Australia & New Zealand Small… (trip)
Australia & New Zealand Small Group Tour
- Australia
- Culture & Nature
| from $5,979* per person | 14 Days | March-November |
| Boutique accommodations | Exertion level: 3 | |
| Operator: Story Land & Sea® | 16 people max | |
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Locations visited/nearby
Australia
0 testimonials about this trip.
1 testimonial about the provider, Story Land & Sea®:
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Reviewer: Laurie P
located in
Cortland,
NY
USA
There were absolutely no financial surprises on this trip! We booked the Deluxe package and added the Amalfi Extension. We came a day early, and stayed a day late…and are super glad that we made both of those decisions. Other additions that we added were transfers to/from the airports, the Uffizi in Florence, ferry to Capri, Pompei guided tour, and our flights. All breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 6 dinners were included in our cost. On the included dining nights appetizers were ordered for the table, and then we each ordered from the menu. The wine and limoncello flowed freely all night, and I never saw any attempt to slow it down. Most nights that we did not have an included dinner our tour captain invited us to join her for dinner at our own costs. Generally we went, as did many others in our group. Mark Story, the owner of Queenslander oversees a very organized/logically planned program. All of our hotels (details later) were in the center of the action and very lovely. All luggage was moved seamlessly from place to place.The earliest time we left in the morning was 8AM…very different from other tour companies that I had researched. A few times during our travels it rained, and Queenslander picked up the taxi cost. The tour had a great blend of included tour time, and free time to explore on our own. Generally hubby took a one hour nap every night before dinner to reenergize!!We had a slight problem when QLT booked our flights and a spelling error occurred. It was caught immediately by Queenslander, but Air Canada would not deal with it until 72 hours before travel. (We had booked last December). 72 hours prior Ron Gholston had to end up rebooking the entire flight for a change fee of almost $400. Queenslander paid that without a question, and Ron handled everything very professionally. This was the type of customer service that we encountered every time we contacted Queenslander.Jodie Hedrick was our Tour Captain. There were only 16 of us in the group. We all came from very diverse backgrounds and got along famously. Jodie was such a caring, knowledgeable person, and was gifted at working with many different personalities. Everyone felt very special on this trip. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to travel with such a travel enthusiast. Her enthusiasm was infectious.VENICE: This was our favorite city of the trip. Private water taxi was the transfer, with a greeter to meet us at the airport. We stayed at Hotel Saturnia & International. We had a huge room. The hotel is very close to Piazza San Marco. Included tours: Grand Canal, Piazza San Marco, Basillica San Marco, Gondola Ride, Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs, and a water taxi to visit of the Island of Murano. In addition, we independently visited the Campanile, the Opera House, the amazing Rialto market, and walked miles and miles getting lost in Venice and loving every second of our experience!!FLORENCE: We arrived via the Silver Bullet fasttrain. Our hotel was Helvetia & Bristol which was a quick walk to the Duomo. Included tours: Duomo, Galleria dell’Accademia (David…the most impressive thing I have ever seen!!), and the Basillica di Santa Croce. Independently we went to the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi and the Market.CORTONA and the Tuscany Region: We traveled here by small bus and stopped at San Gimignano for a few hours. This is a very cute, medieval town, but it rained our entire stay. Independently we did the Church of Santa Maria. We had an included lunch at Castello della Paneretta; a winery that included wine tasting. The Cortona hotel was our favorite hotel of the trip. We stayed at the Villa Marsili. Stunningly gorgeous, and we had a very large room.ROME: We traveled to Rome by small bus, stopping in Assisi for a few hours along the way. We visited the St. Francis Basillica. Our hotel in Rome was Grand Hotel de la Minerve. It was located 10 yards from the Basilica of Maria Sopra Minerva, and 100 yards from the Pantheon (we visited both independently) Included tours: Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiore, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel. We also walked to see the Castel Sant’Angelo at night from the bridge. Beautiful!SORRENTO and the Amalfi Coast: This gorgeous area of Italy was our favorite area of the trip. We loved the food in southern Italy the most, although all of the food was great throughout our vacation. We drove the Amalfi Coast Highway (the “Mama Mia” Highway-so named for its very winding curves.) Our stay here was at the beautiful Hotel BelAir which is literally cut into the cliffs, so the views are absolutely amazing. Free view of Mt. Vesuvius every morning from the balcony! We took the ferry to Capri for the day. Luckily while we were waiting for the ferry, a gentleman by the name of Salvatore Cioffi offered to guide us on the island for a fee. This was worth every penny, and without his help we would have spent a lot of time wandering aimlessly around. His private transportation took us to Anacapri so we could ride the chairlift to the top of Mount Solaro. Stunning, and one of those “Wow” experiences. I highly recommend his tour services if you want to see this island in its totality. We also spent the morning at Pompei.Overall, we had the time of our lives on this celebrating retirement vacation. No company is perfect, but Queenslander is very close. The only discussion I heard from anyone throughout the trip was the comparison of individual hotel rooms. I believe everyone was happy with the hotels themselves, but some guests had suites, and some had smaller rooms than others, and it actually was quite simply the luck of the draw. The hotels themselves are limited in types of rooms available for groups. This really is not a Queenslander problem, but worth mentioning that guests will all have individually different rooms, and some rooms will be better than others.Queenslander Tours are worth the money spent in my opinion. Generally you get what you pay for, and I am so happy we made the decision to book with Queenslander. I’ll be happy to answer any questions about our trip.
Itinerary
Daily Itinerary
Depart Your Home Airport on your Trans-Pacific flight to Australia ~ Flight not included, but inquire for special fare with our Air Service.
Please Note: "Day 1" is the published tour date, and is the date you will arrange your air travel to depart your home airport. Your Small Group Tour will commence on Itinerary Day 3 (Day 2 is lost crossing the international dateline) upon arrival into Ayer's Rock, Australia (airport code: AYQ).
Can we help you with your Airfare?
Yes, we can arrange your air travel from the STORY Land & Sea air department. We'll work with you to get the absolutely lowest fare available based on your travel preferences.Remember, airfare is a completely separate arrangement from your land tour. It is your responsibility to arrive at the point of tour origination on time regardless of whether STORY Land & Sea has arranged your air.
Compulsory: We require trip cancellation and interruption insurance and recommendTravelex®.
This day will be "lost" as we cross the International Dateline. We will regain this day on our return.
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Day 3: The Heart of Australia
STORY Land & Sea® Way Dining: Included Welcome Dinner
WELCOME TO THE GRAND AUSTRALIA TOUR. One of STORY Land & Sea®'s most popular itineraries commences at 4:00PM at our 5-Star hotel in Ayer's Rock Resort.
ORIENTATION WALKABOUT: At 4:00 pm, join your Tour Captain for an Orientation Walkabout of the Resort.
Walking Level: Light, Leisurely Pace. Volume: Light
STORY Land & Sea® Exclusive: Tonight, join us for our Unique Perspectives Experience with a special Reception & Welcome from the Tour Captain from one of our classic perspectives under the Southern Hemisphere.
WELCOME DINNER
Join your Tour Captain for our included Welcome Dinner at Ayer's Rock Resort — this is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world — welcome to Australia!
About the STORY Land & Sea® Way of Dining Our approach to dining is truly unique: Our favorites dishes represent the region we're traveling through. From our unique, off-the-beaten-path restaurants we visit for each included dinner to the variety of hand-crafted dishes, it's truly an immersion into authentic local food and wine. Your Tour Captain / City Host® is there to make sure your dining experience goes smoothly and will help you interpret any menu item. For most included dinners, your Tour Captain will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening ~ a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling ~ and yes, "the wine flows." Certain dining experiences will feature designed menus and experiences.
Tonight is an intentionally slow evening of delight so you can savor the experience and breath deeply in the very heart of Australia.
Lodging in the Heart of the Resort
There is a difference between centrally-located hotels and STORY Land & Sea's Heart of City hotels.
Accommodation: Sails in the Desert at Ayer's Rock Resort, 2 Nights
Day 4: DISCOVERING THE BEAUTIFUL AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK
Dining: Daily Breakfast Included 
STORY Land & Sea® Exclusive: Sounds of Silence Dinner
City: Ayer's Rock
State/Territory: Northern Territory
WELCOME TO THE OUTBACK
This morning you will meet Australia's Aboriginal people, learn to paint Outback-style, taste fair-dink (genuine) bush tucker and experience a rare glimpse into the indigenous way of life that has carried on for thousands of years.
We return to the hotel mid-afternoon and enjoy the balance of day free until our included experience tonight:
INCLUDED TONIGHT: UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE EXPERIENCE: The Award-Winning SOUNDS OF SILENCE dinner under the Southern Hemisphere.
Enjoy a champagne party and a spectacular evening under the stars at the award-winningSounds of Silence experience, where we'll dine on gourmet Australian barbecue, then sit back and soak in the mystery of the Australian Outback and the beauty of the Southern Hemisphere night sky. At the Sounds of Silence experience you can dine under the canopy of the desert night, while your very own storyteller shares tales as told in the stars. Entered into the Australian Tourism Hall of Fame, Sounds of Silence offers the best of the Red Center in four magical hours. Make note, the Sounds of Silence BBQ under the stars is a designed menu and is award-winning.
It all starts at Sunset: Sunset canapés.
Your journey begins on a lone sand dune. A path takes you to an uninterrupted, three hundred and sixty degree view of this vast landscape. In front of you is the fabled Uluru; behind you are the domes of Kata Tjuta and, possibly the most spectacular sunset you have ever seen. Here you enjoy sparkling wine and a selection of delectable canapés. Dining under the sparkling outback sky As the sun sets, you feast on a BBQ buffet of authentic Australian delicacies examples include barramundi, kangaroo and crocodile, bush salads and classic desserts, complemented by Australian wines. Stargazing Attention then turns to some of the world's best stargazing, as our star talker takes you on a tour of the spectacular southern night sky. As you wind down after dinner, you are offered a choice of tea, coffee or port.
The Sounds of Silence experience includes: Canapés Beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks, Buffet BBQ (vegetarian options available with prior notice), Scrumptious desserts, Tea, coffee, port, Entertainment Star talk, and stargazing.
We return to the hotels for a good night's rest.
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Day 5: TO SUNRISE TO SUNSET IN THE OUTBACK
& then on to CAIRNS
STORY Land & Sea® Way Dining Included TonightTHE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK
At dusk, we arrive the literal "Red Center of Australia." Get ready for something unlike anything you've experienced from the Rock to the Southern Hemisphere.
SUNRISE AT THE ROCK
We depart before sunrise for Ayer's Rock, Uluru to the Aboriginal people. Enjoy an impressive display of color as the sun rises. It's a brisk morning, but well worth it to experience Ayer's Rock up close with its own brilliant display of colors. Enjoy a continental breakfast in a brown paper bag this morning as we navigate to the Rock.
Then, an optional climbing of Ayer's Rock may be in order, or simply watching. Note, climbing the rock is potentially hazardous and you will do so at your own risk.
You may opt to climb the world's largest monolith, but be warned: Many have tried and succeeded, while a few have failed and gave up their lives. Do you have medical conditions that may inhibit you from climbing Ayer's Rock? Then we suggest you enjoy a lovely walk around the base of the rock with your Tour Captain. Absolutely stunning.
After our experience at the Rock, we then continue to the airport and our onward flight to Queensland.
Sunny Queensland & Cairns
Welcome to Tropical Far North Queensland. Welcome to Cairns, where the rainforest meets the reef.
Upon arrival, we transfer to our hotel and freshen up before a Queensland welcome dinner with your Tour Captain.
CAIRNS: GATEWAY TO AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF
STORY Land & Sea Tours' name was inspired as a result of the adventures our founder experienced while exploring Queensland's natural beauty and delightful people.
Accommodation: Shangri-La Hotel or similar ~ 3 Nights
You've got to earn the right to live up here.
~ AB "Banjo" Paterson, The Man from Snowy River
Day 6
Included Dining: Breakfast, Lunch Exclusives: Private Sailing & Snorkeling on the Outer Reef After breakfast, on our first full day in Queensland, we're off to see the Great Barrier Reef up close. This is one of the most stunning experiences on our tour and we enjoy it from our private boat.
Today, enjoy a full-day tour of the Great Barrier Reef - complete with glass bottom boats and snorkeling - get up close to the technicolor banks of coral reef teeming with tropical fish. This experience is one which makes a lasting impression on STORY Land & Sea patrons - if at all possible, you must try snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.
The day is highlighted with a smorgasbord lunch on the water and ample free time for relaxing and soaking in the sun. We return to our hotel for a free evening.
Australia, Mate. She's great!
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Day 7: Free Day or Rainforest
Included Dining: Breakfast & Dinner
Enjoy a completely free day in Queensland today or opt to explore the rainforest called Kuranda.
Take your time. Enjoy just being in this amazing country. We have some optional activities that you may want to consider:
OPTIONAL EXCURSION IN CAIRNS KURANDA RAINFOREST SKYRAIL & TRAIN
$171 pp.
Today we're off to experience the contrast of this region's oldest and most unique picturesque railway via Kuranda Railways. Enjoy the shops of Kuranda and on Saturday's enjoy the Market. Afterwards, we take the SkyRail gondola for incredible treetop views of the rainforest (is that the ocean in the distance?) to the base of the mountain.
OPTIONAL EXCURSION IN CAIRNS TJAPUKAI ABORIGINAL CULTURAL PARK
$58 pp.
Tjapukai is a traditional Aboriginal Culture which celebrates the living history of the Indigenous people of the Rainforest. Learn to play the didgeridoo, discover the medicinal values of bush tucker, also learn how to throw a spear and enjoy professional theatre incorporating traditional Aboriginal culture with dancing, fire making and storytelling. Tjapukai Aboriginal Park features a genuine "cultural and visual Australian journey" featuring the instrument called a 'didgeridoo,' plus an hunting and ochre demonstrations.
Tonight, your Tour Captain will invite you to an optional dinner or explore on your own.
A man can be hard to find in the mountains.
You're welcome at my fire anytime.
~ Character Jim Craig from The Man from Snowy River.
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Day 8: Sydney Included Dining: Breakfast, Dinner Exclusives: Sunset Cruise Dinner
State: New South Wales
City: Sydney
Morning air flight from Cairns bound for Sydney. Our hotel is located on Circular Quay on beautiful Sydney Harbour.
THE ROCKS
After check-in, join our Tour Captain for a walkabout of the Circular Quay and historic Rocks district. Your Tour Captain is knowledgeable on local customs, history and shoppes. The historic Rocks district comes alive as you walk where the original Sydney settlers and convicts walked.
STORY Land & Sea® EXCLUSIVE: AN AUSTRALIAN WELCOME
Tonight enjoy a Sydney Welcome Dinner with your Tour Captain onboard our sunset cruise on Sydney Harbour. These are the experiences life-time memories are made of ~ enjoy and welcome to Sydney!
Accommodation: Harbour Rocks Hotel or similar ~ 2 Nights
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Day 9: EXPLORE SYDNEY WITH STORY Land & Sea TODAY Included Dining: Breakfast
After breakfast, meet the Tour Captain and then enjoy our included sightseeing experience of Sydney, Australia. From the "Rocks District" to Bondi Beach, we enjoy an immersion in everything Sydney. Sydney-Siders, as they're called, are a warm people for such a cosmopolitan city.
Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. Enjoy a history of the Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club before we return to the Rocks for the balance of the day free.
Tonight, explore on your own for dinner, or join the Tour Captain to an optional but unique, distinctly Australian dining experience.
There's a beauty here, that's fresh, raw, untamed. It's real. It's 'fair dink.'
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Day 10 Included Dining: Breakfast Included STORY Land & Sea Way Dining Tonight
After breakfast, we make our way to the Sydney airport for the flight to the South Island of New Zealand.
Welcome to the South Island.
We airhop to Queenstown on the South Island and make our way to Te Anau, our home for the next two evenings.
DRAMATIC SCAPES & TASTES
We check in, freshen up and enjoy time at leisure until our included dinner tonight in Fiordland.
Accommodation: Distinction Te Anau & Villas, 2 Nights
BACK TO TOPDay 11 Included Dining: See Option Below
Board our vehicle bound for the enchanting Milford Sound. Just when you thought it couldn't get more awe-inspiring, you arrive to some of the most majestic scenes found in the world.
This area of New Zealand has been honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
MILFORD SOUND EXPERIENCE
We continue to explore the Fiordland National Park as we make our way to Milford Sound.
Make our way to Milford Sound for our special onboard cruise complete with lunch among the magnificent cliffs and glacier-hewn inlets of the Sound.
We return to our hotel in Te Anau for overnight.
Tonight, join your Tour Captain for an optional dinner.
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Day 12 Included Dining: Breakfast, Dinner Unique Perspectives Experience: Zealand Winery
INCLUDED WINERY EXPERIENCE
We head north on the way to Queenstown where you will enjoy our winery tour and taste the varietals from the South Island paired with lunch. Exquisite! Not all departures will feature the winery experience: occasionally this will be substituted with an equivalent experience.
Continue on to Queenstown to arrive our hotel mid to late afternoon and enjoy the balance of day free until our special reception.
INCLUDED RECEPTION IN QUEENSTOWN
Join the Tour Captain in the lobby for a special reception this evening.
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Queenstown, 2 Nights
Day 13
Included Dining: Breakfast, Dinner Unique Perspectives Experience: TSS Earnslaw
4WD AWESOME ADVENTURE TOUR
We tour the countryside in specially-fitted 4 wheel-drive vehicles while visiting the locations where the Fortress of Isengard, Forest of Lothlorien and other famous Peter Jackson scenes were filmed. Find out why New Zealand is the movie directors’ choice for film locations. We return to our hotel around mid-day for the balance of your day at leisure.
INCLUDED DINING TONIGHT
We step aboard the TSS Earnslaw for a nostalgic cruising and dining experience. We enjoy a cruise of the lake on the way to the Colonel’s Homestead at Walter Peak.
Enjoy high country hospitality and a carvery style dinner featuring the best of New Zealand meats and seafood, along with fresh vegetables and garden salads.
An entertaining after dinner show provides a glimpse into farming life. We return to our hotel for the balance of day at leisure. Your Farewell to the South Pacific dinner is with the Tour Captain onboard.
It is a night of fun, great cuisine, wine, and memories! Our days have been filled with new sights, tastes, and discoveries - tonight enjoy reflecting on the incredible journey we've had together!
More information from Story Land & Sea®:
- View trip on provider's website
storylandsea.com/tours/australia-newzealand.asp… - Company profile, experience, and history
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