Hello,
I am in very early stages of planning a 21 day (excluding travel days) trip to Australia and New Zealand for May 2027. We are both in our early 70's, well travelled, active and looking for the iconic sights, experiences, nature, wine and history. My dad served in the US Navy in Melbourne during WW2 so that's personal for me

A few questions:

• Is 21 days enough? We are flexible in adding time
• It appears that we can fly between Cairns, Sydney and Melbourne instead of driving so both of us can enjoy the trip. Are the inter-country flights reliable? we actually enjoyed the bush planes in Africa!
• I would prefer to stay 3-4 nights in locations and not be unpacking constantly, is that reasonable?
• What are the best smaller group tours for wineries, etc? I don't like being on a big tour bus and herded around
• Budget excluding air is around $20k/person - again, reasonable or are we crazy?

So far - Denver to Cairns, Fly from Cairns to Sydney; fly from Sydney to Melbourne, Fly from Melbourne to Queenstown; fly from Queenstown to Auckland and then from Auckland back to Denver.

Thank you in advance!

Have been to Australia four times and New Zealand twice. Still haven't seen many things in both countries. So do you really need to visit both countries? Queenstown is very nice and there is a great deal to do around there (Glenorchy is a highlight), but there are many other good things on the South Island you'd miss (West Coast, Mt Cook, Milford Sound, Otago Peninsula if you are interested in wildlife, just to name a few). And Auckland is not the most exciting city, in my opinon. Is there something there you need to see, or are you just using it as a gateway home? United flies to SFO from Christchurch and a connection to Denver is easy since SFO is a United hub.

As to Australia, I assume you want to go to Cairns for the reef. Cairns itself is nothing to write home about. We flew there on one trip but immediatlely drove north (to Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation) to visit the Great Barrier Reef from better spots. However, this was two decades ago, and the reef has degraded since then, so do research into places that have not been harmed by excessive bleaching. We also went to Heron Island which was even better then for reef exploration, but I think that has gone downhill since our trip. There are many better places to reach the Great Barrier Reef than Cairns is my point.

You say you want to experience nature (and visit wine regions), but you are spending a lot of time in cities. I see you have a reason for visiting Melbourne, but that isn't a gateway to one of the better wine regions. It will, however, be the only place you will have access to much wine touring. Melbourne is a nice city (good food), but I found a bit less to do there than in Sydney. So not sure I'd prioritize it over some more iconic locations such as Uluru/Red Center or Kangaroo Island (which has wildlife AND wineries). But those are better with a car (although there are of course tours). Just got back from Tasmania, which was great for wildlife, but I think it is not for a first trip (for most people) and we drove ourselves again (even over age 70!).

Flights in Australia and New Zealand are WAY more reliable than in the US.

Oh yes, and May is cool or even cold in Melbourne with short days (know that from personal experience), since it's like our November. May is just the beginning of the good time of year at the reef. Probably ok for Red Center. The trip we took in May we visited the far north (Broome, Kimberly, Darwin area, Kakadu) since "winter" is the best time for those areas.

For awhile there, NZ was practically my second home, and I have many very detailed trip reports posted here if you're interested. Just click on my screen name and scroll through them at the bottom of the page.

We also did our best to see as much of AUS in the seven years we lived there and I have a slew of those reports posted here as well.

Many people seem to think they can see a lot of both countries in your time frame, but it's harder than you might think. With only three weeks, I'd personally stick to NZ and one island at that (the south). But people don't usually listen to that advice, so take it with a grain of salt.

You've listed all cities, so I assume that's what you're interested in. You'll see very little of NZ from Auckland and Queenstown, but QT is a good place from which to make a few day trips.

You don't need a tour for wineries in either NZ or Australia, just rock up during opening hours. Of course, if you plan to imbibe much, you'll definitely want a tour of some sort, There are many options to choose from.

From Queenstown:
https://www.queenstownwinerytours.com/

Don't miss the wine from Cromwell (known for its Pinot Noir). Mount Difficulty is a favorite of ours, but for their lovely dry Riesling.

https://www.cromwell.org.nz/section/...C-%26-wineries

Your budget is pretty huge by my standards, so I certainly don't see any issues, unless you're used to a much more posh style of travel than I am

This might sound way off topic, but I have my reasons. Do you plan to take any overseas trips between now and next May, or in the.months following your return? If you are, you might benefit from one of a few multi-continent air travel options, like round-the-world or "Circle Pacific" fares. These can offer excellent flexibility and value if your travel aspirations are compatible.

Meant to add, regarding the Cairns/GBR part, google Lord Howe Island as a possible substitute.

Gardyloo was reading my mine.

With only 3 weeks it’s probably best to confine your trip to just one country. We did a 6 week trip to NZ and just scratched the surface. It was by far one of the best trips we’ve ever taken and we can hardly wait to go back because there’s so much more to see. Likewise, we’ve made 3 shorter trips to Australia and only seen a small part of that country..

I agree with comments that you would be better off sticking to one country. You could add a couple of weeks and have maybe 3 weeks in each country. Even then, you'd scratch the surface. Each time you move on, you lose the best part of a day, even with a short flight. Have you done a day by day spreadsheet including your travel time, eg domestic flights. That might give you a better idea of what's possible, or desirable.

Domestic airlines are fairly reliable though not particularly cheap. Qantas includes luggage, choose your seat, food that is meagre but included. Jetstar is a budget airline, everything is an add-on. Virgin Australia is in between the two.

I'd suggest staying in Port Douglas, there are shuttle buses that go from Cairns airport to PD, it's about an hour by road. From there you could do a day trip to the Daintree, Cape Tribulation or Mossman Gorge. The Sunday Market in Port Douglas is very popular if that's your thing.

From Melbourne, you can visit the Yarra Valley which has many wineries. Also Healesville Sanctuary, a small zoo which has only Australian animals, feeding times for koalas etc on their website.

21 days. I'm thinking out loud lets see how we go.
Okay fly Denver to Cairns. No idea what that involves but I assume a few transfers. So day one arrive Cairns, gonna be a write off day no matter what time you arrive. Day 2 daytrip to the reef. Day 3 Daytrip from Cairns maybe the Daintree. Day 4 Another daytrip from Cairns, maybe wildlife focused.
Day 5. Fly to Sydney. That will soak up a large chunk of your day so no real plans.
Day 6. See the city sights in Sydney. Day 7. Daytrip to the Blue Mountains. Day 8 Daytrip to the Hunter Valley, wineries tours.
Day 9. Fly to Melbourne. Shorter flying time. Relaxed city sightseeing.
Day 10. City sightseeing, maybe find any connections to your father.
Day 11. Daytrip to Yarra Valley wineries and Healeville Wildlife Sanctuary.
Day 12. Daytrip to Phillip Island with evening visit to Penguin Parade.
Day 13. Kamikaze daytrip on the Great Ocean Road, really needs a minimum of 3 days but they do single day excursions.
Day 14. Fly to Queenstown. International flight this will write off most of the day.
Day 15. Sightseeing/activities in Queenstown.
Day 16. Travel to Milford Sound and do overnight cruise (I liked Doubtful Sound more but Milford is the iconic one).
Day 17. Return to Queenstown after the cruise.
Day 18. Fly to Rotorua. Maybe evening Maori cultural activity.
Day 19. Rotorua thermal wonders, Maori cultural show.
Day 20. Travel to Waitomo to see Glow-worms cave. Then onto Auckland.
Day 21. Sightseeing Auckland.
​​​​​Day 22. Fly back to USA from Auckland.

So yeah you could smash out an Aussie and Kiwi Icon tour in 21 days. With all those organised daytrips and the flights it would cost a bit. Certainly very hectic.
For some perspective we did 3 weeks NZ South Island in 2024, brisk roadtrip. In 2025 we did a 3 week NZ North Island roadtrip.

We have family in Australia so have visited many times, usually staying with them in Sydney and exploring further afield by ourselves. We have spent around 6 months in New Zealand over 3 trips, always in winter/spring and always renting a campervan. It takes time to travel around both countries, Australia because teh distances are vast and New Zealand because the road infrastructure is limited by narrow, slow roads, to say nothing of the vagaries of the weather.

With the above factors in mind, to answer your first question "Is 21 days enough? We are flexible in adding time" I would say, unless you enjoy spending a disproportionately large amount of your time in transit, absolutely not. Double the amount of time and maybe you could fit in all those places. If not, I would radically revise your ambitions and stick to one country. Even then, I would look at sticking to one island in NZ (South Island will always get my vote) and maybe a couple of regions of Australia.

I think only 21 days for both countries will be tough unless you will be happy with just a taste, and you plan on returning at a future date. If all you have is 21 days, then I agree with the above posters who suggest limiting your trip to one country.

In October/November 2024, we spent 6 weeks in Australia and New Zealand. We divided our trip equally, 3 weeks in Australia and 3 weeks on the South Island of NZ. Quite a few people on this forum recommended we spend all 3 weeks on the South Island as they all believe the South Island is more scenic and beautiful than the North Island. I do remember meeting some Americans in Queenstown who divided their time between both islands, and they did say the South Island is more scenic. I agree with traveler318 that you are missing some of the gorgeous regions on the South Island. And our flights in both countries were very reliable. Such as from Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to Christchurch, and then Christchurch to Auckland to fly home.

Regions we visited in Australia in 3 weeks:
We did spend a lot of time in a Melbourne suburb because my husband has relatives there and he went to school there many decades ago. You wouldn't be doing this so you will have a bit more more time for sightseeing than us.
Melbourne
Phillips Island to see the penguins
3 nights on the Great Ocean Road
Goldrush towns of Ballarat and Bendigo
Blue Mountains - 2 nights - much better than a daytrip, IMO
Sydney - a beautiful city with so much to do - one of my new favorite cities

Regions we visited on the South Island of NZ:
Christchurch
Mt. Cook
Queenstown, including a day driving along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy, which we loved.
Te Anau for a cruise of Milford Sound
Wanaka
Methven on the way to Franz Josef (had to change our itinerary at the last minute due to road closures caused by landslides.) But this meant we drove over stunning Arthur's Pass.
The West Coast - Franz Josef Glacier and Pancake Rocks
The top of the South Island - Abel Tasman National Park and Picton, including the Marlborough wine region.

Can you add an extra week or two to your itinerary in order to visit both countries?

You can click on my name to read my trip reports for both countries. I wrote a separate report for each country.

Your budget is huge, unless you stay in really posh places, as Melnq8 says. We spent roughly $27,000 for the two of us for all 6 weeks. And this included flying Premium Economy, which we never do. We thought lodging was very reasonable in both countries. Motels are very popular, and they are all very nice. Much nicer than in the US. We were unhappy with only one lodging. All the motels had large rooms and had obviously been renovated recently. And were clean. When we visited my husband's relatives, we stayed in a hotel, so it's not like we got freebies there. Although they did treat us to some meals.

The Grace Hotel in Sydney cost us $950 for 4 nights; the Savoy on Little Collins in Melbourne cost us $520 for 3 nights. I did start making our hotel reservations 9 months out so we probably got good rates by doing that.

21 days is solid but you’ll feel rushed trying to do both countries - I'd honestly pick one or add a few days, and yeah flights between cities are super easy and reliable.