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Home » All Guided Tours » Most Popular » New Zealand 10 Day Tour » South Island Guided Tours

10 Day South Island Guided Tour

Tour Highlights

  Private NZ Tour Guide/Driver & Vehicle
  Excellent 4* Accommodation 10 Nights, 11 Days Touring
  Included South Island Tours: Mount Cook Alpine Movie Theatre Queenstown Helicopter Flight TSS Earnslaw, Farm Tour & Dinner Te Anau Glowworm Caves Milford Sound Cruise Franz Josef Glacier Hot Pools TranzAlpine Train
•• Special Deal: Includes FREE Skyline Queenstown Gondola Pass ••

Experience the best of New Zealand with this 5* reviewed South Island tour package. We offer flexible New Zealand escorted tours with no date or itinerary restrictions.

Each South Island tour package includes a private tour guide/driver, private touring vehicle, quality accommodation, and a range of must-do activities.

10 Day South Island Guided Tour Package Itinerary

Day 1 Christchurch

Your fantastic guided holiday begins in Christchurch, New Zealand’s “Garden City.” With a thriving restaurant scene, a string of beautiful parks, and a historic town centre, Christchurch is an excellent holiday destination.

Explore Christchurch with your guide, visiting the botanic gardens, the Riverside Farmers Market, the Cardboard Cathedral and the Canterbury Museum.

Stay 1 night in Christchurch.

Day 2 Mount Cook + New Zealand Glaciers + Alpine Movie Theatre

Travel time Christchurch to Mt Cook Village – 4 hours 

alpine movie theater
Alpine Movie Theatre

Your scenic journey through the Mackenzie Basin begins today as you cross over Burkes Pass. As the Southern Alps loom before you, there will be photo opportunities around every corner.

Continue past Lake Pukaki on your way to Mt Cook Village, nestled at the foot of New Zealand’s highest mountain. Your guide will take you to a viewpoint over Tasman Glacier, lying at the base of the spectacular Tasman Valley.

In the evening, visit the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre to view the displays and watch any of a wide offering of films and planetarium shows on New Zealand.

Stay 1 night in Mt Cook Village.

Day 3 Queenstown – Time in Queenstown New Zealand!

Travel time Mt Cook Village to Queenstown – 3 hours 

Continue south to Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand. Along the way, your guide will take you to sample the fresh fruit from the orchards of Cromwell. You also have the option to visit several top wineries with your guide on the drive through the Kawarau Gorge.

Explore Queenstown independently in the evening.

Stay 3 nights in Queenstown.

Day 4 Queenstown Helicopter Flight + TSS Earnslaw, Farm Tour & Dinner

queenstown new zealand south island tour package
Queenstown Helicopter Flight

Discover the rugged Remarkables mountain range today with a breathtaking scenic helicopter flight, and land on a remote alpine ridge to soak in the spectacular views.

Visit Arrowtown with your guide in the afternoon, and explore the quaint historic mining settlement. If there are any Lord of the Rings fans in the group, your guide will show you the filming locations for Minas Tirith, Argonath, the Misty Mountains, and the Ford of Bruinen.


In the evening, relive the elegance of turn-of-the-century travel with a cruise aboard the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw, the only coal fired passenger vessel still operating in the southern hemisphere. Step aboard – watch the stokers fueling the fireboxes and hear the hiss of the steam engines working as the TSS Earnslaw takes you on a nostalgic cruise over beautiful Lake Wakatipu. Disembark at Walter Peak High Country Farm, where you will enjoy a stunning four course meal. An entertaining after-dinner farm show provides a glimpse into high country farming life. On your return cruise, relax with a drink from the bar or join a fun sing-along with the ship’s pianist.

Day 5 Lord of the Rings Tour Filming Locations

lord of the rings tour
Lord of the Rings Tour Filming Locations

Explore the Lord of the Rings locations around Queenstown with your guide today on an excursion to the stunning Glenorchy region. Stop along the way for majestic views up Lake Wakatipu, and visit the stunning Paradise Valley and Dart Valley at the head of the lake. Along the way, you will get the chance to see the filming locations for Isengard, Lothlorien, and Ithilien Camp.

Stop in Glenorchy for a coffee or relaxing lunch, and soak in the incredible views of snow-capped peaks and turquoise rivers.

Day 6 Te Anau Glowworm Caves

Travel time Queenstown to Te Anau – 2.5 hours 

te anau glowworm caves
Te Anau Glowworm Caves

Your scenic tour will continue as you make your way past Lake Wakatipu on your way to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park.

In the afternoon, take the magical Te Anau Glowworm Caves Tour. Explore a mysterious underground world of rushing water before drifting in silent darkness beneath the luminous shimmer of thousands of glowworms. In this mysterious underground world, discover fossils and rock formations, and view rushing waterfalls and whirlpools. Learn how the caves are still being carved out by the incredible and relentless power of nature before gliding through silent darkness to the glowworm grotto. The delicate incandescence of thousands of tiny glowworms is a magical sight! 

Stay 2 nights in Te Anau.

Day 7 Milford Sound Cruise

Travel time Te Anau to Milford Sound – 2.5 hours (each way)

milford sound overnight cruise south island tour package
Milford Sound Cruise

The Milford Road (between Te Anau and Milford) is one of the finest alpine drives in the world. The scenery is exceptional, ranging from broad grassy flats, dense rainforest, and towering mountains through to glacial lakes and alpine herb fields. The schedule includes plenty of time for short nature walks and photo opportunities along the way.

Upon reaching Milford Sound, you will enjoy a 2.5 hour Milford Sound Nature Cruise. With specialist nature guides on board, Real Journeys Nature Cruises offer a close-up experience of Milford Sound’s rainforest, soaring rock walls, towering snow capped mountains, cascading waterfalls, hanging valleys and wildlife… words just don’t do it justice, you have to see it for yourself! Throughout the cruise, the guides share stories of the fiord’s history and are happy to answer your questions

Day 8 Wanaka

Travel time Te Anau to Wanaka – 3.5 hours 

Return past Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown, where you will stop for lunch before enjoying the scenic drive over the Crown Range to Wanaka. Your guide will stop along the way for photos at fantastic viewing points.

Explore the alpine town of Wanaka in the afternoon – your guide could take you to Puzzling World or Rippon Winery, or you could simply relax on the lakefront and do a bit of boutique shopping.

Stay 1 night in Wanaka.

Day 9 Franz Josef Glacier + Hot Pools

Travel time Wanaka to Franz Josef – 4 hours 

franz josef glacier hot pools
Franz Josef Glacier Hot Pools

After the Milford Highway, the Haast Pass Highway is one of the most scenic alpine routes in New Zealand. Explore the pass with your guide, stopping to view cascading waterfalls, broad alpine meadows, craggy snowcapped mountains, and the turquoise depths of the Blue Pools.

Continuing along the West Coast, your guide will take you to Lake Matheson, where you can take a 20 minute walk (one-way) to the jetty, to admire the reflected views of the Southern Alps on the surface of the lake.

In the evening, soak in the Glacier Hot Pools to unwind and rejuvenate.

Stay 1 night in Franz Josef.

Day 10 TranzAlpine New Zealand Train

Travel time Franz Josef to Greymouth – 2.5 hours 

Train travel time Greymouth to Christchurch – 4.5 hours 

tranzalpine south island tour package
Tranzalpine Train

Leave the rugged West Coast behind today as you board the TranzAlpine Train for a fantastic journey through Arthurs Pass. Travel past the soaring peaks and braided rivers of the Southern Alps, through the gorges of the Waimakariri River, and past the rolling Canterbury Plains.

Your guide will meet you at the train station and bring you to your accommodation.

Stay 1 night in Christchurch.

Day 11 Depart Christchurch

Your guide will deliver you to Christchurch Airport for your departing flight.

Pricing

As our Guided Tour prices are split between travellers, pricing will vary depending on the number of travellers on the tour. Please make a tour enquiry to receive your personal quote.

11+ Travellers: Contact us for your custom quote.
10 Travellers: NZD$4549 per adult | NZD$3999 per child
9 Travellers: NZD$4749 per adult | NZD$4249 per child
8 Travellers: NZD$4849 per adult | NZD$4349 per child
7 Travellers: NZD$5149 per adult | NZD$4649 per child
6 Travellers: NZD$5549 per adult | NZD$4999 per child
5 Travellers: NZD$6099 per adult | NZD$5599 per child
4 Travellers: NZD$6899 per adult | NZD$6399 per child
3 Travellers: NZD$8299 per adult | NZD$7699 per child
2 Travellers: NZD$11,049 per adult | NZD$10,549 per child
1 Traveller: NZD$20,649

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