New Zealand Great Walk Adventure - North

On our New Zealand Great Walk Adventure – North you’ll explore all three of our National Parks located on the North Island and explore two of the three New Zealand Great Walks on the Island.

-       Egmont National Park

-       Whanganui National Park

-       Tongariro National Park

-       Whanganui River Journey – New Zealand Great Walk

-       Tongariro Crossing – New Zealand Great Walk

On the New Zealand Great Walk Adventure - North trip, you'll sleep soundly in comfortable accommodations that we have chosen specifically for their fantastic locations. You’ll meet friendly hosts and have a private ensuite room each night. You can check out the accommodation in more detail here.

Pick up information
We can pick you up on the first day of your trip in Auckland at:

8.30am from the lobby of our city joining hotel – Adina Apartment Hotel

OR

9.15am from the lobby of our airport joining hotel - Sudima Auckland Airport

OR

9.30am from Auckland Airport

Drop off information*
We can drop you off on the last day of your trip in Auckland at:

5.00pm at Auckland Airport

OR

after 5.15pm at your airport hotel

OR

after 6.00pm at your city centre hotel in the Auckland CBD. Due to the time restrictions on the final day, if we are dropping you off at a hotel this will need to be a hotel that is either an airport hotel or a hotel within the city centre (Auckland CBD), not a hotel in another suburb. 

* Please note, if you are travelling on a trip with us that departs from October 2025 onwards, then your drop off locations will be: 5.00pm at Auckland Airport, 5.15pm at our airport joining hotel - Sudima Auckland Airport, 6.00pm at our city joining hotel - Adina Apartment Hotel

When booking your flights, please make sure you:

Arrive on day one no later than 8.00am International 9.00am Domestic
Depart on the final day no earlier than 7.30pm International 6.30pm Domestic

**If your travel plans fall outside of these times please check with us before you book.

On The New Zealand Great Walk Adventure - North you'll enjoy private ensuite bathrooms at all our accommodations. 

Yes, all of the places we stay on The New Zealand Great Walk Adventure - North have electricity. 

You certainly will. We are well connected in New Zealand! You will have access to the internet at your accommodations during every night of your trip. 

• Two experienced New Zealand Trails guides to show you the best of New Zealand and share their local knowledge.
• All meals and snacks during your trip.
• Activities, hikes and guides as shown in the itinerary.
• Accommodation as shown in your final itinerary.
• All local taxes and gratuities.

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

• Airfares
• Airport transfers
• Travel Insurance
• Your New Zealand Visa
• Non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverages with lunch and dinner

Our guests are like-minded travellers from around the world. They come from a wide range of interesting backgrounds and experiences but all share a love of the outdoors and exploring new places. Nearly 1/3 of our guests are solo travellers and we welcome solo travellers on all our trips.

We sure can! We regularly organize private trips for specialist groups, clubs, extended families and groups of friends wishing to travel together and would be more than happy to help you with your travel plans. You can read more about our private New Zealand trips here.

Safety is always our top priority. We take great pride in our impeccable safety record and our safety management plans. Your guide is a highly experienced outdoors professional who is first aid qualified and fully equipped with a 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.

We get a pretty wide range of age groups on our tours, anywhere from people in their 30s to 70s. In any case, we reckon it’s more about attitude than age, which is why the social dynamics usually work so well. If you love the idea of getting out into the most incredible landscapes on the planet, with your feet on the ground rather than looking out of a coach window, and you enjoy your creature comforts - we know you will love our trips!

We can also run private departures for families where the itinerary and activity level can be tailored so that every member of the group can participate, regardless of age.

Check out our photo galleries for real people on our New Zealand tours.

Most of the people who join our trips have questions about how fit they need to be and the answer is that as long as you enjoy being out and about in the outdoors you will enjoy yourself – this trip is designed for active people, but you don’t need to be an athlete! We have two trained guides on most hikes, meaning that everyone can go at their own pace and there is always flexibility within the itinerary to do more or less depending on your mood that day. Check out our New Zealand Great Walk Adventure – North fitness page for full details of the walks you’ll do on this trip.

No. 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 outdoor 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.

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, your dedicated local New Zealand guides 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.

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.

Yes, we can! Our dedicated Guest Services team members Becky and Lydia will be here to help every step of the way. They 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. They are here to make sure your travel experience is seamless and stress-free.

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. On the days we travel between locations we average around three hours of driving. 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!  

The focus of our trips is spending as much time as possible, with our feet on the ground, exploring the great New Zealand outdoors. We’ve carefully crafted our itineraries to cover as much of New Zealand as we can while at the same time minimising the amount of time spent in a vehicle.

On the days we travel between locations we average around three hours of driving. We always break up the drives with walks, activities and visits to our favourite small towns. Our guides also make sure to stop every hour or so for a coffee/bathroom break. You’ll always have plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs.

If you’d like to chat more about the specific drive times for your trip, feel free to give us a call here in New Zealand :-).