New Zealand 2026

This is a list that comes up when doing a search on the forum for 'New Zealand'. These posts are all from within the last year so no real old information. As you can see your post is the first one, the others have lots of good information so check them out.

We went to New Zealand in February one year. One tip -- Chinese New Year will be February 17 through the 21st in 2026. Since a lot of Chinese have immigrated to New Zealand, we found Chinese New Year to be very very busy with families visiting from China. A lot of the attractions we went to were crowded.

As has been mentioned, you can save quite a lot of money if you're willing to do some of the advance research yourself - booking your own airfare, car and accommodations according to whichever itinerary you finally decide on after perusing a few guidebooks and studying a few examples.
There are a number of day trip and tour providers based in the major cities (Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown spring to mind) that will get you out and about if you'd rather not deal with renting a car but, that said, having a car is by far the better way to see the country - particularly the more rural areas outside of the major hubs. Accessing the trail heads for any of NZ's terrific day hikes pretty much requires having a vehicle.
Though driving on the left in unfamiliar surroundings can be a daunting prospect for a first-timer, I think you'll find that you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly - and NZ is a country that's tailor-made for meandering day trips by car.
Good advice re being aware of the Chinese New Year period. On our most recent visit we noted how crowded some of the smaller towns had gotten during that period - to the point that some places were completely booked with no rooms ro be had, so I'd suggest finalizing your bookings early if you plan to be there at that time of year.
You really can't go wrong no matter how you craft your final itinerary, but our personal preference after numerous visits to NZ is the South Island ... particularly the area around Queenstown, Te Anau, and the sounds. Abel Tasman NP at the northern tip of the island is another favorite, and the nearby Marlboroughwine country makes it a great base for a few days.

How active would you like to be? Active Adventures is a New Zealand company that offers all kids of tours, with walking, cycling, etc. and also a “comfort” version.

https://activeadventures.com/destinations/new-zealand/

I see a banner on the website offering $750 off tours as a Black Friday early special.

I took Mondumo’s tour of New Zealand last February and had a wonderful experience. The owner, Colin Mairs, is also a Rick Steves guide in Scotland. He was our guide on this tour and he’s fabulous. He is beginning to use other tour guides in order to expand his business, but I’m sure he is picking the best.

The tour is run very much like a Rick Steves Europe tour, so if you like that style, you’ll be happy with Mondumo. We had a nice mix of organized activities and free time for our own exploration.

I don’t know if dates have yet been set for 2026, but you can get on Mondumo’s list to be informed of developments.

My husband and I ( in our 70s) took the Mondumo tour in February 2024. I am an avid walker/mover and the tour provided plenty of opportunities for activities. All but one couple on our tour had taken Rick Steves tours and appreciated that mix of activities and touring. Mondumo included the same sort of activities mix.

There were a number of younger folks on the tour who took advantage of the biking, speed boating, hang gliding, etc. activities available--especially in Queensland. A number on our tour also extended their travel both before and after the Mondumo tour to visit places not on the Mondumo tour.

We enjoyed Auckland and were happy we spent several days there before the tour began walking all around the city and enjoying it's wonderful food.

Finally, we flew back to the states from Christchurch that had the most user friendly airport we ever experienced!

We went on the 2 week New Zealand tour with Colin at Mondumo tours. It was fantastic!! So much fun,food, drink, culture, and camaraderie. I highly recommend it! Debra

My wife and I did the March ‘24 tour this spring with Colin. We met Colin at an RS alumni gathering many years ago, and wanted to do the Mondumo tour with him ever since. After only 4 years, we finally got in! (Covid shutdown put a wrench in everything). There are other tours, but Mondumo was the only one we ever considered.

We went a few days early (highly recommended) and spent a day with some Kiwis we met the previous fall on a cruise in the Med (note: being called a Kiwi is considered an honor for New Zealanders). A very fun start to the trip. Auckland is an active city and very interesting.

We spent an extra week after the tour doing botanical gardens and wines tours and rode the Coastal Pacific and the Northern Explorer scenic trains back to Auckland, with the Interislander ferry thrown in. We really enjoyed that experience. Finally, we jumped on a cruise ship and sailed to Sydney.

As I told Colin, with the land tour you get a bite of everything. With a cruise, you only get a nibble. However, the two compliment each other really well and there is almost no overlap. If you can pull it off, it’s worth doing both.

The itinerary is split between the two main islands, so we had two drivers. Dean and Paul were both awesome! We had an assistant guide who was half Samoa and half Māori ancestry and she shared a lot of culture (we got almost zero of that from the cruise ship). Colin packs a lot into the tour and does so in a very good way. No skimping on anything. If anyone starved, it was their own fault!!

Coach driver Paul ended our trip with a nice compliment to Colin. He said that he had been driving tours for 25 years and learned new things on our trip. Colin guides for Rick in the NZ “off season” so he learned how to do things things in that manner. If you like Rick’s tours (we’ve done 8), you will be right at home on this one. We were very pleased with the whole experience. You can “meet” Colin if you bring up Rick’s 3-part Scotland series from a few years ago. Have fun with whatever you do.

Side notes:

We flew to Honolulu and stayed overnight. Then it was just a short 9 hour flight the next day. Actually cost a lot less than a nonstop. Food for thought!

The optional Dart River jet boats in Queenstown were a high point. Don’t miss them. You will not get that experience anywhere else in the world.

I took the Mondumo tour with Colin Mairs, and it was an excellent trip. There is so much to see and do in New Zealand-Colin's an amazing guide and has pride for his adopted country, and the Mondumo tour touches on many of the must see things in New Zealand. Colin is very responsive if you have questions-both prior to the trip and on the trip. There is built in free time to add activities on some days, and options for different levels of activities. My biggest regret-not doing the airplane ride from Milford Sound back to Queenstown. It's not cheap-but everyone that took it said it was the most amazing flight ever. Highlights for me of the Mondumo tour of New Zealand was the greenstone carving and the Hobbiton tour. If you go and see visit Hobbiton, you must watch the Lord of the Rings movies before you go. The scenery in New Zealand is amazing, but throughout my world travels, I have never come across a more friendly country, and the respect the country has for their native Maori people.

I toured with Colin and Mondumo in 2019. Like everyone else, I loved Colin and New Zealand. Colin is exceedingly nice, responsive, and reliable. And he sings! Everyone loves him for a reason.

Check out moatrek tours.
https://www.moatrek.com/

Thank you all so much for the excellent advice!

I’m seeing a lot about Mondumo tours. Has anyone ever done the train tour LOCO adventures? Planning trip for sometime between September-November 2026. So many tours to consider with a lot of them using coach buses for all transportation. Trains look different so I was hoping someone has done a tour like this before. Appreciate your help,
Susan

What kind of activities are you looking for? I agree with another poster that Mondumo's costs are much too high for me. We took a great small group Globus bus tour to NZ and Australia last year and it was quite active, days 3-9 were similar to Mondumo, but we also went to the Glowworms and Maori Center and geysers and it was half the cost of Mondumo. If you're in Auckland, I highly recommend a day trip to the Tirritirri Matangi nature preserve. We did that and the Auckland Museum on our own before our tour started. If you are a LOTR fan, I also highly recommend a day tour we did on our free day in Queenstown to see filming sites, complete with costumes to wear.

I can only speak to the North Island.

I have to heartily agree with Eatsrootsandleaves re Mondumo's itinerary and prices. I was able to do all those things - and more - using public transport and one day trip by bus. I found the North Island incredibly well connected including shuttles to tourist sites, day tours for specialized interests, convenient distance buses, flights within the country. Many choose to rent cars. I didn't, but the driving I observed would not have been difficult.

Very easy to develop a personalized itinerary that doesn't require guides and the extra expense. I did my own exploring and encountered a number of travelers who similarly had designed their own hiking and kayaking excursions.

I was there in 2019 - at a quick glance, it appears much is the same as when I traveled.

If you're looking for a guided tour in New Zealand that offers active experiences beyond a typical bus tour, I recommend checking out NZ Tourism Tours. They have a comprehensive selection of small-group and guided tours that include hiking, cultural experiences, adventure activities, and scenic excursions while still providing the convenience of expert-guided travel.

I suggest reaching out to them—they can help craft the perfect itinerary based on your needs!

• https://www.nz-tourism.com/new-zealand-small-group-tours-1/
• https://www.nz-tourism.com/new-zealand-escorted-coach-tours/

We took a Trafalgar Tour and it was great.

My husband and I just returned from a most amazing March 10-23, 2025 Mondumo New Zealand tour. The format checked off all the boxes for touring both north and south islands. Our group size was 26, so lots of room to spread out while on the big bus, plus it included air travel getting to the south Island, a comfortable scenic train ride near the end of our tour, and day ferry travel to explore a smaller island. We enjoyed the balanced mix of structured group guided activities, led by our amazing guide Louisa, plus enough downtime to get out to explore on our own. Colin has created a great itinerary. Go for it!

We did a Tauck tour in February 2024 and I can't say enough good things about it. The tour guide and all the arrangements were fabulous. It was definitely not your 'sit on the bus' and travel all the time. Some of the activities included jet boats, zip lining, Helicopter trips, fly onto glaciers, and a bicycle tour. It was all so much fun and active. We've always travelled on our own and this was our first ever tour. Their package was so fabulous that we've booked another Tauck tour to Scandinavia for the fall.

It's a long flights, so just get that into your head and enjoy it as part of the adventure.

PS We loved New Zealand it's a beautiful country. I only wish we could immigrate there. And don't think I haven't looked into it.

Thank you all for the great feedback! We have a deposit on a Mondumo tour in February of 2026 . We are very much looking forward to the adventure!