Best of New Zealand

Welcome to New Zealand! Upon arrival in Christchurch, you will be transferred to your hotel for check-in. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure or book an optional tour.




Overnight in Christchurch

After breakfast, get on the TranzAlpine train when the journey is just as important as the destination. As you begin your trip of New Zealand's South Island, you will travel through tunnels and across viaducts with panoramic vistas of snow-capped mountains, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges, and river valleys. When you arrive in Hokitika, you have a pounamu perspective (native greenstone or jade). Flutter your eyelids at the person you love instead of purchasing this special stone for yourself, according to Maori culture. Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere, a snow and ice mass that sparkles like a pearl, is just around the corner. Get a bird's-eye view of this natural beauty by taking a Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere flight tour, which is optional. If the weather cooperates, you might even be able to land there. That's cool now.




Overnight in Franz Josef

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. After that, wait till you reach the Haast Pass today to see how spectacular the panorama is compared to yesterday. Over the saddle, the Southern Lakes' alpine scenery unfolds before you in a patchwork of blues and greens. First up is the picturesque Lake Wanaka, which has a willow and poplar-lined shoreline that is perfect for Instagram. After that, you'll stop at Lake Dunstan and Lake Hawea, both of which have the colour of an Ice Mint, to refuel with flavor-packed stone fruits. The Remarkables and Lake Wakatipu are in Queenstown, notwithstanding how alluring it would be to linger in the streets of movie-set-like Arrowtown.




Overnight in Queenstown

Breakfast at hotel. Choose your own adventure from the many available now. On the speedy Shotover Jet, you might feel the wind in your hair. Or visit a wildlife centre to see some of New Zealand's avian companions. Wine enthusiast? As you stroll around the nearby vineyards, sip wine. Wherever you go, be sure to come back in time to take the historic TSS Earnslaw across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a fine BBQ meal and some late-night dancing.




Overnight in Queenstown

After breakfast, you will experience the entrance to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, a vast wonderland where waterfalls thunder from ancient escarpments into inky sea where dolphins play, is through the Cleddau Valley, which you travel through on your way from the Mirror Lakes. They'll probably be seen throughout your Milford Sound/Piopiotahi cruise. The entire region is carved up by the gin-clear rivers, meadows, and beech forests of the World Heritage-listed Fiordland National Park. All the way to Te Anau, this will be your backdrop. Glow worm-filled grottoes appear just when you think the situation can't possibly get any more fantastic. We heartily urge you to go.




Overnight in Te Anau

Breakfast at hotel. On the banks of the South Islands biggest lake, Te Anau turns on the sunrise charms. Enjoy a morning stroll before swapping the forested slopes of Fiordland for the rolling green hills of the Edinburgh of the South. Welcome to Dunedin, a beguiling union of both Māori and Scottish heritage (it was colonised by Scots in the 19th century). While away the afternoon in atmospheric art-lined alleys or sipping a lager or two in Speights Brewery (a national institution). Or venture further afield to discover the wildlife that thrives in this pretty pocket of the country




Overnight in Dunedin

Enjoy breakfast before heading out to explore grand Larnach Castle at your leisure – this is, after all, the only one of its kind in the country – then wander the manicured grounds of Otago University or the citys main George Street for an additional reminder of the citys ties to Europe. If youve ever wanted to see New Zealands oldest public gardens, today youre in luck with a visit to Oamaru, known for its stately tree-lined streets and limestone buildings.




Overnight in Omarama

Breakfast at hotel. Your outlook this morning is the Canterbury Plains: the turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo, hemmed by snow-capped mountains and atmospheric towns. If it seems familiar, thats because it regularly stars on postcards. Take it in on an optional scenic flight for added perspective of the Southern Alps and on to Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere. Back on the ground, its time to become reacquainted on a Christchurch tour, your in-the-know guide pointing out the citys miraculous transformation over the last decade. Local spirit is strong here.




Overnight in Christchurch

After breakfast, start a great day! Forget powdery white sand – once youve seen the dramatic black Kaikoura cove, youll be spoilt for all future beach-bashing. Bonus points if you spot a sea lion or sperm whale frolicking offshore; a sighting is practically guaranteed if you opt for an aerial tour over the coastline. Your onward route skirts the pink-tinged crystallisation ponds of the Lake Grassmere Salt Works, before arriving in the pretty seaside fishing village of Picton.




Overnight in Picton

After breakfast you will cruise through Queen Charlotte Sound, up the Tory Channel and across Cook Strait is a journey as scenic as it is serene. Todays chariot, the Interislander, transports you from the South Island to the North, navigating a maze of arms and inlets into New Zealands cool little capital of Wellington. We hope you got some rest on your journey, because youll need all your stamina to explore the award-winning (and eye-opening) Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand on a Wellington tour. Ask your Travel Director for tips on where to sip wine and coffee tonight – this city is known for its uber-cool cafes, restaurants and bars.




Overnight in Wellington

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Follow the lead of locals along the Kapiti Coast, the summer playground of Wellingtonians. The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, the largest (and perhaps bluest) of its kind in the country. Its a landscape almost as otherworldly as Rotorua, where mud pops and jettisons from bubbling geysers, and steam rushes skywards from cracks in the Earth. Tonight, delve deep into Maori culture and traditions at Te Puia. Your dinner, a hangi cooked underground, is served while you overlook the spectacular geothermal valley. The highlight is a Maori cultural performance in the beautifully carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua.




Overnight in Rotorua

Enjoy breakfast at hotel and spend the day at leisure to explore Rotorua on your own pace or pre-book an optional tour.
Overnight in Rotorua

Before you reach your destination for the day, enjoy breakfast at the hotel. After that, get set to glow on a tour through the Waikato Rivers Waitomo Caves. This place is radiant - quite literally. While cruising cavernous limestone waterways, your route is cast in a magical light by thousands of glowworms. Auckland, New Zealands largest city, appears on the horizon, dazzling with not one, but two harbours. And plenty of yachts to decorate both, as youll see from the lookout at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.




Overnight in Auckland

In the morning you will have breakfast and check out of your hotel. If needed, you will be able to store your luggage in the hotel and explore the town before you are transferred to the Auckland International Airport to prepare for your onward flight home.