7 Day North Island tour for international students

A 7-day tour not to be missed! Visit/try North Island highlights from sand boarding and Ninety Mile Beach, Cape Reinga at the tip of the North Island and kayaking under waterfalls in Paihia, all the way to our mysterious Waitomo Caves and beautiful Tongariro National Park. This tour gives you so many chances to try extra activities, like a day trip to Hobbiton movie set, jumping out of a plane or Tongariro Crossing (January only), zip-lining, to name just a few.

Here is a summary of your epic North Island tour.

Day 1: We have made it easy, pick up options from Tauranga, Waihi, Auckland domestic airport or Auckland central, with other options on route. Your first stop to stretch you legs will be at the famous Whangarei Falls, before heading to Paihia for a tasty evening meal. After dinner, set off into the sunset and  Kayak right underneath the famous Haruru Falls near Paihia (winter itinerary may vary)
Overnight Paihia.
Dinner on the water front included. 

Day 2: Take an action-packed day tour to the northernmost point and stand at the very top of New Zealand - Cape Reinga. Drive along Ninety Mile Beach, sand board down huge dunes and walk amongst giant kauri trees in an ancient forest.
Overnight Paihia. 
Fish and Chip dinner included

Day 3: This is a free morning to add on any optional extra activities. How about swimming with dolphins or cruising to the famous Hole in the Rock? Head to Rotorua in the afternoon with the option to add on a Maori cultural evening and hangi meal or a late-night luge? (Ask our team for prices and options)
Overnight Rotorua. 
Dinner not included. 

Day 4: This is a free day in Rotorua: There’s so much to choose from, zip lining through ancient forest for instance, or a day trip to Hobbiton Movie set or jumping out of a plane?, but don’t worry our guides will help you organise this so you can squeeze heaps in. (Our team will help you book these optional extras)
Overnight Rotorua
Dinner not included.

Day 5: Visit Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, a spectacular showcase of New Zealand’s most colourful and unique geothermal elements sculpted by thousands of years of volcanic activitybefore heading to Taupo. Choose to bungy, skydive or just shop this afternoon (Skydive and bungy are optional extras)
Overnight: National Park 
Dinner included.- 1 x Main 

Day 6: Today hike (2 to 3 hours) with your guide in the beautiful National Park. This walk passes a range of land forms through tussock and alpine shrubland to beech forest where you will get excellent mountain views of 'Mt doom' from LOTR movies before Taranaki Falls comes into view tumbling 20 metres over the edge of a large andesite lava flow which erupted from Ruapehu 15,000 years ago.
Dinner included. - 1 x Main 

Day 7: Explore the world-famous Waitomo Glow Worm Caves and take a rainforest walk OR choose that most epic experience, Black Water Rafting, before returning to Auckland.

Question 1: Why do students choose to tour with Learning Journeys?

• We, have been awarded a Qualmark accreditation, unlike many of our competitors in this market. This is the result of a rigorous independent assessment of the quality of our product, processes and risk management.
• We are also full members of New Zealand’s Tourism Export Council.
• We are a well-known company with many 15 years’ experience with students.
• Our groups on long tours are small and friendly (around 20 rather than 40) so we can easily make sure everyone is having a great time.
• We stay in quality hostels, with bedding provided in private rooms, rather than camping and braving the elements.
• On long tours, all breakfasts and all dinners are included but one. 90% of dinners are in restaurants.
• All activities are INCLUDED in prices, except things like bungy, so what you see is what you get. Your programme will be full even if you have no extra money to spend on activities.
• Our tour managers are experienced professionals.
• We hold a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for our cruise ship tours. Our cruise ship clients unanimously rate their tours 5/5 (see www.cruisetauranga.com). (We can’t put Learning Journeys on Trip Advisor because companies offering multi-day tours are excluded)

Question 2: Can Learning Journeys help arrange airfares?

• For individual bookings, call our office between 9 am and 2 pm on week days for help booking internal flights. You will need to provide a credit card number. For group bookings on internal flights, please email your requirements and we will get back to you with some choices.

Question 3: What happens when we arrive at the airport at the start of a tour?

• You will be met at a prearranged meeting point by your Learning Journeys guide(s) who will look after you and your new friends for the whole of your tour.

Question 4: What is your safety record like?

• Our safety record is outstanding. Safety is absolutely our number one concern at all times. We do everything in our power to make sure each trip is as safe as it can possibly be.
• We do risk assessments for every excursion we run.
• We only use adventure activity accredited operators for specialist activities
• We carry a first aid kit in our vehicles, as well as on the guide's person when in remote areas.
• All guides are certified in first aid and CPR.
• We give every student a card with emergency numbers and safety information on it to carry, and we review safety measures as part of our orientation and as appropriate throughout the trip.
• Our guides are all police-vetted.
• Our transport safety is rated 5 star by Land Transport New Zealand
• We evaluate and re-evaluate the safety of each of our destinations and activities, and we always reserve the right to modify or cancel an itinerary if the guide feels that conditions are unsafe.
• We will gladly provide a risk management assessment specific to your trip on request.
• Learning Journeys' staff also adhere to a comprehensive Risk Management Strategy.

Question 6: What does it mean that Learning Journeys displays the Qualmark symbol

• Qualmark is New Zealand tourism’s official quality assurance organisation, providing a trusted guide to quality travel experiences. Qualmark makes it easy for travellers to select high quality places to stay, things to do, and ways to get around. When you see a business displaying the Qualmark symbol you can be assured that the business has met stringent quality standards and environmental criteria - earning New Zealand tourism’s official quality mark.
• FOR TRAVELLERS, THE QUALMARK SIGN MEANS THAT;
  1. You will have a great tourism experience
  2. You can book with confidence
  3. The business operates in an ethical, professional and environmentally sustainable way
  4. The business has the required systems and policies for a safe and happy holiday in New Zealand

Question 7: Why should we purchase travel insurance?

• We strongly recommend the purchase of travel insurance for your protection. Should a participant need to cancel their trip for any reason, our cancellation policy applies. However, travel insurance protects any loss they may experience should s/he or an immediate family member become ill or sustain an injury that prevents them from going on the trip.

Question 8: What is the educational value of these trips?

• Travel broadens your horizons, encourages you to try new experiences, challenges your view of the world and increases your tolerance and understanding of other cultures.
• Your social skills and capacity for empathy grow as you travel in a group, share accommodation, meals and new experiences and learn that not everyone perceives the world and reacts the same way.
• Your guides are not only there to look after you, to support you through a programme that may be challenging as well as highly enjoyable, but also to provide information to enrich your experience of each new place and activity.