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What a guided New Zealand cycle tour costs

Real numbers, ours, with everything that sits inside them. No enquire-for-pricing games.

The prices

A fully guided, 10-night e-bike tour of the South Island costs $6,499 to $6,649 per person twin share with us, depending on season: that is our whole guided range, across Alps, Valleys & Lakes and Wilderness, Coastlines & Vines. It works out around $600 to $650 per touring day with almost everything inside it. Travelling solo, the single supplement is $1,599 to $1,649, and if you are happy to share we will try to pair you with another solo rider, which removes it. A 10% deposit holds your place, and all prices are in New Zealand dollars with GST included.

What the price contains

Almost everything, which is the point of guided. Ten nights in hotels that run mostly 4 to 5 star. Most meals: nine breakfasts, nine lunches, two dinners including the welcome and the farewell, and daily snacks. A top-of-the-range Merida e-bike as standard, not an upgrade, fitted to you on day one. An experienced guide riding with you and a support driver keeping the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Sprinter close by, your luggage aboard every riding day. Every Department of Conservation and trail fee. The scheduled activities: the TranzAlpine on one tour, the Abel Tasman cruise on the other. Even the t-shirt and the drink bottle. What is left for your wallet on tour is genuinely short: some dinners to allow for flexibility and the optional extras you choose on the day. Drinks are kept separate too, so you only pay for what you choose to enjoy.

Holiday makers at the start of the West Coast Wilderness Trail

Beautiful sunset over the stunning hotels our guests stay at

What the price doesn't contain

Flights to New Zealand and travel to the start city. Travel insurance, which we strongly recommend and the Terms say so formally. The meals not listed, drinks beyond water on the trail, and the optional activities: the whale-watch flight, the stargazing, the kayaks. If a tour price anywhere seems to include these, read it twice.

A group of riders on the track in a self-guided tour

The self-guided comparison

The honest yardstick is our own self-guided range, which shares the trails and the bed quality but not the crew. The Little River day trip is $199. Multi-day, self-guided runs $1,749 to $2,425 per person: the West Coast Wilderness at $1,749, the Otago Triple Treat at $1,825, and the Alps 2 Ocean at $2,199 classic or $2,425 for the 8-day, with e-bike upgrades from $275 to $395 and deposits of $250. The gap between those numbers and the guided ones is not margin: it is two professionals, a support vehicle, e-bikes as standard and most of your meals, travelling with you for ten days. Which side of that gap is your holiday? We wrote the honest answer.

And if you just want one more night of holiday either side: our Hanmer Springs and Akaroa escapes are $375 and $420.

When and how you pay

Plainly, from our Terms: the deposit secures your booking, full payment is due 45 days before departure, and payment is by bank transfer in New Zealand dollars or by Flywire for credit card payments. If plans change, the deposit is non-refundable; cancelling between 45 and 8 days before departure forfeits half the tour price, and inside 7 days, all of it, which is one more reason why having travel insurance is important. Cancel more than 90 days out and we may, at our discretion, transfer what you have paid to another departure within twelve months. The full legal wording lives here on the one page.

Questions about pricing

Are the prices per person or per couple?

Per person, twin share: two people sharing a room. A couple on a $6,499 tour pays $12,998 all up, and the what-it-contains list above is per person too.

What does travelling solo actually cost?

The tour price plus the single supplement: $1,599 to $1,649 on guided tours, which covers a room of your own for ten nights. Happy to share? Tell us at booking and we will try to pair you with another solo rider, which removes the supplement entirely.

Is the e-bike extra?

On guided tours, never: a top-of-the-range e-bike is the standard bike. On self-guided tours the standard bike is a quality hybrid and the e-bike is an upgrade, $275 to $395 depending on the tour.