US
Tours
Exploring New Zealand's Wonders
featuring the North & South Islands
19 DAYS
$7,499
pp*
*Rate is per person, land only, double occupancy, tour inclusions and available options may vary based on departure date.
Please select a date below for more details.
Please select a date below for more details.
About This Tour
From geothermal springs and extensive glaciers to stunning fjords and Maori culture, experience New Zealand at its best. Spend two nights discovering the sun-soaked Bay of Islands. Stand in awe of the giant kauri tree. Spend two nights in Christchurch and see how the city is reinventing itself. Admire the ice fields and glaciers surrounding Aoraki / Mount Cook. Stay in Dunedin, a little slice of Scotland in the South Pacific. Cruise Milford Sound in dramatic Fiordland. Savor a captivating three-night stay in Queenstown, the “Adventure Capital of the World.” The Kiwi lifestyle welcomes you.
Your Tour Includes
- 7 Handpicked Accommodations
- 26 Meals
Included Highlights
- Auckland
- Rotorua
- Maori Cultural Experience
- Wellington
READ MORE
Your Tour at a Glance
Customize Your Tour
Getting Prepared
Know Before You Go
Enhance Your Tour
Accommodations
Hotel Indigo Auckland
Nights 1-2
Sudima Lake Rotorua Hotel
Nights 3-4
Naumi Hotel Wellington
Nights 5-7
Distinction Christchurch Hotel
Nights 8-10
The Hermitage
Night 11
Scenic Hotel Southern Cross
Nights 12-13
Novotel Queenstown Lakeside
Nights 14-16
Need More Information?
We're here to help
Call us toll free at 800.340.5158
Trip Reviews
Live, Unedited, & Independent Traveler Reviews
Rating
78 reviews
4.9
Out of 5
Based on 78 independent reviews
Filter Reviews: All
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Our tour manager Dexter was outstanding. A very active tour with lots of neat sites and activities.Sharon Peterson
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
All of N. Zealand is beautiful from north to south, from the Bay of Islands to Milford Sound with mountain and ocean and lakes galore. How can you choose just one favorite. Now it's the land of Hobbits as well as sheep and cows, and even a lot of very nice people.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Overall, we did love our trip and the choice of locations to stop for. 22. People was a nice size. Our tour guide and bus driver were fantastic. In general, most of the hotels were OK, but we felt like second rate citizens always getting their lesser rooms with bad views. Perhaps an option to upgrade rooms would be a solution for people willing to spend an up charge. The attached pictures are from the hotel at the Bay of Islands. The condition of the room was substandard. Even at Restaurants, we were relegated to tables with bad views. Vegetarian options were very limited and redundant. This was consistent with throughout the trip. Making us feel like low class citizens.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
How beautiful the s energy was and the information provided by tour guide.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great tour going from Northern NZ to the Southern part. At that time of the year it would of been better to go from the South to the North with winter season approaching. I thought the Tour Manager lacked self-confidence. You could detect it in his laughs, jokes and voice. He is young and needs more experience to build his self-confidence. I have been on 4 Collette tours in the past years. This was the 1st one where the Tour Manager had his girlfriend join the group for the last 3 days of the trip. I thought it was strange that she joined in on all activities including the farewell dinner. Not sure who was paying her way for joining in on the boat tours and dinners. Looking forward to my next Collette tour in 2 months.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great tour, on the go every day to great locations, well planned stops, some down time when needed. Zip lining and 4 wheel drive( movie And metal tour) and Milford sound water excursion worth the money-best part of tour . Mt Cook was exceptional as were the real wildlife encounters.Susan Jaster
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Amazing tour. Made really great with a wonderful and informative tour guide and bus driver. We were lucky enough to see Mt Cook from base to peak. Spectacular scenery everywhere we went. We learnt so much about the Maori history and how they lived and are living in a geothermal village. All of this is very fascinating and interesting. We would love to return to see and learn more about the wonderful country of New Zealand.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
My first time in New Zealand and I wasn’t disappointed. Our tour director was very knowledgeable about the culture of the Maori People and of many other things of New Zealand. I also chose to do the tour extension of 3 days in Nadi, Fiji. The people were super nice a very welcoming.Christina Boles
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
My tour was comprehensive experiencing NZ from Aukland to Queenstown. Particularly enjoyed our numerous Maori cultural interactions and Queenstown. Bay of Islands, Melford Sound,
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
We had a wonderful tour director. He was personable, knowledgeable & flexible. His communication was excellent. He provided us with great information a couple of days at a time to let us know what was coming up. The itinerary was very good. The optional excursion at Mt. Cook onto the glacier was fantastic!Barbara Stewart
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Our tour guide and Driver gave us a tour to remember! We feel we saw and experienced all of New Zealand. Great team🥇
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The time at Mount Cook was very special. Being in the heart of the National Park was breathtaking, and the sunset which turned the mountain red was unique.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great pacing! Wonderful vacation highly recommended tour guide and driver were outstanding!
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Going on the American cup sailing and the small airplane ride back from Milford Sound. All the scenery breath taking. Food was delicious everywhere. Would have liked to spend a little more time at Mt Cook.Jacqueline W
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Learned alot about new zealand. Tour was well organized and tour guides were very helpful
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Comfortable coach, great hotels, variety of high quality food, ratio tour and free time about right, fine tour guide, nice variety of activities that gave us a taste of nature, history, ethnic background and geological happeningsMarie Christine Schoettler
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great tour. Very professional and well planned.Paul Merritt
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Everything about the tour was wonderful! Staying at hotels within walking distance to restaurants and attractions is key to a great tour. Milford Sound was beautiful as was the drive out and the flight back
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Local inclusions to experience the heritage of New Zealand with tribal rituals, royal albatross center and milford sound tourKathleen Schneider
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The waters are so clear and beautiful, the foliage and animals are delightful, the tour manager was wonderful.Lisa Langer
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
The Collette Tour was exactly what we were hoping for. To discover the wonders of New Zealand from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. The tour allowed us to see the diversity of the country, which opened our eyes to a number of places we wish to return to. It would be hard to pick one memorable moment. You see, from what we could tell, our guide made slight changes in our itinerary allowing us to enjoy incredible scenes and moments that we felt would not usually be enjoyed on most competitive tours. His knowledge around every corner of our 1939-mile trip was uncanny. From the best view, best bus parking areas, hints on the best places to sit on the boats that carried us to incredible waterfalls, views of wonderful sea life and don’t forget those ever-important rest stops. We traveled in a great coach with a professional and knowledgeable driver (a resident of New Zealand) around Auckland, through the lands of the Māori, back through rolling hills to the South Island of snow-covered knife edged mountains. Then you have the residents. Almost overly friendly and helpful. From the people in the airports to the everyday person you met on the street. It was such a treat to be in that type of atmosphere. A Collette tour must be on anyone’s top tour list. Thank you, Collette, and Joshua (Our Guide)! -- Oh, can't forget to thank our delightful fellow coach team who always tried to be on time!Michael Mullan
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
New Zealand is a beautiful country. Learning about the Maori people was very interesting. I enjoyed the food and me fellow travellers.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Our tour guide, Sharon, arranged birthday surprises from the hotel and group dinner location in Wellington for my 76th. Balloons, glitter and a banner in the hotel and a birthday cake and Happy Birthday serenade from the members of our tour and restaurant staff. Incredible!William Larson
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
I think the flight schedule was not as thought out. I had an eight-hour layover in Chicago. The same airline had two additional flights after the flight from St. Louis that would have reduced the layover by hours. An eight hour layover is too long before a 16-hour flight. Also, there was a lot of driving. I thin you could have cut out one stop and reduced the driving significantly. Our tour guide was excellent and did a great job distracting us from all of the driving, but there was too much!Christine Cavallini
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
No……….. I already did this
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Our tour took started on the day that a state-of-emergency was declared in Aukland because of completely excessive rainfall and flooding/landslides. The next 10 days were spent one step ahead of the next disaster. Through it all, our tour manager (and the coach driver) were innovative and flexible with itinerary changes that may have ended up improving over the original plans! One example was the visit to the Antarctic Center, which was just plain fun. Collette's home office was good about approving and footing the bill for "substitute" activities to make up for planned activities that were closed/canceled because of the disaster, which we appreciate. We also enjoyed having a very small tour group of people who were on-time for departures and flexible about schedule/itinerary changes. A good experience overall, and we know it had a lot to do with our tour manager and driver working hard on our behalf.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Collette’s Covid policies leave a lot to be desired. Tour inclusions would have been nice but most of the best ones were rained out including Fiji extension. Tour leader was amazing.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
I don't travel on water, so I missed some excursions, and because of my restricted diet, my meal choices sere limited,
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The tour had inclusions that we enjoyed. However, the hotels, tour guide, trasportation (bus) were not meeting average standard. We would not recommend this tour to anybody else because it costs high for what was provided compared to other tour companies.Choa Kang
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
What a wonder-filled trip. Between the cultural education, the beauty of the landscapes and our great tour director and bus driver we couldn’t have asked for much more. It’s impossible to name just one memorable experience. The Bay of Islands, Mt Cook, Christchurch Gardens, Milford Sound and many more!David Sapp
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Can’t name a favorite, there are too many.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Culture experience
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Melissa Troup added so much to the tour enjoyment for all of us.Rahn Huber
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Our tour manager Dexter was outstanding. A very active tour with lots of neat sites and activities.Sharon Peterson
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
All of N. Zealand is beautiful from north to south, from the Bay of Islands to Milford Sound with mountain and ocean and lakes galore. How can you choose just one favorite. Now it's the land of Hobbits as well as sheep and cows, and even a lot of very nice people.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
How beautiful the s energy was and the information provided by tour guide.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Overall, we did love our trip and the choice of locations to stop for. 22. People was a nice size. Our tour guide and bus driver were fantastic. In general, most of the hotels were OK, but we felt like second rate citizens always getting their lesser rooms with bad views. Perhaps an option to upgrade rooms would be a solution for people willing to spend an up charge. The attached pictures are from the hotel at the Bay of Islands. The condition of the room was substandard. Even at Restaurants, we were relegated to tables with bad views. Vegetarian options were very limited and redundant. This was consistent with throughout the trip. Making us feel like low class citizens.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Great tour going from Northern NZ to the Southern part. At that time of the year it would of been better to go from the South to the North with winter season approaching. I thought the Tour Manager lacked self-confidence. You could detect it in his laughs, jokes and voice. He is young and needs more experience to build his self-confidence. I have been on 4 Collette tours in the past years. This was the 1st one where the Tour Manager had his girlfriend join the group for the last 3 days of the trip. I thought it was strange that she joined in on all activities including the farewell dinner. Not sure who was paying her way for joining in on the boat tours and dinners. Looking forward to my next Collette tour in 2 months.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Great tour, on the go every day to great locations, well planned stops, some down time when needed. Zip lining and 4 wheel drive( movie And metal tour) and Milford sound water excursion worth the money-best part of tour . Mt Cook was exceptional as were the real wildlife encounters.Susan Jaster
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Amazing tour. Made really great with a wonderful and informative tour guide and bus driver. We were lucky enough to see Mt Cook from base to peak. Spectacular scenery everywhere we went. We learnt so much about the Maori history and how they lived and are living in a geothermal village. All of this is very fascinating and interesting. We would love to return to see and learn more about the wonderful country of New Zealand.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
My tour was comprehensive experiencing NZ from Aukland to Queenstown. Particularly enjoyed our numerous Maori cultural interactions and Queenstown. Bay of Islands, Melford Sound,
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
My first time in New Zealand and I wasn’t disappointed. Our tour director was very knowledgeable about the culture of the Maori People and of many other things of New Zealand. I also chose to do the tour extension of 3 days in Nadi, Fiji. The people were super nice a very welcoming.Christina Boles
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
We had a wonderful tour director. He was personable, knowledgeable & flexible. His communication was excellent. He provided us with great information a couple of days at a time to let us know what was coming up. The itinerary was very good. The optional excursion at Mt. Cook onto the glacier was fantastic!Barbara Stewart
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Our tour guide and Driver gave us a tour to remember! We feel we saw and experienced all of New Zealand. Great team
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
The time at Mount Cook was very special. Being in the heart of the National Park was breathtaking, and the sunset which turned the mountain red was unique.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Great pacing! Wonderful vacation highly recommended tour guide and driver were outstanding!
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Going on the American cup sailing and the small airplane ride back from Milford Sound. All the scenery breath taking. Food was delicious everywhere. Would have liked to spend a little more time at Mt Cook.Jacqueline W
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
The waters are so clear and beautiful, the foliage and animals are delightful, the tour manager was wonderful.Lisa Langer
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Local inclusions to experience the heritage of New Zealand with tribal rituals, royal albatross center and milford sound tourKathleen Schneider
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Everything about the tour was wonderful! Staying at hotels within walking distance to restaurants and attractions is key to a great tour. Milford Sound was beautiful as was the drive out and the flight back
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Great tour. Very professional and well planned.Paul Merritt
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Comfortable coach, great hotels, variety of high quality food, ratio tour and free time about right, fine tour guide, nice variety of activities that gave us a taste of nature, history, ethnic background and geological happeningsMarie Christine Schoettler
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Learned alot about new zealand. Tour was well organized and tour guides were very helpful
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
The Collette Tour was exactly what we were hoping for. To discover the wonders of New Zealand from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. The tour allowed us to see the diversity of the country, which opened our eyes to a number of places we wish to return to. It would be hard to pick one memorable moment. You see, from what we could tell, our guide made slight changes in our itinerary allowing us to enjoy incredible scenes and moments that we felt would not usually be enjoyed on most competitive tours. His knowledge around every corner of our 1939-mile trip was uncanny. From the best view, best bus parking areas, hints on the best places to sit on the boats that carried us to incredible waterfalls, views of wonderful sea life and don’t forget those ever-important rest stops. We traveled in a great coach with a professional and knowledgeable driver (a resident of New Zealand) around Auckland, through the lands of the Māori, back through rolling hills to the South Island of snow-covered knife edged mountains. Then you have the residents. Almost overly friendly and helpful. From the people in the airports to the everyday person you met on the street. It was such a treat to be in that type of atmosphere. A Collette tour must be on anyone’s top tour list. Thank you, Collette, and Joshua (Our Guide)! -- Oh, can't forget to thank our delightful fellow coach team who always tried to be on time!Michael Mullan
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
New Zealand is a beautiful country. Learning about the Maori people was very interesting. I enjoyed the food and me fellow travellers.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Our tour guide, Sharon, arranged birthday surprises from the hotel and group dinner location in Wellington for my 76th. Balloons, glitter and a banner in the hotel and a birthday cake and Happy Birthday serenade from the members of our tour and restaurant staff. Incredible!William Larson
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
I think the flight schedule was not as thought out. I had an eight-hour layover in Chicago. The same airline had two additional flights after the flight from St. Louis that would have reduced the layover by hours. An eight hour layover is too long before a 16-hour flight. Also, there was a lot of driving. I thin you could have cut out one stop and reduced the driving significantly. Our tour guide was excellent and did a great job distracting us from all of the driving, but there was too much!Christine Cavallini
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
No……….. I already did this
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Our tour took started on the day that a state-of-emergency was declared in Aukland because of completely excessive rainfall and flooding/landslides. The next 10 days were spent one step ahead of the next disaster. Through it all, our tour manager (and the coach driver) were innovative and flexible with itinerary changes that may have ended up improving over the original plans! One example was the visit to the Antarctic Center, which was just plain fun. Collette's home office was good about approving and footing the bill for "substitute" activities to make up for planned activities that were closed/canceled because of the disaster, which we appreciate. We also enjoyed having a very small tour group of people who were on-time for departures and flexible about schedule/itinerary changes. A good experience overall, and we know it had a lot to do with our tour manager and driver working hard on our behalf.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Collette’s Covid policies leave a lot to be desired. Tour inclusions would have been nice but most of the best ones were rained out including Fiji extension. Tour leader was amazing.
