Just Released!

We have some amazing December specials for travel in New Zealand over the coming year. These specials are over and above our already discounted prices!

• 20% OFF United 4 Premier Motorhome, United 6 Premier Motorhome, 4 Berth Alpha Campervan & 6 Berth Alpha Campervans for travel between 1 Dec 2011 & 31 Mar 2012
• Free Upgrade from United 2 Premier to a United 2+1 Premier motorhome for travel between 1 Dec 2011 & 31 Mar 20127 Days of freedom
• Pay for 14 days and receive an additional 7 days free for travel between 1 Apr 2012 & 31 Oct 2012
• 10% Discount on all Alpha Campervan bookings for travel between 1 Nov 2012 & 30 Apr 2013
• NZ $300 discount on Northbound hire from Christchurch to Auckland for travel between 1 Nov 2012 & 31 Dec 2012

*Only one discount can be applied per booking.

View all United & Alpha campervans & motorhomes >

Your overnight cruise includes:

• Ocean view cabin with private en suite
• Buffet dinner and cooked breakfast
• Complimentary activities: snorkelling, kayaking, island walks

Valid for bookings made and travelled this month only (April 2011). So hurry!

To book the cruise click here

About Ipipiri

Pay the Standard Rate and receive the All Inclusive Rate with upgraded inclusions!

Available for bookings made by 31 May 2011, vehicles picked up between 20 October 2011 and 31 March 2012. Conditions apply.

All of the normal United & Alpha Standard Rate inclusions plus …..

• FREE Comprehensive Insurance Cover with Zero Excess and No Bond to pay
• FREE Picnic tables & Chairs
• FREE Baby seat or child booster seat where required
• FREE Multiple windscreen replacement
• FREE Tourism Radio Unit
• FREE One night bonus stay at any Kiwi Holiday Park, plus a 10% discount for all other Kiwi Holiday Park stays during your visit!

Click here to see all new earlybird deals>

What do you do if you still want to travel in December or January on an escorted coach tour? Well, hopefully you are little flexible with your travel dates and a little flexible on price. As can be expected, the cheapest low cost coach tours sell out the quickest - the 9 Day Souther Spectacular is full during December & January, as is the 17 Day Best of New Zealand. Both tours are very well priced and as a result you’ll need to travel in mid February or March to join them.

There are however still spaces on most departures during this period on our premium coach tours – these are effectively the same as the low cost tours, but with better accommodation. There are aslo still limited dates sprinkled here and there during January on selected low cost coach tours. Popular chocies with availability (at the time of writing) are:

19 Day Grand New Zealand Tour
Our lowest priced premium coach tour touring both islands and currently on special.

16 Day Highlights of New Zealand Tour
Very popular low cost coach tour of both islands and also currently on special.

9 Day TranzAlpine Tour
Low cost south island coach tour, offerring free meals if booked in November.

10 Day Southern Experience
Premium south island coach tour currently on special.

Of course, if you have your heart set on a low cost coach tour of New Zealand and the escorted coach tours on offer don’t quite fit in wiht your travel plans, Toni, our independent coach tour specialist can organise a tour that fits your schedule perfectly. You get to choose your start date and the level of accommodation you want, and we pre-book all your travel arrangements including coach, rail and ferry transport, accommodation, transfers between your transport and accommodation and key sightseeing activities! Have a look!

We have also released six new self drive itineraries and amended another twelve in response to feedback from our past clients and changes in the market. We pride ourselves on our unique and itineraries that incorporate the best New Zealand has to offer, so the changes we have made take our clients away from the masses where possible and provide them with experiences not offered by anyone else. Of course all of our self drives can be customised to your liking. We have also upgraded various properties in our budget, mid range and premium self drives to reflect accomodation that’s best in it’s class.

Changes to our self drives stopping in Rotorua

We still allow time for our clients to experience the ‘typically’ popular attractions around Rotorua, but now we add something special to the mix. Here is a typical day in Rotorua for our clients:

Enjoy a cruise on the beautiful fresh waters of Lake Rotoiti this morning on board a luxury sailing catamaran. You have the chance to hoist the sails and grind the winches, try your hand at trout fishing, leap off to swim in the fresh water or soak in the natural mineral hot pools that are only accessible by boat. Your skipper and crew will share local legends with you and point out some of the many historic and culturally significant sites of Lake Rotoiti.

Free time to explore Rotorua this afternoon. You may like to visit the Agrodome or take a gondola ride to the top of Mt Ngongotaha for spectacular views of Rotorua. Later this afternoon visit Te Puia geothermal area to view the boiling mudpools and cascading Pohutu geyser that make Rotorua famous as New Zealand’s thermal city. This evening experience Te Po, Te Puia’s cultural experience. It is a feast of cultural storytelling, entertainment and Maori kai (indigenous food). After a formal Maori welcome, relax and enjoy a performance including the beautiful songs, haka and poi dance. After dinner you will be transported by people movers to enjoy the spectacular lighting of the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley and hot chocolate. (B)

Changes to several of our premium self drives staying in the Bay of Islands

We now include the Ipipiri overnight cruise in the Bay of Islands. A unique experience highlighting the best of the Bay of Islands. A typical itinerary:

“The morning is at leisure. Check in early afternoon for your overnight cruise on board Ipipiri. As you cruise through the sheltered waters of the Bay of Islands, afternoon tea will be served. With 144 islands and abundant marine and bird life, the Bay of Islands is one of New Zealand’s finest sub-tropical marine parks, stunning during the day and unforgettable at night. This afternoon you have the choice of doing as much or as little as you like. Take a kayak tour, go snorkelling, enjoy a guided nature walk and tree planting, take a leisurely stroll on a secluded beach or simply relax and soak up the views from the sundeck.

As the sun sets behind the islands of the Bay and your cruise ship finds a sheltered cave to moor overnight, the ambience transforms aboard Ipipiri. New Zealand wines, local cuisine and knowledgeable crew help create the perfect setting. (B/D)”

Our self drive tour tours will not be on sale forever and our current saving of 5% off the retail prices listed on our website makes a real difference - save from $NZ 1,200 per couple to a minimum $NZ 100 per couple at least, and all you have to do is book your tour with the best in the business!

Relaxing Journeys have just released their earlybird specials for all escorted coach tours and small group tours. All coach tours are now on sale for next seasons departures. In most cases the ‘next season’ starts in September/October and runs through to April 2011, so if you are planning a trip to New Zealand during this period then now is the time to place a deposit to secure your seats and to secure the discounted price.

The coach tour and small group tours prices on offer in this sale will not be beaten at any time later in the year, so it really is a case of the ‘earlybird getting the worm’. To make things even easier we have listed all guranteed departures for next season now, so you can book safe in the knowledge that your tour will not be cancelled.

We check over 200 prices each week to ensure that we are providing you with the best value, so when you make a booking with Relaxing Journeys, you know you are paying the best possible price – guaranteed. If you happen to find a lower price on any identical tour or holiday package within 7 days of purchase, let us know and we will beat the price or refund the difference!

Some Earlybird Sale Highlights

We have some great specials on escorted coach tours at the moment for those that are still deciding on their travel plans to New Zealand. Forget the ‘Recession’, there are only limited spaces on most coach departures over this summer season, so don’t delay – New Zealand is waiting!

For an idea of just some of our great (unbeatable) specials have a look at these. All highly recommended by Relaxing Journeys travel team.

Free Night Pre or Post Tour Accommodation AND $NZ 85-165 per person off the brochure price on selected dates!

• 16 Day Highlights of New Zealand Tour
• 19 Day Rail, Cruise & Coach Holiday
• 19 Day Grand New Zealand Tour
• 10 Day South Island Tour

Free Meals on Tour! Save $100′s but you must book before the end of February

• 16 Day Panorama
• 14 Day Vista
• 8 Day Ultimate North Island

Free Dinners on Tour! Save $100′s but you must book before the end of February

• 7 Day TranzAlpine Tour
• 8 Day Southern Highlights
• 10 Day Southern Discovery

These offers run out at the end of February, however thats depends on availability, so…first come first serve!!

The Summer season has well and truely begun in New Zealand, and typically for this time of year we are having our ups and downs. From now until March/April we have our most consistent clear sunny weather but there are never any guarantees! We need the  rain - it’s what make our country look so beautiful!

Perhaps you’re spending this time mulling over a trip to New Zealand this summer? Or perhaps are planning yor trip to NZ for the 2010/11 season. We have some amazing specials on offer to fill up the remaining seats on this seasons escorted coach tours as well as our Earlybird Specials for those booking their tour for next year. Accommodation is looking very tight in some parts of the country, and there are days this summer when quality rental vehicles are sold out, so if you are looking at a self drive tour don’t delay.

If you visit the ‘tour page’ and click on the ‘Prices & Dates’ tab at the top of each page, the special for that tour is fully explained. Below I’ve listed just a few to give you a taste!

Small Group Touring Specials

24 Day Panorama (Auckland  to Christchurch from $NZ 9,680)
Save upto $1,200 per person off the brochure price on 2010/11 deaprtures.

18 Day Pacific Escapade (Auckland  to Christchurch from $NZ 7,195)
Save upto $750 per person off the brochure price on 2010/11 deaprtures.

18 Day Antipodean Adventure (Christchurch to Auckland from $NZ 8,690)
Save upto $980 per person off the brochure price on 2010/11 deaprtures.

11 Day Southern Adventure (Christchurch to Christchurch from $NZ 4,825)
Save upto $550 per person off the brochure price on 2010/11 deaprtures.

12 Day Island of Delight (Christchurch to Christchurch from $NZ 4,724)
Save upto $620 per person off the brochure price on 2010/11 deaprtures.

9 Day Nikau (Auckland to Wellington from $NZ 2,990)
Save upto $420 per person off the brochure price on 2010/11 deaprtures.

Escorted Coach Touring Specials

Book and place a deposit by 31 January on any of the coach tours below and get up to for breakfasts and/or dinners for free! Terms and conditions apply. You’ll get all meals free if you book a two island tour or a north island tour, and dinners free if you book a south island tour only. All departure dates on the tours up til the end of March are guaranteed to depart. Do not delay, this offer will not last!

FREE DINNERS & BREAKFASTS!

• 21 Day All New Zealand Ultimate (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 18 Day Ultimate New Zealand (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 16 Day Panorama (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 14 Day Vista (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 12 Day Scenic Explorer (Christchurch to Auckland)

Save $$$ on our Self Drives in January

We are in our high season, but we are still offerring amazing special offers on all our self drives. Unlike many travel operators dealing with holidays to New Zealand, we are here in New Zealand! All the members of our team have an intimate knowledge of this country and can share their first hand knowledge and experience with you. We are also local and contactable when you arrive here in New Zealand and can sort out any unforeseen issues you may have. When you make an enquiry on one of our self drive packages, your enquiry is assigned to your own personal travel consultant. You are given their full name and their email address so you can email or phone them directly! That’s right, no call centres & no shifting from one consultant to another! Read some of our customer comments.

Have a look at the $$$ you save when booking our top 10 selling self drive tours:

• 24 Day Grand Explorer (Save $400 per couple off the listed price)
• 23 Day Once Around New Zealand (Save $200 per couple off the listed price)
• 16 Day New Zealand Highlights (Save $300 per couple off the listed price)
• 14 Day Geysers To Glaciers (Save $100 per couple off the listed price)
• 32 Day Month in Paradise (Save $450 per couple off the listed price)
• 10 Day Southern Sounds & Glaciers (Save $100 per couple off the listed price)
• 12 Day Southern Delight (Save $200 per couple off the listed price)
• 11 Day Southern Glaciers (Save $150 per couple off the listed price)
• 11 Day Bush & Beach (Save $200 per couple off the listed price)
• 11 Day Great New Zealand Touring Route (Save $100 per couple off the listed price)

For those without kids, kids that have flown the coop, or for those that just don’t celebrate Christmas, you may have a little more time on your hands than me at the moment! Perhaps you’re spending this time mulling over a trip to New Zealand this summer? This is the last month before high season is upon us, accommodation is already looking very tight in some parts of the country if you are looking at a self drive tour, and our escorted coach range is selling (out) fast!

To make your decision easier, (thats our job), we have a range of ‘Christmas Specials’ for tours booked this month. Don’t delay…we really dont’ want you to miss out on that perfect relaxing journey. If you visit the ‘tour page’ and click on the ‘Prices & Dates’ tab at the top of each page, the special for that tour is fully explained. Below I’ve listed just a few to give you a taste!

Small Group Touring Specials

Save $1,000 per couple off the listed price on ALL guaranteed departure dates leaving before the end of April 2010 on the following small group tours:

• 18 Day Pacific Escapade (Auckland  to Christchurch)
• 18 Day Antipodean Adventure (Christchurch to Auckland)
• 24 Day Panorama (Auckland  to Christchurch)

Save $600 per couple off the listed price on ALL guaranteed departure dates leaving before the end of April 2010 on the following small group tours:

• 11 Day Southern Adventure (Christchurch to Christchurch)
• 12 Day Island of Delight (Christchurch to Christchurch)
• 9 Day Nikau (Auckland  to Wellington)

Coach Touring Christmas Specials

Book and place a deposit by 31 December on any of the coach tours below and get up to 2 nights* pre or post tour accommodation free! Terms and conditions apply, and your consultant can explain, but basically this offer is based on 2 adults travelling (or a single traveller paying the single supplement). You’ll get two nights free if you book a two island tour, and one night free if you book a one island tour. If you include meals in the tour, you’ll also get meals included in your pre/post tour accommodation! All departure dates on the tours below are guaranteed to depart. Do not delay, this offer will not last!

Two Free Pre Tour Nights:

• 21 Day All New Zealand Ultimate (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 18 Day Ultimate New Zealand (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 16 Day Panorama (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 14 Day Vista (Auckland to Christchurch)
• 12 Day Scenic Explorer (Christchurch to Auckland)

Save $$$ on our Self Drives in December

We are coming up to high season, but we are still offerring amazing special offers on all our self drives. Unlike many travel operators dealing with holidays to New Zealand, we are here in New Zealand! All the members of our team have an intimate knowledge of this country and can share their first hand knowledge and experience with you. We are also local and contactable when you arrive here in New Zealand and can sort out any unforeseen issues you may have. When you make an enquiry on one of our self drive packages, your enquiry is assigned to your own personal travel consultant. You are given their full name and their email address so you can email or phone them directly! That’s right, no call centres & no shifting from one consultant to another! Read some of our customer comments.

Have a look at the $$$ you save when booking our top 10 selling self drive tours:

• 24 Day Grand Explorer (Save $400 per couple off the listed price)
• 23 Day Once Around New Zealand (Save $200 per couple off the listed price)
• 16 Day New Zealand Highlights (Save $300 per couple off the listed price)
• 14 Day Geysers To Glaciers (Save $100 per couple off the listed price)
• 32 Day Month in Paradise (Save $450 per couple off the listed price)
• 10 Day Southern Sounds & Glaciers (Save $100 per couple off the listed price)
• 12 Day Southern Delight (Save $200 per couple off the listed price)
• 11 Day Southern Glaciers (Save $150 per couple off the listed price)
• 11 Day Bush & Beach (Save $200 per couple off the listed price)
• 11 Day Great New Zealand Touring Route (Save $100 per couple off the listed price)

We’ve made it easy this month for you to commit to your New Zealand holiday with Relaxing Journeys - unbelieveable specials on every coach tour we offer! If you’ve read through our site you’ll already know we offer a “best price guarantee” on all of our tours, however this month is something special.

This month our offers include free pre tour nights on selected tours to allow you to “relax” a little on your arrival before you head off on tour. And this month we have 20 coach tours with FREE MEALS, for all tours departing this summer season. With savings up to $NZ 1,400 per couple, availability won’t last long and securing a space will be tight for those that don’t commit to their tour early.

Escorted Coach Tour Specials This August

• New Zealand coach tour specials (travels over both islands)
• North Island coach tour specials
• South Island coach tour specials

Remember Relaxing Journeys have a ‘best price guarantee’. We check over 200 prices each week to ensure that we are providing you with the best value, so when you make a booking with Relaxing Journeys, you know you are paying the best possible price – guaranteed. If you happen to find a lower price on any identical tour or holiday package within 7 days of purchase, let us know and we will match the price or refund the difference.