imgwiz

Although I usually plan trips for my husband and myself, I am looking into packaged tours for 14-17 day trip to New Zealand in January 2025 for us. The country is too vast and our time too short for me to attempt for us to see a lot on our own. Does anyone have experience with small group travel in NZ? There are many outfits and some variety in their trips. We are fit 70 year olds who want some activity but are not out for the some of the drama offered - no sheer Cliff hiking, no bungee jumping etc. National Geo tours look good, but I wondered if any of you Fodorites have any recommendations or advice?
thanks in advance!

Diamantina

If possible, it would be better to shift your vacation to late February because of school holidays in January and Chinese New Year-Spring Festival-Lantern Festival in early February (2025). Also, the weather on the North Island can also be somewhat wet in January. Though it's not quite yet January, have a look our upcoming New Year's Eve forecast.

imgwiz

Thanks for the suggestion, it is something I will take into consideration.

HappyTrvlr

Mondumo Tours of New Zealand are owned and led by a former Rick Steves guide. Worth a look.

imgwiz

Thanks about the suggestion of Mondumo. I did send them a query but it didn't match up for our needs, but looks like an interesting option.
thanks for your help!

Diamantina

imgwiz, what do you most hope to see and do while in NZ? What are you particular interests? (For instance: wildlife, beaches, lakes, glaciers, mountains, cities, rainforests, geological attractions, small towns, museums, kayaking, cycling, hiking, swiming with dolphins, birdwatching, whale watching, fine dining, viewing a Maori cultural performance, and so on?)

Have you completely ruled out traveling independenty? Have you considered a combination of a small group tour and some independent travel, which would give you a chance to spend more time seeing or doing things in a particular area of the country? Maybe, for example you might want to spend a few days hiking in Abel Tasman National Park, or maybe you'd like to spend a few days in a resort town, such as Queenstown or Wanaka to explore nearby scenery. I am assuming that you will want to visit Milford Road and Sound and/or perhaps Doubtful Sound (all tours of the South Island would include one or both but, of course, they can easily be visited independently from Queenstown or Te Anau).

I have never thought of NZ as vast (areawise, it is about the size of Colorado). It is, however, narrow and skinny, and traveling around can take time. For example, on the South Island most roads have only two lanes (one in each direction). The Southern Alps cover much of the length of the South Island and there are only a few roads (mountain passes) that cross it. So again, traveling around can take longer than expected.

imgwiz

Diamantina - or anyone else for that matter! - I am thinking your suggestion for us to travel independently might be the key, but maybe with a travel agency that knows NZ well and can help us maximize our time and adventures by helping map out routes, etc. . Do you know of agencies that specialize in New Zealand travel that could help do this for us?

sludick

Here are a few sites I was looking at recently:

https://www.newzealand.com/int/independent-tours/
https://community.ricksteves.com/tra...1-bfbe3582a65c
https://wetournewzealand.com/tour-ty...hoCc4QQAvD_BwE

Enjoy your trip!

imgwiz

thanks, I will check them out!