New Zealand Cultural, religious and historic sites Trips

I did the Contiki Sweet As South tour and it was honestly the trip of a lifetime! My absolute highlights were bungy jumping (such an adrenaline rush!), skiing in the most beautiful mountains, and hiking on a glacier (truly a surreal experience) The group was amazing, we partied every night, and I made so many new friends. (Mostly Australians since the tour seemed to be 90% Aussies). Definitely recommend!

Absolutely awesome trip. I was initially reluctant to book a Contiki, wanting to travel by myself. I don't regret it for a second! Trip manager Ashley and bus driver Stretch were fantastic, and the rest of the group added significantly to my experience. Thanks Contiki!

I absolutely loved this trip! It had a good mix of adventure and adrenaline and relaxing down time. The trip manager was knowledgeable and fun. I would highly recommend this trip.

As I found the sweet as south contiki trip was absolutely amazing, it made me think about doing another one soon. The people and places we went to was absolutely amazing, I really enjoyed Queenstown but also Franz josef

1000% would recommend to anyone to do this tour. Great mix of activities and down time to do what you wish. The South Island produces some of the most amazing scenery too so it makes the coach rides something you also look forward to.

New Zealand Discovery, Feb - March 2025. Solo traveller. This was a superb tour and absolutely exceeded my expectations which were high! What a stunningly beautiful land Pros: 1. Our tour leader, Runty Jackson was excellent. I've been on several Explore trips and enjoyed good leadership but Runty was exceptional, he was a star! The trip would have been good anyway but thank you Runty, you made it outstanding. 2. The trip itinerary was great and we were able to do nearly everything that had been advertised. 3. Accommodation on the whole was fine. 4. We were lucky with weather so saw New Zealand's highlights, e.g. Doubtful Sound, Mount Cook, Fox Glacier and the west coast in perfect weather. Cons: Nothing major. 1. Breakfasts: These are the only included meals (except for 2 others). Best breakfast without a doubt was at Rotorua- exceptionally good. The Copthorne chain hotels were also quite good. However worst was in Napier. Frankly dire. White sliced bread, no variety of food, tinned sweeteened fruit. A jar of instant coffee. Horrible. The motel next door where we stayed was fine but the restaurant was not!!! 2. Coffee in hotel breakfasts. Again with the exception of Rotorua and the Bealey Quarter, the hotel coffee was not good. This is New Zealand after all, the land that prides itself on its coffee culture. Acturally one of the best breakfasts we had was in Hokitika where the motel didn't have food so Runty took us to a cafe in the town- excellent. Further suggestion By contrast with the rest of the trip, Wanaka was not that interesting, and restaurants were ok but mostly fast food types. Wanaka certainly didn't deserve 2 days. The advertised jet boat ride/ wilderness walk didn't seem to be available. I did take the boat across the lake and it was ok, but it was quite expensive for what it turned out to be. The 'guide ' didn't seem that knowledgable or indeed, interested. Instead I'd suggest at least another day in Abel Tasman National Park which was so, so beautiful. Maybe an overnight stay there and opportunities to walk more and spend more time on the idyllic beaches.