Australia or New Zealand — which one first?
If you have two weeks, pick one. They look close on a map and they are a three and a half hour flight apart, which is Sydney to Perth. New Zealand is the compact one — both islands fit into about two weeks and you are never far from the next thing. Australia is the big one, where a week does one region. We sell both and have no reason to push either: what differs is that a multi-day trip in Australia has a median price of $1,147 and in New Zealand $3,959, because distances there are short but the days are packed with things that cost money.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
This comes up constantly from people planning one long trip to the other side of the world, and the honest framing is not which is better — it is which one matches the time you have.
The difference in one box
- New Zealand is about the size of the UK.Two weeks covers both islands properly. Mountains, fiords, glaciers and lakes, all close together.
- Australia is about the size of Europe.A week does one region. Reef, rainforest, desert and sand islands, all a long way apart.
- They are 3.5 hours apart by airthe same as Sydney to Perth. Splitting a fortnight across both costs you most of two days and gives you half of each.
- New Zealand is the more active holidayAustralia the more varied one.
By how long you have
| You have | Our honest answer |
|---|---|
| 7 days | One country, one region. Either the east coast of Australia or the South Island of New Zealand. |
| 10–14 days | Still one country. New Zealand does both islands in this; Australia does the east coast properly, or two regions with one flight. |
| 3 weeks | Now splitting works. Two weeks in one and a week in the other, with one flight between. |
| 4 weeks or more | Both, comfortably, with time to stop rather than move. |
What a week or two looks like in New Zealand
| Trip | Length | Starts and finishes | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Day North Island | 8 days, 7 nights | Wellington / Auckland | $1264 |
| 8 Day Southern Crossing | 8 days, 7 nights | Christchurch / Christchurch | $1550 |
| 9 Day Auckland to Wellington | 9 days, 8 nights | Auckland / Wellington | $2899 |
| 10 Day Auckland to Wellington | 10 days, 9 nights | Auckland / Wellington | $2849 |
| 13 Day Auckland to Queenstown | 13 days, 12 nights | Auckland / Queenstown | $2599 |
The 8 day trips do one island; around 13 days gets you both.
And in Australia
| Trip | Length | Starts and finishes | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day Brisbane to Cairns Highlights | 7 days, 6 nights | Brisbane / Cairns | $1449 |
| 10 Day Brisbane to Cairns Highlights | 10 days, 9 nights | Brisbane / Cairns | $1999 |
| 14 Days Sydney to Cairns Budget | 14 days, 13 nights | Sydney / Cairns | $1999 |
| 5 Day Tasmania Tour | 5 days, 4 nights | Hobart / Hobart | $939 |
| 3 Day Uluru Budget | 3 days, 2 nights | Alice Springs or Uluru / Alice Springs or Yulara | $729 |
The east coast runs cover K'gari, the Whitsundays and the reef. Tasmania and the Red Centre are separate weeks.
Which to do first?
- If it is one trip of a lifetime, Australia.It has the things that exist nowhere else — the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, the sand islands.
- If you like walking, kayaking and mountains, New Zealand.The whole country is built for it and nothing is far away.
- If you are travelling on a budget, Australia goes further.Hostels, bus passes and a median trip price a third of New Zealand's.
- If you only have ten days, whichever you can fly into most cheaplyat that length you are picking one anyway.
Doing both
It works from about three weeks. The usual shape is the east coast of Australia and then the South Island, flying Sydney or Brisbane to Christchurch. Tell us your dates and we will lay it out. Ask us — no charge.
Where this comes from. Trip lengths, start and finish points and prices are each trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. The median prices are the middle multi-day trip price across the 140 Australian and 55 New Zealand multi-day trips we sell. Flight time is the scheduled Sydney to Auckland sector.