New Zealand tours & holidays

North Island is home to around four million Kiwis, which is roughly three quarters of the country’s overall population. It’s also where you’ll find some of New Zealand’s manmade highlights with the cities of Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton all worth visiting on your travels. The sun kissed slopes overlooking Hawke’s Bay on the east coast are also well regarded with the coastal city of Napier the entrance to one of North Island’s best loved wine regions.

Head inland and it’s the spluttering mud pools and geysers of Tongariro National Park that provide the natural highlights alongside NZ’s largest lake, Taupo. From Māori culture in Rotorua and English era architecture in Auckland to the film set tours of Hobbiton and the glow worm filled caves of Waitomo – if you’re looking for highlights on your New Zealand holidays, head to North Island and you’ll be spoiled for choice.

South Island is where the rest of New Zealand lives. Although it’s the larger of the two islands, the majority of the land here has national park protection. Natural landmarks such as the Southern Alps conjure up the highlights with the snow-capped summit of Aoraki/Mount Cook soaring to 3,724m. Head to the west coast and the shimmering Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers steal the show whilst Fjordland National Park, in the southwest, stretches all the way to Milford and Doubtful Sounds.

Scenic thrill seekers should certainly consider the option of a helicopter flight along this stretch of coastline although the green hillsides and white sand beaches of Abel Tasman National Park will certainly be just as eagerly anticipated.

From the verdant vineyards of Marlborough and the British era heritage of Christchurch and Dunedin to the southernmost tip of Stewart Island, it’s no surprise that a tour of South and North islands has to be at the top of everyone’s New Zealand wish list.