SOUTHERN SPECTACULAR – 10 Days
Day 1: Welcome to Christchurch
- Arrive at Christchurch International Airport. Welcome to Christchurch.
- Meet & greet by your driver guide at the arrival hall and you will be transfer to Christchurch City. Check in to hotel. The rest of today is free at your own leisure.
- At once forward-thinking and fun, Christchurch is the kind of city you could lose yourself in for a week – or more. You have this afternoon, so make the most of it. We recommend riding the rails on the vintage Christchurch Tram, a narrated hop-on, hop-off experience that loops around town, your host pointing out historic architecture and new developments that have popped up since the 2010/2011 earthquakes. Time to meet your fellow adventure-seekers over a Welcome Reception. Overnight at the hotel.
Hotel: Distinction Christchurch Hotel
Day 2: Christchurch – Twizel
- If you didn’t get your Christchurch bearings yesterday, you certainly will on today’s city tour, taking in the record-breaking Transitional Cathedral – who knew you could build a church from cardboard? The buildings of the city fade into a patchwork of farms as you ease across the Canterbury Plains toward Morelea. Here, Angie and Stan Taylorwelcome you to their home with a slap-up Be My Guest afternoon tea and tales about life on the land. And this land is truly dramatic, backdropped by powdery mountains and cut with turquoise lakes, none quite as pretty as Lake Tekapo, on its banks the stone-hewn Church of the Good Shepherd.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Afternoon Tea, Dinner with Wine, Breakfast
Hotel: MacKenzie Country Hotel
Day 3: Twizel – Dunedin
- Oamaru has a rich history and proud heritage, enriched by passionate and perhaps quirky locals. Explore the shops, galleries and traditional crafts within some of the Southern Hemisphere’s most complete Victorian streetscapes. You’re en route to Dunedin, replete with rolling green meadows and grand stone castles. It kind of feels like you’ve been transported to Scotland – small wonder it’s known as the ‘Edinburgh of the South’. Afternoon at your leisure, we recommend a visit to Speight’s Brewery – a New Zealand institution. And pretty much everything in between. There’s always that castle to explore… Larnach may not have the history of Scotland’s grand estates, but it’s just as pretty in our humble opinion. A NZ holiday must.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Hotel: Scenic Hotel Southern Cross
Day 4: Dunedin – Te Anau
- Leave Dunedin’s pastoral sheep-farming countryside behind as you venture into World Heritage listed Fiordland National Park, a place of yawning gorges and gem-like glaciers, and azure lakes so large they have their own islands. Case in point Pomona Island, where a charitable trust of passionate volunteers works to restore flora and fauna. With your help. Take a thrilling jet boat ride down the Waiau River to Lake Manapouri and if that’s not enough water for one day, you may choose to cruise to the iconic Glowworm Caves. Can we tempt you?
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Hotel: Distinction Te Anau Hotel and Villas
Day 5: Te Anau – Queenstown
- Nature rules again today, from the moment you depart Te Anau and begin your journey deep into the heart of Fiordland National Park. Think native rainforests, beech forests, alluvial flats and meadows; Mirror Lakes perfectly reflecting mountain scenery; and precipitous lookouts holding guard over alpine rivers. And this is just the entrée. The main course is your Milford Sound/Piopiotahi tour, where you cruise in the company of dolphins that frolic under the torrent of mighty Bowen and Stirling Falls, and gaze at misty escarpments so sheer they appear to cleave off the edge of the Earth. You’re in the company of a naturalist who knows every nook and cranny of this mighty cavern and will point out flora and fauna you would have never spotted on your own.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Millennium Hotel, Queenstown
Day 6: Queenstown Free Time
- Take today at your own pace. Like things fast and furious? Feel the wind in your hair on a high-octane jet boat ride, perhaps. Prefer wine to get your heart started? See why Central Otago makes some of the world’s most raved about cool-climate pinots on a cellar door tour. Wherever your daily wanderings take you, reunite with your companions come dusk to glide across Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw, your barbecue Highlight Dinner served on the grounds of Walter Peak High Country Farm.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner
Hotel: Millennium Hotel, Queenstown
Day 7: Queenstown -Franz Josef/Waiau
- In the shadow of the Remarkables, Queenstown is pretty spectacular. But it has some stiff good-looks competition from neighbouring Arrowtown, with its movie-set tree-lined avenues and 19th-century buildings that once housed gold-rush fortune-seekers.
- Things grow well in this verdant countryside, from cherries to pinot grapes and all manner of stone fruit. Prepare for a flavour explosion.
- The next explosion is a visual one as you arrive in the town of Franz Josef/Waiau, home to Franz Josef Glacier/Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere. Get some perspective of this immense ice fall on an optional helicopter flight – you may even get to land on it.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Hotel: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
Day 8: Franz Josef/Waiau – Punakaiki
- Explore the small but lively Franz Josef/Waiau village before venturing to Hokitika, home of New Zealand’s native jade greenstone.
- Then soak in the natural surroundings as you head to Punakaiki to view the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, where waves thunder through cracks in the Earth. This is the soundtrack that lulls you to sleep at tonight’s eco-resort
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with Wine
Day 9: Punakaiki – Christchurch
- Wine may steal the scene across much of New Zealand, but at legendary Monteith’s Brewery, beer rules. Sip your way through a tasting paddle of XPA, IPA, lager and pale ale because, hey, you’re not driving to the station where your TranzAlpine train awaits. Just as well lunch is included. This is one of those experiences where the journey matters just as much as the destination, as you sweep through tunnels and over viaducts with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, icy rivers, beech forests, gorges and river valleys. What a way to end a day.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Farewell Dinner
Hotel: Distinction Christchurch Hotel
Day 10: Farewell From Christchurch
- Short, sweet and packed with highlights – how else to describe this wonderful week? You will be transfer to the airport for your homebound flight bringing with you the most unforgettable and fond memories of wonderful New Zealand.
Included Meals: Breakfast
End of our service, hope to welcome you again!
1) TOUR DATE & PRICE:
Valid: January 1, 2024– December 31, 2024
Departures (Min of 2 guests)
Tour Cost Per Person:
Note: *Tour price is based on twin share and valid during Chinese New Year,Easter and New Zealand National and International Events. *Tours operated by AAT Kings.
2) ITEMS INCLUDED:
- New Zealand Goods and Services Tax
- 10 Days Guided Holidays with English Speaking Tour Director and Driver
- Accommodation with daily breakfast inside the hotel
- Attractions as specified in the itinerary
- Meals as specified in the itinerary
- Roundtrip airport transfers (IN/OUT: CHC Int’l Airport)
- Free travel insurance (up to 59yo)
- Travel Kit
3) ITEMS NOT INCLUDED:
- International air tickets
- Any extra meals
- Drinks (soft drinks/juices/wine/beers ordered during meals)
- Optional tours and activities are not mentioned in the itinerary.
- Porterage and excess bags
- New Zealand Airport Departure Tax if any. (At the moment there is none)
- Items of a personal nature such as phone calls, pay movies, room services, mini bars laundries, or other expenditures during the tour.
- Daily tipping (Approx: NZ$ 15.00 per person (Tour Director & Driver) per day)
4) CHILD POLICY: *NOTE: Child = 2 – 11yrs inclusive
- Infant under 2 years of age : FOC
- Child share room with 1 adult: Upon request
- Child share room with 2 adults with bed: Upon request
- Child share room with 2 adults not occupying a bed: Upon request
- ** For 2 children sharing one twin room, both child will be charged at: Upon request
5) DEPOSIT / TERMS OF PAYMENT:
- Upon confirmation of the tour, we require PHP 28,500.00 per person EQV US$ 500.00 tour deposit per person.
- Full payment is payable six (6) weeks prior to commencement of service.
- For bookings less than six (6) weeks prior to commencement of service and during peak seasons and block out periods shall be considered “book & buy”. Full payment has to be made immediately upon confirmation of all services.
6) SURCHARGE:
- Surcharge may apply for tours traveling during New Zealand public holidays and special events period.
- The quoted price is subject to sudden price increases or surcharges imposed by our suppliers that are beyond our control (eg. room surcharge if the original quoted price is not available)
7) CANCELLATION POLICY:
We will endeavour to minimize any cancellation charges imposed. However, our general cancellations policy is as follows:
- 61 days or more – Deposit
- 60-30 days prior to arrival – 50% of tour fare
- 29-02 days prior to arrival – 80% of tour fare
- 1-0 days prior to arrival – 100% of tour fare