10 days, two islands, countless beautiful views, and one incredible journey from Auckland to Queenstown. This tour was filled with breathtaking scenery, charming little stops, and so many special moments along the way. 10 days really went fast, we saw beaches, islands, caves, waterfalls, gardens, Māori culture and some seriously beautiful scenery, with plenty of adventure along the way. We loved the Māori cultural experience at Te Puia, which gave us a fascinating glimpse into New Zealand’s rich heritage. Muriwai Beach in Auckland was one of the many beautiful beaches we visited, offering a peaceful and relaxing escape. The Redwood Treewalk was truly magical, a unique experience walking among the towering trees. Some of the highlights of our trip were swimming with dolphins in Akaroa, taking a helicopter ride over the breathtaking landscapes of Mt. Cook, and cruising through the spectacular Milford Sound. Each experience was special in its own way and made our New Zealand journey even more memorable. Queenstown was such a lovely city, and we absolutely loved our stay in Lake Tekapo, right in front of the lake. Waking up to those beautiful views was truly special! Our tour company also did a wonderful job of curating a great selection of hotels for us to choose from, making our stay even more memorable and comfortable.
The vehicle was also extremely comfortable, which matters more than you realize when you're spending several hours on the road. There was plenty of legroom, so even on the longer drives we never felt cramped. We could relax, enjoy the scenery, and have a conversation without feeling like we were packed into a tour bus. Special thanks to our amazing guide Ankit. Who helped and made sure we are comfortable throughout the trip.
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B94GHnicoleb
June 2, 2026 · via Tripadvisor
Worth the Every Money
This tour was the perfect balance between sightseeing and adventure. It covers many country's iconic attractions while still allowing us time to enjoy each place. Having flights, accommodations and activities all arranged by them saved our so much time and even if we would have spent time we couldn't make this perfect itinerary by ourselves with this balance. We were fortunate to have best weather in each place and enjoyed all the activates without any cancellations. What we loved the most is Hobbiton which was just another world, Stargazing at Lake Tekapo which was mesmerizing as how lucky we are to see milky way through our own eyes. Another highlight was Mt. Cook Hooker Valley trek, helicopter ride at Mt. Cook and Glowworm caves. Our guide friendly guide took beautiful pictures of us. If you are thinking about visiting New Zealand, book this tour it's worth every money you spend. Highly Recommended!
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OnAir54027667767
January 19, 2026 · via Tripadvisor
Great experience!
Absolutely incredible experience! Can’t say enough for the work done to ensure we had a great time - from questions answered before we booked, to flexibility with dates, to working through details as we prepared and even adapting on the fly during our tour due to both weather changes and adding in extra stops our guide (Rago) thought we’d enjoy along the way. I’m a planner, but I loved having everything setup for us from hotels, to tickets and flights. Rago sent me all the details in advance making the planner in me happy, but letting me relax in the months leading up to our trip and letting us enjoy the trip itself. Rago also knew when a fast pass ticket was needed and when it wasn’t. We had the freedom to explore each stop on our own with an easy schedule that let us see so much of the islands. Rago also helped us with some tweaks to the tour - a special tour in Hobbiton and zip lining instead of rafting as examples, not to mention helping with an extra hotel night for our arrival dates. Couldn’t imagine a better way to visit New Zealand for our first trip. A great sampling of the highlights. One tip: book in advance for the greatest flexibility.
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P1260JWshanew
December 13, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
A Perfect Holiday Exploring Natural Beauty of New Zealand
This trip was one of the best holidays we've had in a long time. Rotorua was a lot of fun, especially river rafting, falling from 7meter waterfall was unreal. And Te Puia village the one which shows you the real Maori culture and their authentic food. Everything was well planned and arranged, so we never had to worry about timing or parking. Our guide was very patient, friendly and always helping with suggestions regarding restaurants and other fun. We enjoyed the entire 10days of our trip feeling relaxed and excited for what each new day day would bring.
New Zealand has endless natural beauty, and every places feels different in its own way. Like, Mt. Cook glacier landing, Stargazing at Lake Tekapo and Doubtful Sound cruise unreal and something that you have to experience personally. This tour is best for someone who just want to experience and don't want to plan or worry about anything and just want to relax then 100% go for it.
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D800RWchloem
November 17, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
Amazing Trip With Lots to Do
We had such a great trip from start to finish, honestly better than we expected. Booking this tour ended up being one of the best decisions we made. there were heaps of activates included and everyday had something different going on. We chose horse trekking and the Akaroa dolphin swim, both were totally worth it. At no point we feel rushed or bored - the days were planned really well. Driving around in New Zealand road was amazing because the scenery in NZ is unreal.
Our guide RV knew so much about the country and his driving skills were impressive. Overall, just really awesome experience and something we would happily recommend to anyone.
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909janniea
November 5, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
A Journey Straight Which Stole our Heart
New Zealand truly stole my heart. The best decision was we chose a guided private tour which was absolutely stress free. Our guide was simply amazing and made every part of the journey made us feel special. Stargazing under the clear sky was just magical and layers are a must. I was pretty nervous about jet boating at first, but it turned out one of the highlights of the trip - pure thrill and laughter all the way. The TranzAlpine ride was breathtaking (Pro tip: dress like an onion if you want to brave the outdoor carriage) Akaroa completely charmed us - such a cute and beautiful little town. And the ultimate adrenaline rush? River rafting at Kaituna, home to the world's highest commercially rafted waterfall. What an experience. New Zealand had everything I hoped for and more, best 10days we spent.
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nickmS2649CF
June 9, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
Must-Do Tour Covering the Best of New Zealand
We just came back from a 10 day tour through New Zealand and it was absolutely incredible! If you want to explore must dos in New Zealand then this tour is for you. It covers all the popular destinations and activities. Our guide was very friendly and helpful.
Winter is beautiful here. We choose Akaroa and it was wonderful small town with beautiful beach and we had amazing time with nature cruise and friendly Alpacas.
Just a tip: Pack layers as you will go from warm sunshine to snowy mountain air in a single day.
New Zealand is breathtaking - this trip was the perfect mix of nature, culture and adventure!
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jordangL19KJ
May 17, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
Incredible Itinerary, Amazing Guide and Memories for a Lifetime
All we had to do was ring or text our guide to let him know our location. They provided all the necessary information well in advance, and we had the best time of our lives in New Zealand. The itinerary was perfectly planned, if offered a little bit of everything: Culture, Adventure, Nature, and Encounters with incredibly friendly Birds and people.
Every activity was worth doing, and it's truly hard to choose a favourite. Each place has it's own beauty. Our guide Raghav was absolutely outstanding, punctual, attentive to our needs, well-organized, and genuinely kind. He made sure we were having an amazing time. We highly recommend this tour and Waimate Journeys.
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Connector30539
March 27, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
Incredible Ten-Day Private Guided Vacation in New Zealand
In the middle of November, 2024 my wife and I suddenly decided to do an overseas vacation in New Zealand before the end of the year. Some YouTube research and googling helped us identify the places we wanted to see. The challenge was that the only practical way of reaching many of these locations was by car and I do not like driving on the left side of the road. So, we continued our research, looking for a private guided trip.
We were happy to discover the Waimate Journeys website and quickly settled on their 10 Day North to South Island NZ Signature Private Tour from Auckland. I contacted the company by email and had a quick chat with Raghav on the phone before finalizing the arrangements. He was extremely accommodating and he made sure we would visit the places that were high on our list.
We planned to meet Raghav upon our arrival in Auckland and follow the schedule he arranged. This included nine nights in 3.5 to 5 star hotels (breakfast included) as well as plane tickets for flights from Rotorua to Christchurch and Queenstown to Auckland. Our trip included the following stops:
1. Auckland War Memorial Museum,
2. Buddhist temple in Auckland,
3. Muriwai Beach where we admired the gannet colony,
4. Hobbiton Movie Set Tour (awesome to see in person),
5. Māori Cultural Experience & Dinner Buffet at Rotorua, including walk around geothermal pools (great cultural experience),
6. Redwoods Treewalk at Rotorua,
7. Grade Five White Water River Rafting at Rotorua,
8. Punting on Avon River at Christchurch,
9. Christchurch Dinner Tram Tour (Tramway Restaurant),
10. Guided Wildlife Kayaking at Kaikoura (enjoyable time in sea kayak),
11. TranzAlpine Scenic Train – disembarking at Arthur’s Pass,
12. Arthur’s Pass National Park with a walk along the Devil’s Punchbowl Walking Track,
13. Castle Hill and its stunning limestone rock formations,
14. Stargazing at Lake Tekapo (Aoraki International Dark Sky Reserve),
15. Walk along shores of Lake Tekapo,
16. Walk on Hooker Valley Track, featuring famous swing bridges, and catch a glimpse of ice at Hooker Lake, near Mt. Cook,
17. Walk through Queenstown Gardens,
18. Jetboating at Queenstown,
19. Gondola and Luge Ride at Queenstown,
20. Zip Line Tour at Queenstown,
21. Kiwi Park at Queenstown,
22. Cruise at Milford Sound,
23. Glowworm Caves Tour at Te Anau,
24. Chinese camp near Queenstown,
25. Original Onsen Experience at Queenstown.
We concluded the tour in Queenstown where Raghav dropped us off at the Airport for a flight back to Auckland.
We spent a lot of time in the car with Raghav and found him to be highly knowledgeable and a great person to chat with every day. He is cheerful and super pleasant as well as being an excellent driver – calm and familiar with important stops like the best restrooms along the route. He kept the car stocked with bottled water and made great efforts to obtain the low sugar snacks that we preferred.
The real advantage of traveling with Raghav were the adjustments to the schedule that he made on the fly based on the weather and our interests. At the beginning of the trip, once he understood how much we enjoyed walking, he added a stop at One Tree Hill in Auckland. As we discussed the beaches we could visit, he suggested we go to Muriwai Beach which turned out to be super interesting. At Christchurch we had some extra time in the schedule and he suggested we do punting. I had no idea what that was but it was quite fun (they row you around in a shallow draft boat).
We really wanted to take the helicopter ride to the glacier but that was not possible because of the weather. Nevertheless, Raghav offered to drive us nine hours three days later from Milford Sound back to the helicopter ride place. We declined but I think that this shows his eagerness to please, which is an outstanding characteristic for someone running a private guide service.
Another example of Raghav’s real-time management of our trip occurred while we were on the Milford Sound cruise. He was notified that the Glowworm tour had been cancelled because rain had flooded the cave. He immediately rescheduled that tour for the following day. The time was available because we had cancelled the helicopter ride.
Overall, this was a great vacation that included many significant sites and we had some awesome experiences. Not only that, it was packaged into a ten-day itinerary that was superbly structured and managed throughout by a combination tour guide, manager and driver wrapped into one person. We never felt rushed and were super happy at the end of the trip to have seen so much of New Zealand in a stress-free environment, totally at our own speed, free to make changes at any time. Hats off to Raghav and Waimate Journeys for creating such great memories for us. Thank you so much for everything you did. You are great!!!
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97scottb
March 10, 2025 · via Tripadvisor
The Way to See NZ
Fantastic trip!! You cover alot of ground, but it is truly the only way to see NZ. Our guide Raghav was outstaring and accommodating, he made the trip special.