Tour Type: Budget Self Drive Tour
Duration: 10 Days
Tour Starts In: Christchurch
Tour Finishes In: Christchurch
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from NZ $1492 pp
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10 Day Southern Sounds & Glaciers Touring Route:
Tour Inclusions:
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Day
1 |
Arrive Christchurch
"Haere Mai" Welcome to Christchurch - the Garden City. On completion of formalities, pick up your rental car and travel onto your centrally located accommodation. The remainder of the day is at leisure to explore what Christchurch has to offer. Why not sit back and relax as you pass the trailing willows and leafy banks of the stunning Christchurch Botanic Gardens while punting down the river Avon. Stay: Antonio's Motor Lodge |
Day
2 |
Christchurch – Dunedin
Travel south across the Canterbury Plains through seaside Timaru, and historic Oamaru to Dunedin – "the Edinburgh of the South". Posible activities include a Monarch harbour cruise or Newton’s Citibus tour to see the albatross, penguins and seals. Enjoy the historic and scenic Taieri Gorge Train excursion or explore the city only a few minutes walk away. Stay: Adrian Motel
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Day
3 |
Dunedin - Te Anau
Drive through the rolling hill country of South Otago and Southland. After the farming community of Gore, cross the Waimea plains towards Fiordland. Overnight in Te Anau. Stay: Aden Motel |
Day
4 |
Te Anau - Milford Sound - Queenstown
Drive through pristine beech forests and the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound. We have included a cruise to enable you to appreciate the majesty of Mitre Peak and Bowen Falls. Return to Te Anau, then turn north, following the dramatic southern shores of Lake Wakatipu to reach Queenstown. For an additional charge you may choose to swap one night in Queenstown and your Milford afternoon Cruise for a night aboard the Milford Mariner at Milford Sound. Stay: Sherwood Manor Hotel, Queenstown (3 nights) |
Day
5
to
6 |
At Queenstown
Two free days for you to enjoy this fabulous Alpine resort. There are dozens of optional activities as well, from thrilling jet boat rides to leisurely lake cruises, 4WD safaris, bungy jumping. We recommend the world famous Shotover Jet boat ride, take a Gondola to the Skyline high above, a tour to the gold mining area of Skippers Canyon or for the adventurous – white water rafting. Alternatively browse in the many shops and galleries. |
Day
7 |
Queenstown – Glaciers
Drive to Cromwell and on through the Southern Lakes district to the Haast Pass then north, through dense rain forest broken by rugged coastal vistas, towards the glaciers. A short side trip will take you to view one of these massive rivers of ice. Stay 2 nights at Franz Glacier township. Stay: Glacier View Motel, Franz Josef (2 nights) |
Day
8 |
At the Glaciers
A full day to explore this remote and beautiful area. You can take your own time walking up to the glacier, going to the Okarito Lagoon; or join a guided walk on the glacier, take a heli-hike adventure, or a scenic flight over both glaciers. We also recommend a visit to the colony of the beautiful white heron (Kotuku). |
Day
9 |
Glaciers – Christchurch
Travel north along the narrow, bush clad, coastal plain past Hokitika, to Greymouth. Turn inland towards the Southern Alps, over Arthur’s Pass and across the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. You also have the option (additional cost) of returning over the Alps on the TranzAlpine Train. We'll arrange transfers from the station and to the airport tomorrow. Please request on our enquiry form. Stay: Antonio's Motor Lodge |
Day
10 |
Depart Christchurch
Return your car at the airport in time to catch your onward flight. |
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Note: This self drive tour can be completed in reverse order, the tour cost remains the same. To view tour prices or to make an enquiry, please click on the Tabs at the top of this itinerary. Top |
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from NZ $1,492
10 Day Southern Sounds & Glaciers
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4.5
5
10 Day Southern Sounds & Glaciers Reviews
Tour reviews from past clients of Relaxing Journeys for the 10 Day Southern Sounds & Glaciers. |
We had a really wonderful time! New Zealand is such a beautiful country. It was really great to be able to see so much of South Island during our 10 day self drive tour. The suggested itinerary was good although it was a bit tiring to cover so may miles on some of the journeys. Milford Sound was awesome and the Real Journeys nature cruise guide was very informative and friendly. Generally accomodation was very good. Our favourite was the Glacier View Motel in Franz Josef. Our tour consultant, Jarrod, was very professional and helpful and also very prompt in replying my emails. Thanks a lot Jarrod! I hope to visit the North Island some time in the near future and will have no hesitation in booking with Relaxing Journeys again!
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Doreen Khoo (Malaysia)
Tour Date 21/01/2012 |
Everything went like clockwork. The recommendations for events and sightseeing along the way were all very good and worthwhile. Many of these you would not be aware of unless told of. Accommodation was often very 70's but all were clean and well presented. WIFI was available at each stop but one. Some were free, most were $5 per day but one at Dunedin was a cable connection and it cost $35 for the two days which I thought was outright gouging. All up it was a terrific holiday with no hitches at all. Well done Jarrod I would certainly recommend this to anyone considering an NZ holiday. Many thanks.
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Chris & Isabel Horwood (Australia)
Tour Date 10/01/2012 |
Overall, the tour plan was relaxing and NZ is picture perfect. We enjoyed ourselves at the various sites. The accommodations were generally suitable for family. However, my husband felt the Sherwood Manor was kinda old relative to the others. While the extracurricular activities were optional, we found it to be expensive especially at Queenstown. If there is a way to build it into the package, that might be more affordable perhaps. The tour guidance was short and brief. We found the Tour Atlas the most useful, along with the vouchers for accommodation. Thanks overall for the package. I will recommend your company to friends if they plan to visit NZ.
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Grace Choo (Malaysia)
Tour Date 09/01/2012 |
Jarrod put together an excellent tour for the number of days we had in NZ. If we had had 1 or 2 days more we would have welcomed more time in Dunedin and maybe split the first day into two. A little surprised in the driving notes that Oamaru wasn't mentioned as it was definitely worth a visit. The only time the organisation fell down was upon our arrival into Christchurch airport when the rental car company desk claimed not to have our documentation containing all the vouchers. We queried this at the time and was advised they didn't have it. The next day, following a phone call to Jarrod we had to drive back to the airport to get the documents. We went to the Thrifty desk which was closed with a note to go to another part of the airport. We finally obtained the vouchers but the staff were not very apologetic and we had wasted part of our valuable holiday time. We really appreciated Jarrod revising the hotel accommodation following my research on Trip Advisor. The accommodation was generally very good - particularly the motel in Dunedin. The motel I selected in Te Anau was disappointing but for one night didn't really matter. The one I chose in Queenstown was in a great location and very spacious for our three days there. Many thanks. Hope to come back again for a walking holiday in a couple of years time.
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Lyn Simmons & Kevin Hann (United States)
Tour Date 06/01/2012 |
I absolutely loved my tour and would book through your company again, everything was more than I could have hoped for. Only two snags, we missed our connecting flight from Auckland due to the extra time it takes to travel with an elderly person and on the way back. We loved the first motel booked for us in Christchurch, it was the chardonnay and was much quieter and cleaner than the Christchurch motel that was booked for us on the way home. We were provided with a brand new car from Thrifty and it was a pleasure to drive, we actually did 2500 km in our 12 days so we saw a lot of New Zealand, although I did navigate away from the motorways and took the scenic routes whenever I could. Thank you for including the map book. We got some unseasonal snow which was a gift for us as neither of us had seen snow before. Overall, the motels were clean, the people friendly and the country 'awesome'. Thankyou for all of your help in creating a wonderful holiday for us.
Donna King (Australia)
Tour Date 02/11/2011 |
We had a lovely tour customised tour of the South Island of New Zealand and felt all arrangements were great. The motels were easy to find (pretty much on the route that we were on) and our expectations were not just met with, they were at times exceeded! Having all the vouchers ready to hand out to wherever we went certainly made the whole trip 'painless' and very comfortable indeed. Many thanks indeed to your whole team and I look forward to perhaps availing ourselves of your services once again. We are thinking of possibly 'doing' Tasmania in the not too distant future! Once again, thanks loads from the two of us.
Anna Marie & Allan Kronenburg (Malaysia)
Tour Date 02/03/2011 |
Great exciting holiday experience with the limited time we had. that we could able to cover the highlights of South Island especially the heli hike to Franz Josef Glaciers. The itinerary is well detailed & accomodations were well placed for easy location. We located them with ease with the map book provided then savoured leisurely through the town & city without being too taxing at our own pace. Great flexiblity on Relaxing Journeys' part - expecially to our tour consultant Jarrod, who was able to provide alternatives & a diversion to the itinerary on the return leg to Christchurch after the earthquake. We proceeded onwards to the West Coast after Franz Josef to Punakaiki to see famous Pancake Rocks then to onwards to Blenheim to enjoy the wines from Marlborough. Then passed the town of Haverlock to enjoy its greenshell mussels for lunch then ending our tour in Picton and onto the North Island, all without extra expense. This provided us with an enjoyable holiday without worries & anxiety. We recommend Relaxing Journeys without hesitation.
Geraldine Tan Mei Lin (Malaysia)
Tour Date 01/03/2011 |
A very big thankyou to you Jarrod and Relaxing Journeys for your help input and all the bookings you did for our holiday. It was so simple with the voucher system and took a lot of worry out of trying to find accomodation that was comfortable, clean and within reach of the cities attractions. This has been the 2nd honeymoon that we were looking for as it was our 15th Wedding Anniversary on Sept 30. Thank you and we will be recommending your company to all of our friends.
David & Fiona Burns (Australia)
Tour Date 18/10/2010 |
Yes we are back home after having a wonderful time in NZ. Thank you so much for all the wonderful organisation that went into making our holiday one to remember. NZ is such a wonderful place with the most magnificent scenery and we enjoyed every minute of it. Everyone was very friendly and NZ is certainly geared for their tourist industry and do it very well. The information sheets you provided were very much appreciated and we were very impressed with the standard of the accommodation. The motels in Dunedin and Auckland were probably not as modern as all the others but were clean and adequate. The one in Te Anau on the other hand was excellent and generally they were all very good, most importantly they were all very clean with lovely fresh linen. The whole holiday went very smoothly and we were very lucky with the weather. We only had one day of rain and that was when we were travelling back to Christchurch from Franz Joseph so it didn?t affect us anyway. The rest of the time we had lovely sunny days so our timing in each place was very good. The rental cars were great, Toyota Corollas are just perfect for that sort of trip. Thank you again for your wonderful organization. If we managed to get back to NZ at any time we will certainly look you up again and if we have the opportunity to recommend you to any of our friends we will certainly do so.
Peter & Kerrie McMillan (Australia)
Tour Date 01/10/2010 |
My family loved it! It was fantastic, well organised. The full itinerary included activities to do and sites to see when travelling from one place to another, and that saved us a lot of time. Including approximated travel time helped too. The glacier tours were great. Thanks for the welcoming accommodation as well! Definitely recommending Relaxing Journeys to our friends next time. Many thanks.
Qun Xu & Family (Australia)
Tour Date 27/09/2010 |
The itinerary planned by Jarrod for my wife and myself was wonderful. We both thoroughly enjoyed our self drive tour and it has been nothing short of brilliant. The only blip was that we couldn't go for the Milford cruise as was planned but that was caused by the snow and avalanche hazards that closed the Milford roads. Other than that, I have very little to complain about the self drive tour. If I were to go to Australia or New Zealand, I wouldn't think twice about booking my holiday through Relaxing Journeys.
Mark Long (Malaysia)
Tour Date 23/09/2010 |
We all had a wonderful time. Jarrod helped us a lot in planning. The accommodation, tours, rental car, all were of high standard. We have no complaints. We will certainly recommend our friends to use your reliable services. Thanks once again.
Suren, Bharat & Jayshree Mody (Virgin Islands)
Tour Date 21/09/2010 |
We had the time of our lives! The tour was well organinsed and well structured, it all went smoothly. The scenery was amazing, the people warm and welcoming with a great sense of humour! The inclusion of the travel atlas in the documentation was a much appreciated surprise. Thank you.
Joe Stanley & Franceyne Cottier (Australia)
Tour Date 01/09/2010 |
Everything went perfectly without a hitch. All bookings were ready when we arrived at the accommodation. So, there was nothing to worry about. The entire process from inquiry to completion was handled professionally. I can recommend Relaxing Journeys without hesitation. And good value for money. A couple of recommendations: 1. You should set up an Australian bank account, so there is an alternative to paying by credit card with the surcharge. This was not expected - a minor but annoying feature. Other tour operators do not charge the surcharge for credit cards. With no Australian bank account for RJ, there is no way to avoid this. 2. Maybe you should include a half-day glacier tour as standard. This was one of our highlights, but it is something we had to book outside the standard tour.
Bill & Bridget Pink (Australia)
Tour Date 31/03/2010 |
It is just a few weeks since we returned from our tour of The South Island. We were delighted with all the arrangements, everything during our stay went so smoothly, the comfortable transfers to and from the airport and railway station, the hotel in Christchurch on our arrival was very nice and central. The vehicle we toured the Island in was ideal and the standards in all the Motels was very good, everyone in New Zealand is so helpful and friendly. The various tours which were included in our itinerary were first class, we would definitely recommend Relaxing Journeys to anyone wishing to visit New Zealand, (even the weather was excellent!) We take home amazing memories of a truly spectacular country and long to return one day. Thankyou so much for making our trip of a lifetime so special.
Vivienne & Paul Dudley (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 01/02/2010 |
Lise & I had a wonderful journey and I would like to visit the NZ North Island at some stage -possibly incorporating Nelson. There is so much beauty to see. The Milford Sound overnight boat tour will stay with us for a long while. The crew had a great sense of humour and were very entertaining. We found the tour went smoothly with the voucher system and the car was a pleasure to drive - I am contemplating upgrading to same model myself!
Carolyn Mitchell (Australia)
Tour Date 06/11/2009 |
Brilliant. New Zealand is just incredible, superb sights at every turn in the road. And knowing there was decent, comfortable and clean accommodation at every destination was excellent. Thank you Relaxing Journeys.
Lise Baker (Australia)
Tour Date 06/11/2009 |
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the south island of New Zealand. The itinerary all fell into place and we were impressed with the efficiency of the planning and booking procedures at short notice. Prompt feedback from Relaxing Journeys during this process was always pleasing and reassuring. The vouchers were a great way to travel knowing everything was booked that we had requested. We did not have any hassels with this system. There was still enough flexibility to plan other activities although near the end of our journey we had to keep on the move to allow for greater distances of travel. Thank you so much for allowing us to have a great time in New Zealand knowing everything was under control. I would recommend your company to others wishing to travel to your beautiful country.
Leanne & Barry Laubsch (Australia)
Tour Date 11/09/2009 |
We found our tour fantastic! The accommodation was satisfactory and the sequence we travelled around New Zealand with was really good. I think we all agreed that the scenery was progressive more impressive and enjoyable. The tour on the boat at Milford Sound was a welcome inclusion on the tour. I would definitely recommend Relaxing Journeys to anyone I know travelling to New Zealand. Thanks for all your assistance with planning a great holiday.
Amy & Elizabeth Pink & Derrick Cruz (Australia)
Tour Date 12/05/2009 |
Thank you for arranging my holiday - it was amazing, New Zealand is amazing and the people are so friendly. The accommodation was fine and the transfers, etc all worked well and I will certainly be recommending you and your company to people interested in visiting New Zealand (including two colleagues who are considering holidays to your fantastic country).
Charles Muir (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 14/01/2009 |
Tour Prices
All tour prices are per person, twin share. |
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| Compact Car |
NZ $1,492 |
NZ $1,613 |
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| Intermediate Car |
NZ $1,523 |
NZ $1,643 |
NZ $1,012 |
| Full Size Car |
NZ $1,568 |
NZ $1,689 |
NZ $1,036 |
| Mid Size 4WD |
NZ $1,699 |
NZ $1,819 |
NZ $1,100 |
| People Mover (MPV) |
NZ $1,809 |
NZ $1,931 |
NZ $1,156 |
* 1 & 2 Bedroom motel units are all self catering.
** 2 Bedroom motel prices based on 4 adults travelling.
EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL OFFER
2012 Season Sale! Save 5% off the prices shown on our website, for all 2012 departures. Deposit this month to qualify!
Valid for bookings made with Relaxing Journeys between 1 February 2012 and 29 February 2012
. Subject to availability at time of booking. |
*Terms & Conditions apply to any discounts and/or specials above. Your designated tour consultant will apply the appropriate discounts automatically to your quote and detail any currently applicable 'Exclusive Specials'. |
Self Drive Tour Notes
Prices above are per person & valid till September 2012. |
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- Frequently Asked Questions.
- 2 Bedroom motel prices above are based on 4 adults travelling.
- Some motel studios may not have full self catering facilities. If self catering is required then please request a 1 or 2 bedroom room.
- If a property listed on our itinerary is unavailable at the time of booking we will replace it with a equivalent accommodation, and let you know, to ensure it is to your satisfaction.
- Please note this itinerary was updated 5 July 2011.
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