Rugby World Cup 2011 travel

by Chelna Maré

Haere mai, welcome to the City of Sails! Auckland is the largest urban area in New Zealand with over 1.4 million residents (about 1% of the population are South African emigrants). It is also where next year's Rugby World Cup kicks off, on the 9th September.

Flights to the Rugby World Cup

Click through the links to get the current prices, and play with the dates to customise the booking to your needs:

From beginning to the end	Johannesburg to Auckland flight prices for whole world cup
There for pool matches	Johannesburg to Auckland flight prices for pool matches
There for playoff matches	Johannesburg to Auckland flight prices for playoff matches

Fixtures

The Rugby World Cup 2011 opening match kicks off between New Zealand and Tonga at Eden Park in Auckland on the 9th Sep 2011.

Match date	Pool	Countries	Town	Stadium
Fri Sept 9	A	New Zealand v Tonga	Auckland	Eden Park
Sat Sep 10	B	Scotland v Play-off winner	Invercargill	Rugby Park Stadium
Sat Sep 10	D	Fiji v Namibia	Rotorua	Rotorua International Stadium
Sat Sep 10	A	France v Japan	Auckland	North Harbour Stadium
Sat Sep 10	B	Argentina v England	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Sun Sep 11	C	Australia v Italy	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Sun Sep 11	C	Ireland v USA	New Plymouth	Stadium Taranaki
Sun Sep 11	D	South Africa v Wales	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Wed Sep 14	D	Samoa v Namibia	Rotorua	Rotorua International Stadium
Wed Sep 14	A	Tonga v Canada	Whangarei	Northland Events Centre
Wed Sep 14	B	Scotland v Georgia	Dunedin	Carisbrook
Thurs Sep 15	C	Russia v USA	New Plymouth	Stadium Taranaki
Fri Sep 16	A	New Zealand v Japan	Hamilton	Waikato Stadium
Sat Sep 17	B	Argentina v Play-off winner	Invercargill	Rugby Park Stadium
Sat Sep 17	D	South Africa v Fiji	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Sat Sep 17	C	Australia v Ireland	Auckland	Eden Park
Sun Sep 18	D	Wales v Samoa	Hamilton	Waikato Stadium
Sun Sep 18	B	England v Georgia	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Sun Sep 18	A	France v Canada	Napier	McLean Park
Tues Sep 20	C	Italy v Russia	Nelson	Trafalgar Park
Wed Sep 21	A	Tonga v Japan	Whangarei	Northland Events Centre
Thurs Sep 22	D	South Africa v Namibia	Auckland	North Harbour Stadium
Fri Sep 23	C	Australia v USA	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Sat Sep 24	B	England v Play-off winner	Dunedin	Carisbrook
Sat Sep 24	A	New Zealand v France	Auckland	Eden Park
Sun Sep 25	D	Fiji v Samoa	Auckland	Eden Park
Sun Sep 25	C	Ireland v Russia	Rotorua	Rotorua International Stadium
Sun Sep 25	B	Argentina v Scotland	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Mon Sep 26	D	Wales v Namibia	New Plymouth	Stadium Taranaki
Tues Sep 27	A	Canada v Japan	Napier	McLean Park
Tues Sep 27	C	Italy v USA	Nelson	Trafalgar Park
Wed Sep 28	B	Georgia v Play-off winner	Palmerston North	Arena Manawatu
Fri Sep 30	D	South Africa v Samoa	Auckland	North Harbour Stadium
Sat Oct 1	C	Australia v Russia	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Sat Oct 1	A	France v Tonga	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Sat Oct 1	B	England v Scotland	Auckland	Eden Park
Sun Oct 2	B	Argentina v Georgia	Palmerston North	Arena Manawatu
Sun Oct 2	A	New Zealand v Canada	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Sun Oct 2	D	Wales v Fiji	Hamilton	Waikato Stadium
Sun Oct 2	C	Ireland v Italy	Dunedin	Carisbrook
Sat Oct 8		QF1: W Pool C v RU Pool D	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Sat Oct 8		QF2: W Pool B v RU Pool A	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Sun Oct 9		QF3: W Pool D v RU Pool C	Wellington	Wellington Regional Stadium
Sun Oct 9		QF4: W Pool A v RU Pool B	Christchurch	Stadium Christchurch
Sat Oct 15		SF1: W QF1 v W QF2	Auckland	Eden Park
Sun Oct 16		SF2: W QF3 v W QF4	Auckland	Eden Park
Fri Oct 21		Bronze Final	Auckland	Eden Park
Sun Oct 23		Final	Auckland	Eden Park

Auckland lies on a narrow strip of land less than 2 kilometres wide at its narrowest point. With Waitemate Harbour to the north which opens east to the Hauraki Gulf, and Manukau Harbour to the south, Auckland has a temperate oceanic climate and it is also the warmest and sunniest of all the cities in New Zealand. It is surrounded by tropical forests and slumbering volcanoes, making Auckland a spectacular back drop for the Rugby World Cup 2011. Most of Auckland's matches will be decided at Eden Park with three pool matches to be played at North Harbour Stadium, and the final showdown at Eden Park on 23 October 2011. With great venues such as trendy Kingsland and Viaduct Harbour, excellent bars and 4 official fan zones, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to watching your team fight it out. There will also be open training sessions where you can meet the players from New Zealand, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Namibia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa and Tonga.

Auckland is known for its excellent public transport system. The MAXX Journey Planner includes rail, bus, ferry and walking routes, making it very easy get around.

Be sure to visit some of Auckland’s most famous attractions, everyone needs a break! Rangitoto Island is a sleeping volcano which emerged a mere 600 years ago in the middle of the Hauraki Gulf. You can explore this island with a walk or a drive. Sky Tower is the highest building in the Southern Hemisphere at 192 meters. If you are feeling brave and have been inspired by the spirited Haka, you can have a go at base jumping, or simply walk around the outside of the Sky Tower for a real sky high thrill. Be sure to visit the fabulous rotating Orbit Restaurant. Auckland Harbour Bridge is another must for adrenaline junkies, climb over it, or bungee jump off it! You will be rewarded with panoramic views of the city and surrounding areas. Auckland also has a rich cultural heritage and the biggest collection of Maori treasures in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

With so much to do and see you are sure to build up a healthy appetite and with a multitude of diverse restaurants and markets, you will not go hungry. You can try a traditional Hangi dinner (cooked in the earth), a chewy Pavlova stacked with fresh fruit produced locally or spicy Asian and Pacific Rim influenced dishes.

2011 is New Zealand’s year, there is no better time to visit Auckland and enjoy everything the youngest country in the world has to offer.

Auckland Accomodation, flights & cars

16 Nov 2010, by Anthea Anthony

Here's the cost of accommodation in Auckland on the evening of the 9th Sep 2011. Book your Auckland accommodation here. The prices shown below are the minimum we could find, and are subject to change.

Columbia Apartments Auckland	from R382
Princeton Budget Hotel Accommodation	from R382
The Ambers bed & Breakfast	from R1078
The Albion hotel	from R1638
Fiveforty on Great South Motel	from R1775
Peace and Plenty Inn	from R1778
Braemar on Parliament street Bed & Breakfast	from R1861
Copthorne Hotel Auckland Harbour City	from R3390
Cotter House Boutique Hotel	from R4653

Flights to Auckland

These are the best prices we could find to get you to Auckland for the Rugby World Cup 2011 opening match on the 8th Sep 2011. Prices will be different on other dates, and all prices are subject to change. Book at www.southafrica.to/bookings.php5 (except where there is a link to a specific airline below).

Flight route	Departure date	Return date	Cheapest Airline	Price
Durban to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Singapore Airlines	R13,098
Cape Town to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Singapore Airlines	R12,812
Dubai to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Emirates	R13,029
East London to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Singapore Airlines	R13,046
Frankfurt to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	British Airways	R13,569
Johannesburg to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Singapore Airlines	R11,726
London to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Qantas Airways	R13,416
Manchester to Auckland	07 Sep 2011	14 Sep 2011	British Airways	R14,010
Mumbai to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Thai Airways International	R8,960
Nelspruit to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	South African Airways	R14,343
Port Elizabeth to Auckland	08 Sep 2011	15 Sep 2011	Singapore Airlines	R13,119