Tour company
 

We are a sixyish couple who would love to travel through Australia and New Zealand. We are looking for an escorted tour. Does anyone have any recommendation? Thanks.

G'day Bettyjane.
When do you want to travel?
I can't help you with NZ, but maybe able to help you here in Australia.
You can email me if you like,
Cheers,
Mike

bettyjane, I think the official Australian tourism site, www.australia.com, allows you to unearth suitable tour packages. YOu can also access 'Aussie specialist' travel agents in your area (I'm assuming you're American).

I guess you have your reasons for wanting an escorted tour, but you might want to take into account the fact that Australia and NZ are very easy countries for independent travellers. You could consider getting a qualified agent to design a good DIY package.

Even if you opt for a tour I strongly suggest doing prior research on Australia and NZ - at the very least pick up a good guidebook. Unless you have a great deal of time and money you won't be able to see more than a portion of these countries, so you'll want to select a tour that covers points of particular interest to you both.

Also, as you'll see from the "archives" on this forum (use the search box above), from the top of Australia to the bottom of NZ covers a very, very wide range of climates. As a result there's no time of the year which will be ideal for all parts. Your timing should have a big influence on where you go.

Australian Pacific Touring worked very well for us. We are in our early 60's and used them for short, independent tours of 3-5 days duration in various regions such as the Alice Springs/Uluru & Cairns/Great Barrier Reef. Check out their SIGHTSEE 'N' SAVE Offers for all-day and half-day tours in these and other areas. We made our own domestic plane and hotel reservations via the internet.

I agree with Neil_Oz regarding when you go and what temperatures you will encounter where. If you time your stay in Sydney, for example, during a pleasantly warm month, it may be blazing hot in the Red Centre and still be cyclone season in Far North Queensland.

We are also in our 60's and have used Australian Pacific Touring (APT) 4 times in as many years - they are a very efficient group and their guides are always top notch.
Although we are Australian we have used them for the Kimberley, South West Western Australia, Tasmania and this year northern Queensland and the GBR.
We enjoy the company of our fellow 'tourists' and prefer that to one of us having to drive and miss so much of the scenery. Not to mention the feeling of total relaxation when everything is organised for you.
Not everyone's cup of tea I know, especially on this Forum - but certainly ours.

Are you looking for a commercial co like Abercrombie and Kent or Tauck? Or educational groups like Smithsonian or American Museum?