Best Winter Sun Destinations
11/09/2024 · By Sam Preece
Discover the best winter sun destinations with Great Rail Journeys. Escape the cold with our top picks for sunny getaways in stunning locations.
Read more2025 Tour code: NZS25
About the tour
Discover New Zealand's dazzling cities, extraordinary national parks, spectacular mountains and breathtaking Fiordland on this epic tour of the North and South Islands.
This fabulous tour combines the greatest features of this wonderful country in one holiday: superb railways, glorious landscapes and the warm and welcoming Māori culture.
Unforgettable experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
We meet our Tour Manager and the rest of our group at London Heathrow and fly to Auckland, via Singapore.
Additional information
Hotels
Trains
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Upgrades
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Reviews
4.5 / 5 · 53 reviews
Marianne Quinn
Submitted 12/Dec
Wonderful tour director.
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Arnold Bennett
Submitted 8/Dec
Exceptional with almost too much to see and do fort he complete tour. Not the cheapest BUT excellent value. Travelled with a great group of people under the guidance of Debs, the tour manager, who proved to be an exceptional and professional leader. My second visit to NZ and both will remain as lasting memories
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Christine Lohner
Submitted 8/Dec
This was an amazing tour of stunning New Zealand, superlatives at every turn. We travelled with a wonderful group of people including our dedicated tour manager.
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CRAIG H
Submitted 5/Dec
Deb's us very organized..love the tour and her
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Kev
Submitted 2/Nov
We enjoyed the diversity and incredible scenic beauty of both islands; highlights were Bay of Islands, Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley, Interislander ferry, Mt Cook Nat Park, Fiordland Nat Park/Milford Sound, spectacular mountain vistas of the Southern Alps as well as all the train journeys (incl the lovely Glenbrook Vintage Railway) and the TSS Earnslaw vintage steamship. Our Tour Manager Jenny was very accomplished & approachable, and made sure we covered everything according to the detailed Itinerary. She sent us a comprehensive "Welcome" email prior to our departure so we knew the exact procedure beginning at LHR - very helpful as this was our first GRJ holiday. She also gave us a detailed daily travel & sight-seeing itinerary & map when we initially met up. On arrival in NZ she gave us a further itinerary with all the timings for each day which, although initially seemed quite daunting, was entirely necessary to ensure we covered as much as possible and did not miss any of the trains or other organised events. Our coach drivers (Ken & Brian) were very professional, knowledgeable & friendly. Not only were they skilled drivers, taking us to any location they could possibly get the coach, but they also carefully co-ordinated the transfer of our luggage between the hotels/coach/trains so that it was always in the right place at the right time. Nothing went astray. Hotel reception staff were v. polite, responsive & helpful - at Queenstown they kindly booked a trip for us. Porterage was excellent in every hotel - our luggage was always brought to our room soon after arrival, and sometimes even before we got there ourselves! Hotel rooms were generally spacious & comfortable but sometimes it was difficult to maintain an acceptable temperature as there were no instructions for the A/Cond unit & in some cases the temp was fixed centrally, with no window to open for fresh air. We requested wake-up calls each morning & these were always honoured. Daily buffet breakfasts had plenty of good-quality choices and we always had tables & seating arranged for our group, which was v.helpful.
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Bev
Submitted 11/Apr
This was a full-on itinerary but worth the effort. We really experienced New Zealand in all its glory. The tour was well organised, the guides and Tour manager were excellent. We recommend Great Rail Journeys, this was our 9th holiday with them.
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