Top South Island Unique Experiences

Travel the full circuit aboard the Christchurch Tramway, which departs regularly. Use your ticket to hop on and hop off at 17 stops and create your own sightseeing itinerary. Drivers provide live commentary on the landmarks of this South Island city. Bonus: children up to age 15 travel free.

New Zealand’s craft beer community is growing at an incredible rate, and this half day tour is a unique way to experience part of this community in Queenstown. Visit some of the region’s craft breweries and microbreweries and sample what they’re brewing free of charge. Enjoy a lunch of specially-matched beer and gourmet cuisine in the scenic Gibbston Valley, and get personalized hints and tips about where to explore next from your guide. A great tour for any hop-head.

Enjoy an evening of drinking local wines and/or craft beer without worrying about getting home safely on this wine and craft beer tour. This fun group tour will take you to three wineries in the Gibbston region for tastings at each and shared antipasto platters are provided at one of the locations. Your guide will tell you all about the region’s history on the way, for an enjoyable and informative evening trip. Tour the Central Otago wine region without worrying about transport, transfers from central Queenstown are included.

Discover some of the vineyards and wineries for which New Zealand’s fertile South Island is famous on this 4-hour wine tour from Queenstown. Travel from Queenstown into the South Island’s rolling hills with your guide. Visit a total of three wineries such as Gibbston Valley Winery, Mt Rosa, Waitiri Creek Winery or Chard Farm Winery. During your visits sample some of the delicious wines and cheese produced in the region, and gain insight into the delicate balances of scent and flavour at play in your glass.

Central Otago is one of New Zealand’s most popular wine regions, producing well-respected reds and whites in alpine vineyards. On this afternoon tour, visit four of boutique wineries in the region and taste some of their award-winning offerings. Learn the secrets behind these wines from the winemakers themselves, and stop at one winery for a gourmet food and wine matching – tasting dishes of local produce matched with wines from the vineyard.

The Fox and Franz Josef glaciers are New Zealand’s largest and most magnificent glaciers, and many visitors find it hard to choose between them. This helicopter tour takes in both with a thrilling flight over snowy peaks and frozen waterfalls, and an unforgettable snow landing overlooking the glacier.

Explore New Zealand's premier wine region on this half-day tour from Blenheim. Visit four wineries, each internationally-acclaimed for their blends of red, white and particularly Sauvignon Blanc grapes that flourish in the sun-drenched alluvial soils of Marlborough. Stroll through the vines and contemplate the meaningful things in life: less important things, like your round-trip transport to and from Blenheim, are all taken care of by your tour operator.

See two remarkable glaciers from the air on a 30-minute helicopter tour of Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier. Lift off from a helipad at Fox Glacier, then fly across ice falls, formations, and crevasses on your way to Franz Josef Glacier, and touch down on a glacial snowfield for a photography session. Departures are available throughout the day for this 30-minute helicopter tour of two New Zealand glaciers.

Taste the wines of the Marlborough region on a full-day tour from Picton. You'll visit six or seven wineries and a boutique chocolate factory, and have time to purchase lunch at a winery restaurant. Your tour includes pickup and drop-off from your accommodation in central Picton.

The sunken river valleys, forested cliffs, and sandy bays of the Marlborough Sounds are one of the best places in New Zealand to spot dolphins in their natural environment, but increased tourism can often put wildlife at risk. This 4-hour cruise from Picton is run by certified Department of Conservation operators, allowing you to interact with dusky, bottlenose, and orca dolphins in a safe, fun, and eco-friendly way.

Spend time at the EcoWorld Aquarium & Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre when your cruise ship pulls into port in Picton. You’ll see ancient reptiles called tuataras and get acquainted with little blue penguins rescued from the Marlborough Sounds. On-site staff take you behind the scenes to discover New Zealand’s conservation in action.

Take a full-day wine tour from Blenheim to discover the wines of the Marlborough region, which are famous throughout New Zealand and the world. Your guide brings you to as many as seven wineries for tastings and a winery lunch (own expense), and tops it off with a stop at a chocolate factory. Relax on this comprehensive tour that includes pickup and drop-off from your accommodation.