Fancy combining a tropical beach holiday with a visit to a glacier? Or a luxury hotel with a spot of wild camping? Perhaps a ski trip crossed with a sunny getaway?
If you fly to Auckland with Air New Zealand and any of its partner airlines – like Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific – you can enjoy a stopover in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Tokyo. It’s two holidays in one!
In partnership with Air New Zealand
Hit a tropical beach on a Pacific island – then climb a glacier
Air New Zealand offers stopovers on the Cook Islands, Fiji and Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean for an additional fee* – and all three offer idyllic palm-fringed beaches that are perfect for a cheeky extra holiday on your way to New Zealand.
Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia and offers exotic, black-sand volcanic beaches along with excellent snorkelling. If you’re after white sand, however, Fiji has a plethora of secluded beaches tucked away on small islands that are accessible by boat. And the Cook Islands are home to many warm, shallow, sandy lagoons where the water temperature hovers between 23 and 28°C all year round.
For the ultimate holiday of contrasts, head to the Franz Josef Glacier when you arrive in New Zealand. Located on the South Island, the 12-kilometre-long glacier is pocked with ice caves and crevasses to explore, with guided tours available from its base. You’ll be whisked to the top in a helicopter then spend around three hours in the company of a guide as you pick your way across the icy surface.
Tour theGolden Gate Bridge – then bungee jump off Kawarau Bridge
Take advantage of a free Air New Zealand stopover in San Francisco and rent a car to see the famous Golden Gate Bridge – and you can learn all about the bridge’s fascinating history by joining one of the many walking tours that operate nearby, some of which are free.
Then once you arrive in New Zealand, make a beeline for Queenstown on the South Island for a chance to leap off Kawarau Bridge, the home of bungee jumping. And that’s just one of the extreme sports on offer in Queenstown – you could also go paragliding or experience some serious speed on a jet boat. With a rental car, you can discover even more of the region’s wonders.
Surf inHawaii – then surf down sand dunes in New Zealand
Hawaii is known as the birthplace of surfing, and almost all of the islands in the archipelago offer everything from beginners’ lessons to mighty waves that will test all but the best surfers. Rent a car to be able to see several stunning beaches at once.
But once you’ve battled the big blue, head to the tip of New Zealand’s North Island for a much dryer alternative. Ninety-Mile Beach is home to a vast field of enormous sand dunes that have become a hotspot for sand surfing. Grab a boogie board, hike to the top and get ready for a speedy trip back down.
You can organise a stopover in Hawaii on your way to New Zealand by booking via your travel agent.
Go skiing– then head to the beach
Vancouver is home to the world-famous ski resort of Whistler. Along with Blackcomb resort, it’s home to over 200 ski runs and more than 8,000 acres of skiable terrain, and it’s the perfect place for a free stopover on your way to New Zealand.
And of course, when it’s winter in the northern hemisphere, it’s summer down south – so you could follow up your ski trip with a visit to the beaches of the pristine Abel Tasman National Park on New Zealand’s South Island.
Stay in aluxury hotel – then go wild camping
Air New Zealand offers free stopovers in Singapore and Hong Kong, home to some of the world’s best five-star luxury hotels. Sip a Singapore Sling in the place where it was invented, the world-famous Raffles hotel, which is due to reopen shortly after a massive refurbishment. Or stay in the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, home to not one, not two, but three Michelin-starred restaurants.
And for the perfect holiday of contrasts, throw on your backpack and go wild camping when you arrive in New Zealand. Visit the Freedom Camping website to find out where you can pull over your car or motorhome and enjoy New Zealand’s natural beauty free of charge.
Explore afuturistic city – then step into an untouched world
Shanghai is one of the world’s most eye-popping cities with its futuristic skyline. Enjoy a free stopover in this architectural wonder, which is home to the 632-metre-tall Shanghai Tower, an elegantly curving edifice that looks like something from a sci-fi movie. It’s currently the world’s second-tallest building after the Burj Khalifa, but offers the world’s highest observation deck up on the 118th floor.
After seeing a glimpse of the future, step into an untouched land. New Zealand is home to enormous expanses of unspoiled natural landscapes, alongside miles of empty coastline. The stunning Fjordland National Park, for example, home to the monumentally beautiful Milford Sound, covers around 12,600 square kilometres in the far south of New Zealand but has only around 2,000 permanent residents.
See one ofthe biggest capital cities in the world – then one of the smallest
Plan a free stopover in Tokyo to see one of world’s biggest, most exciting cities. Tokyo houses more than 13 million people and is packed with ancient sites, like Senso-ji temple, alongside modern wonders, like the electronics paradise of Akihabara. And you can also easily experience some of Japan’s most striking attractions, hiking trails and nature wonders no more than a few hours from Tokyo.
And what better way to contrast a trip to one of the biggest capitals in the world than with a trip to one of the smallest? Wellington has a population of just over 400,000, and its intimacy is a world away from the brash neon of Japan’s capital. Despite its small size, Wellington has a huge number of excellent bars and restaurants to explore, not to mention some stunning greenery on its doorstep, like nearby Mount Victoria.
*Additional fees of up to £175 apply for stopovers in the Pacific islands.
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