[willowshouse]

My head is spinning........

We (me, husband, 2 kids 11 and 6) are leaving for NZ around 9th October but have not yet booked our tickets.

OH wants to book return tickets so we are guaranteed a visit to UK sometime next summer. We would both quite like to take advantage of the trip to stop off somewhere - possibly on the way there and on the way back. I would like to stay in Bali, OH is interested in Canada but we're flexible. We thought about getting Round the world fares but they seem more geared towards people wanting to stop in a lot of places.

Anybody got any suggestions? What did you do? What about that extra migrant's baggage allowance - do you lose it if you stop here there and everywhere?

I'm desperate to book the tickets so I can get it out of my head and think about something else. Decision making is not my forte :confused:

[lynchpin]

hi,

in making decisions, always keep in mind your true objective. if your true objective is moving to nz, then everything else should take second place to that. ensure you get the best flight, best luggage allowance, best stopover, etc to ensure that you have the most stress free immigration possible. anything else should play a very lowly second fiddle to those primary considerations.

[Smiler]

Willows

We detoured from UK to LA and then up to see FIL in Vegas (:wah) We got the whole baggage allowace going all the way through because we booked though one agents, Trailfinders or Trailbookers something like that and flew with Air NZ and United Airlines who are partners.

I would say the only prob for the two of us was dragging our huge cases all 3 of them, plus hand baggage, rucksacks etc around. US security meant it was really difficult to leave our cases in LA while we went to Vegas, so we dragged them with us. I can't imagine having to do that with children in tow too. :(

If we did it again, we'd have come straight here (or just maybe stopped in Singapore). I'd not met my FIL and that was the only reason we went there.

[tigerlily]

If you are looking for beaches, you could stop over in Hawaii on your way around. Sorry, I'm no travel agent!

[jodieinchch]

be careful because if you are buying a return ticket you may not get the migrants extra baggage allowance. I am currently trying to sort out my baggage allowance with Emirates because I came out here on a one way ticket with a student visa (so not a migrant) in February. Since being here the family PR has been put into my passport, so I am flying home over Xmas, then back here again in Feb, but they're not allowing extra allowance on the flight back to NZ because it is a return trip.