Auckland and Rotorua — Five Nights with the Glow Worm Caves

You are met at Auckland Airport and transferred to your hotel. Auckland is built across a narrow isthmus between two harbours, which is why it is called the City of Sails, and the waterfront is an easy walk from most city hotels. The rest of the day is free to recover from the flight.

You meet your driver at the hotel for a half-day city tour taking in Westhaven Marina, the Viaduct Harbour, the waterfront, Tamaki Drive, Bastion Point and the old suburb of Parnell. The afternoon is free. The Sky Tower is close to the city centre if you want a view over the isthmus, though admission is not included.

You travel south from Auckland to Rotorua with a guided tour of the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves on the way. The cave visit ends by drifting in silence on a boat along the underground river, with thousands of glow worms lighting the cavern roof overhead. You continue to Rotorua in the afternoon.

A half-day tour of Rotorua taking in Te Puia and its thermal valley of geysers and boiling mud pools. You then travel to Rainbow Springs to see trout and native wildlife, and on to the Agrodome sheep show. Rotorua sits on an active geothermal field and you will smell it before you see it.

You return to Auckland by coach after breakfast, arriving with the afternoon free. It is a straightforward run back north through the Waikato farmland. The evening is yours in the city before your flight out the following day.

Breakfast at the hotel, then check out and a transfer to Auckland Airport for your onward flight. Auckland is New Zealand's main international gateway, so most long-haul departures leave from here. Your onward flight is not part of this package, so allow the check-in time your airline requires.