Who are the best luxury tour operators for New Zealand?

These 13 luxury tour operators publish a New Zealand trip on their own websites with its length or its price. Of them, Audley Travel, Backroads and VBT Bicycling Vacations have the most Google reviews. Which fits depends on how you want to travel; each card gives what the company's own website says.

Who are the best luxury tour operators for New Zealand?

The 13 luxury tour operators below publish a New Zealand trip with its length or price on their own websites; Audley Travel, Backroads and VBT Bicycling Vacations have the most Google reviews. Choose by the way you want to travel, using each card's Best for label, then compare the published prices and how each protects your money.

Every line below was read from the company's own website on 3 November 2026; each card links the pages it came from.

Which of these companies protect your money?

7 of the 13 name a scheme that protects guest payments on their own websites, such as ATOL for UK flight packages, ABTA or USTOA membership, or a trust account; the rest do not name one on the pages read.

• Audley Travel: ATOL number 4817 covers its flight-inclusive trips and ABTOT covers trips that do not include flights.
• Cazenove+Loyd: Holds ATOL number 3208, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.
• Lightfoot Travel: Says each sales location has the maximum level of industry bonding possible, including ATOL membership in the UK, with licensing in Singapore and Hong Kong; no ATOL number is given.
• Pelorus: ABTOT protects non-flight packages for Pelorus Adventures Limited.
• Steppes Travel: ATOL covers its flight-inclusive packages and ABTOT covers non-flight packages (number 5488). Money for ATOL-protected bookings is held in an independent trust account managed by Serenity Trust; no ATOL number is given.
• Turquoise Holidays: ATOL number 5875 covers its package holidays; land-only arrangements it books as agent are not financially protected.
• VBT Bicycling Vacations: Takes part in the USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program, which it shares with affiliates of Xanterra Leisure Resort Holdings, so recovery may be only partial.

Which of these publish a price for New Zealand?

11 of the 13 give a price in the line quoted on their card; ask the others for a written quote with the same inclusions.

• Audley Travel
• Backroads
• Cazenove+Loyd
• GeoEx
• Inspiring Travel Company
• Kensington Tours
• Lightfoot Travel
• Pelorus
• Steppes Travel
• Turquoise Holidays
• VBT Bicycling Vacations

Which other companies on this page fit New Zealand?

Audley Travel has the most Google reviews of the 13; these 4 share the same kind of trip by its Best for label.

• Kensington Tours: Private trips planned to order
• Pelorus: Private trips planned to order
• Artisans of Leisure: Private trips planned to order
• Inspiring Travel Company: Private trips planned to order

Who to contact first

Start with the 7 companies on this page that name a scheme protecting your payments on their own websites, then add any other card that fits your dates.

• Audley Travel
• Cazenove+Loyd
• Lightfoot Travel
• Pelorus
• Steppes Travel
• Turquoise Holidays
• VBT Bicycling Vacations

What to ask each one to set out in writing:

• The exact New Zealand itinerary by night, with each stay named.
• What the price includes and excludes, line by line: stays, guides, transfers, internal flights, park or entry fees.
• The deposit, when the balance is due and what you lose if you cancel.
• Which scheme protects your money and the number to check it.

Richard Jasinski · Uncompromised Travel · written from Valencia · first published 4 November 2026 · updated 4 November 2026