New Zealand Self-Drive

Sleep in a tree house after swimming with dolphins and seals, then land by helicopter on an alpine ridge above Milford Sound – twenty nights the length of New Zealand.

From£21,760pp

Duration20 days

StyleLuxury

Best suited toDrivers who want the road to be the holiday

Find out more

An independent Stradora pick. Details from the operator's published information, last checked 28 Oct 2026. Stradora DiscoveryChosen independently by our editors because we think it's worth the drive. We're not partnered with this operator: dates, prices and booking are handled by them, and we last checked their published details on 28 Oct 2026.

Booked with the operator?

Tell us your trip details and we'll put together a complimentary Stradora Expedition Pack for the journey.

Claim your pack

20 nights through New Zealand

Twenty nights the length of New Zealand, self-drive, from the Bay of Islands to Fiordland, with the ferry between the islands included.

Twenty nights is what the country actually needs, and this is the operator’s flagship: the lodges are as much the point as the route, and several of them are destinations in their own right.

Three nights at Eagles Nest open it above the Bay of Islands, with a private catamaran day among the hundred and forty-four islands. Auckland follows for two, with a water taxi to Waiheke and a guided vineyard tour. Rotorua comes next for two at Solitaire Lodge, by way of Hobbiton and the Waitomo glowworm caves, with the geothermal trails at Wai-O-Tapu, a guided tour of Ohinemutu village and ziplining through the Mamaku forest. Hawke’s Bay follows for three at Cape Kidnappers, with a kiwi walk, the gannet colony and a winery tour by e-bike. Wellington, the Interislander to Picton and two nights at Hapuku Lodge’s tree houses at Kaikoura come next, with a whale cruise and a dolphin and seal swim, then Banks Peninsula, the Ahuriri Valley, a helicopter with an alpine landing at Milford Sound and a jetboat into Mount Aspiring National Park.

The rental car, the ferry, the named properties, and every listed tour, cruise, flight and jetboat are included; the Queenstown adrenaline activities and some lunches are not. No wildlife sighting can be promised. The southern summer from November to March is the main season, and twenty-one days is enough to drive both islands without the long legs becoming the trip. The lodges are what the price buys: Eagles Nest, Cape Kidnappers and Hapuku are all places guests would happily stay without the itinerary attached.

Style

Luxury, Self-guided

Duration

Grand tour (16+ nights)

Region

Oceania

Vehicle provision

Vehicle provided

Departures

January - December

Starts/ends

Bay of Islands, New Zealand → Queenstown, New Zealand