1 week in New Zealand - must see spots?

When flying to New Zealand from Ireland which is the shortest route, most comfortable, most scenic. Flying west via USA or East via Singapore.?

Flying via Singapore with Singapore Airlines was one of the best flights I was ever on! Tried planning our trip with them again but you have to stopover in Singapore which we've already been to. Fabulous food, choice of menu, extremely helpful and pleasant staff... the list is truly endless.

Lorz said:

September to November is their spring so it should be much like an Irish summer! Not too hot but a chance of rain too! Perfect! Hopefully there won't be too many other tourists around either!

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That's a bit of a misconception. NZ weather is very similar to Irish weather with the exception that it's a bit more extreme, i.e. North Island a bit warmer in Summer, South Island a bit colder in winter.

September is the only time of the year we can go and based on what you're saying then we should be ok - generally weather in Ireland is September is always good - when the kids go back.

Oh yeah definitely you'll be fine. I was there with 'bad weather' and still had a great time.

We did a nineteen day bus tour in NZ at the beginning of the year and loved it and I would have to disagree about skipping the North Island. The Bay of Islands is one of the most beautiful places we've ever been and would head straight back for it for a few days if we were going back. We stayed in Paihia up there but you can also stay in Russell. Auckland I didn't think much of. Rotovegas was good fun and the Maori village was brilliant so if you're going there don't miss that. You can do a bungee in Taupo but wouldn't stop off there for any length of time.
Wellington was a good spot too and the Interislander cruise is good if only for the scenery. We stayed in Nelson for 2 nights and it's ok if you're planning on doing activities from there e.g you could kayak in Abel Tasman or we did a tandem sky dive (never again!)
Christchurch was a lovely little city and we went to Fox Glacier which was also pretty cool. We were supposed to do the heli hike but the weather was too bad so that was a bit of a waste.
But of all the places Queenstown was my absolute fave and would definitely recommend it...so much to do a good nightlife.

Whatever you plan enjoy...I'm so jealous! Hoping to get back there next year myself! I would personally spend all my time in NZ and skip Aussie although Sydney is pretty cool. NZ is just the best holiday destination on earth!

Flying Route to NZ

We flew to NZ with Korean Airlines via Seoul, because it was the cheapest option we could get. The flight prices themselve were pretty similar but the taxes were much lower for some reason with that option.

The best thing about Seoul airport was that there is a Transit Hotel in the transfer lounge. Basically you can get a hotel room while you're waiting for your flight to Auckland and have a sleep and shower between flights. Can't remember the exact cost but very reasonable and totally worth it on such a long journey.

The food wasn't great with Korean Airlines though, one 'western' option and one korean.

C

If you are into big cats, try stopping off [broken link removed] - looks like they have some amazing experiences to offer.