Original
Explorer
Queenstown Southern Loop
6 days • 4.7
4.5
Excellent
circle31 reviews
location_on 6 days
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Start
Queenstown, New Zealand
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Finish
Queenstown, New Zealand
tour
Trip Code
PHSQ
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Min Age
15
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Trip Size
1 - 12
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Physical Rating
restaurant_menu
Meals
5 breakfasts
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Transport
Private vehicle, Ferry
bed
Accommodation
Hotel (2 nights), Lodge (1 night), Motel (2 nights)
From £1,632(6 days)
Trip Informations
Why you’ll love this trip
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Soak up the silence of Milford Sound on a cruise across its waters – you’ll be left speechless by the hundreds of tumbling cascades and deeply forested mountains.
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Explore the Catlins, an untamed coastal wilderness home to rugged cliffs, dense forest, and spectacular hidden waterfalls.
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Cross the Foveaux Strait to unspoilt Stewart Island, a haven for hikers and birdwatches and the place to spot a wild kiwi.
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Enjoy two nights and one full day to explore the wilderness of Stewart Island, cruising the bays and inlets to spot penguins and seabirds and walking along its forested coastal tracks.
Is this trip right for you?
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With six days in the lesser visited regions of the South Island, you’ll have time to visit places others don’t.
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This trip involves some walking over varied terrain and is best suited to travellers with a good level of mobility. Details on physical activities can be found in the itinerary.
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This trip is the second part of a combination of 2 trips. Some of your fellow travellers may arrive into Queenstown off another trip. Please see our 'New Zealand South Island Adventure' (trip code PHSQC) for details.
Itinerary
Discover the silent Sounds, spectacular scenery and Stewart Island of the south
Explore the rugged reaches of the South Island on this six-day trip with Intrepid, beginning and ending in Queenstown. Make your way to the shores of the South Island’s biggest lake and sail the silent waters of glacier-carved Fiordland National Park with an unforgettable cruise on Milford Sound. Cross to the sometimes forgotten corner of Otago – the rugged cliffs of the Catlins – to hike to coastal caves, then span the gap to untouched Stewart Island to explore the wilderness, listening out for the call of the kiwi. Crafted to give the right amount of active adventure and time to relax, this is the perfect southern getaway.
- DAY 1Day 1 • Queenstown / Te Anau
- DAY 2Day 2 • Milford Sound / Te Anau
- DAY 3Day 3 • The Catlins
- DAY 4Day 4 • Stewart Island
- DAY 5Day 5 • Stewart Island
- DAY 6Day 6 • Queenstown
Inclusions
restaurant_menu Meals
5 breakfasts
airport_shuttle Transport
Private vehicle, Ferry
bed Accommodation
Hotel (2 nights), Lodge (1 night), Motel (2 nights)
festival Included activities
circleMilford Sound - Nature Boat Cruise
circleMilford Sound - Leader-led walk to Milford Lookout
circleMilford Sound - Walk to Mirror Lakes & Lake Gunn
circleThe Catlins - Leader-led walk to Nugget Point & McLean Falls
circleStewart Island - Scenic Ferry Crossing
museum Optional activities
circleTe Anau - Glow Worm Cave with Cruise & Guide - NZD135
circleStewart Island - Village & Bay Trip - NZD59
circleStewart Island - Wild Kiwi Encounter - NZD249
circleStewart Island - Beaks & Feathers Kiwi Spotting - NZD175
circleStewart Island - Ulva Island Explorer - NZD129
Dates and availability
Starting
Ending
Remaining
Prices From
Saturday Jul 12, 2025
Thursday Jul 17, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 12 spaces left
£1,964
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Saturday Sep 13, 2025
Thursday Sep 18, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 12 spaces left
£1,986
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Saturday Sep 27, 2025
Thursday Oct 02, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 5 spaces left
£2,063£1,753
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Saturday Oct 11, 2025
Thursday Oct 16, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 5 spaces left
£1,964£1,669
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Saturday Oct 18, 2025
Thursday Oct 23, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 8 spaces left
£1,964£1,669
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Saturday Nov 01, 2025
Thursday Nov 06, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 10 spaces left
£1,964£1,669
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Saturday Nov 08, 2025
Thursday Nov 13, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 3 spaces left
£2,046£1,739
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Saturday Nov 15, 2025
Thursday Nov 20, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 12 spaces left
£2,041£1,734
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Saturday Nov 22, 2025
Thursday Nov 27, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 7 spaces left
£2,041£1,734
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Saturday Nov 29, 2025
Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 5 spaces left
£2,101£1,786
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Saturday Dec 13, 2025
Thursday Dec 18, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 12 spaces left
£2,041£1,632
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Saturday Dec 20, 2025
Thursday Dec 25, 2025
Trip size max: 12 - 12 spaces left
£2,041
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Saturday Dec 27, 2025
Thursday Jan 01, 2026
Trip size max: 12 - 5 spaces left
£2,140
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Saturday Jan 03, 2026
Thursday Jan 08, 2026
Trip size max: 12 - 12 spaces left
£2,118
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Saturday Jan 10, 2026
Thursday Jan 15, 2026
Trip size max: 12 - 10 spaces left
£2,118
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Important notes
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START & FINISH TIMES
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This trip will begin on Day 1 at 10:30am at the Heartland Hotel Queenstown, and concludes at 2pm on Day 6. Please take this into account when making onward travel arrangements.
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SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
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A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
Reviews (31)
5 stars
26
4 stars
3
3 stars
1
1 star
1
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Lisa
May 08, 2025
Excellent trip to explore hidden gems of the South Island. Short and sweet with a wonderful trip leader and second-to-none natural scenery
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Henry
Apr 03, 2025
The Southern Loop tour was a great opportunity to relax, and learn about a part of NZ that I did not know much about. Guides were friendly, knowledgeable and brought the sights to life with vivid stories and local insights. Highly recommended for the curious traveler who is keen to check out interesting places and meet interesting people along the way.
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Joshua
Mar 24, 2025
Really enjoyed this trip although short had a grand time overall had a group of 9 of us including myself. Connor our tour leader was brilliant on everything. My favorite parts of the trip was the catlins, te anau jet boating and the beautiful stewart island. The lesser know parts of new zealand.
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Elsa
Jan 27, 2025
It was a perfectly organized, wonderful trip in one of the most beautiful countries in the world! I love NZ!
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George
Dec 03, 2024
Big thanks to our leader Pete for a great few days exploring the south of the South Island! The scenery, walks and wildlife we spotted made this a really enjoyable trip.
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Christine
Oct 09, 2024
We were very impressed with this tour. The smaller group sizes, accommodation, itinerary and amazing tour guide (leader) made it very positive experience. We would definitely recommend!
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Julie
Sep 27, 2024
Wonderful well planned trip .Beautiful scenery during September.Take extra layers if needed
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Grace
Mar 07, 2024
This is my first time in New Zealand. The experience that I never forget. I love the Country and the people around as well the Landscape. It's my first time to see a lot of herds, along the way to Stewart Island. And also the World Heritage site of Millford Sound. And when we are at Te Anue. We have the experience of Jet Boat on the river. And that was exciting 😄. Over all I Love this experience. I have something to tell to my grand Daughter.
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ieshea
Feb 04, 2024
Enjoyed trip seeing my own country for the first time to south island enjoyed all locations. Milford sounds so beautiful including Stewart island totally recommend intriped for organising everything. thanks to lexi tour guide for her knowledge and driving us.
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Tomoe
Dec 17, 2023
It was my first time to join Intrepid and my experience was 5 out of 5