9 Day Classic North Island
This tour includes return international airfares. See the Fine Print section for further details.
This tour is categorised as 3 out of 5
Balanced exploration with walking tours: Our most popular style, this tour offers a good mix of planned activities and free time. Expect moderate daily walking tours, so pack comfortable shoes.
As a general requirement across all of our trips, you may be required to walk up and down stairs, get on and off transportation, handle your own luggage, and participate in all scheduled sightseeing that may be conducted on uneven ground and terrain. Any physical ailments you may have must be disclosed at the time of booking to determine your suitability and where required, supporting documentation may be requested to ensure that we are comfortable that you will enjoy your trip.
This tour is fully escorted by a dedicated tour leader who will accompany you throughout the tour. If your tour includes multiple countries, you will be met by a new tour leader in each country and any internal flights included will be unescorted.
✓ Return Flights included
✓ Travel with Grand Pacific Tours
✓ Return airport transfers in New Zealand with personalised meet and greet on arrival
✓ Professional Coach Captain and highly skilled tour leader
✓ 8 nights 4 star accommodation including 2 two night stays for a leisurely holiday experience
✓ Hotel porterage
✓ All sightseeing and prepaid attractions plus extensive optional activities
✓ 1 stunning catamaran cruise in the Bay of Islands
✓ 8 cooked breakfasts including a specialty breakfast: Stratosfare Restaurant, Rotorua
✓ 6 sumptuous dinners including a specialty dinner: Mãori Hãngi and Concert, Rotorua.
✓ 1 Shire's buffet lunch: Hobbiton
✓ Enjoy GPT Wine Time (discounted drinks)
✓ Classic Documentation Pack
Travel with the experts for a carefully curated, value-packed discovery of the world's most iconic destinations. Our tours are bursting with must-see sights, rich experiences and quality inclusions, all at an unbeatable price. Bucket list dreams are ticked off on these all-encompassing journeys.
On arrival into Auckland, you will be met by a Grand Pacific Tours representative and transferred to your hotel. This evening meet your Tour Leader and travelling companions for dinner.
Depart Auckland and travel to the Parry Kauri Park to see a magnificent example of a Kauri Tree.
Enjoy a visit and informative talk at the Kauri Museum in Matakohe, then travel via Whangarei to Paihia, situated in the heart of the beautiful Bay of Islands.
Enjoy a guided tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the location of the signing of the treaty between the Mãori tribes and the British.
Today is a free day to explore the stunning Bay of Islands.
Your Coach Captain and Tour Leader will be on hand to assist with the many optional activities available including the Cape Reinga coach trip via Ninety Mile Beach, a spectacular scenic flight over the crystal-clear turquoise waters found in the Bay of Islands or a tour of historic Russell.
This evening is also free.
This morning you will explore the scenic beauty of the Bay of Islands aboard a luxury catamaran. Cruise to Cape Brett and the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’, keep an eye out for dolphins and other marine life. Return to Paihia and travel south via Whangarei to Auckland.
This afternoon includes a visit to Sky Tower at leisure, one of New Zealand’s most spectacular attractions. This evening is also free to explore the many eateries surrounding your hotel.
Today enjoy a city sights tour of Auckland. Continue through the picturesque countryside to Hobbiton for a buffet lunch.
This is followed by a guided tour of the Movie Set from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Your guide will recount details of how this beautiful piece of farmland was transformed into The Shire from Middle Earth.
Today begins with a gondola ride and breakfast at Skyline Rotorua where spectacular views are on offer. There is also time for a thrilling luge ride! Next stop is Agrodome for an action-packed hour of farming entertainment and education that’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. Enjoy some free time this afternoon before travelling to Te Puia to see the boiling mud pools and awesome geysers that Rotorua is famous for. This evening you will experience an entertaining Mãori cultural performance which features the graceful poi dance and ferocious haka. This is followed by a Hãngi feast prepared in the traditional way, over hot coals and buried in the ground.
Depart Rotorua and travel along the Thermal Explorer Highway to Huka Falls and Lake Taupo. Continue to Napier known as ‘The Art Deco Capital’, where a city tour will showcase an impressive collection of art deco buildings.
Enjoy some free time to explore the fascinating architecture before travelling through the Wairarapa, an emerging cool-climate wine region.
Enjoy a leisurely start to the day before travelling to Greytown to see the most complete example of original Victorian wooden architecture.
Drive through the scenic Rimutaka Mountain Range into Wellington, enjoy a city tour of the nation’s capital which will highlight the history and culture on show here. This evening enjoy dinner at your hotel.
Time to say goodbye. You will be transferred to the airport for your flight home after a memorable New Zealand holiday.
We offer two payment options – the choice is yours. Our advertised price is based on our 'Pay in Full' option, which includes a discount by making full payment at the time of booking. Alternatively, choose our 'Installment Payment Plan' option for the flexibility of incremental payments, beginning with a low deposit.
Please click 'Book Now' and proceed to the payment page to select your preferred option under the heading ‘Choose how to pay’. The total due will be reflected accordingly.
Pay In Full Option:
Installment Payment Plan Option:
Booking Process
Booking On Request
COVID-19
Due to COVID there maybe disruptions to standard operating schedules of particular components of this itinerary. Should a component be effected a substitute will be confirmed prior to departure.
Fitness Requirements
While the tour itinerary should give you some guidance and overview to the expected requirements, to determine if this tour is right for you we categorise each of our tours in terms of their intensity. These guidelines are to ensure that each tour group is conducted as expected and to ensure the overall satisfaction of all Inspiring Vacations customers.
As a general rule, porterage is not included, therefore at all times you are expected to handle your own luggage where help may not be available.
Accommodation
The accommodation listed is subject to change. Any changes will be of an equal or higher standard.
Airport Transfers
Airport transfers in New Zealand are included on the first and last day of your tour. This includes any pre or post tour accommodation directly linked with the tour hotel. Transfer vehicles will wait up to 1 hour after the flight lands in New Zealand.
Single Supplement
Single supplement is $1,130.00 per person, in addition to the twin-share price.
Triple Share
Not Available
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is recommended to protect yourself against the unexpected. In addition to the support that a policy may provide, you may be asked to present a copy of your travel insurance documentation while traveling.
We have partnered with nib to offer our customers competitive rates for their travel insurance. You can book Comprehensive or Essentials cover for your domestic, international or multi-trip journeys simply by clicking HERE.
Note that Inspiring Vacations cannot provide advice with regards to any insurance product.
Visa & Passport Information
It is the traveller's responsibility to ensure they have a valid passport. The passport must be valid for a minimum of six months from the intended date of return.
Visa's may be required.
Please note that these details are subject to change without notice. We recommend visiting https://smartraveller.gov.au for up to date information in terms of entry requirements.
Group Size
Maximum of 48 travellers
Tour Type
To meet the needs of various types of travelers, we choose to operate various types of tours, and depending on your selected package will mean different services are provided throughout your trip. The following descriptions of each tour style we hope will ensure that each traveller has appropriate expectations before they start their travels:
Children
Children must share a room with parents at all times and are charged the same price as adults.
Please refer to conditions below, which are agreed to at time of purchase.
Can I extend my stay pre- and/or post-tour?
This depends on the package you are booking.
Where available, extensions must be added at time of purchase and cannot be added post-purchase unless inside the 7-day cooling off period.
We can assist in arranging your airfares to accommodate an extension; however, you must also book the additional nights’ accommodation through us at time of booking (where available as an add-on):
When adding additional nights to your booking, the cost of the extra nights’ accommodation will be reflected on your invoice and payable with the final balance.
Airfare surcharges may apply if extending due to airfare seasonal changes and possible fare differences. These are payable at the time of selecting your desired airfare.
The second installment of your booking must be made before airfares can be booked.
Outside of extending your stay you must select Land Only if:
If you are interested in one of the above options, please select LAND ONLY at time of check-out and you will need to arrange your own airfares. Inspiring Vacations will not be accountable for flight delays or missed tour components due to late arrival or airline changes.
Conditions of flights for this package bookable by Inspiring Vacations:
Seat Selection & Frequent Flyer Points
Inspiring Vacations do not arrange seat selection. It is important to highlight that some airlines do not allow pre-selected seats or they may charge a fee to do so. We strongly suggest you contact the airline directly with seating allocation requirements and or arrive at the airport earlier to arrange your seating. While we do not add frequent flyer member details to bookings, you can do this directly with the airline once you have your flight information. Frequent flyer point accrual is at the discretion of the airlines and may not be available on fare types booked.
Online check-in
Some airlines may not permit online check-in where flights have been booked by a travel company. Where unavailable to do so online, you will be required to check-in at the airport. Inspiring Vacations cannot check-in online on behalf of our customers.
You can enhance your holiday by arriving or departing before or after the tour. On this tour you can choose from the following options:
Pre and post-tour accommodation
Please specify in the 'Special Request' field when making your purchase your preferred travel arrangements and if you would like our team to book additional nights' accommodation. The additional cost for these land arrangements will be added to your final payment invoice and are subject to availability.
Please note that your tour is operated by Grand Pacific Tours and documentation is provided via delivery to your residential address approximately 14 days prior to departure.
In order to ensure a smooth process for delivery of your documents, you will receive a phone call directly from Grand Pacific Tours leading up to the delivery dispatch date to confirm your delivery address details.
Please ensure you answer this call and provide accurate details to the supplier. In the event that an incorrect address is provided there may be additional costs to redirect the delivery to the correct address.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above please do not hesitate to contact us.