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New Zealand Ocean Cruise Multi-Adventure Tour

New Zealand Ocean Cruise Multi-Adventure Tour

Walk/Hike

Bike

Kayak

North & South Islands—Milford Sound to Auckland

From $8,098 - $9,099 pp dbl. occ. | 10 days / 9 nights

(+$1,200 to $1,400 for sgl. occ.)

Discover an island paradise in the South Pacific. A pristine ocean perfect for a swim, or for kayaking alongside ancient settlements. But it's mountainous too. Experience the dramatic cliffs of Milford Sound, then cruise past penguins in breathtaking fjords. The journey continues in sensational wine country, tasting Hawke's Bay's full-bodied cabernet along the way. Paradise awaits. Come sail away to New Zealand.

Highlights

Stroll with your expert Backroads Trip Leaders amid pristine landscapes—we share our favorite hikes outside the cruise's reach
Pedal Backroads custom titanium bikes along the vineyard-clad routes of Hawke's Bay, tasting outstanding North Island wines
Cruise through dramatic Milford Sound beneath soaring cliffs adorned by waterfalls and blanketed in lush foliage
Journey aboard a luxurious superyacht, discovering the South Island's scenic inlets where dolphins and penguins play

New Zealand

Start Dunedin / End Auckland

Itinerary

Day 1 Hike on the Otago Peninsula, where sheer bluffs plummet to the sea at Lovers Leap | Meet the locals: hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins), kekeno (fur seals) and rāpoka (sea lions) | Splendid Dunedin, the main city in the Otago region, delights with Scottish charm and architecture.

Day 2 Cruise along the Dusky Sound, one of the most stunning and complex fjords on the coastline | Follow in the footsteps of Captain Cook's famous 1773 voyage | Catch a glimpse of sunbathing Fiordland penguins.

Day 3 Sail through the extraordinary Milford Sound beneath towering cliffs laced with waterfalls and covered with dense foliage | Native birdlife abounds amid beech forests, scrubland and alpine tarns.

Day 4 Kick back on the ship's sundeck for a relaxing day at sea | Keep your eyes peeled for dolphins as you sail along the western coast.

Day 5 Hike on Queen Charlotte Track, a favorite trail for locals and visitors alike | Discover the rich Maori culture | Journey from New Zealand's South to North Island.

Day 6 New Zealand's fascinating history is on display at Te Papa Museum | Soak up stunning scenery—from a peaceful forest canopy to sweeping harbor and city views—on Wellington's Southern Walkway.

Day 7 Pedal through Hawke's Bay, a wine region known for its luscious cabernet | Follow the Tukituki River to Havelock North, a thriving arts community.

Day 8 Cruise to volcanic White Island and marvel at its steaming fumaroles | If the volcanic activity cooperates, take a guided walking tour of the crater and old sulfur mine.

Days 9-10 Bike along the banks of the Bay of Plenty | Kayak the tranquil waters of Tauranga Harbour for a closer look at ancient Maori settlements | Bid farewell to the ship in picturesque Auckland, set among volcanic mountains, islands and harbors dotted with sailboats.

Next: Dates & Prices

The earlier you book, the more choice you'll have and the lower your price. And you can always change your mind — you won't be charged to transfer to a different trip before your final payment is due. View cancellation policy.

Cancellation fees may vary based upon departure date. Please review the grid below:

Number of Days Prior to Trip Start	Cancellation Fees (per person)	Departure Dates
156+ days	$400	2019 3/11, 3/20 2020 1/15, 1/24, 3/12, 3/21
126-155 days	20%
96-125 days	30%
61-95 days	50%
31-60 days	75%
0-30 days	100%

For information on our trip transfers see here.

Please click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.

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Gather your favorite people to share a Backroads adventure on a ready-to-book Private Trip - featuring all the legendary Backroads hallmarks from expert leaders to unforgettable activities. Call or email us to reserve your date.

Don't see your ideal travel date? Make a Date

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The sky’s the limit! Tell us what your dream trip would be and we'll make it happen! Whether you're looking for a honeymoon trip for 2, a 30-person family reunion or a 100-person corporate trip, we can do it all. A dedicated Custom Trip Consultant will work closely with you to bring your dreams to reality. Call us at 800-462-2848 to speak with your Custom Trip Consultant or click on the button below.

REQUEST YOUR CUSTOM TRIP NOW

Previous: Overview

Dates

2020
Jan
Mar

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Go Private
Go Custom

Prices

From $8,098 - $9,099 pp dbl. occ.
10 days / 9 nights

(+$1,200 to $1,400 for sgl. occ.)

Reviews

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Premiere Ship

Ponant Ship

Le Lapérouse (9 nights)

See Lodging Details

Activity Level

This trip is rated Levels 1-2

See Daily Route Options

What's Included

Services and equipment are included.

See how we include more

Why Backroads

Why Travel with Backroads in New Zealand

Find out What sets us apart

More On This Trip

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Detailed Itinerary Reserve This Trip

Reviews by Power Reviews ®

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Next: Lodging

Premiere Ship

Accommodations may vary based on departure date. Any difference from what is listed below can be found by clicking on your desired date on the View Scheduled Dates or Private Dates tabs.

Ponant Ship

Le Lapérouse (9 nights)

With just 92 staterooms, Ponant's Le Lapérouse has the intimacy and sophistication of a private yacht, including comfortable open-air lounge areas with panoramic views and elegantly designed staterooms. (pool, spa)

View the deck plans. See Dates & Prices for specific ship, stateroom category availability and embarkation/disembarkation details.

Previous: Reviews

Next: Activity Level

This Trip Is Rated Levels 1-2

Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next—and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.

Daily Route Options (drag to see full )

Day	Activity	EASYGOING				ACTIVE				AVID
Daily Route Options
		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Level 4		Level 5
		miles	feet gain	miles	feet gain	miles	feet gain	miles	feet gain	miles	feet gain
1	Other	Otago Peninsula Hike (4 Hours)
2	Other	Cruise Dusky Sound
3	Other	Cruise Milford Sound
4	Other	Cruise Western Coast
5	Other	Queen Charlotte Track Hike (5 Hours)
6	Other	Te Papa Museum Visit (2 Hours)
6	Other	Wellington Southern Walkway Hike (4 Hours)
7	Other	Hawke's Bay Biking (3 Hours)
8	Other	White Island Guided Walk (2 Hours)
9	Other	Bay of Plenty Biking (2 Hours)
9	Kayaking	on Tauranga Harbour (2 Hours)
10	Other	Disembarkation

Note: The biking terrain on this trip ranges from flat to rolling. Please note that cars drive on the left in New Zealand, so we will also be riding on the left; this presents an additional challenge. Hiking routes consist of well-worn trails and are moderately hilly with some steeper sections.

Learn more about how we determine our activity level and fully support a range of abilities and interests.

Please note that our distance and elevation figures come from Ride with GPS. Other sources may give differing elevation figures due to different GPS and mapping technologies and other external factors.

Previous: Lodging

Next: What's Included

Meals

All breakfasts, 9 lunches, 9 dinners

Available Bike Options

The key to a stellar day’s ride is a bike that’s perfectly in tune with your cycling style… Backroads has you covered with the best bike fleet in the world! Read on for your available bike options for this trip.

Backroads Titanium Bikes (Included in your trip price)

Our custom-built titanium bikes are specially designed for you—and we offer different models for varied terrain so your bike is ideally suited to the region. Our custom-made bikes are included in your trip price.

Touring Bike (Included)

Also Included

Expert Backroads Trip Leaders, on ship and on shore
Off-the-beaten path exploration
Access to all ship amenities
Impeccable and personalized service from ship staff and Backroads Leaders
Exclusive activities that amplify your appreciation and understanding of the local culture
Exclusive biking and hiking routes with multiple options at varied paces
Gratuities on ship and on shore handled by your Backroads Leaders
Exploring lesser known routes away from busy ports
Access to all ship activities and excursions
Wine included with all onboard meals

Previous: Activity Level

Next: Straight Talk

Next: Why Backroads

Get the Straight Talk about This Trip

We want to make sure you're on the right trip and that you have the best experience possible. Every Backroads trip is unique and this one is no exception.

Ships

The ships we sail on are like floating luxury hotels, so you can visit a new destination each day without touching your suitcase once you've settled in. Our ships are custom‐designed with a variety of inviting spaces that offer plenty of room for both relaxing and socializing. These ships are vastly smaller than most cruise ships, with up to just 150 passengers on our river trips and up to only 250 on our ocean trips.

Backroads Support On Board and On Shore

We sail with up to 40 Backroads guests. Occasionally there may be more than one Backroads group on board and you may cross paths with the other group on some routes or at restaurants. For instance, we may have a group of 20 hikers and another group of 20 bikers. When this occurs, each group will have their own dedicated onboard Backroads leaders. On shore, you'll have up to three additional land-based leaders to support your group, offering the same high ratio of Backroads Trip Leaders to guests as you'll find on our hotel trips.

Backroads Cruising Life

If you're new to Backroads active cruise trips, there are a few things you need to know. Our cruises are smaller, and much more intimate than a typical cruise. They are also quite lively, social experiences, shaped by both our Backroads group and the larger ship community. Additionally, even with an itinerary subject to fixed nautical schedules that may occasionally limit our time on shore, we get out and explore far beyond the cruise norm. If you love meeting new people, enjoy the ease of unpacking once, and don't mind a set schedule of port departure times, you'll love our approach to active river and ocean cruising. Nobody does it like we do.

Meals

On our active cruises, we seek out diversity by including regionally authentic and inventive meals for onshore lunches, picnics and the occasional onshore dinner. On-ship meals, though delightful, are meant to appeal to a wide cross section of passengers and may at times feel more conventional for some, and less reflective of the region than on Backroads hotel trips.

Stateroom Categories

In contrast to our usual land-based trips, which have similar room categories, the Ponant ships offer a wide range of stateroom categories. The top-tier staterooms often fill fast so book as early as possible if this is important to you.

Previous: What's Included

Next: Why Backroads

Why Travel with Backroads in New Zealand

We Reinvented the Ocean Cruise

Backroads pioneered the active ocean trip, partnering with Ponant, the leader in ocean cruising, to create a new kind of travel experience featuring biking, walking and multi-adventure explorations from an elegant floating hotel.

The Best Leaders in New Zealand

Backroads has the best-qualified people to lead your trip in New Zealand, and our guests back that up, rating our Trip Leaders an average of 9.75 out of 10 for all-around quality of performance. Get the facts (and no fluff) on how we recruit and develop the very best people for your trip.

We've Set the Standard

For nearly four decades we've worked to earn and maintain our right to call Backroads the world's #1 active travel company. In pursuing that vision on behalf of our guests, we believe we've set the standard for our industry—captured in the Backroads Quality Guide, which clearly sets out the benchmarks of excellence, choice and support that we live by

We Invented the Multi-Adventure Trip

After more than 30 years of creating Backroads Multi-Adventures, our trip designers know how to blend the perfect balance of biking and hiking with other activities to showcase the best of a region. And then they arrange the seamless transitions that would be so hard to orchestrate on your own—adding dimensions to your trip that are exciting, inspiring and just plain fun.

Everyone at Their Own Pace

We design and support our New Zealand trips to suit mixed abilities and varied interests—so you can set your own pace, then change things up as the day unfolds. And all guests are free to do the same, traveling together or apart, with no one cramping anyone else's style. Which sounds easy in theory, but it's hard to pull off. Here's more on how we do it.

Quality You Can Measure

Since 1979, Backroads Founder and President Tom Hale has shown that staying #1 means constantly evaluating our performance using the best possible source of information: our guests. As we systematically analyze your feedback on our trip consultants, leaders, hotels, meals and on-trip activities, we never stop working to make a great company even better.

Our Superb Bikes Included

A great bike is obviously critical for a great multi-adventure trip; you don't want to gamble on one that's been sourced locally to trim costs. This trip features our acclaimed Backroads Custom Titanium bikes, expertly tuned and fitted, and included in your trip price. Learn why our titanium bikes are ideal for most riders.

Previous: Straight Talk

Previous: What's Included

Detailed Itinerary Reserve This Trip

Guest Photo Gallery

Featured Blog Story

New Zealand Travel Guide

Straight Talk

We want to make sure you're on the right trip and that you have the best experience possible. Every Backroads trip is unique and this one is no exception.

New Zealand Ocean Cruise Multi-Adventure Tour