This is our signature luxury tour and great way to see New Zealand with a chance to relax and escape from the daily stresses at home. Experiencing the splendor that awaits you at a selection of our best boutique New Zealand accommodation. Learn about our settler’s history at the Bay of Islands and explore by foot the trails and explosive geysers and bubbling mud pool in a geothermal wonderland. Relax at our golden sand beaches in Abel Tasman National Park and admire the spectacular views of our magical mountains in Queenstown.
Private, exclusive tour - 10 nights 5* luxury lodges (Domestic flights, Private chauffeured transfers or private driver-guide)
Day 1: Auckland City – Domestic flight to Bay of Islands (Airport concierge service and private transfer, afternoon to your own leisure)
Day 2: Bay of Islands (Private area tour, Waitangi meeting grounds)
Day 3: Bay of Islands (Day to your own leisure)
Day 4: Bay of Islands – Domestic flight to Taupo (Private airport transfers, Huka Falls/small area tour)
Day 5: Lake Taupo (Day to your own leisure)
Day 6: Lake Taupo – Domestic flight to Nelson/SOUTH ISLAND (Private transfer/small area tour)
Day 7: Nelson/Abel Tasman (Day to your own leisure)
Day 8: Nelson – Domestic flight to Queenstown (Private transfer/small winery & area tour)
Day 9: Queenstown – Half day trip to Fiordland National Park (Scenic flight/cruise/flight to Milford Sound)
Day 10: Queenstown (Day to your own leisure)
Day 11: Queenstown departure (Private airport transfer)
Prices: We recommend the following guidelines for customized tour packages, excluding international flights: ◦5* and 5*Plus from NZ$ $750 - $1650+ per person per day. The customized package will include accommodation, airport transfers and other transportation within New Zealand, guided tours or activities, unique experiences, trip planning, and 24X7 support during your trip. Please enquire for a custom quote. The price is customized based on final accommodation choices, travel dates, and other custom preferences.
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Day 1: Auckland arrival- Domestic flight to Bay of Islands (Private transfer, afternoon to your own leisure)
The Bay of Islands is a subtropical micro-region known for its stunning beauty & history. For those that love beaches and water activities, it's paradise. A 35 minute flight north of Auckland, the Bay of Islands encompasses 144 islands between Cape Brett and the Purerua Peninsula and includes the boutique towns of Opua, Paihia, Russell and Kerikeri. Just north of Russell - you’ll enter a maritime adventure playground with an abundance of wildlife including penguins, dolphins, marlin, whales, gannets and more. Many of the islands here have walking tracks. Relax in one of the luxury boutique lodges set within beautiful grounds and offering spectacular views of the Bay of Islands. Accommodation: Bay of Island – Huntaway lodge, Flagstaff Lodge (Luxury) or Kauri Cliffs, Eagles Nest (Deluxe)
Day 2: Bay of Islands (Private area tour/Waitangi meeting grounds)
The Bay was the site of some of New Zealand's earliest settlements, both Maori & European, & New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi, was signed in the township of Waitangi in 1840. The most notable point of historical interest in the region is the Waitangi Treaty Grounds & House. The Northland town of Kerikeri has a long, colourful history. The area was home ground for the fearsome Maori chief Hongi Hika, who terrorised many tribes throughout the North Island in the early 1800s. Yet he was kind to missionaries, allowing Samuel Marsden to establish New Zealand's second mission station here. The town itself is full of galleries, cafés and gourmet food shops. For nature lovers, the 10 minute walk to Rainbow Falls offers the chance for a picnic amid native bush and birdsong. If time allows take a ferry to Russell, which holds an important place in New Zealand's history, being the country's first sea port, its first European settlement and New Zealand's first capital in nearby Okiato. The town's streets retain their original layout and names from 1843, and many of its historic buildings can still be visited today. After a full day sightseeing, you will return to the Lodge for your evening meal.
Accommodation: Bay of Island – Huntaway lodge, Flagstaff Lodge (Luxury) or Kauri Cliffs, Eagles Nest (Deluxe)
Day 3: Bay of Islands (Day to your own leisure)
Today you are at leisure to explore the area. A mild climate, good fishing, beautiful beaches & the laid-back nature of picturesque small townships make the Bay of Islands a popular holiday destination. A large number of cruise or sailing options can be undertaken on the bay; a whole day can be spent travelling to the very tip of the North Island, Cape Reinga, or you can elect to swim with dolphins, take a catamaran trip, visit Cape Brett's "Hole in the Rock" or enjoy some stately sailing on a Tall Ship. If you would prefer a land-based option, you could visit the ancient Waipoua Kauri Forest on the west coast or visit Cape Reinga in a chauffeur driven car. After a full days sightseeing, you will return to the Lodge for your evening meal. Accommodation: Bay of Island – Huntaway lodge, Flagstaff Lodge (Luxury) or Kauri Cliffs, Eagles Nest (Deluxe)
Day 4: Bay of Island – Domestic flight to Taupo (Private airport transfers, Huka Falls/small area tour)
This morning you will be taken by a private driver back to Keri Keri airport, where you take a connecting flight, over Auckland to Lake Taupo. The beautiful Lake Taupo is about the size of Singapore – more of an inland sea really. Great Lake Taupo is centrally located in the middle of the North Island. It was created nearly two thousand years ago by a volcanic eruption so big it darkened the skies in Europe and China. At some of Lake Taupo's beaches, swimmers and paddlers can enjoy warm, geothermal water currents. Just north of Lake Taupo you'll find New Zealand's most visited attraction, the magnificent Huka Falls, where more than 220,000 litres of water thunder over the cliff face every second. Accommodation: Taupo - Acacia Cliffs Lodge, Taupo Lodge (Luxury) or Huka Lodge (Deluxe)
Day 5: Lake Taupo (Day to your own leisure)
Today is a free day to enjoy the best the central north island has to offer. Explore an active geothermal area of mud pools, craters and steaming vents at Craters of the Moon and Orakei Korako. Take a boat or kayak and cruise around secluded coves and beaches of Lake Taupo. Visit the intricate Maori Rock carvings at Mine Bay - they're only accessible by water. What Taupo is really known for is fishing, catch a rainbow or brown trout on Lake Taupo or go fly-fishing with a local guide on the Tongariro River. Visit the nearby city (an hours drive) of Rotorua and learn about our local Maori culture. Take a helicopter excursion to an active volcano; White Island is one of the most fascinating & accessible volcanoes on earth & is New Zealand's only live marine volcano & walking on it is like walking on the moon. Landing at the crater's rim, you will spend approximately one hour on a guided walk of this extraordinary natural attraction. Taupo is also the perfect base base for exploring Tongariro National Park, whether it be walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (New Zealand's most popular day walk) or on of the many shorter walks in the area. Accommodation: Taupo - Acacia Cliffs Lodge, Taupo Lodge (Luxury) or Huka Lodge (Deluxe)
Day 6: Lake Taupo – Domestic flight to Nelson/SOUTH ISLAND (Private transfer/small area tour)
Following breakfast you will transfer in a private vehicle to Napier airport in time to catch your flight to Nelson via Wellington. When you arrive at Nelson's small airport, you will be met & transfer in a private vehicle to your deluxe accommodation. Sunny Nelson lives up to its name with the highest amount of sunshine in the country. Nelson is the commercial centre & seaport for a fertile, highly productive & extremely beautiful district noted for fruit, hops & tobacco growing as well as general agricultural & pastoral production. There is a vibrant art community with numerous galleries for art lovers to explore. The remainder of the day can be spent relaxing at your luxurious accommodation. At the house this evening, you can enjoy a sumptuous evening meal with local Marlborough wine. Accommodation: Nelson – Resurgence Lodge, Stonefly Lodge (Luxury) and Eden House, Split Apple Retreat (Deluxe)
Day 7: Nelson/Abel Tasman (Day to your own leisure)
Today you have a day at leisure to explore Nelson or visit the Abel Tasman or Kahurangi National Parks, for which Nelson is the gateway. The Kahurangi National Park offers hiking in a spectacular alpine environment, whilst the coastal Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand's smallest national park, established in 1942; the park is renowned for its golden beaches, sculptured granite cliffs & world-famous Abel Tasman Coast Track. A coastal paradise that you can walk through or explore by cruise boat, sailing catamaran, water taxi or sea kayak, visitors love the way the Abel Tasman National Park mixes physical exertion with beach life. Bursts of hiking or paddling are punctuated by sun bathing, swimming and sedate snorkelling. After a full day of sightseeing, you can once again retreat to your luxury lodge for dinner. Accommodation: Nelson – Resurgence Lodge, Stonefly Lodge (Luxury) and Eden House, Split Apple Retreat (Deluxe)
Day 8: Nelson – Domestic flight to Queenstown (Private transfer/small winery & area tour)
Following breakfast you will take a private transfer to Nelson airport where you will join a scheduled flight to Queenstown via Christchurch. Queenstown is one of New Zealand’s top visitor destinations and if you come to the region you’ll understand why. Queenstown sits on the shores of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu among dramatic alpine ranges; it’s rumoured that gold prospectors - captivated by the majestic beauty of the surrounding mountains and rivers - gave this now cosmopolitan town its name. Queenstown is rated internationally as one of the world’s top holiday destinations and in 2014 was named New Zealand’s number one destination in the Travellers’ Choice Destinations by TripAdvisor as well as the second best destination in the South Pacific. Central Otago is New Zealand’s fastest growing wine region and also it’s most scenic. Take the time to explore these incredible vineyards set in small microclimates in a landscape dominated by high snow-capped mountains, and tussock clad slopes. Travel to Cromwell and Bannockburn, the heart of Pinot Noir country, and depending on your personal tastes, we will guide you to a selection of boutique wineries. At some stage of the wine tour we suggest a stop for a relaxing lunch at one of the wineries. Drive through the famous Kawarau valley and gorge. Stop at, what is widely regarded as a safe spectator attraction the famous Kawarau Gorge Bungy Jumping exhibition (this is free for spectators, however, if you desire to make a jump the charge is additional to your tour package). If time permits stop in Arrowtown, a historic colonial village that takes you back into the Gold Mining days of the Otago region. Accommodation: Queenstown – Queenstown Park Hotel, or The Dairy Hotel (Luxury) or Eichardt’s Hotel, Matakauri Lodge or Blanket Bay Lodge (Deluxe)
Day 9: Queenstown – Half day trip to Fiordland National Park (Scenic flight/cruise/flight to Milford Sounds)
In the morning you are taking a flight/cruise excursion into Milford Sound. Described by Rudyard Kipling as the ‘eighth wonder of the world” which was carved out during successive ice ages and, at its deepest point off Mitre Peak, plunges to a depth of 265 meters. The awesome splendour of this region is unsurpassed anywhere else in the world, a daring claim in a country which offers extraordinary beauty around every corner. Fly from Queenstown to magnificent Milford Sound and enjoy spectacular views of the mountains, lakes and fiords of the Fiordland National Park. At Milford Sound your launch cruise travels the full length of Milford Sound. Return to Queenstown via the famous Sutherland Falls and glaciers of the Fiordland National Park. Late afternoon settle into your small boutique stay and enjoy the spectacular views of the area. Accommodation: Queenstown – Queenstown Park Hotel, or The Dairy Hotel (Luxury) or Eichardt’s Hotel, Matakauri Lodge or Blanket Bay Lodge (Deluxe)
Day 10: Queenstown (Day to your own leisure)
With a smorgasbord of outdoor activities, Queenstown is the home of the ultimate adventure bucket list. There’s skiing in the winter and activities such as bungy jumping, sky diving, canyon swinging, jet boating, horse trekking and river rafting all year round. It has also become a renowned cycling destination, providing everything from easy scenic tracks to backcountry trails, road rides to heli-biking and the Southern Hemisphere’s only gondola accessed downhill mountain biking. If hardcore adventure isn't your thing, there are plenty of mellow options available. You might want to travel up Bob's peak by Gondola to enjoy spectacular views across Lake Wakatipu to the Remarkables Range in the distance or visit the Kiwi & Birdlife Park. You can take a cruise on Lake Wakatipu onboard the steam ship TSS Earnslaw & visit a high country sheep station for a farm tour and afternoon tea. Experience one of the many walking and hiking trails, sightseeing tours or indulge yourself with spa treatments, boutique shopping and excellent food and wine. Accommodation: Queenstown – Queenstown Park Hotel, or The Dairy Hotel (Luxury) or Eichardt’s Hotel, Matakauri Lodge or Blanket Bay Lodge (Deluxe)
Day 11: Queenstown departure (Private airport transfer)
From Queenstown you can get flights to Australia or connect easily back to Christchurch or Auckland, to connect to other international flights. |