11-Day New Zealand and Fiji Vacation
On this vacation, you can cruise past the gorgeous mountain rainforests and beaches of New Zealand’s North Island in a rental car before hopping on a brief flight to Fiji. The itinerary is wide open at each stop, so you’re free to explore each destination at your own pace. Check out some of our favorite highlights below. The vacation includes:
Auckland
You’ll begin your trip by flying to Auckland. New Zealand’s biggest city is not a typical concrete jungle; in fact, it’s just about 30 minutes from an actual jungle.
- Eat fresh clams and oysters and sip wine on tap at the award-winning Depot Eatery & Oyster Bar, a 5-minute walk from your hotel.
- Shop in style: The historic neighborhood of Parnell, located less than 2 miles (3 km) from the city center, is lined with Victorian homes that have been converted into fashionable boutiques.
- Auckland Museum is set on an ancient volcanic rim and houses Polynesian artifacts and dinosaur fossils.
- Auckland Art Gallery: See works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and local artists.
Rotorua
Pick up your rental car in Auckland and make the scenic drive south to Rotorua. This city is a hotbed of geothermal activity, with bubbling mud pools, ancient volcanic crater lakes, and explosive geysers. The area is also rife with luxury day spas specializing in Polynesian body treatments using thermal mud sourced right in town. You’ll spend four nights in Rotorua before dropping your rental car back off in Auckland, then boarding your flight to Fiji.
- Driving time from Auckland: about 3 hours
- On the drive from Auckland to Rotorua you’ll pass locations used in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.
- Visit a Māori village 15 minutes from Rotorua.
- Several large volcanoes are in the surrounding region, including Mount Tarawera. You can tour the volcano by helicopter, four-wheel-drive vehicle, or mountain bike.
- Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest: More than 100 types of trees grow here, including massive redwoods and radiata pines.
- The birthplace of luge: Cruise down concrete hills at Skyline Rotorua, located on a mountain about a 10-minute drive from your hotel.
Fiji
You’ll begin your trip by flying to Viti Levu, Fiji’s biggest island. Spend two tranquil nights here before flying back to the United States.
- Underwater sightseeing: Fiji’s soft-coral reefs are stunning to behold and the island is home to some of the most accessible diving in the world.
- Famous beaches: Several of the island’s beaches were made famous in the Tom Hanks movie, Cast Away as well as the Brooke Shields film, The Blue Lagoon.
- Surfs up: The beaches’ impressive breaks are open to all, so grab your board and paddle out.
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