Breathtaking New Zealand

This escorted tour with Just You opens in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, where the skyline is a reminder of the city’s maritime roots. The route moves south through volcano-shaped Rotorua, a town still steaming with geothermal activity, and on to Napier, renowned for its Art Deco architecture and local wineries.

Next is Wellington, the capital at the tip of the North Island, followed by the South Island’s dramatic landscapes. Travel on the TranzAlpine train brings the Southern Alps close, while the stretch from Franz Josef Glacier to Queenstown includes forest, rivers and lakes that hardly seem to fit on one map. A cruise in Milford Sound punctuates days spent among fjords and waterfalls.

The tour rounds out with a slow approach back through Mount Cook country and the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. Its pace allows time to appreciate each place, from the glow-worms of Waitomo Caves to the contrasting cityscapes at both ends of the journey, rather than racing past a list of highlights.