New Zealand Rail Journeys
Explore the 'Land of the Long White Cloud' on one of our perennially popular guided rail journeys and coach tours. Choose from 8 rail journeys through New Zealand travelling with New Zealand's leading tour operators.
Popular Rail Journeys View all
19 Days Auckland to Christchurch
Operator: Grand Pacific Tours
From 11,607
Save 373
12 Days Auckland to Christchurch
Operator: Great Journeys New Zealand
From 9,454
Save 95
11 Days Wellington to Queenstown
Operator: Great Journeys New Zealand
From 9,008
Save 91
8 Days Auckland to Wellington
Operator: Great Journeys New Zealand
From 6,484
Save 65
Discover Must Do Experiences and Highlights
The Glenbrook Vintage Railway
The Glenbrook Vintage Railway is a short trip from Auckland and offers passengers a nostalgic rail experience. Enjoy a ride on the beautifully restored steam train as you take in the picturesque countryside of the North Island.
The Northern Explorer Train
Board the Northern Explorer Scenic Train and cross the Central Plateau of Tongariro National Park with its three volcanic cones. From icy streams to coastal cliffs, sit back and soak up the breathtaking landscapes between Auckland and Wellington.
The Coastal Pacific Train
The Coastal Pacific offers a captivating rail journey between Picton and Christchurch. Witness the breathtaking beauty of Kaikoura's mountain ranges, and the Pacific's serene coastline. Keep a close watch for breaching whales and sunbaking seals.
Tranz Alpine Rail Journey
Traverse the Southern Alps aboard the Tranz Alpine! The carriage's domed windows offer panoramic vistas of the Canterbury Plains with its intricately braided rivers. Or, step onto the open-air carriage in chilly Arthur's Pass before descending to the lush West Coast at Greymouth.
Arthur's Pass National Park
With shingle-filled riverbeds and lush beech forests to the east and deep gorges and dense rainforests to the west, Arthur's Pass National Park serves as an iconic gateway between the east and west coasts of the South Island.
Latest Reviews What our clients are saying about their journeys through New Zealand
19 Day Ultimate Rail, Cruise and Coach Tour through New Zealand Peter and Karin, NSW, Australia, Sep 2024
The whole trip was amazing but in particular, beautiful Bay of Islands, geysers of Rotorua, Te Papa Museum in Wellington, the Coastal Pacific Rail Journey from Picton, the Tranzalpine train journey, Queenstown, Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise, viewing magnificent snow covered alps, Larnarch Castle at Dunedin. We would definitely travel with Grand Pacific ...read more again and book online with Global Journeys again as our booking was handled well with no hiccups and a very comprehensive itinerary. Tips for future travellers? I would have liked to have experienced the optional extra Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa and the luge ride which was included in our itinerary in Rotorua. (Was worried about my arthritic back but should not have been concerned as the way down was bump free!!). Accommodation was very good as most hotels were situated in the centre of the city and very comfortable. We travelled in September-October and had good weather. Our fellow travellers were very easy to get on with. We really enjoyed their company.
Ultimate Rail, Cruise and Coach New Zealand - Global Journeys Booking Agent. Bernard and Tracey, WA, Australia, Sep 2024
We were looking at another classy coach trip having been on 2 previous, one in South Africa and the other in UK. We chose New Zealand and Grand Pacific because of the itinerary, being able to spend 2 days in one place, majority meals and a lot of extras were included, hence saving on extra excursions. Having the coach driver organizing numbers for ...read more the tours and the participants paying direct to the vendor, we thought was terrific as the UK trip the guide was charging a fee for organizing. This trip ticked all the boxes. The only downfall was that twice we had to stay at accommodation in Christchurch which was below the standard that other accommodation facilities we had visited. Hopefully Grand Pacific will take note of the reviews and look for a better place.
We usually book our own trips and were told that we had to go through Global Journeys in Australia or New Zealand. We chose Australia. I believe when you use a Travel Agent, they do everything for you. No problems, no stress. I had noticed that there was an irregularity in the departure from Christchurch to Perth. Our transport was organised for the day we were suppose to fly out, yet our fly out day was the next day. There was a bit of confusion and a "typo" was blamed for the error and yet we had to pay for the alteration to the booking. My husband was fuming and a verbal altercation ensued. He wanted to speak to the Manager and was told that the agent was the Manager. It was a bit of a bad taste left in the mouth. Time passed and we were asked to change departure time from Christchurch due to the connecting flight (so there was plenty of time), no problems didn't cost anything that was a bonus. I was looking at the booking again and noticed that there was a error in the departure time from Perth, the booking was reflecting a time of 29:50 hours. I asked the agent to check and after a few emails to clarify the typo. The agent has since been made up to Managing Director, thought she owned the Company. Another agent was assigned to our booking and there was no problems.
(CEO. Thanks for your feedback Bernard and Tracey, and we're really happy you enjoyed your journey through NZ - Grand Pacific are fantastic operators as can be seen with the other reviews we receive. We've taken onboard your feedback regarding your flight timing issue. In a perfect world we'd all have no problems and no stress and hopefully next time that's the case! Cheers Campbell)
We usually book our own trips and were told that we had to go through Global Journeys in Australia or New Zealand. We chose Australia. I believe when you use a Travel Agent, they do everything for you. No problems, no stress. I had noticed that there was an irregularity in the departure from Christchurch to Perth. Our transport was organised for the day we were suppose to fly out, yet our fly out day was the next day. There was a bit of confusion and a "typo" was blamed for the error and yet we had to pay for the alteration to the booking. My husband was fuming and a verbal altercation ensued. He wanted to speak to the Manager and was told that the agent was the Manager. It was a bit of a bad taste left in the mouth. Time passed and we were asked to change departure time from Christchurch due to the connecting flight (so there was plenty of time), no problems didn't cost anything that was a bonus. I was looking at the booking again and noticed that there was a error in the departure time from Perth, the booking was reflecting a time of 29:50 hours. I asked the agent to check and after a few emails to clarify the typo. The agent has since been made up to Managing Director, thought she owned the Company. Another agent was assigned to our booking and there was no problems.
(CEO. Thanks for your feedback Bernard and Tracey, and we're really happy you enjoyed your journey through NZ - Grand Pacific are fantastic operators as can be seen with the other reviews we receive. We've taken onboard your feedback regarding your flight timing issue. In a perfect world we'd all have no problems and no stress and hopefully next time that's the case! Cheers Campbell)
Have just returned from the most fantastic trip with Grand Pacific and I can honestly say that it more than exceeded my expectations. I had been very uncertain about coach travel, but as a single traveller, there are not too many options and the small group tour coach operated by GPT was so comfortable with only 20 seats on a full size vehicle. My travel ...read more companions turned out to be a delight and we had some great experiences together.
The tour itself was extremely well coordinated and organised and our coach captain kept us all in order and took very good care of all our wants and needs. He was patient and knowledgeable and kept us amused and entertained during the sometimes necessarily long journeys, and we felt very safe and secure in his care.
There was a good choice of excursions at the various tour stops and the standard of hotels used was generally extremely high, with good locations with the overnight stay on the boat through Doubtful Sound being one of the highlights of the whole trip for me, along with the helicopter flight from Fox Glacier. The only comment I would make is that the trip could have been improved if we had stayed 3 nights and not 2 at most of the towns. With the excursions taking up the free time it would have been great to have more free time to explore each place, as fort the majority of tourists this will be the only time they get to visit NZ given the distances most had travelled to get there.
The tour itself was extremely well coordinated and organised and our coach captain kept us all in order and took very good care of all our wants and needs. He was patient and knowledgeable and kept us amused and entertained during the sometimes necessarily long journeys, and we felt very safe and secure in his care.
There was a good choice of excursions at the various tour stops and the standard of hotels used was generally extremely high, with good locations with the overnight stay on the boat through Doubtful Sound being one of the highlights of the whole trip for me, along with the helicopter flight from Fox Glacier. The only comment I would make is that the trip could have been improved if we had stayed 3 nights and not 2 at most of the towns. With the excursions taking up the free time it would have been great to have more free time to explore each place, as fort the majority of tourists this will be the only time they get to visit NZ given the distances most had travelled to get there.
Very comfortable, relaxing & enjoyable trip with the friendliest & punctual touring group ever. Keith & Barbie, WA, Australia, Jan 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed our 19-day ultimate tour of New Zealand being driven on the ultimate coach with just 20 guests. We had the best group of touring companions and were on time every time with all our departures. Having a free day on Day 2 of the trip was questionable and it would have been better placed after the long drive from Rotorua to Wellington ...read more on day 8. This drive was made worse as we had to detour via the western side of Lake Taupo due to road works on the Eastern route.
Our highlight was the overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, having just 47 other passengers as company on the overnight trip to this secluded and beautiful region of New Zealand. WOW a special place. This trip could be improved with a few additional days and a visit to a winery will top it off. Well done Grand Pacific and thank you. A special thank you to Georgie from Global Journeys who arranged our trip and kept us up-to-date with our booking.
Our highlight was the overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, having just 47 other passengers as company on the overnight trip to this secluded and beautiful region of New Zealand. WOW a special place. This trip could be improved with a few additional days and a visit to a winery will top it off. Well done Grand Pacific and thank you. A special thank you to Georgie from Global Journeys who arranged our trip and kept us up-to-date with our booking.
