Australia & New Zealand Adventure

From
  • $ 7,899
  • 19
    Days
  • Average Tour Review
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SYDNEY, GREAT BARRIER REEF, CAIRNS, MELBOURNE, QUEENSTOWN, MILFORD SOUND, AUCKLAND, AND DUNEDIN

Switch hemispheres and experience all the thrills of a “down under” adventure. You’ll immerse yourself in contemporary cities and indigenous cultures, natural wonders and feats of modern architecture. Our escorted tour first whisks you off to New Zealand, where you’ll hit the urban gems of Auckland and Dunedin with stops along the way for waterfront towns and an overnight stay on a working farm in the Fairlie. From there, you’ll fly across the Tasman Sea to Australia. Here, you’ll explore the gardens and history of Melbourne, traverse the Great Barrier Reef—one of the seven natural wonders of the world—and see the famed sites of Sydney, including its iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

For COVID-19 updates, please scroll down to our Before You Depart section.

Learn more about the Great Barrier Reef!

Did you know that you can make this tour private? Find out about pricing and options for groups of 10 or more travelers.

Itinerary at
a Glance

  • 2 nights in Auckland
  • 3 nights in Queenstown
  • 2 nights in Dunedin
  • 1 night in Fairlie
  • 2 nights in Melbourne
  • 3 nights in Cairns
  • 3 nights in Sydney

Tour
Highlights

  • Picturesque Queenstown
  • Milford Sound
  • Farm Stay (Fairlie, NZ)
  • Great Barrier Reef (Cairns)
  • Sydney Opera House
  • Harbour Bridge (Sydney)
  • Australian Wildlife Park (Sydney)

Activity Level: Discoverer 

Your Tour
Includes

  • Round-trip international airfare from Los Angeles
  • Airfare taxes, fees & fuel surcharges
  • All intra-South Pacific flights, ground transportation and transfers
  • Accommodations at deluxe and superior first-class hotels
  • One night accommodation on a New Zealand Farm with dinner (D)
  • Full buffet American breakfast daily (B)
  • A welcome dinner in Auckland (D)
  • A farewell dinner in Sydney (D)
  • Sightseeing tours including admission fees as indicated in itinerary
  • English-speaking local guides

Tour Itinerary

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Map

Click the Day by Day itinerary above (or swipe on mobile devices) to see the experiences that await on each day of your tour.

Day 1: Depart from the U.S.

Day 2: En route

Day 3: Arrive in Auckland (New Zealand)

Day 4: Auckland

Day 5: Auckland/Queenstown

Day 6: Milford Sound Excursion

Day 7: Queenstown

Day 8: Queenstown/Arrowtown/Dunedin

Day 9: Dunedin

Day 10: Dunedin/Mt. Cook Region/Fairlie

Day 11: Depart New Zealand for Melbourne (Australia)

Day 12: Melbourne

Day 13: Melbourne/Cairns

Day 14: Great Barrier Reef Excursion

Day 15: Cairns

Day 16: Cairns/Sydney

Day 17: Sydney

Day 18: Sydney

Day 19: Sydney/USA

Guided Tour Pricing

We are working diligently to secure future tour dates and pricing for this itinerary. Please fill out the "Request a Future Date" form linked below and we will notify you once dates are available.

Request a Future Date

Optional Tours Customize your trip with these optional tours.

Enhance your trip with our recommended optional tours. Indicated optional tours are available to pre-book when you reserve your trip and can be added to your reservation up to final payment. This is the best option to guarantee your spot on your preferred optional tour! Optional tours require a minimum number of participants. Optional tours are non-refundable unless they do not operate.

Some optional tours can be purchased in-destination and may cost extra. The payment methods and currency information to purchase tours in-destination will be provided on final documentation.

Queenstown by Night with Skyline Dinner Tour

Walter Peak Farm Tour and Cruise

Cruise on TSS Earnslaw and Dinner

Skippers Canyon Four-Wheel Drive Safari

Tour of Otago Peninsula, Larnach Castle & Wildlife Cruise

Phillip Island and Fairy Penguins Express

Michaelmas Cay (Great Barrier Reef) Upgrade

Full-Day Kuranda Village and Scenic SkyRail Excursion

Harbor Story Cruise

Rocks Guided Walking Tour 

Australian Wildlife Park

Sunset Dinner Cruise

Reviews

Mary G

We so enjoyed the trip, made special by our tour guides Adrian Oldfield (NZ) and Leonie Brooks (Oz). Both provided more info than we could retain, but they kept trying to keep us informed. They were also happy to join in some of the silly conversations a cohesive group can initiate! SmarTours' diverse choices of sites to visit were commendable, too. But the Farm Stay was superb! The King family gave authenticity to the New Zealand economy. Their food, accommodations, and conversation were delightful.

Evelyn C

My husband and I recently returned from our New Zealand/Australia vacation. Although we were apprehensive, because of the present wildfire situation, we decided to proceed with the tour. SmarTours were very informative and kept us apprised of the situation which kept us assured throughout. Both guides (Adrian in New Zealand and Mark in Australia) were fantastic! They were extremely knowledgeable and interesting. They were very helpful with assisting in planning down day activities and going "over and beyond" with even the smallest details from informing the group on local transit practices to assisting in booking activities outside of those offered on the tour. The entire group we were with were wonderful and we quickly bonded which enhanced the experience that much more. We both commented that had the tour ended after our first leg (New Zealand), we still would have felt that we had received our money's worth. Thank you SmarTours!

I M

This was a great trip!! New Zealand was very scenic with all the water, mountains and open spaces. The pace of the tour was good., not too taxing or hurried. Great Barrier reef tour will be forever in my memories, since I donned the scuba helmet and went down on the bottom. The people were very friendly and heartwarming. I was apprehensive about the farm tour where we stayed overnight with a local family, but this was another memory that I will forever enjoy. We stayed with a local family and learned about their life on the farm, their children's schooling and had a home made meal of fresh meat and vegetables and a wonderful dessert called Pavlova. I also enjoyed Australia also but this tour was basically a city tour and I'm more the scenic type. Not to downplay Sydney and Melbourne which was bustling with people and things to dos and see. So glad I was able to do this trip.

James B

Overall very good trip to feel some of the countries, towns, and areas familiarity, however, it would be even better if two more days were added to experience the Australia's Outback. The quality of the hotels and travel were very good. The value was good and the trip was what we envisioned, however, it would have been good to have a detailed explanation of the duties of the U.S. Escort versus a Guide. Our escort knew the duties and was somewhat familiar on what was experienced earlier in life but was not that knowledgeable as a guide especially in the bigger cities. All in all a very pleasant experience and I would recommend it.

Lorna

Attention to detail outstanding. Accommodations outstanding as well. Optional tours very good although we added a trip to the opera since a great opera showing while we were in Sydney. Something management might consider in the future and skip farm stay in NZ. Overall it was a great tour!!! Highly recommend to all.

E

Certainly a whirlwind trip and happy memories. NZ landscape is stunning and people we met were so welcoming. The farm stay in Fairlie was a high point. Stays in Australia also gave us new experiences. Betty's role was adequate but not outstanding. A number of us felt that she was condescending a few times. I have toured with other companies so I do have a comparison to guides. Due to weather, we were unable to go on the Kuranda Skyrail. We paid $172 for the the days activities so I understand that we would receive only a partial refund to compensate for the skyrail. However, I did expect that it would be more than $45. As you may be aware, we had some travel challenges with Qantas. I am not sure I would elect individually to ever travel with them again. Of course, SmarTours is not responsible for that. Finally, I would suggest that the tour start in Australia then go to New Zealand. It would be better to do the busy cities and activities at the beginning then, as one's energy level wanes, go to NZ which was more relaxing.

Cornelia

The trip to New Zealand and Australia were amazing! I would suggest adding a day to each location to be able to explore more. Going that distance from the USA and all the different places to see in country there is just not enough time. So instead of 19 days it would be 25 or so!

Anonymous

There were many airport delays with Qantas. At one point they gave all our seats away. We lost 1/2 day in Auckland. They landed in Townsville instead of Cairns. We had to sit there 8 hours and lost another 1/2 day. Our tour director was unpleasant. She spoke rudely to many people on the tour. She was unhelpful and confusing. She couldn't be reached in an emergency as she didn't share contact information. We enjoyed both countries and the people on our tour.

Deborah

The tour of New Zealand and Australia were enlightening. Betty, our tour director, was excellent with directions and keeping us all informed about each days events and times. Betty even arranged scuba diving for me in Cairns and Ziplining in Queenstown, New Zealand. The homestay in New Zealand was a bonus to this trip. I could have stayed longer. Our hotels were excellent and in central locations for easy walking. This was my 11th Smartours trip and I have already booked two more.

Sally

I was surprised the transportation to the optional tours was not included in the cost of that tour. I also would’ve liked to of had a guide from Australia or New Zealand instead of an American.

Michael

I enjoyed the tour very much. Liz, our guide, was professional and gave excellent advice. New Zealand and Australia were new to me and it seemed that the itinerary touched on a pleasing variety of sights, experiences, and locations within the time we had. We also were fortunate to have great travelling companions and good weather. I'm very satisfied with our experience.

Suzanne

This tour was my first with SmarTours. I liked the tour and was very happy with Liz Moran as our guide. I didn’t see any reason to go to Auckland, just a city. Our “farm experience” was a bed and breakfast, not a working farm as expected. I loved the four wheel drive in Queenstown on the Wakatipu river. It was a great add on tour. I’m sure you’ve heard how unsatisfactory the hotel in Cairns was. Construction dust everywhere and mold in the air vents. Bad choice of accommodations on your part.

Anonymous

This was our 5th Smartours and my rating is "good". The trip was exceptional. New Zealand was a wonderful revelation and Australia was fantastic. The tour group was close and friendly. The Tour Escort (note-not "guide") certainly got the group efficiently from place to place but was not a resident and therefore provided extremely little insight into the land, the people, the customs, culture, history or society. All this has been provided on previous tours and took my rating down a notch. The escort seemed to be a bit detached from the group and therefore made some of us feel as though we were a bit of a distraction rather than a focus. I urge Smartours to only use residents of the country as tour guides. We travel to learn about other places and cultures and, in my opinion, this was not provided in this instance

Anonymous

Amazing trip. Everything was organized and thought out. Only downfalls were staying in Dunedin and our tour guide should have been a native Australian. The bus driver in New Zealand was knowledagble about everywhere we went including history and current events. We missed out is Australia not having someone who was extremely familiar with where we visited and knowing the local culture.
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