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New Zealand Rick Steves type tour

Visiting NZ for 2 weeks Feb 2017. Four adults 58-69 years. Active but not bungee jumpers! Looking for small group tour similar to Rick Steves tour for south island especially but could be both north and south. Don't want to drive ourselves. Anyone have suggestions?

Posted by
7010 posts

New Zealand is very easy to tour independently. I went for 2 weeks solo and found the driving very easy. If you absolutely don't want to drive you can check out these websites: http://moatrek.co.nz/us?gclid=Cj0KEQjwncO7BRC06snzrdSJyKEBEiQAsUaRjL1heo0pmfl3BBtST1MJF8MVUA-7pWiyo6es51UOGwMaArSX8P8HAQ

and

http://www.newzealand.com/us/tours/?&cid=p:sem:US:google:Branded_High%20Volume_Activities_Exact:Branded_High%20Volume_Activities_Tours_Exact&kwid=newzealand%20tour&gclid=Cj0KEQjwncO7BRC06snzrdSJyKEBEiQAsUaRjIKhXHx8aF54vG54K7q2E2ifM0QAZU5PIow0A2SY_OsaArOg8P8HAQ.

Both of these do large group tours, small group tours, and customized tours. I can't recommend because I've not done it myself.

Posted by
1743 posts

I can't vouch for this company first hand, but check out G Adventures. They have many different types of tours, and for each one they describe the activity level and the comfort level, so you can filter your search to find one that matches what you're looking for. Their small group tour sizes are even smaller than on Rick's tours. I've been thinking of doing one of their tours, but I don't know anyone who has. Maybe someone else on this forum can provide first-hand information.

Posted by
64 posts

Look at http://odysseys-unlimited.com

They have a NZ tour. On our last tour with them, we traveled with two sisters who had also done 4 Rick Steves tours. They told us the OU and Rick Steves tours were very, very similar - small groups, no add-on excursions, good balance of escorted and independent time. They noted that the only difference was you do not have to carry your own luggage with OU and can pack more! They said that they choose between the two companies depending on where they want to go. We have had good experiences with OU.

Posted by
18 posts

Thank you for those great recommendations!

Posted by
32171 posts

Susan,

I was also going to suggest *G-Adventures - https://www.gadventures.com/search/?f=41aeeb7485af

I'm not sure if they're a "Rick Steves type tour" but as Rick doesn't operate in that area, some compromises will have to be made.

You could also look at Trafalgar Tours - https://www.trafalgar.com/can/destinations/australia-and-south-pacific/new-zealand OR Globus Tours - http://www.globusjourneys.com/Vacation-Packages/Tour-South-Pacific/New-Zealand/

The latter two provide tours in many places in the world, so they're big and well organized firms.

Good luck!

Posted by
23 posts

Outside of Europe, we like to use Overseas Adventure Travel www.oattravel.com
The groups are kept to 12-16 people and there is usually a large cultural component. They are the "small group" division of Grand Circle Travel.

Marcia

Posted by
145 posts

Nancy:

We've recently added NZ to our bucket list. As you did a two-week trip by yourself, would you mind sharing information about your trip, such as your itinerary and places you visited? What was your primary reason for visiting - nature, monuments or something else?

Thanks!

Porcupyn

Posted by
16028 posts

Porcupyn---in case Nancy does not see your question, I will share our NZ itinerary as an example of what one can do as independent travelers. We are an active couple in our late 60's, interested mainly in scenery, nature, and hiking. We went in January 2015 to the South Island only.
We flew into Christchurch and spent one night there. The next morning we took the Train up the coast to Picton (booked well in advance). This was a scenic and comfortable trip. At Picton we caught a water taxi out to Lochmara Lodge for two nights.

http://www.lochmara.co.nz

This is a lovely spot with boat or walking access only--no roads. It felt a lot like Hawaii. The property has some walking trails and kayaks for free use. The water looks nice for swimming but my husband did encounter jellyfish.

After returning to Picton by water taxi, we took the bus to Nelson for a two-night stay. This is a pretty little town with great restaurants and an array of hotels. We booked a trip into Abel Tasman park for the full day---it included a boat trip and drop-off along the Abel Tasman track, which we walked back to the bus pick-up point. Some nice golden sand beaches and a swim on the way.

From Nelson we flew back to Christchurch and picked up a rental car. We drove to Nd stayed at Lake Tekapo ( hiking), Mt. Cook Aoraki national Park (more hiking), Dunedin ( university town and botanical garden) and Otago (bicycling a rail trail) before heading to Queenstown to turn in the car.

We spent one night in Queenstown and the next morning met our group for a trek on the Milford Track. We booked with Ultimate, a company that provides guided walks with stays in nice inns (private rooms) with meals included, instead of staying in huts and carrying our own food. The trek ended at Milford Sound and included a boat trip on the fjord and a bus return to Queenstown. We flew out the next day.

Most of our lodging was in modern motels which have kitchens equipped for self-catering, so we did not dine out much at all. It was all very nice. My husband did all the driving while I did the navigation. The roads are narrow but well -signed, and we managed to avoid any mishaps. The people are delightful. We found the scenery looks a lot like California wine country with a bit of Hawaii and Rocky Mountains or Alaska here and there----in other words, not exotic but still beautiful.

Posted by
145 posts

Thanks Lola! That was quite informative and gives a good idea of the lay of the land :-)

  • Porcupyn
Posted by
1806 posts

David from Sydney is correct. Although they keep their group sizes very small, G Adventures is really geared towards those in their 20s and 30s. While they do have specific tours they refer to as "YOLO" which are strictly for 18 to 39yos, even their other tours with no such age restrictions still attract a younger crowd. I have a friend who did a tour with them when she was in her early 40s and she felt like the old fart among the rest of the group.

With just 2 weeks, I would strongly recommend you focus mostly on the south island which has the better scenery and limit your time spent in the north to just 1 or 2 key locations. 4 people on a guided tour is not a cheap endeavor. Have you given any thought to looking into the cost of hiring a private driver/guide and just splitting the cost? You could then tailor the entire trip to just those places you really want to visit.