[George&Dave]

I want to get away somewhere warm (hot), with a beach, and good shopping. All with good commuter links.

For a max of 4 Days.......

Where is good?

(will be travelling from wellington)

[Kanga]

Cripes, that's a tall order repending on your definition of cheap!

Have you considered Brisbane- not hot but temps in 20s there- so decent enough. You can visit Moreton Island as a day trip, do the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast for beaches (depending on if you want theme parks), shop til you drop in Brissie and you often get cheap flights.

[KerryS]

There are cheap flights to be had to Tonga at the moment. I've just got a quote for a return flight for less than $350 inc tax. Great beaches, not so good for shopping though...
It may be more expensive from Wellington too - not sure if they even fly from there?

None of the Pacific Islands are particularly good for shopping, which means you're left with a choice of Australia or Hawaii. The latter isn't what I'd consider cheap, but your budget may be bigger than mine!
In Australia nowhere that's hot at this time of year has a decent beach - Brisbane and Cairns are both ok for shopping, but neither has a beach. Brisbane has easy access to either the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast though, which have beaches or Moreton Island as Kanga said. In Cairns area the best beach is at Palm Cove, which is 20 minutes north of the town and has plenty of accommodation. Or Port Douglas, which is an hour north and has a gorgeous beach and a few shopping facilities.

[Keith C.]

We recently did a look about for the same kind of time frame. Unfortunately, there aren't many flights directly from Welly to some place warm, so you spend 7-8 hours getting to most islands. There are direct flights to Australia. We decided that we'd just visit around the North Island instead of having a rushed, more expensive trip elsewhere.

[jeffanar]

If you're quick, you can get flights from Wellington to Samoa for $169 here (http://www.flypacificblue.co.nz/). Only till 1pm though, on pacific blue happy hour, and you have to travel within specific dates.

[George&Dave]

Oh No I missed happy hour!

Ok.....So its shopping OR beach? thats what your saying!? what a decision to make...im gonna need to think those over with a glass of wine and some hob nobs......:0)

[KerryS]

Depending on budget - there are some good deals on flights to Singapore and Thailand at the moment. (Although not sure if they fly from Welly as I didn't check.)

[sweetpea]

Fiji is a good deal, provided you don't have qualms about the political situation there... Otherwise, I second the Brisbane suggestion. This website has a nice range of ideas: http://www.itchyfeet.co.nz/ (http://www.itchyfeet.co.nz/index.php)

[Kanga]

You're not far from the beach in Brissie and there's an abundance of them plus great shopping. No need to choose one or the other :nice1

[KerryS]

I found that having spent a few months in Brisbane I really missed the beach. It was always a trek to get out there without transport - unless I popped to the South Bank on the way home from work!

[mikey and tor]

oh i can not wait to get to NZ. I am currently sat on blackpool beach in the uk surrounded by turds and used condoms, and it is raining too!

[seattle]

I found that having spent a few months in Brisbane I really missed the beach. It was always a trek to get out there without transport - unless I popped to the South Bank on the way home from work!

We went to Brisbane a few weeks ago - the shopping was ok but the traffic was horrible! We went to the Australia Zoo which was great- but it took us an extra hour to drive home b/c of the gridlock! We also found the hotels and restaraunts to be expensive- not what we expected for Brisbane. Weather was warm though...