Best Buys

Northern Spotlight

8 Day Guided Vacation | Auckland to Wellington

It’s incredible how much a tour of New Zealand’s North Island can reveal about the country. Your roll-call includes oh-so-cool cities like Auckland tours and Wellington tours, the gateways to the Bay of Islands and Rotorua. Adventure and bliss await.

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$2858

Adult Twin i A person 16 years and over (note a person 16–17 years must be accompanied by a person 18 years and over). All prices are per person, land only unless otherwise indicated.
Above lowest price is based on 2024-09-21 departure

$3704

Single i A person, who must be 18 years and over, travelling alone, must pay the single room price. All prices are per person, land only unless otherwise indicated.
Above lowest price is based on 2024-09-21 departure
Prices above are per person in USD
Single rooms are limited and subject to availability
Child prices may be available on request

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Trip Details

trip-details-whats-includedWhat's included

  • • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide
    • 1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Fiordland National Park
    • Centrally located premium hotels
    • National Park entrance fees

trip-details-diningDining

  • • 7 Full Breakfasts
  • • 1 Dinner
  • • 1 Highlight Dinner

trip-details-flight-infoFlight Information

  • Day 1 – flights to arrive prior to 4.00pm into Auckland Airport 
    Day 8 – flights to depart after 2.00pm from Wellington Airport 
    Flights are not included in the holiday price 
    Return airport to hotel transfers are not included in the holiday price 

trip-details-what-to-bringWhat to Bring

  • • Warm layers in cooler months
  • • Camera
  • • Comfortable walking shoes
  • • Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
  • • Water bottle

trip-details-fitness-level-requirementsFitness Requirements

    Low level of fitness required.

Itinerary Generating PDF...

image map

Auckland is known as the ‘City of Sails’. And you’ll discover why when exploring its two harbours at your leisure. Pick a waterfront precinct and find a perch to while away the afternoon over a Marlborough sauvignon blanc. Meet your fellow travel companions at a Welcome Reception tonight.

  Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Auckland

Your journey north to New Zealand’s Bay of Islands is not short of drama – discover 140 droplets of land ringed by turquoise sea at the top of the country. It’s undeniably beautiful, but it also holds a special historical secret: this is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, between Captain William Hobson and Māori chiefs. Your guide, likely a descendant of one of the original signatories, will explain the significance of the site, while pointing out the world’s largest ceremonial war canoe and a carved meeting house.

 

  Hotel: Copthorne Hotel and Resort

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

If there’s a travel destination that inspires wanderlust, the Bay of Islands is it. And today, you can do just that. At your leisure, venture up to Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua, the very top of New Zealand, via idyllic Ninety Mile Beach. Or glide around on an historic tall ship, cruise to the famous Hole in the Rock or join a tour of Russell and learn more about the settling of the Bay of Islands. The choice is yours.

  Hotel: Copthorne Hotel and Resort

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Northern exposure is a thing today, when you journey toward the top of the country to visit Whangarei – NZ’s northernmost city, and a place where waterfalls meet beaches, galleries meet museums. It’s like the country in a tantalising snapshot – a union of nature and forward-thinking culture. Explore at your leisure before sinking back into your seat for the mesmerising commute back to Auckland.

  Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Auckland

  Included Meals: Breakfast

There’s no bad day in Auckland – today, yours starts with a city sights tour before you set your GPS for the Waikato River and Waitomo Caves. This place is radiant – quite literally. While cruising cavernous waterways, your 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. This evening, explore Te Puia’s geothermal valley, and learn about Māori history and culture on this guided experience, which includes a dinner of hangi-inspired cuisine and a cultural performance in a finely carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. It ends on a high at the Pohutu Geyser, where, armed with a hot chocolate you’ll view one of New Zealand’s geothermal wonderlands.

 

  Hotel: Ibis Rotorua Hotel

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Explore at your own pace today, but with plenty of tips from your Travel Director. Want a bit of down time? We wouldn’t blame you for simply blissing out at in the steamy thermal springs at Rotorua’s Polynesian Spa. Animal lover? Go behind the scenes on a working kiwi nursery and hatchery. Culture vulture? 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.

  Hotel: Ibis Rotorua Hotel

  Included Meals: Breakfast

You’ll hear Huka Falls well before you see it – at this natural wonder, a staggering 220,000 litres of water thunder over an 11-metre-high waterfall every second. The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, its waters so vivid and blue you’ll think someone has taken the glasses off your nose and cleaned them for the first time. Traverse the Kapiti Coast to New Zealand’s cool little capital, Wellington, where there are so many restaurants and bars to choose from. Ask your Travel Director for tips on where to eat.

  Hotel: Travelodge Wellington

  Included Meals: Breakfast

The best way to begin a Wellington day? With a coffee. The city is known for its uber-cool cafés, designed to fuel you through your city sights tour. You may wish to linger in town, discovering Maori culture at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand. Afterwards, it’s time to bid farewell to your NZ crew. What a week.

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Please note: This itinerary may be subject to change.


Northern Spotlight

Best Buys

8 Day Guided Vacation

Auckland to Wellington

It’s incredible how much a tour of New Zealand’s North Island can reveal about the country. Your roll-call includes oh-so-cool cities like Auckland tours and Wellington tours, the gateways to the Bay of Islands and Rotorua. Adventure and bliss await.

Highlights

Flexible Vacations

Sometimes, the best experiences in life (meals, spas, hikes) are those you stumble upon. We can point you in the right direction in Auckland, Rotorua and Wellington – then go for it!

Iconic Sites

Life becomes all the more radiant at Waitomo Glowworm Caves, a subterranean wonderland that replicates the night sky.

Sustainable Travel

The Te Po Experience at Te Puia contributes to the success of the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, committed to preserving, encouraging, fostering and promoting Māori arts and crafts.

Natural Wonders

Ancient volcanoes, thundering waterfalls and a yacht-studded harbour are your backdrop in Whangarei, New Zealand’s northernmost city. What a wildlife wonderland.

Accommodation

Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort.
The accommodation you will enjoy on this tour includes:

Optional Experiences

Please note, prices for Optional Experiences are subject to change.

To ensure your holiday is filled with memorable experiences, we have included a range of quality Optional Experiences for you to choose from and partake in, if you wish, during your holiday. The experiences can be booked on tour through your Travel Director.

Bay of Islands - Highlights Tour (Bay of Islands)

Adult: $210.00 NZD
Child: $185.00 NZD

Enjoy a guided Bay Of Islands Tour. The Bay of Islands is a popular tourist destination in New Zealand. With an abundance of breathtaking, picturesque views, there are plenty of fantastic photo opportunities. Create lasting memories with a Bay Of Islands Highlights Tour.

Bay of Islands - Highlights Tour

Canopy Tours - The Original Canopy Tour (Rotorua)

NZ$189 Adult
NZ$159 Child

Canopy tours zipline adventure activity is an experience of a lifetime. You’ll be transported to a long forgotten ancient forest just like the whole of New Zealand once was. Experience a low impact mode of transport to get you high in the ancient canopy! In total there are 6 ziplines totalling more than 650 metres, the highlight for most being the jawdropping 220 metre tui song zipline that departs from 22 metres up a 1000 year old tree. Beat that for a setting! There are numerous treetop platforms at varying heights above the forest floor where you can observe and take in the magic of the environment around you.

Canopy Tours - The Original Canopy Tour

Fullers Hole in the Rock Cruise (Bay of Islands)

$150.00 NZD Adult, $75 NZD Child

Board your cruise in Paihia or Russell and take in the stunning views as we glide out through the islands and along the Rakaumangamanga Peninsula to Cape Brett, where a historic lighthouse keeps watch over Piercy Island/Motukōkako, or as it is popularly known the ‘Hole in the Rock’. This four-hour cruise includes an island stopover, and the Hole in the Rock. If you are lucky you may spot dolphins, which are prolific in the area.

Fullers Hole in the Rock Cruise

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour (Rotorua)

NZ$259 Adult NZ$194 Child

Travel from Rotorua to Matamata then onto Hobbiton for your tour of the move set with Hobbiton Tours. Experience the real Middle-earth at the Hobbiton Movie Set, where, in the heart of the Waikato region, you can step into the lush pastures of the Shire, as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.  You will be fully guided around the 12-acre set; past Hobbit Holes, the Mill and into the world-famous Green Dragon Inn, where you will be presented with a complimentary, exclusive Hobbit South-farthing beverage to conclude your own Middle-earth adventure.

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

Cape Reinga/ Ninety Mile Beach Scenic Coach Tour via 90 Mile Beach (Bay of Islands)

NZ$170 Adult NZ$85.00 Child

A visit to New Zealand is not complete without a journey to the very top of the North Island – Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua). Drive along the sand on Ninety Mile Beach as the waves crash beside the custom-built coach. Your off-road journey continues up Te Paki Stream, stopping at the massive sand dunes where you can experience the thrills and spills of sand-boarding. Clambering up and surfing down the dunes (if you dare!) is sure to get your heart pumping. Enjoy a lunch of delicious fresh fish and chips at the historic Wagener Museum at Houhora. A vegetarian option is available and can be selected when booking.

Cape Reinga/ Ninety Mile Beach Scenic Coach Tour via 90 Mile Beach

Discover Russell - Mini Tour (Bay of Islands)

NZ$35 Adult NZ$17.50 Child

This intimate one-hour coach tour visits many of Russell’s iconic locations that make it so significant in New Zealand’s early history. See Christ Church (the oldest church in New Zealand, famed for the bullet-holes in its walls); historic Pompallier House, home to Bishop Pompallier’s Catholic Mission and the oldest industrial building in New Zealand; and even the country's oldest licensed pub! Your tour will be led by an engaging guide whose combination of historical knowledge and local insight will bring the culture and history of the area to life.

Discover Russell - Mini Tour

Tall Ship Sailing - R Tucker Thompson (Bay of Islands)

NZ$179 Adult NZ$89.00 Child

This is a fantastic opportunity to go sailing on a working tall ship, in one of the most spectacularly beautiful parts of New Zealand, the Bay of Islands. During this full day sail, why not take your turn on the helm, hoist the sails or climb the rigging? And enjoy the included morning tea and delicious BBQ lunch served on board.

Tall Ship Sailing - R Tucker Thompson

Salt Air Scenic Flights Half Day Cape Reinga by Air (Bay of Islands)

Adult: $480.00

See some of the most spectacular scenery New Zealand has to offer in a half day tour. Fly 1 hour up the West Coast, spend 2 ½ hours exploring the very top of New Zealand in a mini bus, then 1 hour flying back down the East Coast.

Salt Air Scenic Flights Half Day Cape Reinga by Air

Rotorua Duck - Tarawera and Lakes Tour (Rotorua)

Adult: $105.00 NZD
Child: $60.00 NZD

Discover Rotorua’s spectacular lakes area from the comfort of a fully restored World War II amphibious vehicle, able to travel on land and water. A 90 minute fun-filled and scenic journey that ventures onto the three Rotorua lakes, and is accompanied by an entertaining and informative commentary.

Rotorua Duck - Tarawera and Lakes Tour

Trip Details

trip-details-whats-includedWhat's included

  • Specialist team of two highly experienced Travel Director and Driver
  • 1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – Fiordland National Park
  • Centrally located premium 3.5-star hotels

trip-details-diningDining

  • • 7 Full Breakfasts
  • • 1 Dinner
  • • 1 Highlight Dinner
  • • 1 Lunch

trip-details-flight-infoFlight Information

  • Day 1: Flights to arrive by 4:00pm into Auckland Airport

trip-details-what-to-bringWhat to Bring

  • • Camera
  • • Comfortable walking shoes
  • • Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat
  • • Water bottle
  • • Warm layers in cooler months

trip-details-fitness-level-requirementsFitness Requirements

Itinerary    Download Itinerary

image map

Auckland is known as the ‘City of Sails’. And you’ll discover why when exploring its two harbours at your leisure. Pick a waterfront precinct and find a perch to while away the afternoon with a glass of Central Otago sauvignon blanc and a backdrop of yachts darting the water. Should you need a closer look, take a cruise out to the wineries of Waiheke Island. Meet fellow travel companions over a few local tipples tonight. 

  Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Auckland

Your journey north on a Bay of Islands tour from Auckland is not short of drama – discover 140 droplets of land ringed by turquoise sea at the top of the country. It’s undeniably beautiful, but it also holds a special historical secret: this is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, between Captain William Hobson and Māori chiefs. Your guide, likely an ancestor of one of the original signatories, will explain the significance of the site, while pointing out the world’s largest ceremonial war canoe and a carved meeting house.

  Hotel: Copthorne Hotel and Resort, 2 Nights

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

If there’s a travel destination that inspires wanderlust, the Bay of Islands is it. And today, you can do just that. At your leisure, venture up to Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua, the very top of New Zealand, via idyllic Ninety Mile Beach. Or glide around on an historic tall ship, enjoy local drops on a wine tour of the region, or join a tour of Russell and learn more about the settling of the Bay of Islands. The choice is yours.

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Northern exposure is a thing today, when you journey toward the top of the country to visit Whangarei – NZ’s northern-most city, and a place where waterfalls meet beaches, galleries meet museums. It’s like the country in a tantalising snapshot – a union of nature and forward-thinking culture. Explore at your leisure before sinking back into your seat for the mesmerising commute back to Auckland.

  Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, Auckland

  Included Meals: Breakfast

There’s no bad day in Auckland – today, your Auckland tour is filled with expeditions to the War Memorial Museum and Waitemata Harbour, before you set your GPS for the Waikato River and a Waitomo Caves tour. This place is radiant – quite literally. While cruising cavernous waterways, your 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 Māori  culture and traditions at Te Puia. Your dinner, a hangi cooked underground, is served while you overlook the spectacular geothermal valley. The highlight is a Maori cultural performance in the beautifully carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua.

  Hotel: Ibis Rotorua Hotel, 2 Nights

  Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Highlight Dinner

Explore at your own pace today, but with plenty of tips from your Travel Director. Want a bit of down time?  We wouldn’t blame you for simply blissing out at in the steamy thermal springs at Rotorua’s Polynesian Spa. Animal lover? Go behind the scenes on a working kiwi nursery and hatchery. 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.

  Included Meals: Breakfast

You’ll hear Huka Falls well before you see it – at this natural wonder, a staggering 220,000 litres of water thunder over an 11-metre-high waterfall every second. The road ahead unfolds in a broad panorama of Lake Taupo, its waters so vivid and blue you’ll think someone has taken the glasses off your nose and cleaned them for the first time. 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.

  Hotel: Travelodge Wellington

  Included Meals: Breakfast

The best way to begin a Wellington day? With a 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. Then it’s time to bid farewell to your NZ crew. What a week.

 

  Included Meals: Breakfast

Please note: This itinerary may be subject to change.


Northern Spotlight

Best Buys

8 Day Guided Vacation

Auckland to Wellington

It’s incredible how much a tour of New Zealand’s North Island can reveal about the country. Your roll-call includes oh-so-cool cities like Auckland tours and Wellington tours, the gateways to the Bay of Islands and Rotorua. Adventure and bliss await.

Highlights

Flexible Vacations

Sometimes, the best meals are those you stumble upon. We can point you in the right direction in Auckland and Wellington – then go for it!

Time For You

Explore at your own pace in Rotorua. Slow? Opt for a thermal soak at the Polynesian Spa. Fast? Zipline through the rainforest.

Iconic Sites

Life becomes all the more radiant at Waitomo Glowworm Caves, a subterranean wonderland that replicates the night sky.

Natural Wonders

Ancient volcanoes, thundering waterfalls and a yacht-studded harbour are your backdrop in Whangarei, New Zealand’s northernmost city. What a wildlife wonderland.

Sustainable Travel

Enjoy your packed lunch today knowing that a donation is being made on your behalf to local charity Auckland City Mission, where real change can start with just one meal.

Accommodation

Your Guided Holiday includes a range of quality accommodation for your comfort.
The accommodation you will enjoy on this tour includes:

Optional Experiences

Please note, prices for Optional Experiences are subject to change.

To ensure your holiday is filled with memorable experiences, we have included a range of quality Optional Experiences for you to choose from and partake in, if you wish, during your holiday. The experiences can be booked on tour through your Travel Director.

Bay of Islands - Highlights Tour (Bay of Islands)

Adult: $210.00 NZD
Child: $185.00 NZD

Enjoy a guided Bay Of Islands Tour. The Bay of Islands is a popular tourist destination in New Zealand. With an abundance of breathtaking, picturesque views, there are plenty of fantastic photo opportunities. Create lasting memories with a Bay Of Islands Highlights Tour.

Bay of Islands - Highlights Tour

Canopy Tours - The Original Canopy Tour (Rotorua)

NZ$189 Adult
NZ$159 Child

Canopy tours zipline adventure activity is an experience of a lifetime. You’ll be transported to a long forgotten ancient forest just like the whole of New Zealand once was. Experience a low impact mode of transport to get you high in the ancient canopy! In total there are 6 ziplines totalling more than 650 metres, the highlight for most being the jawdropping 220 metre tui song zipline that departs from 22 metres up a 1000 year old tree. Beat that for a setting! There are numerous treetop platforms at varying heights above the forest floor where you can observe and take in the magic of the environment around you.

Canopy Tours - The Original Canopy Tour

Fullers Hole in the Rock Cruise (Bay of Islands)

$150.00 NZD Adult, $75 NZD Child

Board your cruise in Paihia or Russell and take in the stunning views as we glide out through the islands and along the Rakaumangamanga Peninsula to Cape Brett, where a historic lighthouse keeps watch over Piercy Island/Motukōkako, or as it is popularly known the ‘Hole in the Rock’. This four-hour cruise includes an island stopover, and the Hole in the Rock. If you are lucky you may spot dolphins, which are prolific in the area.

Fullers Hole in the Rock Cruise

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour (Rotorua)

NZ$259 Adult NZ$194 Child

Travel from Rotorua to Matamata then onto Hobbiton for your tour of the move set with Hobbiton Tours. Experience the real Middle-earth at the Hobbiton Movie Set, where, in the heart of the Waikato region, you can step into the lush pastures of the Shire, as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.  You will be fully guided around the 12-acre set; past Hobbit Holes, the Mill and into the world-famous Green Dragon Inn, where you will be presented with a complimentary, exclusive Hobbit South-farthing beverage to conclude your own Middle-earth adventure.

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

Cape Reinga/ Ninety Mile Beach Scenic Coach Tour via 90 Mile Beach (Bay of Islands)

NZ$170 Adult NZ$85.00 Child

A visit to New Zealand is not complete without a journey to the very top of the North Island – Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua). Drive along the sand on Ninety Mile Beach as the waves crash beside the custom-built coach. Your off-road journey continues up Te Paki Stream, stopping at the massive sand dunes where you can experience the thrills and spills of sand-boarding. Clambering up and surfing down the dunes (if you dare!) is sure to get your heart pumping. Enjoy a lunch of delicious fresh fish and chips at the historic Wagener Museum at Houhora. A vegetarian option is available and can be selected when booking.

Cape Reinga/ Ninety Mile Beach Scenic Coach Tour via 90 Mile Beach

Discover Russell - Mini Tour (Bay of Islands)

NZ$35 Adult NZ$17.50 Child

This intimate one-hour coach tour visits many of Russell’s iconic locations that make it so significant in New Zealand’s early history. See Christ Church (the oldest church in New Zealand, famed for the bullet-holes in its walls); historic Pompallier House, home to Bishop Pompallier’s Catholic Mission and the oldest industrial building in New Zealand; and even the country's oldest licensed pub! Your tour will be led by an engaging guide whose combination of historical knowledge and local insight will bring the culture and history of the area to life.

Discover Russell - Mini Tour

Tall Ship Sailing - R Tucker Thompson (Bay of Islands)

NZ$179 Adult NZ$89.00 Child

This is a fantastic opportunity to go sailing on a working tall ship, in one of the most spectacularly beautiful parts of New Zealand, the Bay of Islands. During this full day sail, why not take your turn on the helm, hoist the sails or climb the rigging? And enjoy the included morning tea and delicious BBQ lunch served on board.

Tall Ship Sailing - R Tucker Thompson

Salt Air Scenic Flights Half Day Cape Reinga by Air (Bay of Islands)

Adult: $480.00

See some of the most spectacular scenery New Zealand has to offer in a half day tour. Fly 1 hour up the West Coast, spend 2 ½ hours exploring the very top of New Zealand in a mini bus, then 1 hour flying back down the East Coast.

Salt Air Scenic Flights Half Day Cape Reinga by Air

Rotorua Duck - Tarawera and Lakes Tour (Rotorua)

Adult: $105.00 NZD
Child: $60.00 NZD

Discover Rotorua’s spectacular lakes area from the comfort of a fully restored World War II amphibious vehicle, able to travel on land and water. A 90 minute fun-filled and scenic journey that ventures onto the three Rotorua lakes, and is accompanied by an entertaining and informative commentary.

Rotorua Duck - Tarawera and Lakes Tour
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