Magnificent New Zealand Tour

Day 1: Depart UK

Depart from the UK airport most convenient for you with Qantas & Emirates. Choose from London Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle or Glasgow. Alternatively, fly direct to Singapore with Singapore Airlines from London Heathrow or Manchester. Or if you prefer you may choose to fly via Amsterdam with KLM & Singapore Airlines from Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow. No matter which airline or airport you choose, there will be no additional cost.

Included meals: In-flight meals and drinks

Day 2: Singapore, 2 nights

Arrive into the wonderful city of Singapore and transfer to the four-star Copthorne Kings Hotel, situated in an enviable position close to the banks of the Singapore River.

Included meals: In-flight meals and drinks

Alternative stopover

We have based days 2-4 of this itinerary on a stopover in Singapore. If you are flying with Qantas  & Emirates, you may choose to stop in Bangkok or Dubai for the same price. Your stopover includes transfers, accommodation, daily breakfast and a city sightseeing tour. Flight timings will vary and will be advised at the time of booking.

Day 3: Singapore

Known as ‘the crossroads of Asia’, Singapore is a city where east meets west; a cosmopolitan melting pot with an inspirational identity. This morning, enjoy a tour of this wonderful city. Included is a stop at Merlion Park with impressive views of Marina Bay. See the historic Civic District, Thian Hock Keng Temple and the fabulous orchid gardens set within Singapore’s botanical gardens. Return to the hotel where the rest of our day is free to spend as we please.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 4: Depart Singapore

A day at leisure in Singapore until it’s time to leave for our evening flight to Auckland. Perhaps explore the impressive Gardens by the Bay or enjoy high tea at Raffles.

Included meals: Breakfast, in-flight meals and drinks

Day 5: Auckland, 2 nights

If flying with Qantas & Emirates, your flight will transfer via Australia before arriving into Auckland. On arrival, we meet our local Coach Captain, who will be our driver and guide during our time in New Zealand. Transfer to the centrally located Grand Millennium Auckland, where we spend our first two nights in New Zealand.

Included meals: In-flight meals and drinks

Day 6: Auckland

This morning, we take an orientation tour of the city. Known as the ‘City of Sails’, Auckland is New Zealand’s most populous city, with a beautiful waterside setting and a landscape dotted with volcanic hills. We drive along the stunning coastline of the famous Waitemata Harbour. In the distance see Rangitoto Island, an extinct volcano, dominating the horizon. We continue to the stylish Viaduct Harbour, host to many America’s Cup celebrations. Your afternoon is free for you to enjoy as you please. Perhaps take a trip to the top of Sky Tower; the panoramic views from the tallest building in the southern hemisphere are truly breathtaking.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 7: Bay of Islands, 3 nights

Our travels today commence with a drive over the impressive Waitemata Harbour Bridge. Journey past dairy farms and rolling hills as we make our way north. We continue to the Waipoua Kauri Forest Reserve, where we stop to view the gigantic kauri tree Tane Mahuta, ‘Lord of the Forest.’ We then travel across the country to the beautiful Bay of Islands and our home for the next three nights, the Scenic Hotel Bay of Islands, located in the picturesque seaside town of Paihia.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 8: Bay of Islands

Tour Highlight

Visiting this stunning area wouldn’t be complete without a cruise around the Bay of Islands, no doubt one of your tour highlights. Cruise via Red Head Passage to Cape Brett and Piercy Island and on to the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’. In these world-famous deep-fishing grounds dolphins and schools of fish are frequently seen. Our return trip visits historic Russell, once known as the ‘Hell Hole of the Pacific’, but now a peaceful and picturesque township. Our free afternoon provides an excellent opportunity (at an additional cost) to visit the grounds of the Waitangi National Reserve where, in 1840, the British and Maori chiefs signed the Waitangi Treaty.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 9: Bay of Islands Freedom Day

Although our day has been left at leisure, we have the opportunity to join a fantastic optional trip to Cape Reinga. This full day excursion visits the northern tip of New Zealand, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. The area holds special spiritual significance in Maori tradition, as the place where Maori spirits return to their traditional homeland, Hawaiiki-A-Nui, via the roots of a lone (and still standing) 800-year-old pohutukawa tree. Highlights of today’s tour include magnificent coastal landscapes, the Te Paki sand dunes and a drive along Ninety Mile Beach.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 10: Rotorua, 2 nights

We travel south this morning via Auckland as we make our way to the world-famous thermal region of Rotorua. The next two nights are spent at the four star Distinction Hotel. Rotorua is the heart of New Zealand’s rich Maori culture and this evening, at our hotel, we attend a concert featuring traditional song and dance, including the world famous war dance – The Haka. Also included is a buffet dinner.

Included meals: Breakfast and dinner

Day 11: Rotorua

Our sightseeing this morning takes us via Rotorua’s famous Bath House, a Tudor-style building within the Government Gardens. We continue to Te Puia, home to the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve, with its spurting geysers and boiling mud pools. Your afternoon is at leisure to relax. For those that so wish, optional activities include a floatplane flight over Mount Tarawera, or perhaps an afternoon visiting the Hobbiton Movie Set from The Lord of the Rings may be more appealing?

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 12: Christchurch, Overnight

This morning we make our way to Auckland Airport for our Jetstar flight to Christchurch. Enjoy a brief sightseeing tour, prior to our arrival at the centrally located  Distinction Hotel, Christchurch.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 13: Franz Josef, 2 nights

Tour Highlight

After breakfast, we transfer to Christchurch railway station in plenty of time to catch the TranzAlpine Express, arguably one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world. Cross the fertile farmlands of the Canterbury Plains, and enjoy thrilling vistas over deep gorges as we travel alongside the ice-fed Waimakariri River. We climb the mighty Southern Alps, where at every turn, spectacular views of the chiselled alpine landscape will take our breath away. At Arthur’s Pass we join our waiting coach to make the spectacular descent down the western side of the Southern Alps through thick native beech forest. Our travels continue southbound taking us alongside striking wild scree-scarred terrain with forests of Crimson Rata and Kahikatea. Just a few miles further south we pass Lakes Ianthe and Mapourika before reaching Franz Josef and entering the Westland National Park. Our next two nights are at the Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 14: Franz Josef Freedom Day

Today is left completely free to absorb the beauty of Franz Josef. For those that so wish, we shall drive to the Franz Josef Glacier terminal where we will have the opportunity to walk to view the glacier. Weather permitting we may also take an optional scenic flight (at an additional cost) over the glacier and the awe-inspiring Alpine region.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 15: Queenstown, 3 nights

Incredible scenery today as we travel across the Haast River Bridge and via Clark Bluff along one of the most exciting scenic roads ever built. Travel along the shores of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea as we enter New Zealand’s Central Otago region. We continue via Lake Dunstan, created by the mighty Clyde hydro dam in 1994. Later in the afternoon we reach beautiful, cosmopolitan Queenstown, and our home for the next three nights, the four star Millennium Hotel, situated only a short walk from the centre of town.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 16: Queenstown Freedom Day

Queenstown smiles south across Lake Wakatipu into an incomparable alpine scene. Poplars and willows surround the lakefront and the lake seems to glisten every shade of blue. Today has been left free to take advantage of the incredible variety of activities available in and around New Zealand’s most glamorous alpine resort. For a relaxing experience, follow Queenstown’s wine trail, an enjoyable day excursion of wine tasting and sightseeing. There is also an opportunity to take an optional leisurely cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard the vintage steamboat TSS Earnslaw. The cruise includes a visit to Walter Peak Homestead and a sheep shearing show, before returning to Queenstown aboard Earnslaw.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 17: Queenstown Freedom Day

A further Freedom Day to enjoy in this wonderful alpine setting. The thrill seekers amongst us may wish to try the Shotover Jet – an exhilarating boat ride amongst the crags and boulders of the Shotover River canyon. For a more serene experience maybe stroll by the lakeside or take a gondola ride to the top of Bob’s Peak for a magnificent panoramic view of Queenstown.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 18: Te Anau, 2 nights

This morning we take a tour to visit the nearby historic mining town of Arrowtown. The heart of its history is Buckingham Street, a procession of small-town heritage buildings that stretch into a tree-lined avenue of tiny miners’ cottages. Be sure to try a cream tea in one of the quaint tea rooms. Afterwards, depart through high country landscapes and trout fishing rivers and travel onwards to the shores of Lake Te Anau, the biggest of South Island’s many lakes. We stay the next two nights at the Distinction Hotel & Villas, Te Anau.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 19: Milford Sound Cruise

Tour Highlight

An early start this morning as we embark on a stunning scenic drive into the heart of Fiordland National Park to join our morning cruise on spectacular Milford Sound. By choosing to cruise early in the morning, we will experience a quieter environment in which to enjoy all the wonders this beautiful fiord has to offer. See towering cliffs and peaks, including the iconic and much-photographed Mitre Peak, rising more than a kilometre straight out of the sea. Waterfalls cascade into the fiord and luxuriant rain forest clings to sheer rock faces. Later we return to Te Anau where there is time to enjoy the delights of this quaint township.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 20: Dunedin, 2 nights

This morning after a hearty breakfast we say goodbye to Fiordland. A morning drive takes us via Mossburn and Lumsden to Gore. Fresh, green farm scenery will accompany us to Balclutha, which has a distinctive arched concrete bridge. Known as the ‘Edinburgh of the South’, Dunedin is South Island’s second largest city and is considered New Zealand’s architectural heritage capital, with its lovingly restored Victorian and Edwardian buildings. On arrival, we enjoy a sightseeing tour taking in the city’s neo-Gothic churches, town hall, opulent theatres, and other 19th century buildings. We have time to admire the beautifully landscaped trees and plants of Dunedin Botanical Gardens and the spectacular views of the Otago Peninsula and Harbour before we return to our hotel. Our next two nights are spent at the Distinction Hotel Dunedin.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 21: Dunedin Freedom Day

A day at leisure to spend as we please. Perhaps join the Otago Peninsula Wildlife Tour – a perfect optional excursion for nature lovers. The tour includes an Otago Harbour cruise to Taiaroa Head, home of the world’s only mainland nesting place of albatross, and a visit to Penguin Place, a private conservation reserve for the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguin. Alternatively, you may wish to travel on the Taieri Gorge Train as it travels through ten tunnels and over countless bridges and viaducts, stopping or slowing down at various scenic points along the way for photos.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 22: Christchurch, Overnight

This morning, our travels take us north once more. We stop at Hampden Beach to witness the geological curiosities known as the Moeraki Boulders, huge spherical boulders which are scattered along the beach, whilst others can be seen emerging from the sandstone cliffs. Each boulder weighs several tonnes and is up to two metres in diameter. According to Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed ashore from the great voyaging canoe Araiteuru when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand hundreds of years ago. Scientists explain the boulders as calcite concretions formed about 65 million years ago. The soft mudstone containing the boulders was raised from the seabed around 15 million years ago and waves, wind and rain are uncovering them one by one. Later in the day, we arrive at the Distinction Hotel in Christchurch for our final night in New Zealand.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 23: Depart Christchurch

All good things must come to an end, and this morning we transfer to Christchurch Airport. Dependent on your choice of airline your flight will either connect via Australia and Dubai, if flying with Qantas & Emirates, or Singapore (and also Amsterdam if flying to Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Edinburgh or Glasgow) if your chosen airline is Singapore Airlines & KLM.

Included meals: Breakfast and in-flight meals and drinks

SPECIAL OFFER: SAVE up to £632 per couple!

If you would like to stopover on your way home, we have an amazing stopover offer available from £29 per person for a stay in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong or Dubai. Alternatively, you could enjoy a relaxing three-night stopover in Bali for £199 (£398 single occupancy) per person, or stay for two nights on Sentosa Island for £129 (£258 single occupancy) per person. All you need to do to take advantage of this amazing offer is book any departure after September 2022 by 30th November 2021.

When booking just tell our friendly travel professionals which offer you would prefer.

Day 24: Arrive UK

Breakfast is served shortly before our arrival, bringing an end to our Magnificent New Zealand tour.

Included meals: In-flight drinks and breakfast