed other buyers' comments which all seemed to point to the Rough Guide as being the best one out there. They were right. This is book is extremly helpful and has all the topics covered that I was looking for. The authors' account of places/things in NZ does not seem biased, like many travel books are. The book tells me which destinations are worth going to, how to get there, how to get around, where to sleep/eat, what activities are worth doing, etc. All advice is catered to both people traveling on a budget and to those willing to spend more money. I am very happy with my purchase.

I've got Rough Guide to NZ, Lonely Planet NZ & Lonely Planet's Tramping NZ and Rough Guide is the best. LP is smaller if you are backpacking, but lacks some of the information in RG. The list of highlights for each area is a good addition to the latest edition of RG. For such a small country (just a bit bigger than the UK), New Zealand has so much to see, it's hard to get everything in one book. It is the one place you must visit in your lifetime. But, I warn you, once you've been you'll want to go back and back like us. I found helpful, friendly people there, a great budget campervan & car rental company, and we now we always rent a campervan, allowing us to stay off the beaten track. As well as the guide books, visit some of the websites, such as NZ Department of Conservation Website www.doc.gov.nz and the hiking/trekking (known as tramping in NZ) website http://www.enzed.com/tramp.html. We would recommend Bay of Islands, taking a cruise around Waitemata (Auckland) Harbour, signing up for a day's free sailing as crew at one of the sailing/yacht clubs around Auckland - great fun on the Rum races. Must see is Rotorua, Huka Falls, Waitomo Caves, Milford Track and West Coast of South Island. Actually just about everywhere is breathtakingly beautiful and the people very friendly. There are also good tourist information centres in NZ, but study the rough guide, highlight the places you want to visit, before you go because there is so much to see. Pieces of Advice: Don't take any food other than sweets (candy) into NZ. Meat, vegetable/fruit or diary products will get you a huge fine. Sniffer dogs check out all luggage including hand luggage and your pockets! If you have been hiking/walking in other countries before NZ, make sure your boots/shoes and all equipment is thoroughly cleaned. NZ is an agricultural country,and relatively clear of pests and they want to keep it that way. If you are on a budget in money and time, you can rent Campervans and cars at a low cost from a number of companies. We use www.rentalcarvillage.com. You can start in Auckland and leave the van/car in Christchurch.

We bought many NZ guide books (we took a 3 week trip with our three young children in December 2005) and the Rough Guide was the one that we ended up using the most. We carried it everywhere we went (we mainly drove around the South Island and stayed in over 10 towns). Yes the print is a little small but the content is totally accurate and we got used to using the book as we drove from town to town. Where other books merely "list" restaurants and give price ranges, the Rough Guide goes a step further and often gives a brief description and/or opinion on the ambience and the food. (we found the descriptions of the accomodations and and eateries to be right on). I would definitely purchase a Rough Guide book again next time we plan to travel to another country.

I traveled to New Zealand in late 2004 and carried 4 guide books. I found Rough Guide New Zealand the best for its in-depth coverage of places that were barely mentioned in the Lonely Planet book. During our 1500-mile road trip I was constantly referring to RG & LP as my wife drove, so in effect I compared the two books' descriptions for the southern half of South Island. There was absolutely no question which guidebook did a better job....Rough Guide. Towards the end I barely used Lonely Planet because RG was more informative 90% of the time, and more interesting in its style of writing. It has 300 more pages than Lonely Planet, too. The maps are better than those in previous Rough Guides, and even the photos are quite nice now. This edition has a great listing of highlights for each region (very handy). I highly recommend Rough Guide New Zealand.