wordsmith

My husband and I have never been to these places and would like a 15-21 day tour of these---I have heard of Tauck Tours and Globus. Any thoughts??

ElendilPickle

A couple of thoughts:

It's pretty easy to plan a trip on your own without needing to take a tour.

Australia is the size of the continental US, and New Zealand, while smaller, takes a good amount of time to see. I would pick one country and stick with it, rather than try to cram both into the time you're alloting for your trip.

Lee Ann

Ceidleh

Lee Ann is correct - don't try to tackle both countries with that amount of time.

If you have 21 days, you can cover a decent amount of New Zealand. I would recommend at least 2 full weeks in the South Island and 1 week in the North Island - you still aren't going to see everything, but you'll get around to most of the highlights.

With 21 days in Australia, you could do what most first timers do - Sydney, Great Barrier Reef and a little time in the Outback or Top End (Kakadu).

You don't really need a 24/7 escorted coach tour. You can fly from point to point and sign up for day tours only as you need them.

vbca

Good advice from both respondents, but if you prefer the security of a organised tour then Tauk tours offer a quality product. I'm not familiar with their operation in Australia, but in NZ they are in the top tier, and I imagine Australia is no different.

NZAdvisor

That's silly vbca,

Tauk dont operate tours to NZ and neither do Globus. The leading coach operators in NZ are APT, AAT Kings, Kirra TOurs & Global Pacific. For these types of tours or for smaller group touring you can visit Relaxing Journeys at www.relaxingjourneys.co.nz or you can contact the operators directly, although most will not take bookings unless its through an agent.

You could also consider driving yourself around?

Finally, 21 days in NZ is more than enough, with out too much of a rush. If you like to relax you could spend a couple of weeks in the South or North depending on the season. North in Summer and the South anytime. Hope that helps.

vbca

That's strange. Those coaches going past with "Tauk Tours" on the side must be lost,and my hotel owning friend who imagines they stay with must be deluded.
How could I have got it so wrong??

farrermog

I'd imagine Bill Peach Journeys would be a reference point for some measure of 'best' for tours of Aust and NZ -

http://tinyurl.com/3m6nyp

Dreaming material for the rest of us.

NZAdvisor

LOL vcba.

Tauck Tours do have a tour that travels NZ, but its is a combined Aus/NZ tour. They dont 'just do' NZ. So you are not delusional. My error

vbca

Thanks NZA. I hadn't researched their iteneraries, but I knew they come through Te Anau. Some of them fly CHCH/TNU on PionAir (http://www.pionair.com) , using their Convair CV580. We are able to get cheap "sub load" seats, although mostly on the TNU/CHCH leg as the inbound one is often full.

mscarls

Actually Tauck offers a 20-day tour of Australia and New Zealand but it is possible to take only the Australia part or New Zealand part.
The advantage of Tauck is that the company handles all of the arrangements for you, which takes a lot of stress out of a tour covering so much ground. And we have found from 7 tours with Tauck that it does an excellent job of picking hotels and packing as much as possible into a limited amount of time. It's especially nice to leave the driving to a professional driver, so I can enjoy the views. We are taking the combo tour in October.