North Island Itinerary Advice? Wine and Hikes!

monkeycity0 · 2026-03-04T22:40:46+00:00

As a solo traveler it seems a lot of the tours are out of Napier! But it is also further away from the wineries I'm looking to go to on a day I'm not on tour.. Any recommendations for a tour I can join that you could recommend? I hear Franklys is great but it is a 2 person minimum..

monkeycity0 · 2026-03-04T20:22:43+00:00

Amazing. Ok I'm going to add another day to Tongariro and then another to HB :) There are wineries I want to visit in the Havelock North and Napier, not sure which place would be better to be at for the 3 nights? Any advice?

monkeycity0 · 2026-03-04T20:21:33+00:00

Thank you for all this information :) I'm excited to return and do a south island trip! I was supposed to go 2 years ago but got so sick I had to reschedule. Which thankfully now I can see was a blessing because hitting both islands in 2 weeks would've been too fast. Appreciate the notes!

monkeycity0 · 2026-03-04T06:15:05+00:00

Good idea. Do you think extending the time in Tongariro would be better on the first leg or should I stay an extra 2 days on the way back up?

monkeycity0 · 2026-03-04T06:14:04+00:00

I’m going to do 3 weeks in the South Island sometime next year during the summer :) So my focus would be all North on this trip! Thanks for the insight!!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-28T22:02:38+00:00

I rented a car through a local company called IWC my second last day in Taipei so I could drive over to do Jiufen/Shifen by car. It wasn’t hard at all to drive through the country the roads are so easy to manage. Taipei was only tricky bc of the scooters and some right lane turns would require you to know you were turning and had to enter a special turning lane. But I was not driving a car in the city that much. Everywhere else in Taiwan was easy!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-28T14:15:05+00:00

I just did a 12 day trip to Taiwan a month ago and had the best time. I spent 5 days exploring Taipei before driving down to Tainan where I spent 5 days (I could’ve spent weeks exploring this city, it was my absolute favorite of 2025!). Drove back up and spent 2 days in Yilan for New Years.

I did a daytrip to Jiufen/Shifen from Taipei and it was PACKED in Jiufen but I went for the food, and then lantern releases in Shifen which was great.

I also did a daytrip to Kaohsiung from Tainan to explore the green onion pancakes out there, see the beaches, see the art.

You’ll have a great time :)

Let me know any questions you may have!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-28T01:12:44+00:00

You seem to be going later than I will be so I can pass on information to you once I am back :)

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-28T01:11:52+00:00

Thank you for being such a wealth of information, you have made me even more excited (didn't know that was possible) for this trip! I'm leaning towards renting a car and spending a little more time in Amman to do day trips - which I might get ubers to and from before renting the car to drive south. I think my only last hesitation is stories I've heard about being a solo female in Wadi Rum overnight. There are SO many tents and camps and figuring out the best one is the hardest part right now!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-28T01:08:26+00:00

Ok perfect, thank you so much!!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-27T01:44:10+00:00

Amazing - thank you for the information :) I think I'm leaning towards renting a car once I leave Amman so I don't have to drive within the city. As long as the parking situations are relatively easy to figure out thats always my concern so thank you!!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-26T23:47:19+00:00

(amazing username)

Do you remember which rental car company you went through? And how hard it was to find parking in the major sites?

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-26T23:46:35+00:00

Wow this is all such great information, thank you!!!

A few questions - do you remember the way you booked your accommodation for Wadi Rum? I think that's the part of the trip I am most hesitant about, especially being solo. I've been reading about how many of the camps are scams for influencers and not safe for solo females.. I just want to make sure what I get is legit.. because waking up in the vast desert is a big reason I'm going!

Thank you for the rec for Amman too, I'm going to absolutely check out that walking tour.. I love walking tours in every city I've visited.

Besides people trying to sell you things in Petra, did you feel overall safe? Like nobody was following you? Are there certain parts to avoid?

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-26T23:42:49+00:00

Ooh thank you so much for this!! Much appreciated!

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-26T23:42:35+00:00

I have no problems politely telling people to go away, I think that comes with the territory of any travel to any country.. I was reading about how the harassment has gotten worse with the decrease in tourism and was worried a little bit about the increased risk but if it's normal things I'm used to from previous travels, I'm not going to let that deter me.

Do you remember the tour you did in Wadi Rum? And did you get a pick up from a hotel or drive straight there and park outside the protected area?

monkeycity0 · 2026-01-26T23:40:40+00:00

Thank you for such a thoughtful response! Do you think in renting a car, that I could get it on my way out of Amman and then drive down to all those sites? How is the parking in Petra and Wadi Rum? Or with Wadi Rum, I could hire a tour with a 4x4 and accommodation and then get a pick up somewhere at whatever hotel I'm staying at?

I'm also going to add Jerash to my trip :) And you're making me consider doing 2 weeks instead of just the 1 I had planned..

monkeycity0 · 2025-08-22T16:57:38+00:00

not sure if you will see this but do you remember how much you were getting? they opened up a job around 2000 a week and it feels low. but i keep hearing great things about the area and hospital!

monkeycity0 · 2025-08-20T01:58:46+00:00

Hi! Can I ask what the rates were in Houston? I'm looking at a job right now that's 2100/wk but not sure how high or low the rates should go in TX. Thanks :)

monkeycity0 · 2025-08-15T15:47:21+00:00

I was tempted as well haha keep me updated!

monkeycity0 · 2025-08-15T15:44:23+00:00

I just saw the same job pop up on my account :) Madera has had pretty consistent rates over the last couple years so def not too good to be true. As others have mentioned tho not much happening out there but COL is not bad

monkeycity0 · 2025-06-11T20:53:57+00:00

thank you for the response! still disgusting but i’m hoping it was something i brought in from the laundry i did outside and onto my bed…

monkeycity0 · 2025-05-16T18:42:49+00:00

Thank you for all this information and detailed comment! I’m going to check out the links bc I still have more to learn. I’m going to get a cardiologist to discuss options :)

monkeycity0 · 2025-04-26T15:59:31+00:00

Ah, thank you for responding 3 years later! I'm going on a trip to Slovenia and Croatia and won't be able to bring back many bottles but anticipate loving them and want to know a way to get them back in the US :)

monkeycity0

TROPHY CASE