Welcome to New Zealand. Once you arrive at your Auckland hotel, you can spend the rest of the day at your leisure. You’ll be staying in a central spot, from which you can easily explore Downtown Auckland and the waterfront.

Overnight: Rydges Auckland Hotel

Leave Auckland and drive over the Harbour Bridge as you head towards the Bay of Islands. Travelling along the Hibiscus Coast, you’ll stop to see a mighty Kauri tree and marvel at its size. Once you arrive in the stunning Bay of Islands, it’s time to enjoy a special welcome dinner with your fellow travellers. 

Overnight: Copthorne Hotel & Resort

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today is a free day, so you can explore the beautiful Bay of Islands at your leisure. You could go on a scenic coastal walk, and then feast on some of region’s best seafood at one of the many restaurants and cafés. Or make a visit to the Waitangi Treaty Ground – the historic spot where New Zealand's founding document was signed in 1840 – and learn about Maori culture.

Overnight: Copthorne Hotel & Resort

Meals: Breakfast

Leave Auckland behind and travel south to the Waitomo Caves. These caverns are famous for having thousands of tiny glow worms, which light up the caves like stars in the sky. You can see this magical spot on a guided tour before continuing onto Rotorua – a geothermal city home to natural wonders, sparkling lakes and lush native forests. See geysers and bubbling mud pools, before touring the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. Later, at dinner, you’ll learn more about New Zealand’s heritage as you feast on an authentic Maori Hangi – a traditional dinner cooked in a pit oven.

Overnight: Sudima Rotorua
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today is a free day for you to explore Rotorua in your own time. Perhaps you’d like to unwind in the mineral-rich hot pools at the Polynesian Spa? Alternatively, you could watch a sheep show at the Agrodome, or step into Middle Earth on a tour of the nearby Hobbiton™ Movie Set.

Overnight: Sudima Rotorua

Meals: Breakfast

Your journey south continues along the Thermal Explorer Highway. En route to Wellington, you’ll stop off in Taupo to see New Zealand’s most visited attraction – the spectacular Huka Falls. Witness the power of 220,000 litres of water thundering over this waterfall every second, and then admire scenic Lake Taupo. Afterwards, you’ll journey across the vast plateau of UNESCO-protected Tongariro National Park, before arriving in vibrant Wellington – New Zealand’s capital city.

Overnight: Travelodge Hotel Wellington
Meals: Breakfast

It’s time to leave the North Island behind, as you sail to the South Island aboard the Interislander Ferry. The three-and-a-half-hour journey across the Cook Strait to Picton is among the most scenic ferry crossings in the world – and, as you sail through Queen Charlotte Sound, you’ll soon discover why. Once you reach the South Island, you’ll drive through the Marlborough wine region and the coastal town of Kaikoura – famous for its wildlife – before arriving in Christchurch. 

Overnight: Quality Elms Hotel, Christchurch 

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

You’ll see some truly spectacular sights today as you make your way along the South Island’s rugged West Coast. As you leave Christchurch, the urban landscape will give way to the pastoral beauty of the Canterbury Plains, before morphing into the dramatic wilderness of the Southern Alps as you begin the ascent into the Main Divide. Your destination for today is the remarkable Fox Glacier, found in Westland Tai Poutini National Park.
There is an option to ‘Enhance Your Journey’ and travel to the West Coast on the TranzAlpine train instead. It’s one of the world’s most stunning rail journeys – please ask our experts for more details.

Overnight: Heartland Hotel Fox Glacier
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Leaving Fox Glacier behind, you’ll be treated to more incredible scenery as you snake through Haast Pass, and skirt the tranquil shores of lakes Wanaka and Hawea, before arriving in the alpine resort of Queenstown. Boasting a fantastic location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and hemmed in by the jagged peaks of the The Remarkables, this is New Zealand’s self-proclaimed adventure capital, where you’ll stay for two nights.

Overnight: Copthorne Hotel and Apartments Queenstown Lakeview
Meals: Breakfast

See Queenstown in all her glory with a ride on the Skyline Gondola, taking you 450 metres above the city to Bob’s Peak, where you’ll tuck into a delicious and extremely scenic lunch at the Stratosfare Restaurant. The rest of the day is yours to spend however you please. Why not take a leisurely stroll along the waterfront, cycle part of the Queenstown trail, or test your limits with a bungee jump? You could even take to the lake aboard the steamship TSS Earnslaw or take a thrilling jet-boat ride down the Shotover River.

Overnight: Copthorne Hotel and Apartments Queenstown Lakeview
Meals: Breakfast

Today’s stunning drive will take you around Lake Wakatipu, over rolling countryside and through temperate rainforest towards the iconic Milford Sound – the most popular fjord in Fiordland National Park. Here, you’ll board a boat and cruise the full length of the fjord, passing cascading waterfalls and sheer, glacier-carved cliffs. You’ll then return along Milford Road to the town of Te Anau, where you’ll spend the night.

Overnight: Kingsgate Hotel Te Anau
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Travel through the Southland region’s countryside to the city of Dunedin. Known as the “Edinburgh of the South”, this lively city is home to Speight's Brewery and New Zealand’s only castle, Larnach Castle. You can get your bearings with a tour of the city when you arrive.

Overnight: Scenic Hotel Dunedin City
Meals: Breakfast

Journeying along the coast, you’ll see the unusual Moeraki Boulders – which are scattered like marbles along a stretch of sandy beach – and make a stop in Oamaru to admire some of New Zealand’s finest 19th-century architecture. After passing the brilliant blue waters of Lake Pukaki, you’ll detour to Mount Cook National Park, where you can marvel at Australasia’s highest mountain. In the afternoon you’ll reach your hotel on the shores of Lake Tekapo, where later on you’ll dine on fresh local produce during a memorable farewell dinner.

Overnight: Peppers Bluewater Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning, pay a visit to the tiny stone Church of the Good Shepherd, perched on the edge of the lake, before travelling to Christchurch where your tour comes to an end.

Meals: Breakfast