Personalised New Zealand Tours
Please note that this personlised tour itinerary is simply a guideline to give you some help planning a tour of the South Island of New Zealand. You can shorten or lengthen the tours to suit your time frame, as well as, start or finish at points that suit your arrival and departure requirements.
1 - 6 or 7 Day Tour
DAY 1 - Arrive Christchurch do some city sightseeing.
DAY 2 - Optional day tours from Christchurch
- The famous Transalpine Train tour (9 hours)
- Whale watch and dolphin swimming at Kaikoura (9 hours)
- Hanmer Springs thermal hot pools (8 hours)
- Akaroa French village and Banks Peninsula (7 hours)
DAY 3 - Christchurch to Queenstown (7 hours driving)
Via the Canterbury Plains, Tekapo and Mt Cook lookout
DAY 4 - A day to enjoy the Queenstown and Arrowtown areas.
Do some sightseeing, relaxing, adventure activities or shopping.
DAY 5 - Queenstown to either Milford or Doubtful Sound (8 hours). Enjoy the spectacular scenery of Fiordland and a boat cruise.
DAY 6 - Fly from Queenstown to continue tour of the North Island or depart via Christchurch to finish the 6 Day Tour,
OR
Continue tour from Queenstown to Fox or Franz Joseph Glaciers. (6.5 hours).
Travel via the Haast pass, Lake Wanaka and onto the West Coast, where you can take a walk on the glacier or a spectacular scenic flight.
DAY 7 - Fox or Franz Joseph to Greymouth (4 hours).
View the lush rain forests, reflections of Lake Matheson; pass old mining towns, and jade galleries,
OR
Catch the Transalpine train back to Christchurch to finish the 7 Day Tour.
9 Day Tour
DAY 8 - Greymouth to Nelson. (8 hours).
See the Paparoa National Park, Pancake Rocks, Westport, and the Buller Gorge and Nelson Lakes.
DAY 9 - man National Park. (day tour).
Walking, sea kayaking, boat tour, arts and crafts,
OR
Drive to Picton (2.5 hours) to catch the ferry to the North Island and end the 9 Day Tour.
Enjoy a trip to the Blenheim wineries en route.
10 - 12 Day Tour
DAY 10 - Nelson to Kaikoura. (4 hours).
Visit Marlborough Sounds, Blenheim wineries.
DAY 11 - Kaikoura to Christchurch. (3 hours).
Optional whale and bird watching or swimming with seals, dolphins or sharks!
DAY 12 - Depart Christchurch. End Tour.
For an extended tour add on the following:
Christchurch to Dunedin
Via, Mt. Cook, Oamaru, Moeraki Boulders.
Dunedin city sight seeing
Dunedin to Te Anau Walking, nature wildlife and Southern Scenic route.
Dunedin to Catlins Coast and Invercargill (allow 2 x days)
Explore Dunedin's Otago Peninsula, albatross and penguin colonies.
Te Anau to Queenstown
Including Milford or Doubtful Sound
Invercargill to Stewart Island (allow 2 x days)
Invercargill to Te Anau Continue journey Milford/Doubtful Sounds, and onwards journey to Queenstown travelling on the scenic southern route.
For a more relaxed tour add a extra night in any of the following areas:
- Mt. Cook
- Te Anau
- Wanaka
- Franz or Fox Glacier
- Hanmer Springs
- Dunedin
- Nelson
- Marlborough Sounds
Most people flying into and out of the South Island; or to and from the North Island arrive and depart from Christchurch or Queenstown airports and occasionally Nelson or Dunedin. All international flights into the South Island arrive and depart from Christchurch. Except during the ski season (July to September) when international flights from Australia arrive in and depart from Queenstown (check with your travel agent).
Should you be touring between the South and the North Island, you can cross by ferry from either Picton or Wellington. This is a very pleasant and scenic trip, which takes 3 hours by ferry or 1.5 hours on the fast ferry.
