Festive Season Tour
15 nights from £2,959 per person
- Included:
- Accommodation
- In resort assistance & 24 hour contact centre
Overview
Celebrate Christmas and bring in the New Year in style on this fantastic 16-night festive luxury coach tour. Starting in Christchurch and ending in Auckland, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to discover all the natural beauty, culture, and delicious food New Zealand has to offer.
With four scenic cruises, a trip to Rotorua’s geological wonders, a rail trip on the TranzAlpine and a gondola ride on the cards, you’ll have plenty of pinch me moments on this epic trip. Better yet, you’ll certainly feel well rested as you relax on your luxury coach, reclining in your chair and watching the beautiful sceneries in your panoramic window. Your travel companions will soon become new-found friends, celebrating the festive holidays amidst some of New Zealand’s most spectacular landscapes (GP).
Highlights
- Ride the scenic Christchurch Tram
- Explore Lake Wakatipu on the TSS Earnslaw
- Enjoy a traditional Scottish evening with bagpipes and a Haggis ceremony
- Take a trip on the TranzAlpine
- Cruise through Marlborough Sounds on the Interislander Ferry
- Enjoy a beautiful Milford Sound cruise and lunch
- Marvel at the views on the Skyline Rotorua Gondola
- Discover Rotorua’s thermal mud pools and geysers
Details
Day 1
Christchurch
Arrive in Christchurch and meet your representative, who will transfer you to your hotel. In the evening, you’ll have the chance to meet your fellow travellers.
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Cotsworld - Dinner included.
Day 2
Christchurch
The day is free for you to explore Christchurch at your own pace. We’d recommend trying out one of the city’s leading attractions: the Christchurch Tram.
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Cotsworld - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 3
Omarama
After a city sightseeing tour in the morning, you will journey through the pretty Canterbury Plains to Lake Tekapo. Here you can marvel at the azure water, visit the Church of the Good Shepherd, and view the Sheep Dog Statue, all the while taking in views of New Zealand’s highest peak – Mt Cook. There is the opportunity to enjoy a scenic flight over the Southern Alps too (optional and weather permitting).
Hotel: Heritage Gateway Hotel - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 4
Dunedin
This morning will be a scenic one, visiting Lake Benmore, following the Waitaki River, and marvelling at Oamaru - which is famous for its limestone. Once you’ve arrived in Dunedin, you will embark on a city sightseeing tour, before enjoying a bit of free time. The evening will be spent enjoying a traditional Scottish evening, with bagpipes, a special Haggis ceremony and a gift.
Hotel: Mercure Leisure Lodge - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 5
Te Anau
Delve into New Zealand’s history today with a trip to Larnarch Castle, where you’ll be taken on a guided tour full of scandalous stories. Afterwards, you’ll have time to wander around the Garden of International Significance, finishing the visit with a delicious Devonshire Tea. Soon you’ll leave Dunedin and travel to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland, where you can embark on a fascinating visit to the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves (optional).
Hotel: Distinction Luxmore Hotel - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 6
Milford Sound & Queenstown
Today you will take a spectacular cruise along the magnificent Milford Sound fiord, gazing at the cascading Bowen Falls and soaring Mitre Peak as you tuck in to a picnic lunch. After the cruise, you will travel to Queenstown.
Hotel: Mercure Queenstown Resort - Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.
Day 7
Queenstown – Christmas Day
Merry Christmas! Today you will celebrate in style with a cruise on the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. Your usual Christmas roast will be swapped with sumptuous New Zealand high country cuisine in the Colonel’s Homestead, and on the return cruise to Queenstown you’ll get to sing along by the piano with your new-found friends. The evening is free.
Hotel: Mercure Queenstown Resort - Breakfast and lunch included.
Day 8
Arrowtown & Fox Glacier
Begin the day with a trip to the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown. You’ll then venture via the Haast Pass to the stunning West Coast, gawking at the views of the snow-capped Southern Alps that will whizz past your winder. Once at Fox Glacier, you’ll have the chance to enjoy a scenic flight over the rugged landscapes (optional, and weather permitting).
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Glacier Country - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 9
Arthur’s Pass & Christchurch
After visiting the Greenstone Factory in Hokitika, you’ll follow the ascending road to Arthur’s Pass to hop onboard the TranzAlpine train – one of the world’s best rail journeys. Travelling past massive viaducts, sweeping river valleys and impressive gorges, you’ll soon reach Christchurch.
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Cotsworld - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 10
Picton & Wellington
Today you will journey through the Lewis Pass on your way to the Marlborough Country, well-known for its decadent food and wine. Then continue to Picton for your Interislander Ferry through the Marlborough Sounds and across the Cook Strait to Wellington.
Hotel: Ibis Wellington - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 11
Wellington
Begin with an exploration of Gallipoli: A Scale of War exhibition taking place at Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum. The exhibition is full of extraordinary New Zealander stories. You’ll then hop back on the coach for a city tour of Wellington, before a free evening for you to spend as you wish.
Hotel: Ibis Wellington - Breakfast included.
Day 12
Taupo & Rotorua
Whilst travelling to Lake Taupo, you’ll pass a plethora of stunning sights, including Mt Ruapehu and Mt Tongariro. Visit the remarkable Huka Falls before travelling along the Thermal Explorer Highway all the way to the geothermal phenomena of Rotorua.
Hotel: Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 13
Rotorua – New Year’s Eve
Start New Year’s Eve in style with a gondola ride and breakfast at the Skyline Rotorua – there’ll even be time for a luge ride. Next you’ll visit Agrodome for a great hour of farming entertainment, before journeying to Te Puia to see the impressive boiling mud pools and geysers that makes Rotorua so well-known. The afternoon will be free for you to enjoy at your own time, and in the evening you will regroup for a Maori Hangi and concert to see in the New Year.
Hotel: Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 14
Auckland & Bay of Islands
In the morning you will leave Rotorua and travel to Auckland, before taking the road via Whangarei to Paihia, a small town in the heart of the Bay of Islands. Your introduction to this beautiful destination is a visit to the location of the signing of the treaty between the Moari tribes and the British.
Hotel: Kingsgate Hotel Autolodge - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 15
Bay of Islands
Today you’ll have the wonderful opportunity to cruise through the Bay of Islands on a luxury catamaran, sailing to Cape Brett and the famous Hole in the Rock whilst looking out for bottlenose and common dolphin along the way.
Hotel: Kingsgate Hotel Autolodge - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 16
Auckland
Leave the Bay of Islands and venture to Matakohe for an educational talk at the Kauri Museum, before arriving in Auckland for a city sightseeing tour. In the evening, you will get together with your new-found friends for a farewell dinner.
Hotel: Copthorne Auckland City - Breakfast and dinner included.
Day 17
Auckland
Today marks the end of your tour. Transfer to the airport for your onward flight.
Breakfast included.
- Return airport transfers in New Zealand
- All accommodation in 3.5 star hotels
- 16 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 1 morning tea, and 14 dinners
- Travel on a luxury coach, with reclining seats and panoramic windows
- Experienced tour guide
- Professional Coach Captain
- Four cruises including Milford Sound
- Pre-paid activities: Christchurch Tram, Haggis Ceremony and gift, Larnarch Castle, Milford Sound cruise and lunch, cruise on TSS Earnslaw, Lakes District Museum, TranzAlpine rail journey, Interislander Ferry cruise, Te Papa visit, Skyline Rotorua Gondola and luge ride, Agrodome, Rotorua thermal mud pools and geysers, traditional Maori Hangi and concert, dolphin/Hole in the Rock cruise, Kauri museum, city sights tours of Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland.
- 2018 departure date: Dec 19
- 2019 departure date: Dec 19
