Australia - New Zealand Cruise Vacations

Strangely familiar yet spectacularly unique, Australia and New Zealand offer cruise vacationers two fantastical paradises for southern hemisphere adventure. Both offer spectacular scenery, great shore excursions, and friendly, English-speaking people.

Australia's vast landscapes include such famous natural wonders as the Outback and the Great Barrier Reef, along with famous wildlife like kangaroos and koala bears and cosmopolitan cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

New Zealand features undeveloped natural wonders and miles of remote coastline.

Things To Do

Australia and New Zealand offer no end of sights to see and activities to pursue, and many cruises offer multi-day shore excursions or packages that allow for further exploration before or after your cruise. Your options vary from tours of historic cities, golf, and wine-tasting trips to more extreme fare such as rock climbing, river rafting, and outback jeep safaris.

Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef, an astonishing coral reef with thousands of species of fish, plant life, and other marine creatures hidden among its endless multicolored expanses. Snorkeling and scuba diving are popular activities here, as are scenic flights. Inland, you can take excursions into the outback to see wildlife, learn about the landscape from aboriginal guides, explore the famous Ayers Rock or just relax and enjoy the scenery.

New Zealand is home to natural features of all types: volcanoes, snow-capped mountains, beautiful beaches, dense forests, and rolling farmland can all be found. Unlike most first-world countries, New Zealand's landscapes have been preserved and are unspoiled by pollution and over development. Shore excursions here may include sightseeing trips, overnight hiking (or "tramping") excursions, and cultural activities with the native Maori people.

Both countries also feature modern cities with all the conveniences and attractions that Americans and Europeans would expect, such as nightlife, all manner of restaurants, and other services. Sydney or Auckland in particular both have major international airports and make great bases for extended exploration before or after your cruise.

Ports of Call

As island nations, Australia & New Zealand are ideal to visit via cruise ship. The Outback and The Great Barrier Reed are most easily accessed from the east side of Australia where most of the ports of call are. Common ports of call include:

Auckland Bay of Islands Christchurch Dunedin

Tauranga Wellington Melbourne

Sydney Hobart Cairns

Generally, cruise lines run one-way between Australia and New Zealand, starting in Auckland and ending in Sydney, or vice-versa. With this in mind, you can easily spend time at the beginning and end of your cruise to explore more of these wonderful destinations.

Season / Trip Lengths / Departure Ports

Most cruises in this area are offered between December and March, the peak of the warm season in the Southern Hemisphere. Occasional cruises may be found outside these dates. The typical Australian/New Zealand combo cruise is 10 to 14 nights long.

Cruises in Australia and New Zealand typically run one-way between Sydney and Aukland and vice-versa. With this schedule you can easily add nights on both ends to see the sites in these countries that you can't see on a cruise.