Hi! So, I've always wanted to go to Australia and New Zealand. I am taking 2 weeks off of work. Probably November 22nd-December 6th. I live in the US. I feel like I need a starting point, and then I can plan my trip more in depth.
My plan is to fly into Australia. Stay there for a few days. Then fly to New Zealand and be there for the next week and a half. As of now I plan on traveling by myself and stay in hostels. I am 29M, and in good hiking/outdoors shape. My goal was to keep the trip around 3k-4k. It seems my flight will be around 2k of it.
I'm not sure I can decide between Melbourne and Sydney. I love big cities and touristy things, but I also love art, culture and outdoors. Because I think I'll enjoy New Zealand more, I feel like I can only pick one city in Australia.
Once I'm in New Zealand, is it best to rent a car and be able to have flexibility as I drive down the coast? Or should I use public transit?
Anyway, if anyone can give me a suggested outline of my 2 week trip, it would be very helpful. As long as I have a starting point, I can figure out everything else. My interests for both places are:
-Outdoors/hiking/wildlife
-Scuba Diving
-Shark Diving in New Zealand with Shark Experience
-Touristy things. Zoos. Museums. Tasty food.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out!