Alternative tours of Australia to Cruisetours

[David]

We're interested in recommendations for any alternative tours to the 5-day land tours Sydney, Cairns, and Ayers Rock. That is, we are interested in a round-trip pre-cruise land tour of these places because the cruise we are taking is one-way from Sydney to Aukland, but for 5 days, even with the air included, the cruiseline prices are high (more than twice the cost of the 12-night cruise).

 

Any suggestions for another way we can tour Sydney, Cairns, and Ayers Rock in advance of our cruise without paying over $4,000 for only a 5-day tour?

 

Many thanks.

 

David

[GradUT]

The cruiseline is offering a 5-day trip that includes Sydney, Cairns and Ayers Rock (Uluru)? That's absolute madness! There is no way that you can see anything of those 3 destinations in 5 days. Just the travel time between those destinations (including time to get to airport, time waiting at airport and actual flying time) has got to be nearly half of that 5-day time.

 

This is what I think the BARE minimum of sightseeing time (not including travel time) should be in each of these places: Sydney--3 days, Cairns--3 days, Uluru--2 days.

 

This is the amount of time I would recommend for sightseeing in each of those destinations (not including travel time): Sydney-- 4 or 5 days, Cairns--5 or 6 days, Uluru--2 or 3 days.

 

I can't offer any recommendations on tour companies as we have planned all our own travel to Australia (3 trips for vacation; 3 years living there). I will say that it is very easy to arrange your own trip (accommodations, transportation, sightseeing) so you may not need a tour company at all.

 

Please do NOT do a 5-day trip to these 3 locations. You will just be frustrated by how little you actually see and do. If you only have time to spend 5 days sightseeing before your cruise, choose one (or at most 2) of these destinations so that you can actually enjoy your time there.

[cjcruiser27]

Thanks for your input! I have been researching the same and it seems like alot of running from 1 place to the other and the prices are high because of the flights involved. I guess I need more time off and $$ to do it all! A good reason to go back and and vacation there again!

The cruiseline is offering a 5-day trip that includes Sydney, Cairns and Ayers Rock (Uluru)? That's absolute madness! There is no way that you can see anything of those 3 destinations in 5 days. Just the travel time between those destinations (including time to get to airport, time waiting at airport and actual flying time) has got to be nearly half of that 5-day time.

 

This is what I think the BARE minimum of sightseeing time (not including travel time) should be in each of these places: Sydney--3 days, Cairns--3 days, Uluru--2 days.

 

This is the amount of time I would recommend for sightseeing in each of those destinations (not including travel time): Sydney-- 4 or 5 days, Cairns--5 or 6 days, Uluru--2 or 3 days.

 

I can't offer any recommendations on tour companies as we have planned all our own travel to Australia (3 trips for vacation; 3 years living there). I will say that it is very easy to arrange your own trip (accommodations, transportation, sightseeing) so you may not need a tour company at all.

 

Please do NOT do a 5-day trip to these 3 locations. You will just be frustrated by how little you actually see and do. If you only have time to spend 5 days sightseeing before your cruise, choose one (or at most 2) of these destinations so that you can actually enjoy your time there.

[David]

Thanks for that information. I have found a few companies that do offer 9-12 day tours of Sydney, Cairns and Ayers Rock. But none of them have their 2014 prices and schedules in yet because most of them include a Quantas Air Package. Also, they are all one-way tours and do not return to Sydney. Because my group wants to do the Sydney to Aukland one-way, 12 or 14 night cruise that includes Melbourne and the rest of the time is in New Zealand -- and because we see this as probably a one-time visit -- we are trying to see as much as possible, within a reasonable price and timeframe of from 3-4 weeks.

 

But I really appreciate your heads up about the 5-day cruisetours. That was one of my concerns; the price was the other.

 

David

[bobhsv]

Have a look at Virgin Airlines or Jetstar. They are our low cost carriers, and also offer packages. Jetstar don't do Uluru though, only Qantas and Virgin. Jetstar is connected with Qantas, but Virgin is a different company (Virgin also has alliance with Air NZ) You may be able to pick up cheap airfares on a Tuesday, also Jetstar have a Friday Frenzy for a few hours at 4pm for future bookings. You have to look each week, as the deals alter.

Another idea is to fly into Brisbane from your home, then fly up to Cairns....do this section first. A lot depends on time of year too. Summer in Cairns is very hot and humid, and summer in Uluru at night can get down to the minus degrees. The Olgas near Uluru are fab, worth going to. Steer clear of the school holidays...the airfares usually are dearer then, unless you book way in advance.

I am astounded that anyone can offer this trip within a five day period.....like the op said, utter maddness. Most of your time would be in the air, crazy.

Just my opinion though.

Jen

[David]

Hi Jen:

 

Again -- thanks for the great information. We are planning to fly from the states to Australia for a 12-night cruise on Celebrity Solstice on March 10, 2014 that ends in Aukland. I'm hoping we can take a week to 10 days to see a bit of Australia, since I think this is likely a once in a lifetime trip for most of us (maybe 3-5 couples). That means arriving in Australia around the end of February or first of March 2014. Unfortunately we will have to book the cruise (either cruise/only or the cruise and tour) with Celebrity way before the airlines and private tour companies announce their schedules and pricing for Winter of 2014 (probably around April 1, 2013). That makes it difficult because we will probably have to commit to doing just the cruise now and hope we can work out the Australia touring on our own 9 months hence.

 

Any further suggestions along these lines would be most welcome.

 

David

[Allis154]

We were in the same boat a couple of years ago when we started planning our trip to Aussie. We leave in March...

 

We decided to plan it ourselves, budgeting on the prices for the following year, and giving some extra incase the prices changed too much. For the most part, the prices are comparable...

 

For reference, this is what we plan...

 

Fly into Sydney, spend two nights; fly to Uluru, rent car, spend 3 nights; fly to Alice Springs, board The Ghan (train) to Darwin (1 night), visit Katharine Gorge on the way; spend 7 days in Darwin (visiting family), includes 2 nights - Kakadu; fly to Sydney for 2 nights; board Solstice.

[bobhsv]

David

Totally understand. We are in same position right now, having to book air for 6 weeks in States, with our last port of call being Whittier. Their transfers both private and with cruiseline are not available yet for the Whittier to Anchorage (flight to catch). Takes some serious thinking/headaches re the timing!

If you couldn't fly into Brisbane, then alternative could be get to Sydney, transfer to flight to Ayres Rock (can get fares for approx $250pp each way, sometimes a bit less). Book accomm....look at quickbeds.com.au or even hotelclub or ratestogo.com.au or expedia are reasonable. The accomm will have tours available, if you contact hotel direct. Do the Olgas nearby. Then you could do the Cairns bit after that. The later the better for Cairns, due to heat at that time of year. Basically a whole day spent flying back to Syd from Cairns. Then relax in Sydney. Sydney is easy to do on your own via public transport deals. Our son is currently in Alice Springs. He travels with work a lot! I wouldn't bother going there. Realise op has to catch the Ghan from there though. In my opinion, the Ayres Rock bit would be the most costly for you.

You are travelling out of school holidays, so that is a bonus.

Jen

[jagoodbar]

We're interested in recommendations for any alternative tours to the 5-day land tours Sydney, Cairns, and Ayers Rock. That is, we are interested in a round-trip pre-cruise land tour of these places because the cruise we are taking is one-way from Sydney to Aukland, but for 5 days, even with the air included, the cruiseline prices are high (more than twice the cost of the 12-night cruise).

 

Any suggestions for another way we can tour Sydney, Cairns, and Ayers Rock in advance of our cruise without paying over $4,000 for only a 5-day tour?

 

Many thanks.

 

David

 

Eighteen months ago, my wife and I cruised from Sydney to Auckland. We also spent 5 nights in Brisbane prior to the cruise. I goggled Virgin Australia and called their 800 number from the states. I was able to book all my flights through Virgin when I called the 800 number. By doing this, I was able to use the extra pounds on the international portion of the flight. We flew non-stop from LAX to Brisbane. When we left Brisbane, we flew to Sydney for three nights prior to the cruise. When the cruise ended in Auckland, we spent an extra three days there. We then had to fly back to Brisbane and changed planes for the flight back to LAX. I would suggest you call Virgin Australia and tell them everywhere you would like to go and see if they can arrange your flights. I'm not sure, but I would bet this would save you lots of $$$. Have a great trip.

 

Jon

[partymarty4878]

I would seriously consider choosing one (at the most 2) of those destinations and seeing it well. It would be much cheaper and you won't spend half of the 5 days in and around airports.

 

My choice would be Cairns - but I am a bit biased.

[Desert Cruizers]

Following our March 19th to April 1 of 2014 cruise, we will have 9 days to do our sightseeing. My thought, was to use Sydney as our base, spend the 1st 3 days, more if recommended, seeing Sydney and go out from there, yet would appreciate recommendations or opinions. We are not sure if we want to do a car or just take tours Thank you. Our daughter wanted to do Ayers Rock until I told her how far we were from it. We are more into seeing the countryside & little towns then wine tours.

[GradUT]

Are you interested in doing "active" things like snorkeling, hiking, swimming, etc. or do you prefer sightseeing? Do you have any interest in going to the Great Barrier Reef? Do you have an interest in history, particularly Australian history? Do you want to see native animals (either in zoos or the wild?) Are you comfortable driving on the left?

 

Three to four days in Sydney would be sufficient, but if you base yourself exclusively in Sydney, you'll miss out on some great parts of Australia that are too far to visit in day trips. With a bit more information, I could come up with some tour ideas that you might like.

[David]

Hi GRADUT:

 

I guess the answer to your question would probably be that we are interested in doing all of the above with the exception of driving on our own. We may well have a mix of interests and physical abilities among our group, so at the moment -- at least from my perspective -- we would be interested in information about the widest range of attractions and activities.

 

Many thanks, again, to one and all, for your very useful input.

 

David

[GradUT]

David, I was actually posing these questions to Desert Cruizers, but I'm happy to offer suggestions to you as well.

 

Your last posting indicated that you will have 7 - 10 days pre-cruise in Australia. (I'm assuming it's pre-cruise because your cruise terminates in Auckland.) With that amount of time, I would choose no more than 2 destinations in Australia. If you try to do more than that, you'll just be having a tour of Australian airports.

 

If you have 7 days, spend 3 of them in Sydney and 4 at the Great Barrier Reef. If you have 8 - 10 days, spend 4 days in Sydney at the remainder at the GBR. I've chosen the GBR as the 2nd destination because 1) it has two World Heritage Sites--the Reef and the Rainforest, 2) it's easily reached by plane, 3) it can be toured without a rental car.

 

To avoid backtracking, I might recommend booking your flight from the U.S. to Australia so that it terminates in Cairns (GBR). That way you can start your trip by having a nice relaxing location to rest up a bit from the long flight. After doing your tour of this region, you can fly to Sydney and sightsee there before your cruise starts.

 

Any good guidebook (my favorites being Lonely Planet and Rough Guide) will have lots of info about what to see and do in both Sydney and the GBR. You have a number of choices for your base in the GBR--Cairns, the Northern Beaches of Cairns or Port Douglas. I will rule out the Northern Beaches because you won't have your own transportation. You'll fly into Cairns, so that's a logical choice. There are a lot of attractions there and it's a larger town than Port Douglas. There are boats to take you out to the Reef and tours can be arranged to attractions outside of Cairns. My personal favorite, however, is Port Douglas which is a smaller town about 1 hour north of Cairns. (You can arrange for bus transfers from the airport.) The big advantage (to me) is that is has a fabulous beach aptly named Four Mile Beach right in town. (The beaches of Cairns are located in the northern suburbs.) There are boats to take you to the Reef and tour companies to take you to the attractions outside of town.

 

Once you have read some background info in guidebooks and have an idea of where you'd like to go in Australia (be it the GBR or elsewhere), I would recommend you look at the Australia boards on Trip Advisor. There is a WEALTH of info there and they can answer any specific questions you might have about particular sites, accommodations, tours, etc.

[David]

Hi GardUT:

 

Many thanks for your thoughtful and pretty extensive suggestions. I think we are probably looking at about 9 days pre-cruise, and I've done some checking on the 2013 flights from the US (since the March 2014 flight schedules won't come out until next April) and ran a couple of multi-city air itineraries, the best of which takes you through Brisbane to Cairns. I tried to apply some of the Roundabout Pass options to my search of the Quantas website and couldn't tell if they actually kicked in, since the prices listed by sector didn't amount to much (less than $400 for internal segments from Cairns to Ayers Rock and Ayers Rock to Sydney). The total cost came out as $2593 -- which would put the interncontinental segments as over $2000. But when I just searched the intercontinental segments (US to Cairns and Auckland to US), it came out under $2,000, so that doesn't seem to add up. I'll probably have to call the airlines, but there's no point in doing that until the March 2014 pricing and schedules are available.

 

Your suggestion to spend the pre-cruise time in just two locations -- Cairns and Sydney -- is very much in line with what the guidebooks recommend. The problem is that this is going to likely be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us, and I think it would be hard to go to Australia and not have the chance to sample the Red Center along with the Great Barrier Reef and Rainforest. Based on what I have read in my preliminary perusal of a couple of guidebooks, on Trip Adviser, and on actual attraction websites -- and on the results of my search of sample March 2013 air itineraries, it seems possible to spend 3 nights in Cairns or Port Douglas (for the GBR and the Rainforest), 3 nights in and around Ayer's Rock, and 3 nights in Sydney. Even with the air and airport time, that would still give us 2 full days and parts of 2 others in each location. I realize that is not much, but I'm wondering whether you would agree that for a one-time visit, it would be better to visit be a little pressed for time at 3 locations thanm miss one of them. My thinking is that we would have about double the time to see the three places the cruise 5-day land tours arranged by the cruise lines provide. Is this still madness?

 

Thanks.

 

David

[GradUT]

David, it's not madness...it's your vacation. Yes, I would probably not include Uluru in a 9-day trip to Australia because I think it eats up too much time (see below), but if you really, really want to go, it can be done. Also, 2 nights at Uluru is plenty--no need for more unless you have your heart set on an overnight at Kings Canyon, which is another time-eater and definitely not something I would recommend for such a short trip.

 

Based on Qantas flights for March 2013 (which aren't likely to change much in March 2014), here's what I would recommend:

 

Day 1: Arrive in Cairns (either via Brisbane or Sydney) Flight arrives around noon in Cairns. Since you have so little time in the area, don't use valuable time by going to Port Douglas. Sightseeing and rest in Cairns

 

Day 2: Cairns

 

Day 3: Cairns

 

Day 4: Morning departure from Cairns. Arrive Ayers Rock Airport around 10

am. Rent a car for sightseeing (must book in advance!) Sightseeing

at Uluru.

 

Day 5: Sightseeing at Uluru and the Olgas (Kata Tjuta)

 

Day 6: Morning departure from Ayers Rock Airport. Arrival in Sydney between

5pm and 7pm, depending on the flight you get. (This flight essentially

eats up a whole day of your vacation and that's one reason I would

not include Uluru on your trip.)

 

Days 7 - 9: Sydney

 

I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. (BTW, I lived in Australia for 3 years and did a LOT of travel during that time. And, I've been to Australia on 3 other trips both prior and subsequent to the time we lived there. I've been to the GBR 5 times, to Uluru twice, and to Sydney multiple times.)

[David]

Hi GradUT:

 

Thanks again for the very useful information and assistance in planning out a 9-night trou configuration to include Sydney, Cairns, and Uluru. Although these still seem to me to be the top 3 locations to visit, given the time considerations, I am wondering if you might suggest an alternative to the Red Center that we might consider and that might mitigate the tricky travel to and from Uluru. Off hand, I'm not certain there's one area that would be a good substitute, but you obviously know the country far better than any of us.

 

Many thanks, again.

 

David

[bobhsv]

Just adding my opinion....2 nights at Uluru is plenty. It is easy to do Ayers Rock and the Olgas in one day...we have. Uluru is kinda unique....the only other place that may be on par touristwise, is Darwin re Kakadu/Litchfield...but you don't have time for this, would be rushed. Yet another idea is to miss Uluru completely, save some money, and see the Blue Mountains just out of Sydney. Don't miss Cairns though.

Jen

[GradUT]

David, I really can't think of any feasible alternative destinations in lieu of Ayers Rock. Even Canberra (which I love and is fairly close to Sydney) would take up too much time in transportation to make it a reasonable choice.

 

As you see from the itinerary I proposed for Cairns/Uluru/Sydney, you only have 2.5 days in Cairns. That gives you one day for the Reef and one day for the Rainforest with no leeway in case of bad weather. There's also a lot more things to see/do that you won't have time for.

 

So, if you were to decide to skip Uluru, I would go back to my original recommendation for splitting your time just between Cairns and Sydney. That will give you more time in the Great Barrier Reef region and it will also give you more time around Sydney so that you can definitely do a day trip to the Blue Mountains as Bobshv suggests.

[Karennella]

One problem with fitting everything in is that there are not a great number of daily flights to Cairns and Ayers Rock, as they are not big cities. Secondly, here in Sydney the airport is close to the city centre so it has a curfew from 10pm to 6am. (I get woken most mornings at 6 02am!) So the flights are three or four hours in length and thus involve most of the day. My brother was commuting from Sydney to Cairns, and to get there for an early morning Monday meeting, he would need to leave Sunday afternoon.

Keep in mind that if you go to Cairns to go out to the reef, you really need a full day.

[David]

Thanks again to all for the very useful information.

 

One other thought occurred to me. Since it is possible -- and probably preferable to fly from the US to Cairns through Brisbane, I am wondering if it is worth doing a stopover in Brisbane for a day -- possibly to see the botanical gardens and zoo -- or anything else. Sometimes airlines allow an overnight stopover without additional charge for a new flight. Either way, would it make any sense at all to spend a day in Brisbane, then 4 in Cairns and 4 in Sydney (including day visit to Blue Mountains)?

 

Or -- as an alternative -- is there any point to a visit to Canberra in lieu of 1 day in Brisbane and the day visit to the Blue Mountains? I actually know a couple of people in Canberra and wouldn't mind seeing them, but not at the expense of the overall purpose, which is to ge the most sightseeing bang for our 9-10 pre-cruise days in Australia.

 

David

[cassamanda]

Thanks again to all for the very useful information.

 

One other thought occurred to me. Since it is possible -- and probably preferable to fly from the US to Cairns through Brisbane, I am wondering if it is worth doing a stopover in Brisbane for a day -- possibly to see the botanical gardens and zoo -- or anything else. Sometimes airlines allow an overnight stopover without additional charge for a new flight. Either way, would it make any sense at all to spend a day in Brisbane, then 4 in Cairns and 4 in Sydney (including day visit to Blue Mountains)?

 

Or -- as an alternative -- is there any point to a visit to Canberra in lieu of 1 day in Brisbane and the day visit to the Blue Mountains? I actually know a couple of people in Canberra and wouldn't mind seeing them, but not at the expense of the overall purpose, which is to ge the most sightseeing bang for our 9-10 pre-cruise days in Australia.

 

David

Canberra is well worth a visit. Either drive or fly from Sydney. It's a comfortable 3.5 hrs drive or 45 min flt. I would stay overnight, still giving you time in Sydney and a visit to the Blue Mtns (which should only be visited on a nice day). Do make sure you take a harbour cruise though and visit Toronga Zoo and Manly beach.

There is lots to do and see in Canberra including Kangaroos in the wild. Try the National Museum (social history), Australian War Memorial (2-3hrs), New and Old Parliament Houses for beginners. I'm sure Gradut will have lots more suggestions.

[GradUT]

David,

 

1. Despite all the traveling we did when we lived in Australia and the other trips we have made there, we never went to Brisbane (except transiting at the airport) because I just couldn't find anything there that interested me. Personally, I don't think it would be worth the time and effort of additional transportation, hotels, etc. to overnight there. You can see the excellent botanical gardens and Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

 

2. I really, really want to say that you can do Canberra within your 9-day visit (especially since you know people there), but I'm finding it hard to easily fit it in. The main problem, as Karennella explains, is that there are very few flights from Cairns and most of those are not direct flights, so you end up spending even more time getting from place to place. Trying to get from Cairns to Canberra and then back to Sydney (whether you fly or fly/drive from Sydney) will eat up almost as much time as doing the Cairns/Ayers Rock/Sydney combo. You might as well use that time to go to Ayers Rock since you have a real desire to do so.

 

3. However, should you decide on Canberra, here are some suggestions of things to see and do:

 

a. Museums--Some of the best in the country and most of them are free. My personal favorite is the Australian War Memorial. (Cassamanda obviously never visited this museum with a future U.S. Army officer like I did. My son and I usually spent a full day at the AWM on our multiple visits.) I also love the Aboriginal and Australian art in the National Gallery. The Tidbinbilla Tracking Station is cool for those interested in space exploration. The unique Parliament House, built into a hill, is definitely worth a visit.

 

b. Wildlife--Canberra is called the "Bush Capital" because it is surrounded by bushland and you find wildlife both inside the city limits and in the parks just outside the city limits. (We lived near the aptly-named Red Hill which is populated by kangaroos, so it should not have been a surprise for me to see a kangaroo hopping down the street one day when I took my daughter to school!) The best wildlife viewing is at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (near the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station) and Namadgi National Park. If you go to Namadgi, be sure to do the easy 6km RT walk called the Yankee Hat Hike. I can guarantee you will find mobs of kangaroos along the hiking trail (great photo ops) and at the turnaround point is a large rock with Aboriginal rock drawings--not something easily found near most Australian cities.

 

4. If you can possibly expand your pre-cruise stay to 10 days rather than 9, I think it would make things just about perfect. It would give you the extra day that I think you need in Cairns. And, depending on what you want to see in Sydney, you could still do a day trip to the Blue Mountains with only 3 days devoted to Sydney.

 

(David, you are making me homesick for Australia again. The darn U.S. dollar needs to get stronger so I can rationalize another trip there!)

[David]

Hi GradUT and Cassamanda:

 

Thanks so much to both of you for all those additional suggestions. I am now thinking that it may come down to a group decision between the Red Center and Canberra as a third location to visit. I can see several arguments for each and some problems, as well. The suggestions for Canberra are very helpful. I know Ulura is very much a touristy place and hav to admit that the "Sounds of Silence" dinner and seeing the sunrise SOUND very intriguing. But the reality is that it is a long way from everything else we are seeing, whereas Canberra is at least a reasonable distance from Sydney. I'm wondering -- if it turns at the flight schedules for March 2014 will not have a direct flight from Cairns to Canberra, whether it makes sense to use Sydney as a base, fly from Cairnes to Sydney and over the course of the 6 nights (or even 7) spend a couple of nights in Canberra. Although renting a car may have its advantages, I'm a little uneasy about the left-side driving and the fact that we may have a need for more than one vehicle. Perhaps there is a train; a did check and there seem to be nearly hourly flights between Sydney and Canberra and those flights are less than an hour. Even with the hassles of the time in the airports, it still may be best for a group like ours to do it that way. It looks like airfairs are pretty low.

 

In your time in Australia, did you ever travel to New Zealand? If so, did you ever do a cruise there? Just curious.

 

Many thanks, again.

 

David

[GradUT]

David,

 

I can pretty much guarantee you that there will not be direct flights from Cairns to Canberra in 2014--there just aren't enough passengers who would be flying that route to make it economically feasible.

 

The idea of basing yourself in Sydney and then doing a trip to Canberra could work out well for your group. Here's some ideas on transportation to help you decide what might be the best way to go:

 

1. Flying: When you add up the time to get to the Sydney airport from your hotel (25 minutes), wait time at the airport (1 hour), flight time (50 minutes) and time to get to a hotel in central Canberra from the airport (15 minutes), this trip will take a minimum of 2.5 hours.

 

2. Driving: The driving time from your hotel in Sydney (Circular Quay area, I assume) to the center of Canberra will take around 3.5 hours. (We drove it faster, but we were familiar with driving on the left and the road itself.)

 

3. Train: There is, indeed, a train from Sydney to Canberra. It's called CountryLink and it takes about 4.5 hours. Here's the link to their website: http://www.countrylink.info/timetables/

Be sure to check the website for delays due to trackwork. We used to take the train occasionally between Canberra and Sydney and that was a problem then and appears to still be a problem.

 

I can certainly appreciate your concern about driving on the left. (I was sure worried about it before we moved there!) Fortunately, the drive between Sydney and Canberra is a major highway and rather straightforward to drive. Traffic is very light in Canberra (we'd joke about the "rush minute traffic") so the only thing you need to look out for there are the traffic circles, called roundabouts. They make so much sense for keeping traffic going, but many Americans are unfamiliar with them and Canberra is full of roundabouts.

 

Once you are in Canberra, you can get to the major attractions and museums by public transportation, cabs or walking. However, if you want to get out to Namadgi NP or Tidbinbilla, you will need a car. (Perhaps your friends can drive you or you can rent a car for a day.)

 

Finally, about New Zealand. Yes, we have been there 3 times but they were all driving trips so I don't know about the cruises there. It is a gorgeous country--both along the coast and the interior (should you get a chance to go there.)