New Zealand - Small Group or Solo Tour

This topic has bee discussed recently. If you use the search function, you can access several discussions. Here is one:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/odyssey-tour-for-new-zealand and another:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/new-zealand-5c5e7407-2d4b-44e4-8888-60bba3033535

The search function is not great on this website. Enter in key words like New Zealand and tour. Then, you can filter the responses by Travel Forum and timeframe.

I did my own arrangements and itinerary for New Zealand - 1 visit and for Australia - 3 visits. All within the past 7 years. Depending on the time available, I would not combine the visits - too much in New Zealand and W-A-Y too much in Australia for 2 - 3 weeks. Check the weather situation also. Australia's size doesn't lend itself to a one-month-fits-all-States visits - too many variables in climate. For instance, you don't want to be in Queensland during the wet season.

You could look at some tour company itineraries - doesn't matter whose - just to see what is considered the "major" spots in New Zealand. That might narrow things down for a start. When you get further into the research, it may be easier to add or eliminate. For example, the geothermal areas near Rotorura, NZ. I particularly wanted to explore the area to compare with Yellowstone - others particularly want to eliminate these features as they feel visits to Yellowstone (or Iceland) was enough exposure. That sort of personal choice won't be considered by a tour itinerary. I often find the Tripadvisor reviews helpful - generally more specific details, experiences, and impressions than Fodor's, etc. (which I use, but agree can be overwhelming! I like these guides better after I have some notion of areas/cities that might interest me)

Both countries have cultural venues and experiences for Maori (NZ) and Aboriginal (Australia) civilizations. Also, don't forget to include unique wildlife. I saw glow worms and kiwi birds in NZ and Aussie animals in the wild, sanctuaries, and zoos. I was impressed with all the experiences.

I found both NZ and Australia very easy to travel without a rental car. Lots of public transport, shuttles to tourist locations, and day trips easily available.

Good luck..

Thank-you for the helpful information, ORDtraveler. You have given me many great suggestions. I did check out the two links you provided. The Mondumo Travels might be just what I was looking for. I will also check out Tripadvisor. I am truly excited now about exploring New Zealand. Thank-you!

New Zealand is hard to plan because there is so much to see. I did a trip last year where it was a little under 2 weeks in New Zealand and a week in Australia which consisted of just Sydney and Melbourne.

If you have Facebook, there's a group called " New Zealand travel tips" which I found very helpful. I found that travel books are tough because either they have their own idea of an itinerary or they cover so many things that it's hard to choose. there's just so many ways to do New Zealand.

That said, it's very easy to travel around New Zealand on your own. People are friendly. There's no language barrier + there are inexpensive interior flights.

The Facebook group I mentioned is good because you can get a lot of feedback on your ideas, etc

We did both north and south island but have so much more to see!

I did a New Zealand tour with Mondumo a couple years ago and had a great time. The owner was a Rick Steves guide in Scotland and runs his tours in a very Rick Steves manner. You could easily add extra time before or after the tour to see things not included, but a tour would take the bulk of the planning burden off your shoulders.

Mondumo also schedules their New Zealand and Australia tours back-to-back for people who want to do both.

Thank-you for responding. You have given us the encouragement to keep it simple, and not to be overwhelmed with the tour books. I am going to look into the Mondumo Tours. And I will plan extra time before and after the tour in New Zealand for additional sightseeing. Any other suggestions, just let me know.

We have done trips to the South Island last year and the North Island this year.I have posted trip reports for both trips.
Our 3 week South Island roadtrip
Flew to Christchurch then
Geraldine.
Lake Tekapo
Twizel, Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook.
Omarama.
Lindis Pass, Cromwell.
Kawarau Gorge, Queenstown.
Te Anau.
Doubtful Sound.
Milford Sound.
Kingston, Lake Wakitipu.
Arrowtown.
Crown Range, Wanaka.
Haast Pass Road, Haast.
Fox Glacier.
Franz Josef Glacier.
Hokitika.
Arthurs Pass.
Flew out from Christchurch.
Our total cost inc vehicle hire and fuel, overnight stays, coach and cruise tours in Fiordland, all food and drink and all other miscellaneous was about USD3600.

Our 3 week North Island roadtrip
Flew into Auckland.
Waiomu (Coramandel Peninsula).
Te Aroha.
Hobbiton.
Rotorua.
Taupo.
Whakapapa Tongariro National Park.
Whanganui, Kai Iwi.
Patea Beach, Waitara, Mt Taranaki/Maketawa Hut.
Tongaporutu 3 Sisters and Elephant Rock.
Mokau.
Otorohanga.
Huntly.
Piha Beach, Muriwai Beach.
Matakohe.
Whangarei.
Paihia, Kerikeri, Hole in the Rock cruise Bay of Islands,
Waipu.
Flew home from Auckland.
A little less costly than the South Island total of USD3200 All up.

Certainly not comprehensive tours of either Island but we saw heaps of great places, did loads of interesting things, enjoyed ourselves madly.

Check out a road atlas or google maps to see where we went. It's a long list but if you do internet searches on the above locations you should find plenty of things of interest.
The majority of the places we visited tick the natural wonders box.
Rotorua certainly has plenty of Maori cultural experiences but there is also plenty in Northland around the Bay of Islands. But really you will pretty much be tripping over culture, history and natural wonders wherever you go.

We took a Globus Journeys Small Group tour in Jan-Feb 2024 and highly recommend it. The tour had an unscheduled day in most of the major stops-Queenstown, Cairns, Sydney(half day), and Melbourne. Considering how far it is to fly for most of us, I would definitely visit both countries on the same trip.

Thank-you, Eatsrootsandleaves and Cala. Both of you have provided additional information to check out. We will look into Globus also. Thank-you!