Grand Pacific Tours - Ultimate Showcase Itinerary

‘Haere Mai’ - Welcome to New Zealand!

On arrival into Auckland you will be met by a representative and transferred to your hotel. This evening enjoy a complimentary pre-dinner drink as you meet your travelling companions.

Meals: Dinner (not included for anyone arriving later than 8pm)

Accommodation: Auckland - 1 Night

Board the luxurious Ultimate Coach, depart Auckland and travel to Matakohe for a visit and informative talk at the Kauri Museum. Travel via Whangarei to Paihia, situated in the heart of the beautiful Bay of Islands. Enjoy a guided tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the location of the signing of the Treaty between the indigenous Māori tribes and the British settlers.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Paihia - 2 Nights

Today is a free day. Choose form the many optional activities available, including the Cape Reinga coach trip via Ninety Mile Beach or a spectacular scenic flight. This evening is also at leisure, you may like to enjoy a relaxing dinner cruise (optional).

Meals - Breakfast

This morning you will explore the scenic beauty of the Bay of Islands. Cruise to Cape Brett and the famous 'Hole in the Rock', keep an eye out for dolphins and other marine life. On return to Paihia, travel south via Whangarei before returning to Auckland. This evening is free to dine at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Auckland - 1 Night

This morning embark on a city sights tour of Auckland, dubbed the ‘City of Sails’. Depart Auckland and travel through the picturesque countryside to Hobbiton for a buffet lunch. A guided tour of the 12-acre set, will take you past whimsical Hobbit Holes, the Mill and into the Green Dragon Inn. You can now venture beyond the door and into an authentic Hobbit Hole interior for a fully immersive experience. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Dinner

Accommodation: Rotorua - 2 Nights

Today begins with a gondola ride and breakfast at Skyline Rotorua, where spectacular views are on offer.  There is also time for a thrilling luge ride! Next stop is Agrodome for an action-packed hour of farming entertainment end education that is unlike anything you've seen before. Enjoy some free time this afternoon before travelling to Te Puia to see the boiling mud pools and awesome geysers that Rotorua is famous for. This evening experience and entertaining Māori Hāngi and Concert.

Meals: Breakfast, Specialty Dinner

Depart Rotorua and travel along the Thermal Explorer Highway to Huka Falls and Lake Taupo. Continue to Napier known as “The Art Deco Capital”, to see the most comprehensive collection of art deco buildings in the world. Board the Hawke’s Bay Express and hear informative commentary on the city’s fascinating history. Enjoy some free time this afternoon to explore the city. 

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Napier - 1 Night

Travel south this morning into Wellington for a city tour of the nation’s capital which will highlight the history and culture on show here. At Te Papa, New Zealand’s National Museum, there is time to explore Gallipoli: A Scale of War exhibition. Cutting edge technology brings these stories to life through the eyes of New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Wellington- 1 Night

This morning board the Interislander Ferry and experience the comfort and travel through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. Board your Ultimate Coach for the southbound journey along the coastline, offering breathtaking ocean views, to Kaikōura.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Kaikoura - 1 Night 

This morning enjoy a leisurely start in this seaside village, where the mountains meet the sea. Kaikōura is renowned as one of the best places to see Sperm whales and other marine mammals. There is an opportunity to take a scenic flight to view the year-round population of Sperm whales (optional, weather permitting). Continue onto the garden city of Christchurch for an orientation tour.

Meals: Breakfast 

Accommodation: Christchurch - 1 Night

This morning board the TranzAlpine, renowned as one of the great train journeys of the world. Travel over massive viaducts, river valleys and spectacular gorges as you ascend to Arthur’s Pass located in the centre of the Southern Alps. Board your Ultimate coach and travel to Hokitika, famous for its Greenstone before continuing via Franz Josef Glacier to Fox Glacier where time is available to experience a scenic flight (optional, weather permitting) over the spectacular glaciers.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Fox Glacier - 1 Night

See the snow capped peaks of the Southern Alps as you travel south along the West Coast. Continue via the Haast Pass, an area of stunning beauty before arriving into picturesque Queenstown, a year round resort situated on the shores of magical Lake Wakatipu. This evening is free and you may choose to dine out at one of the many fine restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast 

Accommodation: Queenstown - 2 Nights

Today  is a free day for your to explore Queenstown with many optional activities available. You may wish to enjoy the thrill of a jet boat ride or a heritage tour of the scenic Skippers Canyon. This evening board the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw and cruise across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. sit back, relax and enjoy a delicious gourmet barbecue dinner featuring a menu of seasonal, fresh and locally sourced food at the Colonel's Homestead. After dinner enjoy a short farm tour then reboard the TSS Earnslaw for a sing along by the piano as your cruise back to Queenstown.

Meals: Breakfast, Specialty Dinner

Enjoy a leisurely start this morning before travelling to Arrowtown, an old gold mining village where you visit the Lakes District Museum. Continue to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park. Today you may like to visit the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves (optional). 

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Te Anau - 2 Nights

Depart Te Anau for a fascinating drive to Milford Sound where you board your launch for a cruise on this magnificent fiord. See the spectacular Bowen Falls and towering Mitre Peak as you enjoy lunch onboard. This afternoon return to Te Anau where some free time is available. You might like to cap off your Fiordland experience by watching the breathtaking film, Ata Whenua - Shadowland, which screens at the Fiordland Cinema (optional).

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Travel through Gore and Balclutha to Dunedin, known as the ‘Edinburgh of the South’ and enjoy a city tour. Continue along the Otago Peninsula to Larnach Castle. On a guided tour you will hear the tragic and scandalous tales which make up the castle's history. Indulge in an Ultimate High Tea served in the Grand Ballroom, followed by time to stroll through this Garden of International Significance.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Dunedin - 1 Night

Farewell Dunedin and travel to Oamaru famous for its limestone. Follow the Waitaki River and see Lake Benmore as you travel to Mt Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak. 

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Mt Cook - 1 Night

This morning there is an opportunity to enjoy a scenic flight (optional, weather permitting) over the Southern Alps. Continue to Lake Tekapo and view the brilliant turquoise water, the Church of the Good Shepherd and see the Sheep Dog Statue before arriving into Christchurch. This evening enjoy a farewell dinner including selected beverages with your new found friends.

Meals: Breakfast, Specialty Dinner

Accommodation: Christchurch - 1 Night

Haere rā and Bon Voyage!

Time to say goodbye. You will be transferred to the airport for your flight home after a memorable New Zealand holiday.

Meals: Breakfast (if departing the hotel prior to the restaurant opening, breakfast is not included)

Itinerary Variations:
The provider strives to improve trip itineraries. If improvements can be made, or if circumstances beyond their control make changes necessary, the provider reserves the right to vary itineraries and to make substitutions.