This 10 day North Island explorer tour was so good! Tour Leader Hannah was always very helpful and accommodating with literally everything, and a fabulous guide throughout the whole trip! For 10 days, we managed to see and do a lot and it was nice that some activities were included, and also liked that there was some time to do things on your own if you felt like it, not a strict itinerary every single day.
$2,599.00 NZD
Auckland > Wellington
From November - May
Auckland To Wellington Roadtrip Via Rotorua
NZ’s North Island is an adventure-lovers backyard. Rich in Māori history and tradition, there are numerous reasons why you should choose to discover this epic road trip from Auckland to Wellington. Sparkling lakes, ancient forests, geothermal rock pools and bubbling mud baths, 30m exploding geysers, extinct volcanoes, and that’s just scratching the surface. Secure your getaway now as this tour will be unmissable!
Like this but want more? Take the plunge & extend your trip into the South Island!
Trip Details
The Particulars
Price
$2,599.00 NZD
You can secure your spot with a $99 deposit and pay the remaining balance 30 days prior to your tour departure!
See our Terms & Conditions for more details.
Meeting point
You will need to meet us at 9AM on the first day at Lylo Auckland (54 Cook St, Auckland).
This tour finishes on Day 10 at 10AM in Wellington at Nomads Capital
On the road
10 days, 9 nights
Group size
Small groups of up to 12 people
Taking part
You must be 18+ years old to book
Accommodation
Multi share dorms with shared facilities
Availability
2023 dates
- 2nd November – 11th November – only a few seats left!
- 16th November – 25th November – only a few seats left!
- 30th November – 9th December – filling up fast!
- 14th December – 23rd December – filling up fast!
2024 dates
- 11th January – 20th January
- 25th January – 3rd February
- 8th February – 17th February
- 22nd February – 2nd March
- 7th March – 16th March
- 21st March – 30th March
- 4th April – 13th April
- 18th April – 27th April
- 2nd May – 11th May
- 16th May – 25th May
- 10th November – 19th November
- 24th November – 2nd December
- 8th December – 17th December
2024 dates
- 11th January – 20th January
- 25th January – 3rd February
- 8th February – 17th February
- 22nd February – 2nd March
- 7th March – 16th March
- 21st March – 30th March
- 4th April – 13th April
- 18th April – 27th April
- 2nd May – 11th May
- 16th May – 25th May
- 10th November – 19th November
- 24th November – 2nd December
- 8th December – 17th December
2025 dates
- 19th January – 28th January
- 2nd February – 11th February
- 16th February – 25th February
- 2nd March – 11th March
- 16th March – 25th March
- 30th March – 8th April
- 13th April – 22nd April
- 27th April – 6th May
- 11th May – 20th May
Extended Package
You can extend your trip after by adding our 10 Day South Island Explorer
View our 20 Day New Zealand Adventure for this package. This includes a domestic flight from Wellington to Christchurch
This tour package includes:
Tasty continental breakfasts every day and 3 dinners
Comfortable mini-bus transport & your own passionate local kiwi guide
9 nights in multi-share hostel accommodation
Relax overnight at a beautiful rural lodge in Taihape, home for white water rafting!
Enjoy 3 nights in Rotorua. Free time to explore our Adventure Playground!
Witness a Māori cultural performance will take place in a beautifully carved meeting house (marae)
Experience the redwoods night walk in Rotorua - where forest and fantasy come to life!
Eat a traditional Māori hāngī meal cooked in an underground oven
Experience the famous Cathedral Cove & Dig a mini-Jacuzzi at Hot Water Beach
Experience the amazing crystal-clear Blue Springs of Waikato
See a real life Kiwi bird in a Local Bird Conservation Centre
Sail on a private charter around Lake Taupo & visit the breath-taking Huka Falls
Opportunity to hike the Tongairio Crossing - We can assist with booking Transport for additional fees
Enjoy a scenic view up Mt Victoria of our Capital City ‘Wellington’ and enjoy an epic night out here!
Explore our home to the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere, Pōhutu Geyser
An opportunity to experience the real Middle-earth with a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set (add on)
10 Day North Island Itinerary
Welcome on board! A nice early start sees us leave Auckland and head to the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. Here, you’ll see why this region is a favourite for Kiwis on their summer holidays and why it’s constantly regarded as one of the most stunning parts of the world. First a quick lunch stop in the picturesque holiday town of Tairua. Then we will visit the famous Cathedral Cove beach (as seen in multiple Hollywood feature films). You have the option to do a free 30 min walk one way to this beautiful spot. Or you could choose to do a kayaking tour as an optional add on. Depending on the time of the tides we may have time today or tomorrow to grab a shovel and dig a mini Jacuzzi at the unreal Hot Water Beach. After an epic day of sun, sand and surf, it’s time to head to our accommodation nearby – and from there, the night is yours!
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included activities:
- Visit Tairua township,
- Experience the famous ‘Cathedral Cove’
- Dig a mini-Jacuzzi at Hot Water Beach (depending on tides)
Optional activities:
- Cathedral Cove Kayaking Tour – $125
After breakfast and a van-load of new friends, it’s time to head south. From Coromandel well head to New Zealand’s tourism Mecca – Rotorua. On the way to this geothermal wonderland you will have the option to get lost in the magical world of Hobbiton or check out some of the clearest springs you’ve ever seen. When we arrive in Rotorua the rest of the day is yours where you can immerse yourself in more traditional Maori culture in Rotorua or try out any of the exciting adrenaline filled activities in this town.
After dinner we will take you to experience Rotorua’s Redwoods Nightlights Tree walk that features 34 exquisite lanterns , floating between 9-20 metres above the forest floor, this award-winning, eco-tourism walk is 700 metres long, spans across 28 suspension bridges and 27 platforms! How good!
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast
Included activities:
- Indulge the clearest waters at the ‘Blue Springs’
- Experience the redwoods night walk in Rotorua – where forest and fantasy come to life!
Optional activities:
- Hobbiton Tour – $109 – you will need to pre book this with us
With far more to do than you can fit in just one day, we’re staying an extra night in Rotorua so you have a full day of free time! With plenty of optional activities on offer all around the city we are sure you’ll stay busy! Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie and want to tackle the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall, or if zip-lining through the forest canopy sounds more like you, we’ll be sure to offer you all the best experiences based on what you’re looking for.
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast
Optional Activities:
- Redwood Altitude Walk – $99
- Rotorua Zipline – $159
- Adventure rafting – $109
- Adventure Sledging – $125
- Mount Tarawera hiking tour – $164
- Waimarino Glow worms Kayak Tour – $155
- Skyline Rotorua (Gondola + 3 Luge rides) – $52 pp
- Zorb Rotorua – $40
After breakfast its our last day to enjoy this culture filled town! You’ll have free time today till the
evening to tick off your last bucket list activities! Later on in the day we will come back together and experience an evening of culture, Kai (food), and connection. This begins with a buffet at the world famous Pātaka Kai Restaurant, Bar and Cafe, with locally sourced cuisine and an authentic Māori twist in each dish. Following this, we will be lead to view an exhilarating cultural performance which takes place in Te Aronui a Rua, a beautifully carved meeting house. It will include a Pōwhiri (Traditional Māori Welcome), Waiata (Song), Mōteatea (traditional chant), Poi and Haka.
Afterwards, you will enter and discover one of New Zealand’s most magnificent geothermal wonderlands – featuring dramatic geysers, bubbling mud, and beautiful native bush. During this experience, you will be viewing the valley afterhours and resting with a hot chocolate upon our naturally heated rock-seating beneath the powerful Pōhutu Geyser.
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast & Buffet Hangi Dinner
Included activities:
- Delicious Maori Buffet Dinner
- Exhilarating cultural performance
- Explore our magnificent geothermal wonderlands – featuring dramatic geysers, bubbling mud, and beautiful native bush
- See a real life Kiwi bird!
Wake up and enjoy your last morning in RotoVegas! After breakfast, we will make a stop at the Blue Lake, where you have the opportunity for either a 5km fresh morning walk, or time to relax on the lake side. After the Blue Lake we will make our way through to the stunning Lake Taupo, but not before stopping in at a cheeky natural hot pool and the breath-taking Huka Falls. Once in Taupo, optional paid activities like bungy jumping, skydiving or jet boat riding are on offer, or simply ask your tour leader who’ll point you towards some of Taupo’s lesser known gems or the many free activities available.
For sunset we will board an exclusive yacht charter with our group around the lake itself! We provide dinner on board, feel free to bring a few beverages for this epic experience.
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Included activities:
- Visit the breath-taking ‘Huka Falls’
- Relax at Blue lake with an opportunity for a short walk
- Exclusive sunset sailing charter around Lake Taupo
After breakfast your free to explore the town and do as many activities or see as much as you want! There is also an add on option for people wanting to go for a trek and tick the ‘Tongariro Alpine Crossing’ off their bucket list! This is heralded as the best one-day trek in New Zealand and is regarded as among the top ten single-day treks in the world. Other guests are of course welcome to spend the day in Taupo exploring other activities on offer.
We will all meet back in Taupo to explore the local cuisines with our crew! Then the night is yours!
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast
Optional Activities:
- Transport to and from Tongariro National Park – $60
- Tongariro River Rafting – $179
- Taupo Tandem Skydiving $199 – 399
After breakfast we’ll head into New Zealand’s best kept secret, River Valley. We let you chill out and enjoy our stunning lodge with on-site café and bar, saunas, and spa. Using the Lodge as a base, you can go on a rafting adventure, a horse trek, or explore some of the local rural back roads on an e-bike. Of course, you could simply relax beside the river and enjoy some delicious food, many of the ingredients of which come from the on-site organic gardens. Tonight, you’re in for a treat as you’ll be served a farm to table dinner made with fresh seasonal vegetables harvested from their gardens and free range organic or grass-fed local meats. The night is ours after!
Accommodation: Multi share lodge with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Included activities:
- Relax in our lodge’s spa and sauna
- Enjoy short walks around the area
Optional activities:
- Grade 5 rafting – $230
- Horse Trekking – $230
- E-bike hire – $100
Enjoy a full cooked breakfast before your rafting or horse trek! or just relax this morning and take in the beautiful scenery, At Midday we head south and trek on to the nation’s capital – Wellington! Once in ‘Welly’, we’ll grab some dinner and hit the streets of this incredible city on a local pub crawl. Doesn’t sound like your cup of tea? No problemo! The night is yours to explore what is often referred to as NZ’s coolest city.
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast
Optional activities:
- Grade 5 rafting – $230
- Horse Trekking – $230
- E-bike hire – $100
After breakfast, the day is yours! Get lost in Wellington. Visit a local cafe, take photos of the local street art, head along to New Zealand’s famous national museum – Te Papa (it’s FREE!), have your mind blown at the Peter Jackson’s famous ‘Weta Workshop’. Plenty of exciting things to choose from in NZ’s coolest city
Accommodation: Multi share hostel with shared facilities
Included meals: Breakfast
Today is our last day and time to check out! After breakfast we will wrap things up and say goodbye to all our new best mates! Your tour leader can help you plan your next journey or you can join us for our 10 day South Island Explorer tour! This can be purchased as our 20 Day New Zealand Explorer.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Tour Map
Some Lovely Words From Past Guests
Hannah was very kind and caring! She always makes sure everyone is okay. It was a pleasure to travel with her. The fact that we were in a small group was very nice. The itinerary gave me a great overview of the North Island in a few days. I would highly recommend this trip to friends!
I’ve had the most amazing time with Backyard Roadies and have created so many memories. The itinerary has been bang on and everything I wanted to do before coming to the North Island, was included.
Not only were Jason and Hannah very informative and helpful, they were both incredible people who I now call my friends. I also liked how it wasn’t a really big group, therefore you are able to form bonds and friendships with the other people on tour easily.
I enjoyed every second of this trip. I’ve met some amazing people. Due to the small size of the group we became pretty close really fast. The Tour Guide was not only the driver and organiser she was a part of the group and the little family we formed aswell.
It was an amazing experience! Hannah is amazing and such a great tour leader. Chilled, experienced, good fun! Was an honour to have her! Would do this tour again and will highly recommend your agency to everyone!
Backyard Roadies overall was a great experience. I felt the tour guides Hannah and Jason truly cared, were responsible, took interest and owned up to their role. The itinerary was great. It touched everything from cultural, adventure related and scenic activities covering North Island’s key locations.
Overall experience has been very good. Hannah has been a great tour leader. Organisation was fantastic, people on the tour have been great company and have seen some wonderful places.
Amazing 10 days in the North with the group and hannah! She is a brilliant tour leader, ringing and arranging everything so we could fit all our optional activities around the included ones! Loved the Maori experience and the hangi, and enjoyed everyday!
I had a great time with the Tour, Hannah was excellent and very accommodating, always trying to make sure everything went well, even if the weather wasn’t with us. She told us lot’s of fun fact about New Zealand (I especially liked the one about New Zealand having the most one lane bridge in the world) The group was great too – lot’s of good memories. If possible I’ll do something similar again !
Had a brilliant time on the North Island tour. Was only 6 of us, which gave things an intimate feel and allowed us to get to know each other. Definitely went to a few places I’d never have found on my own. Almost all the activities were excellent though, and Hannah is a fantastic tour leader!
The trip was great! Fit so many (and new) activities into a few days. Hannah was a great guide, friendly and very helpful in helping us figure out what activities to do and booking. Would definitely recommend BYR!
Really enjoyed this tour and the people on it. Was a really good group and Hannah was an excellent guide and really got involved which was great.
Bucket List Activities:
Some Important Details
COVID restrictions/changes or cancellations to your booking
- All cancellations of bookings by you must be made in writing. We will not regard a booking as cancelled unless an email written notice has been received by us from you.
- Cancellation can only be made up to 14 days before the departure of your tour. Once the cancellation is accepted a refund of the total ticket price (less the $99 deposit) will be paid to you. The refundable portion does not include the non-refundable $99 deposit.
- No refunds will be available for cancellations within 14 days of the departure date.
- For me details about COVID-19 within New Zealand please check out our COVID-19 Policies page
What to bring:
- We ask that you only bring 2 bags: 1 large-sized one for your clothes and general belongings, and 1 small day bag to keep with you on the bus
- New Zealand weather can be unpredictable, so make sure you bring swimwear and 2 x towels, as well as warm clothes and a waterproof rain jacket
- All bedding is provided, but you can bring your favourite pillow if you like
- Check our ‘Packing List’ for more details about What to Bring.
