New Zealand / Australia / Tanzania (Hobarth)

Autocorrect may be messing with you but your relatives live in Hobart, Tasmania. With three weeks and 3 unique locations I might attempt it like this.

Fly to Auckland and explore the north island for 1+ weeks.

Fly to Melbourne and visit your one Australian city for 4-5 days with day trips.

Fly to Hobart and visit your relatives for a week then fly back home from Melbourne.

We did something like this in early 2020 with flying in to Auckland and out of Melbourne. We purchased a separate, inexpensive flight to get between the larger cities in different countries.

Of course you can do these in other ways, this is just one suggestion. I’m sure there will be others.

I believe you mean mean Tasmania. You could ask your relatives in Hobart how much time you should spend there—it may be less than a week.

If you are going to visit just one city in Australia, Sydney is the logical choice, but you may run out of things to do if you spend a full week there, unless you like some beach time. Do not miss the aquarium—-it is outstanding.

If you have only a week for New Zealand, you should choose either North Island or South Island. They are quite different, so pick the one that matches your interests.

North Island—-more tropical, nice beaches, Bay of Islands, volcanic landscapes, Lord of the Rings scenery, and Maori culture, plus the capital city of Wellington.

South Island—-alpine hiking in Mt. Cook-Aoraki National Park, rugged beaches, lots of sheep, multi-day hikes like the Milford Track, Routebourne Track and others, whale watching cruises, kayaking at Abel, Tasman NP, rafting various rivers—-generally more outdoor-oriented. Queenstown is “adventure central” for adventurous sports and activities (including bungee jumping). My husband said the South Island felt just like California to him, in terms of climate and landscape.

But California has nothing like the Milford Track. We did the guided lodge-to-lodge trek with Ultimate Hikes and it was the highlight of our New Zealand trip a few years back.

https://www.ultimatehikes.co.nz/multi-day-guided-walks/milford-track

Mona posted while I was typing. I like her overall plan a lot, but suggest you consider South Island as well as North, depending on your interests. But still pick one or the other, not both.

We found reasonably-priced flights between Oz and New Zealand with Emirates and New Zealand Air. Both offered attractive one-way pricing. For Hobart, you might need Qantas.

We flew between Los Angeles and Australia with Qantas, flying into Sydney and back from Melbourne.

We bought separate, unrelated one-way tickets between OZ and NZ, flying Sydney—Christchurch for the start of our NZ time and Queenstown—Melbourne to get back to Australia for our flight home. We rented a car on the South Island, from Christchurch to Queenstown, Turing the car in before embarking on the Milford Track. It all worked out well.

If you like hiking you should head for Tasmania and the south island of NZ. If you like museums - frankly you should stay home or go to Europe. We have them but nothing terribly amazing.

What time of the year? Both Tassie and the NZ have quite serious winters - snow etc. In fact we went to the top of the hill in Hobart in April and got snow!

That said as as a Kiwi with a short period of time I'd say Tassie and SI are quite similar. Obviously you're going to Tasmania - so your other NZ stop could be NZ north island (Auckland) - if you want to hire a car and see thermal activity Rotorua/Taupo or semi-tropical and culturally interesting - in the Far North.

If I was picking one more city in Australia it would be Sydney

Note normally I'd look at using short hop flights across the TAsman separately from the long-haul. But at the moment the trans-Tasman flights are stupid expensive so you may have better luck with a multicity , even 2 one ways . Logically the least number of layoovers would be Qantas to Sydney ex Dulles then Sydney-Hobart (probably Qantas or partner) and then Hobart-Auckland and Auckland - Chicago (probably AirNZ or partner) - but also price that as 2 separate tickets.

If you are not worried by stop overs and hate very long flights (16 + hours) - look at Hawaiian - they fly direct into both Sydney and Auckland from Honolulu - and its a more even split of flying between mainland USA and Australasia

@ Bryan

Perhaps you could tell me what time of year you are thinking of? To me, autumnal March to mid-April is particularly pleasant in Tasmania and South Island NZ. Also, Melbourne and Sydney too.

I assume your relatives will plot out a tour of Tasmania to satisfy your interests. Looks small, but due to the terrain takes time to move around.

At present direct flights from Tas to NZ are suspended. May change later, but I do not expect it. So, Melbourne or Sydney is the closest gateway.

Regards Ron

Personal opinion only, but if you'll have a local host/guide in Hobart I'd suggest maximizing your time in Tasmania, which has some of the most beautiful National Parks in Australia. If you're hikers the area around Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair NP is worth a few nights, and features some of the prettiest hikes we've ever experienced.. The Tasman Peninsula can be seen as a day trip from Hobart, and the Freycinet peninsula is another favorite. Launceston is a pretty little town with lots to see, with cheap flights back to Sydney if you wanted to do a one-way road trip by flying into Hobart and eventually working your way up to Launceston for your flight out.
I wouldn't short change Sydney - probably the most beautiful large city on earth. Between the city itself and explorations further afield to the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley there's plenty enough there to easily keep you busy for a week.
There are direct flights between Sydney and Queenstown on NZ's South Island which be another great place to spend at least a few days, then fly up to Auckland for a few days before returning to the US. For info, NZ has become a popular destination for Asian tourists who descend upon the popular areas en masse during the Chinese New Year's period which can last from January into March - on our last trip some of the smaller towns were booked solid during those dates, so do book well ahead once you've sorted out your itinerary.
Personal opinion again, but my suggestion would be to gut it out and book a non-stop from either LAX or SFO to Sydney and maybe spend a night there just to get a good night's sleep before proceeding on to Hobart, returning on an open jaw booking from Auckland. There's no easy way to do this as a round trip from Minneapolis, but with a little advance planning you can do it without completely wearing yourselves out.

Thank you , all , for your insights and advice. Our Hobart in-laws are hoping we would be there in February; our son's work schedule says it will most likely be March/early April. I'm sure as I start to put reservations in place, more questions will be popping up!
Cheers!

@ Tom. Thanks for info on the flights. I find myself rather embarrassed having someone on the other side of the Pacific knowing more about international flights into Hobart than me. My travel arranger tells me that they started about 18 months ago. Must have ignored the memo. I use the airport frequently, but it is some-time since I have seen a silver fern livery, or any other international aircraft, on the tarmac at Hobart airport.

@ Bryan. 2023 is the 50th anniversary year for the Opera House. Check out the web site if your interest lies in that area. Plenty of activities planned in Sydney to celebrate the event, including our unique indigenous mobs. Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour runs from 24th March to 23rd April, Madame Butterfly this year.

@ Robert. Nice Constable like depiction of the island. Perhaps you understand why I choose to live here.

Regards Ron

If you go to Melbourne, I strongly recommend taking a tour (ours was 2 days-one overnight). From Melbourne we did the Great Ocean Highway then to Phillip Island for the Penguins coming home. Both were amazing.

If you go to Sydney, do the Blue Mountain and north of the city visit wine country. Inside the city, take a harbor cruise, visit some great museums and do a day tour that includes Bondi Beach.

Good advice from the locals, except Lissie means Dallas, not Dulles (Washington DC). Also, there are 2 flights/week on Air NZ Auckland to Hobart nonstop, Tuesday and Thursday.

The absolutely cheapest flights from MSP did use Hawaiian, with Sun Country feeding you to California, but check the durations, one itinerary was 58 hours!

Haha - yeah that would be as bad as getting the wrong Sydney !

Nothing wrong with a 58-hour itinerary - I think ours is coming out like that to Boston ex Auckland - it includes an overnight stop in Hawaii!

For info, NZ has become a popular destination for Asian tourists who descend upon the popular areas en masse during the Chinese New Year's period which can last from January into March - on our last trip some of the smaller towns were booked solid during those dates, so do book well ahead once you've sorted out your itinerary.

Not since 2019... You are right the lunar new year used to be super-busy, and even though today news that China is starting to relax restrictions - its unlikely that all the flights and the tourism will be back for this season.

OP if you are talking about 2023 - you need to have booked yesterday as far as the flights are concerned. Mar/Apr will be better than Feb - but still book ASAP.

For flights within Australia - including those from the mainland to Tassie - consider Jetstar, the Qantas low-cost affiliate. It's a spartan but adequate (and cheap) way to move around Australia. They also fly between Australia and NZ fyi.

@Lissie: thanks for the update regarding the crowds during Chinese New Year. Our last visit was in '19 when things were really clobbered in several towns on the South Island. Once mainland China opens back up I'm sure you'll be seeing the same crush.

@Tassie Devil: I can easily understand why you choose to live there - it really is one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world, particularly for outdoor enthusiasts.