14-Day Romantic Adventure to Australia & New Zealand
What to expect on this itinerary
Handcrafted for exclusivity and privacy, this exciting two-week adventure through New Zealand and Australia are all about the unique places where romance can thrive. Stars shimmer as you sit in silence, fjords inspire, and vineyards exude indulgence. Islands create magic, and from a helicopter, you can venture where other travelers do not. From tropical islands to city extravagance and the big red desert, prepare yourselves to stroll hand in hand in the Southern Hemisphere’s remarkable landscapes.
Customizable Itinerary
Waiheke Island – Beachside Retreat
After arriving at Auckland’s international airport, you will be transferred to the harbor on the short ferry journey. This little extra journey will be really worth it, even after a long flight to New Zealand. You will arrive in Waiheke, where you will relax above a golden bay. You may notice the lack of footprints in the sand, which may provide you with a sense of indulgence and seclusion. Most flights to New Zealand land in the morning, which will give you an entire first day to relax and become acclimated. Early check-in will be arranged at your luxurious accommodation, and afterward, you can just walk down some steps to the beach.
What's Included:
Waiheke Island – Remote Island Beaches
Coromandel Peninsula – Romantic Escapism
Queenstown – Beneath Snowy Mountains
Milford Sound – Overnight Cruise on the Fjord
Queenstown – Helicopter to Glaciers
Sydney – Cruising the Parramatta
Sydney – In an Iconic City
Hunter Valley – Hot Air Balloon Ride
Uluru – Beneath the Southern Sky
Uluru – Through the Red Desert
Uluru – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Escape to the absolute seclusion of Australia’s big red desert, where an intimate camp provides luxury in the wilderness
- Indulge in a private helicopter trip over New Zealand’s glaciers and touch down to a private picnic in a place that other people cannot reach
- Savor the silence of two days in Hunter Valley vineyards that includes a hot air balloon ride accompanied by sparkling wine
- Immerse yourself in Sydney city extravagance with fine dining and exclusive activities for two
- Kayak and hike around the Coromandel Peninsula, where private beaches and tropical pools make for charming days in the sun
- Absorb the Milford Sound mystique during a spectacular overnight cruise
- Cruise along the Parramatta in a luxurious boat, toasting to romance as you go
- Ease into an amorous two weeks on the tropical New Zealand island of Waiheke, where you can walk hand in hand between vineyards and beaches
- Experience Uluru’s color changes and dine privately beneath the incredible southern sky with two days in the red desert
Detailed Description
A vacation for two needs to truly be a vacation for two, not a vacation where you are surrounded by crowds or waiting in queues. For romance to thrive, you will need exclusivity and seclusion, and these are things that New Zealand and Australia have in abundance. Handcrafted for couples, this is an intimate, two-week journey to New Zealand and Australia’s most romantic places. Featuring exclusive activities and extravagant setting, it will immerse you in the splendor of Australia and New Zealand while unveiling a dazzling selection of landscapes. These are the two weeks where you can have it all from islands and fjords to beaches and vineyards.
Waiheke Island will ease you into the amorous escape with two days of tropical beach vibes and seductive wine tasting. You will then helicopter to Coromandel, where you will have two days of coastal adventure, including hiking to hidden beaches, creating your own hot spa, and kayaking the beautiful South Pacific. By flying to the South Island on day five, you will snuggle beneath snowy mountains with Queenstown creating a dramatic change in landscape and experience. A sublime overnight cruise on Milford Sound will be followed by a private helicopter ride across Fiordland, where you will touch down to a picnic in a place where other people have no access.
Sydney is a big city that will bring a change from all the wilderness and seclusion, and it is quite an extravagant city. Over two days, you can dive into fine dining, exclusive locations, sunset cocktails, and energetic city vibes. It will be a change of pace that will break up your two weeks and a place for you to discover authenticity on the Australian coast. On day ten, you will return to tranquility with two nights in the Hunter Valley vineyards that will include a magnificent hot air balloon flight with sparkling wine. You will then culminate your romantic vacation in the wildest of wildernesses, where a luxurious camp will ensure that you will be comfortable amid the greatest seclusion that Australia can offer. You will be in the red desert beneath the southern sky, where others do not venture.
Starting Price
$4,600 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 545 reviews
We have just returned from a 6 week trip to Australia and New Zealand. Our travel agents and their team at this travel company are personable, professional, knowledgeable and did an amazing job putting together our trip! Our collaboration involved several phone calls to discuss options and preferences as our trip was being organized as well as a pre-trip call to answer any questions. Our email exchange was continuous and responses were very prompt. We even received a call once during our travels to check in. Our detailed itinerary was precise and accurate. Every connection, tour, driver, hotel, etc. was on time and of excellent quality. While in New Zealand in Milford Sound our flight back to Queenstown was cancelled due to poor weather and we received a quick refund.
In Australia we visited Sydney, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road ( a favorite of ours!), Uluru, Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef, and Hobart, Tasmania. We only stayed a few days in Tasmania but would love to return to enjoy more of the wilderness outside of Hobart.
In New Zealand we visited Auckland and then drove to the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, and Napier. Then we flew to Christchurch on the South Island and drove to Mt. Cook, Queenstown, and Dunedin. If you are big fans of the outdoors, spend more time on the South Island.
Our agent selected beautiful and centrally located lodging that usually offered laundry facilities-helpful for a long trip! The travel company also provided a suggested restaurant list that proved to be excellent! We would highly recommend this company for your Down Under adventures! When we travel again to that part of the world, we will definitely call this company.
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We felt very comfortable planning our trip with Rick. We told him our interests, concerns and and the pace we wanted to travel at. He presented us with an itinerary which we spent hours reviewing along with a map, photos and and a website. Our primary hub towns were Queenstown, Wellington and Christchurch. We used two regional flights and two trains with gorgeous views of the coast and mountains. We took a few cruises and a private flight over the glaciers. Our River Dartboat excursion was cancelled when the drivers came down with Covid and the swim with the Dolphins mistakenly cancelled us off this trip. Cyclone Gabriela damaged Napier and the Coromandel Penninsula and the access roads, so we had to create an alternate plan on the ground in NZ. We added two days at Waiheke Island and attempted a hike up mount Doom and visits to the Weta Projects in Auckland and Wellington.Rick was amazingly helpful with changes that had to be made before and during the trip. He was the best!
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~~I retired and my wife and I decided it was time to take the trip to New Zealand and Australia that we had been talking about for quite some time. I discovered Zicasso while doing my initial research for the trip and decided to give it a try, in addition to the many standard tours we were looking into. I had many different firms provide proposals and after doing my due diligence I settled on this firm.
Our agent listened and consistently provided options and insights that resulted in a month long itinerary that promised to deliver the experiences we were looking for. She was a pleasure to deal with.
We spent two weeks in New Zealand beginning in Auckland, moving south through Hobbiton and Rotorua where we gained a deep appreciation for the Maori people and their culture. Then on to Wellington the capital. The ferry to Picton and the train to Christchurch were inspiring. Then we drove from Christchurch to Mt. Cook and then on to Queenstown. The night we spent on Doubtful Sound was the all-around highlight of the trip. All throughout the tour guides, drivers and accommodations exceeded expectations. Then we were on to Australia where our first stop was Sydney. Alongside the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge a highlight was a half day guided tour of the city in a 1964 Holden. Then we were on to Cairns and Port Douglas where the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest awaited. Our day on the Reef was extraordinary. Snorkeling off the beach at Low Isle was an experience to remember. Our day on the Daintree River and in the rainforest was unforgettable. While driving we stopped as a male cassowary and four chicks crossed the road and disappeared into to the bush. Now we were on to Ayers Rock where the magic of Uluru awaited. The Sounds of Silence dinner in the desert as the sun set with Uluru in the distance and didgeridoo in the background was magical. As our time was growing short we were off to Melbourne where we joined a tour on the Great Ocean Road. Wow, the Twelve Apostles and the coast exceeded our expectations. What a great place. Only matched, maybe outdone by the hosts of the B&B’s we stayed at. We’re not big B&B folks, but the Lock Ard and Little River B&Bs were perfect and we will try more in the future.
Our agent had truly delivered a trip of a lifetime.
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Our Zicasso travel agent helped us plan a dream family vacation with our adult sons to Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, and Cairns) and New Zealand (Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Wanaka).
We only had three weeks for two countries, but our tour operator fit in a Great Barrier Reef dive, Melbourne and Sydney bike tours, wine tastings, a private luxury boat tour of Sydney, river rafting, a Siberian Air and jet-boat experience with a 7km hike through New Zealand's wilderness, an overnight stay on a boat in Milford Sound, glow worms, a wildlife sanctuary, and a steamboat ride to enjoy tea at a farm to watch sheep shearing. All this and we still had free time to explore on our own. The accommodations were top-notch and the majority had laundry facilities in our unit!
He was fantastic to work with – highly responsive and detailed, and we would definitely recommend his services! His presentation of the itinerary and activities was really helpful. He spent over two hours with a video presentation covering all aspects of our trip. This included hotel and activity locations, with detailed views. This made things really easy to navigate once we were there. Anything he reserved for us went without a glitch and all transports showed up on time.
Cyclone Jasper hit Australia right before our trip and Zicasso's travel partner spent a lot of unexpected extra time reconfiguring the first few days of our itinerary, given the storm's impact on our first location. Again, another two-hour conference covering these changes, which put our minds at ease. We still got everything on our dream list covered and greatly appreciate his extra time, especially as this was during the holiday season. It really was the trip of a lifetime!
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This travel agent and her company was fabulous - I would recommend her to anyone planning a trip to Australia and New Zealand. She was knowledgeable, flexible, extremely detail-oriented, and unfailingly prompt in her replies. When she would be out of the office for a few days, she made sure to let us know. And not once did her planning break down during our 30-day trip. An amazing effort. Thank you.
The trip was great - a varied experience of city and countryside, especially in New Zealand. The tours were informative and interesting. In particular, we liked the personal tour we took in Wellington, just us and the guide; the sunrise visit to Uluru, the two around Sydney and to the Blue Mountains, the day at Kangaroo Island, the Phillip Island penguin walk, the beauty of Queenstown, the striking coastline along the West Coast of South Island, and the beauty of the beaches on Waiheke Island off Auckland. But really, every day was a positive experience.
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