World Heritage – Our Original Luxury Walking Tour

You’ll enjoy the best walking in New Zealand and explore several UNESCO World Heritage sites including:

- Routeburn Track – Guided day hike from the Routeburn road-end to either Routeburn Falls or Routeburn Flats.
- Fiordland National Park – helicopter, jet boat and guided day hike on the Hollyford Track. 
- Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park – Guided day walk on the Hooker Valley track.
- Arthur's Pass National Park – Short guided hike on the Devil's Punchbowl track.
- Mou Waho Island – Guided nature walk on this island eco-sanctuary in the middle of Lake Wanaka.
- Paparoa National Park – afternoon guided hike on the Pororari River track.

You can check out each hike here.

On the World Heritage Walking Tour, you'll sleep soundly in hotel accommodations that we have chosen specifically for their fantastic locations. You’ll meet friendly hosts and have a private ensuite room each night. Click here for a detailed look at the accommodation on this trip.

Everyone walks at the pace most comfortable for them and there is never any time pressure on our walks. If you are generally active and enjoy physical hobbies like hiking, cycling, golf, tennis or dancing then you will have no problems with the walks and activities on the tour. On the World Heritage Walking Tour you will walk between 2 to 4 hours each day on well-formed tracks. The average distance walked each day is 7km/4.3mi. If you’d like to do a little preparation for your tour we recommend regular short walks anywhere from one to four hours in the six weeks leading up to your trip. We’ve had people of all ages and abilities on our World Heritage Walking Tour and everyone’s had a great time! Click here to go to a handy page with a summary of the distances and approximate times for every walk and activity on our World Heritage Walking Tour!

You can see the pick-up and drop-off times and locations for your trip and information for booking your flights here in the World Heritage Walking Tour Trip Specific Information. 

You will have a spacious room with an ensuite every night bar one on this trip, with the exception being a night in a remote corner of Fiordland National Park in a lodge that has well-equipped shared bathroom facilities. On travel days our guides will regularly stop at bathroom facilities in between destinations and on the walking trails there are basic toilets available at regular intervals

Yes, all of the places we stay on the World Heritage Walking Tour have electricity. At the remote Martin's Bay Lodge in Fiordland electricity is run on a generator and is limited overnight to lights. If you have a CPAP machine or other medical device that requires electricity overnight, please just let us know when you sign up for your trip and we will pass this information onto the Lodge staff who can easily accommodate this.

Yes – we are well connected in New Zealand! You will have access to the internet, at your accommodation whether free or for a small fee, during 11 of your 12 nights on your World Heritage Trip. While New Zealand is quite tech savvy the wifi at some accommodation may not be of the speed you are used to back home. Due to its remote location, there is no internet connection or cellphone reception the night we stay at Martin's Bay Lodge in Fiordland. Your guides and lodge hosts will have a satellite phone to access outside assistance if they need to.

Due to the permits required to access the UNESCO World Heritage areas of New Zealand we have a limited number of World Heritage Walking Tour departures. As our tours are in small groups, we are usually fully booked during the summer season so we advise booking as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment. It's normal for guests to book on our World Heritage Walking Tour 12 months in advance. To make planning your trip go as smoothly as possible we suggest you book your tour first, before you book any flights to New Zealand.

Safety is always our top priority. We take great pride in our impeccable safety record and our safety management plans. Your Trip Director is a highly experienced outdoors professional who is first aid qualified and fully equipped with a satellite phone, personal locator beacon and first aid kit. Our trips have direct access to our highly experienced operations team and other outside services 24 hours a day.

The World Heritage Walking Tour visits 6 of New Zealand’s National Parks - Paparoa, Arthurs Pass, Mt Aspiring, Fiordland, Aoraki/Mt Cook and Westland Tai Poutini. You will have the opportunity to hike on two Great Walks, the Paparoa Track and Routeburn Track, as well as experiencing the Franz Josef Glacier walk, Hooker Valley, the Hollyford Track, Doubtful Sound and the eco sanctuary of Mou Waho island.

• Local naturalist guides on the Hollyford Track, Mou Waho island, Okarito Lagoon Kayaking, Charleston Caves tour and the Glacier Explorers tour in Mt Cook.
• An experienced New Zealand Trails guide
• All meals except dinner the night after you do the Routeburn Track and lunch and dinner on your free day in Queenstown when guests like to explore the outstanding local restaurants and cafés
• Activities, hikes and guides as shown in the itinerary.
• Helicopter and jetboat transfers
• Accommodation as indicated in your final itinerary.
• All local taxes and gratuities.

New Zealand is not a tipping culture. If you'd like to show your appreciation to your guide with a tip it is very much appreciated but not an expectation on our trips. 

Airfares to and from New Zealand. Airfares between the North and South Island of New Zealand if you are joining our Sweet North trip.
Airport transfers.
Travel insurance.
Visas.
Non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverages.

Our World Heritage Walking Tour is very popular and we often run two trips departing on the same date, with no more than 14 guests on any one trip. This trip has been carefully crafted to give you exclusive access to New Zealand's best walks, activities, and accommodations. By running one trip eastbound and the other westbound we are able to give every guest this exclusive experience. The published itinerary is the westbound trip, though it doesn't matter which direction you go as both trips start and finish in Christchurch and the itineraries are identical, they just run in opposite directions. If for any reason you would like to be on a particular departure direction then just let us know.

Our guests are like-minded people from Australia, the UK, Canada and America, and come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. On average, we have a 50/50 split between men and women, with several single travellers on each trip as well as couples and friends travelling together.

If you would like to see the actual people that come on our World Heritage walking tour, check out our photo gallery.

There is no additional charge for solo travellers on our trips. If you are a solo traveller, as many of our guests are, we will team you up with another solo traveller of the same sex to share with for the duration of your trip. If you would like to guarantee your own room as a solo traveller, then there is the option to pay a solo supplement.

You certainly don’t need any technical outdoors experience to enjoy your New Zealand Trails trip. If you enjoy being out and about in the outdoors and are a generally active person who enjoys hobbies like walking, cycling, golf, tennis or dancing then you will have no problems at all with the walks and activities on your trip.

The kayaking activity on your trip is suitable for beginners and is in a calm lagoon. There’s no need for you to have ever been kayaking before. You will be in double sea kayaks, which are very stable. A specialist kayak guide will teach you everything you need to know before you head out and will be with you out on the water.

We run small-group tours, so along with your guides, there are typically 12-15 guests in your group. We have found keeping our group sizes small is the perfect way to make sure everyone has the best time.

Yes, we can! Our dedicated Guest Services team member Becky will be here to help every step of the way. She can advise you on which flights you should book to ensure you arrive for your trip on time, the best accommodation for you pre and post-trip and everything in between. She’s here to make sure your travel experience is seamless and stress-free.

Coming on a guided trip with us means we take care of everything! Our small group tours have a maximum of 14 guests per trip along with your local, New Zealand guide and are designed to make it easy, fun and safe for you to explore on your New Zealand trip of a lifetime.

Before your trip:
You’ll have a dedicated guest service team member to assist you every step of the way. From advising what you should pack to choosing the best flights to arrive for your trip on time and helping organize pre and post-trip accommodation. No matter when you book or how far in advance you plan your travel, our team is here to help.

During your trip:
On your trip, you’ll have a dedicated local New Zealand guide who will take care of everything.  They provide food, snacks and safety information, as well as arrange all of your activities and make sure you get where you need to be safely and on time. They’ll also share their extensive knowledge of our country and culture and provide flexibility so you can enjoy New Zealand at the pace that’s right for you. Along the way, you'll also have specialised local guides that will join you for hikes and activities. These local guides add an extra depth of knowledge to the areas that we visit. 

After your trip:
Your dedicated guest service team member will be there to support you. From helping book accommodation and advising on the best flights to sharing local knowledge on other activities you might enjoy or the best places to eat. You’ll also receive all the photos from your trip that your guides have collected along the way so you can cherish the memories of your adventure.

On day one of your trip, your guides will pick you up from either our joining hotel or the airport in a late-model Mercedes Benz Sprinter. This will be your vehicle for the duration of the trip and your luggage will travel with you in the luggage compartment. Each day we'll drive between 0.5 and 3 hours to reach our next destination. Our trips are carefully planned to give you the most time exploring the outdoors and any travel is always broken up with hikes, activities and coffee/bathroom breaks. You'll bring your small day pack with you inside the vehicle, with just your hiking essentials (jacket, water bottle, sun hat etc) and will be all you will need to carry with you when you are out exploring. Your luggage will stay in the vehicle until we reach our accommodation for the evening. 

If you are joining us on both a Sweet North and a South Island trip, it is a very easy to transition between the South and North Islands. Our national airline Air New Zealand operates several flights a day between Auckland and Queenstown or Christchurch. We leave the flights for you to organise so that you can choose where you would like to spend any extra time between your trips and the time that suits your plans. If you have any questions about the timings for your trips, or you would like any help at all, just ask us!