Highlights of Australia & New Zealand

20 days,

19 nights |

from $12705 per person*

TOUR CODE: IMZB

Three World Heritage Sites on one tour? It’s a reality on this two-country adventure. Whether you’re drifting across the Great Barrier Reef, sailing Sydney Harbour, gazing at Uluru-Kata Tjuta or cruising through Milford Sound, this Melbourne to Christchurch tour has ‘pinch me’ moments abound. These moments come with experiences of Indigenous heritage, from Maori hangis in Rotorua to Aboriginal guides in the Red Centre.

  • Quality accommodation
  • Travel by luxury coach
  • Experienced Travel Director and Driver Guide
  • Airport transfers (see flight information below)

Tour Highlights

  • Experience the Night Sky at Tekapo
  • Take a private tour of the Sydney Opera House
  • Walk through the spectacular Field of Light at Uluru

Flight Information

Flights are not included in the tour price; please call our team for the current flight prices. Any flights referred to in the itinerary are an additional expense.

  • • Day 1: Flights to arrive prior to 12:00pm into Melbourne Airport
  • • Day 4: Melbourne – Uluru(Ayers Rock) JQ664 (*Required Internal flight)
  • • Day 6: Uluru(Ayers Rock) – Cairns QF830 (*Required Internal flight). Where QF830 not operating book QF1998
  • • Day 9: Cairns – Sydney VA1418 (*Required Internal flight)
  • • Day 13: Sydney – Auckland QF143 (*Required Internal flight)
  • • Day 16: Auckland – Queenstown NZ623 (*Required Internal flight)
  • • Day 22: Flights to depart any time from Christchurch

Departure Dates

8 October 2023; 26 November 2023; 10 December 2023; 24 December 2023; 31 December 2023 – from $12,705/person based on double occupancy

7 January 2024; 14 January 2024; 14 January 2024; 21 January 2024; 28 January 2024; 4 February 2024; 11 February 2024; 18 February 2024; 25 February 2024; 3 March 2024; 10 March 2024; 24 March 2024 – from $12870/person based on double occupancy

All trips include 24-hour emergency travel assistance.

Book by:

August 31, 2023

Valid for travel between:

8 Oct 2023; 26 Nov 2023; 10 Dec 2023; 24 Dec 2023; 31 Dec 2023

Additional dates, gateway cities and airlines may be available.

Need some help? Contact us here.

Day 1 Welcome to Melbourne

Melbourne is known for its amazing food, as you’ll discover while meeting your fellow travellers tonight. Hotel: Crowne Plaza Hotel Melbourne, 3 nights Included Meals: Dinner with wine

Day 2 Melbourne

Get your Melbourne bearings on a city tour, but make sure you’re wearing comfy shoes for when you hit the streets to explore hidden alleys covered in eye-popping murals. Spot a jazz bar or restaurant you fancy? The afternoon is yours to indulge.. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 3 Melbourne Free Time

There are endless reasons to linger in Melbourne. But if you feel like exploring further afield, talk to us about a road trip along the Great Ocean Road (it deserves its name) or to Phillip Island. The penguins waddling from the ocean up the sand to their burrows is the cutest thing you’ll ever see. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 4 Melbourne – Uluru

The rusty red landscapes of Uluru beckon as you leave Melbourne for Ayers Rock Resort, your backdrop this afternoon is the world’s largest rock monolith. Follow your guide to the perfect perch to capture Uluru as the last of the day disappears, glass of bubbles in hand (of course). Hotel: Desert Gardens Hotel. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 Uluru and Kata Tjuta

The only reason to get out of bed before dawn? For a magical Uluru sunrise. It’s a spiritual place, with stories of the Anangu, caretakers of this remote arid landscape revealed while you tour the base. The red desert follows you to Kata Tjuta, where nature humbles as you walk through the towering domes of this ancient rock formation. Cheers to the end of another amazing day. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 Uluru – Cairns

So the other reason to rise in the dark is to witness Bruce Munro’s Field of Light, an installation of 50,000 orbs blanketing the outback. This is the countryside that First Nations artists immortalize in their paintings – try your hand at creating one during an intro to Western Desert art. Head to your next stop in sunny Cairns. Hotel: Hilton Hotel Cairns, 3 nights. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 Cairns Free Time

Cruising with crocs, a scenic railway ride into World Heritage listed rainforest, a wander along the Cairns Esplanade? Today the choice is yours. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 8 Great Barrier Reef

The world’s largest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef, never fails to dazzle. Set out on a catamaran to explore a kaleidoscope of colour: over 1,500 species of fish, 215 different birds, 3,000 molluscs, six of the world’s seven marine turtle species, and 30 species of dolphins and whales are residents. Strap on a snorkel or visit an underwater observatory and semi-submersible craft to take in the menagerie without getting your hair wet. Tonight, celebrate the end of an incredible day at dinner on Cairns’ waterfront at Salt House for regional seafood plucked straight from the ocean, highlighting fresh, local ingredients, and prepared on their custom-built Argentinian wood fired grill. Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner with Wine

Day 9 Cairns – Sydney

We hope you have a window seat, because the view of Sydney Harbour as you come in to land is one that postcards were made for. Join your Travel Director for a Highlight Dinner cruise around Sydney Harbour against the backdrop of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Hotel: InterContinental Hotel Sydney, 4 nights.  Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Day 10 Sydney

Bring your stamina: today is one of innumerable highlights. Go behind the scenes at the Sydney Opera House, discovering its architectural and performance secrets. If these sails could talk. One icon to another: The world’s most famous beach beckons this morning, with your chance to pad along the sand at Bondi with Sydney’s beautiful people. From Worked up an appetite? A local Surf Life Saver will take you into the members-only Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club. Learn about this historic club and gain an understanding of the important work that is done here saving lives on this famous beach. Next, a Be My Guest lunch with views overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Included Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Lunch

Day 11 Sydney Free Time

The hardest decision you have to make today: explore more of Sydney, or head to the Blue Mountains, 11,400 square kilometres of World Heritage listed wilderness, a place where sandstone escarpments appear to cleave off the edge of the Earth and waterfall-cooled valleys of rainforest slip dreamily from the pages of a fairytale? The choice is yours. Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 12 Sydney Free Time

Now you’ve found your bearings in Sydney, why not linger around the harbour – perhaps it’s time to glimpse it from above on a Sydney BridgeClimb? This bird’s-eye view certainly puts things in perspective. Back at ground level, you’re in the heart of the Rocks, the city’s original colonial settlement and a place of cobbled alleys and private galleries. Finally, a Highlight dinner back in the shadow of the Opera House at Portside Restaurant. Because you’ll never tire of glimpsing this beauty. Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Day 13 Sydney – Auckland

All you have to do today is sit back and enjoy the view as you cross the Tasman to embark on your next adventure. Hotel: The Grand by SkyCity, 2 nights Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with wine

Day 14 Auckland

We’ll take you out to Mission Bay and Bastion Point – have your camera poised – and then leave you to your own devices in the afternoon. Need suggestions? How about a cruise to Waiheke Island for a wine tour? Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 15 Auckland – Rotorua

Cute and cuddly, NZ’s national bird, the kiwi, is also endangered. Go behind the scenes on a working kiwi nursery and hatchery to learn how breeding programs are helping the population thrive. This evening your Highlight Dinner is prepared in an earthen hangi at the Te Pa Tu Maori Experience. It’s an eye-opening (and tasty) introduction to Māori culture. Hotel: Millennium Hotel, Rotorua Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Day 16 Rotorua – Queenstown

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a film star? Today you’ll get a taste of celebrity lifestyle when you sit down to breakfast in the village of Hobbiton, the movie set of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies. Take a guided tour past Hobbit Holes and the Mill, and wave to your fans. Hotel: Millennium, Queenstown Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 17 Milford Sound

Sheer cliffs, thundering waterfalls, glaciers and rainforest – if there’s a destination more inspiring than Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, we’re yet to find it. After a cruise here (look out for dolphins and sea lions), we’re sure you’ll agree. Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 18 Queenstown Free Time

Today is all yours. Love adventure? Ride the Shotover Jet. Oenophile? Arrange a tour to Otago wineries. Regroup for a Highlight Dinner at the historic Postmasters Cottage. Included Meals: Breakfast, Highlight Dinner

Day 19 Queenstown – Lake Tekapo

Arrowtown and Cromwell are known for their natural drama; just as enticing is the tasty stone fruit. Take a bite. Arriving at Lake Tekapo, you’re far from anywhere. Which practically guarantees dazzling stargazing in the UNESCO Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.  Hotel: Peppers Bluewater Resort, Lake Tekapo. Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner with wine

Day 20 Lake Tekapo – Christchurch

Ever wondered what life on the land is like? Meet Angie and Stan Taylor, who have farmed this countryside for more years than they care to remember. The stories you’ll hear over lunch. Hotel: Distinction Christchurch, 2 nights Included Meals: Breakfast, Be My Guest Lunch

Day 21 Christchurch

Community spirit is strong in Christchurch; not only has the city rebuilt since the devastating 2011 earthquakes, but it’s thriving, with architectural innovations like the world’s first church built of cardboard. Take in the sights with an in-the-know local. Tonight, raise a glass to your travels at a Farewell Diner. Included Meals: Breakfast , Farewell Dinner

Day 22 Christchurch

How did three weeks disappear like that? Re-live all the memorable moments on your way home. Included Meals: Breakfast

Need some help? Contact us here.

Additional upgrades and add-ons may be available.

Need some help? Contact us here.

Traveler Information (as per passport)

Please enter traveler’s name as it appears on their passport.
Please provide any additional information for our Reservations team.

Travel Advisor Information

Questions? Contact Us.

*Terms & Conditions: Pricing is per person based on double occupancy. All prices are in US dollars and correct at time of posting for travel during specified travel dates. Single supplements, black-out dates and seasonal supplements may apply. Airfare is not included unless indicated. Prices may differ when you book your travel and are not guaranteed until full payment is received. Airline and hotels frequently change their prices as a result of fare increases and/or fuel surcharges. Prices may increase before full payment for those and other reasons. Package is not combinable with any other offer or discounted vacation package. After full payment, prices are guaranteed except only due to an increase in government-imposed taxes or fees. By paying your deposit, you affirmatively agree to the possibility of such increases. Package is strictly subject to availability, not retroactive and not combinable with any other special or vacation package offer. Minimum night stays or required room types may apply. All prices, itineraries and routings are subject to change without notice. Please call for our current prices. CST#2001136-20

We use technologies to enhance your experience on our site.
By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy.