Listopedia: Local Short Breaks

Just because the Christmas holidays are over doesn’t mean your holidays have to be. Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation Survey shows that the average Kiwi ends the year with 3 days of unused leave. That’s a week of wasted holiday. Here’s our guide to destinations where you can getaway for a short break; to rest, re-enegerise and re-excite for the new year.

Auckland

Sometimes a city break is exactly what you need to get a bit of buzz back into your life. Shops, restaurants, shows, perhaps even a bungee jump – you could jam pack your weekend with things to do. Or you could catch the ferry to Waiheke Island and spend the day sampling the local drop. Up to you. Either way, check into the Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour hotel – one of the city’s newest hotels – and be ready to hit one of the Harbour’s many brunch spots.

Melbourne

Laneway bars and graffiti sit side by side with fine dining and high end fashion boutiques in this trendy city. Emporium Melbourne’s luxe shopping arcade in the CBD is home to Australia’s first Kate Spade store if you’re after big brand names but you’ll find plenty of one-of-a-kind vintage pieces at Shag in the Centre Way Arcade. The same goes for food – from cronuts to meatballs, there’s a bakery, wine bar or brasserie on almost every corner. Stay at the uber cool Adelphi Hotel on Flinders Lane to ensure you don’t miss any of the action.

Sydney

This is a city made for Summer. Fly in Friday afternoon and head straight to Pei Modern for dinner, celebrity chef Mark Best’s new restaurant inside the Four Seasons Hotel. Once the sun has set, make the most of the temporary OpenAir cinemas that pop up all over the city. Cinemas at Ms Macquaries Chair, Centennial Park, Bondi Beach and North Sydney screen everything from new releases and blockbuster hits to cult classics with some of the most spectacular backdrops out there. Rest your head at the the brand new InterContinental Sydney Double Bay.