So you’ve decided you want to go to New Zealand, but you need a little help to do it. Relaxing Journeys is a great middleman for that because they’ve already assembled several itinerary starting points for you.

Booking Experience

You can opt for a coach tour, a self-drive, or a third option that’s not currently published. If you want, you can work with one of their agents to put together a tour that uses the bus system. It’s just not publicized on the site anymore.

I’ve confirmed through email that they can still put it together if you don’t want to self-drive and would rather take buses around the country. COVID did cause some of those routes to either change or be removed. This is likely why that option was removed from the website.

Self-drive is likely the best option if you want to be efficient. While the bus system was great and introduced me to several small roadside stops, the requirement to stop every few hours tacked on hours to a journey. By driving yourself, you can decide where and when to stop and for how long.

Once you’ve decided on the core itinerary you want to use, the sky’s the limit. You can now personalize it to your heart’s desire.

Voucher Package

Once everything is locked down and your payments are made, you’re ready for your trip! Upon your arrival, a voucher package will be waiting at your first destination. Not only that, but when you’re there, you’ll also get support with local phone numbers just in case something goes wrong.

Booking Options

So if you’re sold on Relaxing Journeys, what options do you have?

• There’s the guided tour. This is a lot of people on a bus, but takes all the worrying out of your hands. It’s a great option if you want someone else to organize the details for you
  
• You can also self-drive. This gives you a lot more control, but does restrict where you might be able to stay due to parking. It also means that you have to always be alert on the roads. There’s places to stop, but it isn’t as relaxed as letting someone else drive.
  
• It’s not published, but you can also opt for public transportation. This is a great option that’s cheaper and avoids the parking issue. However, you’ll be bound to someone else’s schedule. Not only that, but it’s not as direct.

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What else should you keep in mind?

There’s a couple more things to keep in mind. If you’re the type of person who loves to plan far in advance, that may not be possible here. Plenty of the booking information they have access to is only available closer to your travel date.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you technically could do this planning yourself. That’s especially true of the self-drive and the self-guided tours with public transportation. However, if you live far away, having a local guide who knows the hotels, routes, and activities a little better is going to be a great option.

From a price perspective, Relaxing Journeys is extremely fair. It’s true that the New Zealand Dollar is a weaker currency in general, but it’s still a relief to find that you won’t be paying top dollar to get some assistance.

In my own experience, they found me fantastic hotels, amazing activities, and I never had to worry about what was planned. I’d use Relaxing Journeys again in a heartbeat and look forward to that when I next travel to New Zealand!

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