NEW ZEALAND AND FIJI IN 10 DAYS

Again, I highly recommend choosing a flight to New Zealand that has a stopover in Fiji! Max and I literally had the best time in Fiji – so it’s well worth the stop. The country is incredible and there is so much to do.

The flight we chose left LAX around 10:30 pm and arrived in Nadi, Fiji around 6 am giving us the entire day to explore the island.

My advice is to book a tour for your first stopover in Fiji! If your flight lands early like ours, you’ll have plenty of time for a full day trip! This will allow you to get a sense of the island as well as force you to power through the day after a long flight. We opted for the Whales Tale Tour which is a sailing tour through the Mamanuca Islands Fiji. We spent the majority of the day enjoying the scenic Fiji Islands on the sail boat. The tour stopped at one island where we had plenty of time to swim, snorkel, play volleyball, and more. We also had a Fijian lunch on the island which was incredible. We both found the tour to be one of the best things to do in Fiji!

• Booking: Whale’s Tale Tour
• Read more: How to Make the Most of a Stopover in Fiji

If your flight is similar to ours, you’ll land in Auckland New Zealand at the crack of dawn! Get to your hotel and get some rest before spending the day in Auckland. I recommend keeping your first day in town pretty mellow to get a feel for the city before continuing on to Queenstown.

Spend your morning wandering the streets of Auckland with a flat white! There are a number of amazing coffee shops in Auckland known for their flat white.

I recommend either checking out Devonport or Mount Eden in the afternoon for great views of Auckland! Devonport is a quick 12 minute ferry ride from the ferry terminal in Auckland. In Devonport, you can hike to the top of Mount Victoria for views of Auckland or take a walk along the water. Devonport has the most adorable downtown so be sure to walk the streets and check out some of the restaurants! Mount Eden is also a cool excursion from Auckland. It’s a pretty short bus ride from Auckland to the base of Mount Eden. The hike to the top probably takes about 20-30 minutes from the parking lot. End your day with dinner on the Wharf and enjoy the view of the water and sailboats.

I recommend flying with Air New Zealand from Auckland to Queenstown New Zealand. I’ve traveled with them several times and they’re excellent! The flight from Auckland to Queenstown is just under two hours so it’s pretty easy to travel between the North and South Island. Head to Queenstown first thing in the morning so you can have a full day to explore the city. I’ve been to New Zealand a few times now and Queenstown is literally my favorite city! It’s quaint and charming, I just love it! Such a must do on a trip to New Zealand.

On your first day in Queenstown, hike to the Skyline – one of the best hikes in New Zealand. It takes about an hour to get to the Skyline following the Tiki Trail – however, it’s straight incline! If you’re not a hiker, you can also take the gondola to the Skyline Queenstown. When you’re at the top, enjoy the view and then check out the Queenstown Luge! The Luge is so much fun so you have to try it out.

Helpful tip: Buy at least two rides for the Luge. Everyone has to take the beginners course before they can take a ride on the other course which is the harder, more fun course!

Take the Gondola back down to Queenstown and enjoy your evening in the town. For a Queenstown restaurants guide, click here.

On day 5, take a day trip to Milford Sound New Zealand! I suggest taking a Milford Sound tour as it’s a far drive and there’s a lot to learn. There are a number of tours to Milford Sound from Queenstown. The tours range in price anywhere from $100 USD to $500 USD. If you can swing it, I recommend taking a tour that allows you to drive to Milford Sound, cruise through Milford, and fly back to Queenstown NZ. This route is relatively pricey, however, it gets you back to Queenstown so early! Since we were on a time crunch, we opted for this tour and it was ideal. We were back in Queenstown in time to explore Queenstown a little more and head to happy hour.

Read more: All Things Milford Sound

Booking –

• Milford Sound Cruise from Queenstown
• Milford Sound: Fly – Cruse – Fly from Queenstown
• Milford Sound: Drive – Cruise – Fly from Queenstown

Jet boating is an absolute must while in Queenstown! There are a number of companies you can go jet boating with. You can either take a jet boat from Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown or go on a longer excursion outside of town. I’ve actually done both and both were great! If you’re on a time crunch a quick jet boat tour in downtown Queenstown is probably perfect. If you want to see a little more of New Zealand then I recommend doing a half day tour. If you’re looking for a quick excursion from Queenstown I recommend using Thunder Jet. If you would like a longer tour outside of Queenstown NZ, check out Dart River.

Booking –

• Dart River Jet Boat and Wilderness Experience from Queenstown (approx 4 hours)
• Queenstown Jet Boat Ride (approx 1 hour)
• You can also book in person as there are a number of companies near the dock!

After jet boating, either rent paddle boards or kayaks on Lake Wakatipu and enjoy some time on the water! There are also a ton of great New Zealand hiking trails worth checking out in Queenstown. The Queenstown Hill Walking Track is perfect for an afternoon hike.

Start your final morning in Queenstown off with a bike ride through the town! There are a ton of trails from the city center so you can make the bike ride as long or as short as you wish. Max and I enjoyed the Lake Wakatipu Ride which is along the lake in Queenstown. If you’re not into biking, there are plenty of other things to do in Queenstown!

Read More: The Best Activities in Queenstown

From there, grab breakfast/ lunch and head to the airport for your flight to Auckland! After arriving back to Auckland, enjoy roaming the city throughout the evening.

If you’re into hiking, head to Rangitoto Island for some incredible New Zealand hiking. The island is absolutely gorgeous! Depending on how much you like to hike, I recommend at least a half day on Rangitoto. Max and I spent about 3.5 – 4 hours on the island and wish we had a little more time. Take an early ferry to Rangitoto Island, giving yourself plenty of time to explore!

Read More: Rangitoto Island, New Zealand

If you’re not into hiking, I recommend heading to Hobbiton, Rotorua, or both for a fun day trip! There are a number of tours from Auckland that will take you to Hobbiton and Rotorua. If you have a car, Hobbiton and Rotorua are both easy to do on your own. Start your day by driving to Hobbiton and going on a tour through Hobbiton! You’ll need to purchase your ticket for Hobbiton ahead of time as it is a popular tour. From Hobbiton, head to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland in Rotorua. We purchased our tickets ahead of time for Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland however, it is a self guided tour. From there, be sure to head to Waikite Valley to enjoy the the thermal pools before heading back to Auckland. Please note – this is long trek (so start your day early) but it’s totally doable!

Booking –

 

• Hobbiton, Rotorua, & Wai-O-Tapu from Auckland – honestly this tour is pricey so I recommend driving on your own if you have a rental!
• Hobbiton Small Group Tour from Auckland

 

Spend your last day in Auckland exploring Waiheke Island New Zealand. The island is filled with amazing wineries and gorgeous beaches! Honestly, I would set aside a full day to explore and enjoy Waiheke Island! Max and I set aside an afternoon in Waiheke and it was definitely not enough time. Take the Waiheke Island ferry early and spend the morning exploring Oneroa Bay. Rent kayaks or paddle boards and enjoy some time in the sun. In the afternoon, head to a few wineries and enjoy the amazing wines and gorgeous views.

Read more: Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Arrive to Nadi Fiji first thing in the morning. Max and I had initially planned on spending the day exploring Nadi throughout our second stopover. After our first tour in Fiji, we decided we had to end our trip with another tour of the Fiji Islands! We chose the Authentic Fijian Day Cruise and it was absolutely perfect! End your day with dinner on Port Denarau in Nadi. It’s slightly more expensive to eat dinner on Port Denarau than in town but the view is so worth it!

Booking – Authentic Fijian Day Cruise

Max and I had so much fun travelling New Zealand and Fiji. While we would have loved to have more time, we felt like we were able to do so much in 10 days! I hope this itinerary is helpful for your future trip to New Zealand and Fiji!

Safe Travels,

Sarah :)