New Zealand Vista
New Zealand Vista
New Zealand Vista
14 Days Starting in Auckland, New Zealand and ending in Christchurch, New Zealand
Visiting: Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Picton, Kaikoura, Omarama, Dunedin, Te Anau, Fiordland National Park, Queenstown, Franz Josef, Christchurch
Tour operator:
Tour code:
LAAC24
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Tour operated in:
EnglishTrip Styles:
Interests:
Activities:
Tour Overview
You could spend eons exploring New Zealand’s North and South Islands. But you can also experience a New Zealand tour in two weeks – if you have the right advice. Follow us for Franz Josef/Waiau tours, a ride on one of the world's top trains, Milford Sound/Piopiotahi cruises in the company of fur seals, glowing Waitomo Caves tours… and some down time amid wineries and city restaurants that take home awards.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1: Welcome To Auckland
Location: Auckland
Accommodation Name: Holiday Inn Express Auckland City Centre
Auckland never fails to turn on the charm, as you’ll discover while exploring the city before meeting your fellow adventure-seekers. Peruse waterfront precincts filled with yachts or hit up the CBD to discover local designers. Turns out Kiwi creativity is surging. This evening, meet your Travel Director for a Welcome Reception.
Day 2: Auckland - Rotorua
Location: Rotorua
Accommodation Name: Ibis Rotorua Hotel
Meals Included: Dinner
Another day in Auckland… things could be worse. After a morning Auckland tour, set your GPS for the Waikato River to Waitomo Caves. Here, your cruise route is cast in a magical light by thousands of glowworms. It’s 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. The Te Pō Indigenous Experience begins with a delicious buffet dinner of locally sourced cuisine and an authentic Māori twist in each dish. Following dinner, view an exhilarating cultural performance that takes place in our beautifully carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. Afterwards, enter the geothermal valley on our waka (electric shuttle) and discover one of New Zealand’s most magnificent geothermal wonderlands – featuring dramatic geysers, bubbling mud, and beautiful native bush. Enjoy a hot chocolate, while seated on a naturally heated rock terrace overlooking the powerful Pōhutu Geyser.
Day 3: Rotorua Free Time
Location: Rotorua
Accommodation Name: Ibis Rotorua Hotel
We’re leaving you up to your own devices today. But have plenty of North Island tour travel tips, depending on your mood. Want a bit of down time? Bliss out at Wai Araki Hot Springs & Spa. Hobbit fans will want to take advantage of the opportunity to tour the sights featured in The Lord of the Rings movies at Hobbiton. These beautiful landscapes are not only a bucket list tour for Hobbit fans, but a gorgeous countryside getaway. The choice is yours.
Day 4: Rotorua - Wellington
Location: Wellington
Accommodation Name: Travelodge Wellington
A staggering 220,000 litres of water thunder over Huka Falls’ 11-metre high escarpment every second. It creates quite the calamity. From here, the road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, its waters so vivid and blue they resemble an Ice Mint. Traverse the Kapiti Coast to New Zealand’s cool little capital, Wellington, where there are so many restaurants and bars to choose from, you’ll need a guidebook. Wait, you have an in-the-know Travel Director to talk to.
Day 5: Wellington - Picton
Location: Picton
Accommodation Name: Picton Beachcomber Inn
Meals Included: Dinner
Forget everything else you have to do today and focus on one thing: getting a cup of Wellington’s amazing coffee. The city is known for its uber-cool cafés, designed to fuel you through a session at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. (Please note: There is an entry fee for Te Papa, this must be paid at the guests own expense.) Wellington sightseeing done and dusted: onwards to the Interislander for a cruise across Cook Strait, from the North Island to the South, through a maze of arms and inlets into the sleepy seaside village of Picton.
Day 6: Picton - Christchurch
Location: Kaikoura
Accommodation Name: Wyndham Garden
There aren’t many beaches more dramatic than the sands of Kaikoura. Bonus points if you spot a sea lion or sperm whale frolicking offshore, Kaikoura is the marine wildlife centre of New Zealand. Talk to your Travel Director for tips on the essential restaurants to dine in tonight – Christchurch has reinvented itself in more ways than one.
Day 7: Christchurch - Omarama
Location: Omarama
Accommodation Name: Distinction Heritage Gateway Hotel
Meals Included: Dinner
From its devastating 2010/11 earthquakes, Christchurch has become one of the most forward-thinking cities in the world when it comes to design. Case in point the mind-bending Transitional Cathedral, made largely of cardboard, and Turanga, the gold-clad central library. This Christchurch tour is as eye-opening as it is educational. From here, your outlook is the Canterbury Plains: the turquoise waters of Lake Tekapo, snow-capped mountains and atmospheric towns. Your Indoor Dark Sky Astronomy Experience at Tekapo, hosted by passionate guides, will forever change the way you see the night sky. You'll see for yourself it may be one of the quietest spots on the planet, yet it has one of the busiest skies in the universe.
Day 8: Omarama - Dunedin
Location: Dunedin
Accommodation Name: Scenic Hotel Dunedin City
Oamaru may have supplied other NZ cities with limestone, but it kept some for itself – and the result is glorious leafy streets with grand 1800s buildings that stand proud before you journey further south toward Dunedin. It’s easy to while away the afternoon in ‘little Edinburgh’s’ atmospheric art-lined alleys. Or venture further afield to discover the wildlife that thrives in this pretty pocket of the country – fur seals and penguins among them.
Day 9: Dunedin - Te Anau
Location: Te Anau
Accommodation Name: Distinction Luxmore Hotel
Dunedin’s Scottish ancestry is everywhere you look, from the manicured grounds of Otago University to the city’s main George Street. Rolling green hills dotted with doe-eyed sheep are replaced by soaring mountains as you weave your way into Fiordland National Park and the South Island’s biggest lake and the town of Te Anau. Soak up the serenity – it doesn’t get any better than this.
Day 10: Te Anau - Queenstown
Location: Fiordland National Park
Accommodation Name: Copthorne Hotel and Resort
There are some travel days that blaze into your memory. Today is one. Your route through Fiordland National Park is an intoxicating union of beech forests, alluvial flats, meadows and mirror-like lakes. Gin-clear rivers carve the countryside, with all roads leading to Milford Sound/Piopiotahi. Cruising this World Heritage listed expanse will give you goosebumps, a string of waterfalls creating a misty curtain across sheer escarpments.
Day 11: Queenstown Free Time
Location: Queenstown
Accommodation Name: Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown
Meals Included: Dinner
Queenstown is known as NZ’s adventure capital for good reason. But don’t take our word for it. Feel the wind in your hair on a high-octane jet boat ride, skidding, twirling and zipping along white-water river. Nature lover? Discover some of New Zealand’s feathered friends at a wildlife centre. Wherever you wander, make sure you’re back in time to glide across Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet barbecue Highlight Dinner.
Day 12: Queenstown - Franz Josef/Waiau
Location: Franz Josef
Accommodation Name: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
Meals Included: Dinner
As if Queenstown’s Lake Wakatipu wasn’t pretty enough, you have a parade of gleaming waterways to keep you company today. After departing the movie-set-perfect streets of Arrowtown, discover Lake Dunstan, surrounded by orchards where you’ll pause to refuel on flavour packed stone fruit. Then there’s Lake Hawea followed by Lake Wanaka, with its Instagrammable shoreline of poplars and willows. Over the Haast Pass, Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere sparkles like a gem. You don’t get many opportunities in life to land and walk on a glacier. This afternoon is one.
Day 13: Franz Josef/Waiau - Christchurch
Location: Christchurch
Accommodation Name: Wyndham Garden
Swap white at Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere for green at Hokitika: the pounamu (native jade) found here is the stuff jewellery dreams are made of. Just when you thought your adventure couldn’t get any better, you’ll aboard the TranzAlpine train bound for Christchurch, through tunnels and over viaducts with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges and river valleys.
Day 14: Farewell From Christchurch
Location: Christchurch
Two islands, two weeks. It’s remarkable what you can see when you have the right people guiding you.
What's Included
What's Not Included
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Flights
Flights to and from the start/end of your trip are not included in the trip price.
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Personal items
Items such as comfortable walking shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen, hat, water bottle, warm layers in cooler months, and camera are not included.
Accommodation
Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort. The accommodation you will enjoy on this tour includes: Holiday Inn Express, Auckland; Ibis Rotorua Hotel; Travelodge Wellington; Picton Yacht Club; Wyndham Garden; Heritage Gateway Hotel; Scenic Hotel Dunedin City; Distinction Luxmore Hotel; Copthorne Hotel and Resort; Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier; Wyndham Garden.
Mode of Transport
Swap white at Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere for green at Hokitika: the pounamu (native jade) found here is the stuff jewellery dreams are made of. Just when you thought your adventure couldn’t get any better, you’ll aboard the TranzAlpine train bound for Christchurch, through tunnels and over viaducts with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges and river valleys.
Dining Summary
- 13 Full Breakfast (B)
- 2 Highlight Dinner (HD)
- 4 Dinner (D)
- 1 Farewell Dinner (FD)
Fitness Requirement
- Low level of fitness required
Flexible Holidays
- Freedom in travel? Explore remote reaches of the North Island one minute, then sip wine or zip across Queenstown lakes the next. Ask us for tips.
Flight information
- Flights to and from the start/end of your trip are not included in the trip price. Day 1 – flights to arrive prior to 4.00pm into Auckland AirportDay 14 – flights to depart any time from Christchurch Airport
Iconic Sites
- Within World Heritage listed Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound/Piopiotahi is the kind of place you expect to see on postcards. You’re here in real life.
Natural Wonders
- Get your glow on at the Waitomo Caves, a magical subterranean world lit by thousands of glowworms. Drift along and prepare to be dazzled.
What to Bring
- Comfortable walking shoes Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat Water bottle Warm layers in cooler months Camera
Check out our Q&As
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What kind of experiences can I expect at the Waitomo Caves?
At the Waitomo Caves, you can expect a magical subterranean experience lit by thousands of glowworms. You will drift along the caves and be dazzled by the glowworms' light.
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What is the significance of the Dark Sky Project on this tour?
The Dark Sky Project is committed to preserving night skies by connecting visitors to the relevance of the night sky through scientific and cultural experiences. It offers an Indoor Dark Sky Astronomy Experience at Tekapo, which will change the way you see the night sky.
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What kind of cultural experiences are included in the tour?
The tour includes a cultural experience at Te Puia in Rotorua, where you will delve into Māori culture and traditions. This includes a buffet dinner with locally sourced cuisine and an authentic Māori twist, followed by a cultural performance in a beautifully carved meeting house.
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What wildlife might I see during the tour?
During the tour, you might see marine wildlife such as sea lions and sperm whales in Kaikoura, as well as fur seals and penguins in Dunedin. Additionally, in Queenstown, you can discover some of New Zealand's feathered friends at a wildlife centre.
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What is the level of physical fitness required for this tour?
A low level of fitness is required for this tour, making it accessible to most travelers.
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Are flights included in the tour package?
Flights to and from the start and end of the trip are not included in the tour package. You need to arrange your flights to arrive in Auckland prior to 4.00pm on Day 1 and depart from Christchurch at any time on Day 14.
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Who will be my travelling companions on the tour?
The beauty of taking a holiday with us is you’ll have the opportunity to meet and travel with people from all over the globe.
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Can I join the tour once it has departed?
It is important to adhere to departure times while on tour for the comfort of everyone on-board, and to make sure no one misses out on the planned experiences. The coach will not be able to wait for you, and in some instances, if you miss a departure time you will need to make your own way to the next destination to re-join the tour.
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
AAT Kings operated Guided Holidays have competitive single supplement rates available if you prefer to confirm your own room. Or we can match you to share with a guest of the same gender at no extra cost. If we fail to match you, we will accommodate you in a single room at no extra cost.
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How long has the tour company been trading?
Over 100 years
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What documents will I receive before I travel?
We will email your documents to you approximately four weeks before your departure date provided you have completed your pre trip registration using the My Travel Portal. If you’ve booked through a travel agent, your documents will be emailed directly to your agent.
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Low Deposit
AAT Kings requires a minimum deposit of 100 GBP per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 60 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of aat kings charges.
Up to 60 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
At 59 days before tour starts: Forfeit 30% of booking price.
At 15 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.
At 7 days before tour starts: Forfeit 90% of booking price.
At 1 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.