Australia, New Caledonia and Isle of Pines holiday

Itinerary in brief: 

• 2 nights Adelaide
• 3 nights Kangaroo island 
• 1 night Adelaide
• 3 nights Sydney
• 2 nights Noumea
• 1 night Kone
• 2 nights Poe Beach
• 2 nights Isle of Pines
• 1 night Noumea
• 3 nights Singapore

Day 1: Depart UK

Depart the UK from your chosen airport.

Included: International flights 

Day 2: Arrive Adelaide

On arrival in Adelaide, you’ll be met at the airport and driven to your hotel, checking in for three nights. 

Included: Transfers 4* hotel  

Day 3: Adelaide

With two days to explore this friendly city, you’ll be spoiled for choice on how to spend your time. Why not head to the Oval to visit the iconic cricket ground – you can even walk along the roof if you choose on the iconic Roofclimb – if you’d like us to book this, just ask! Wander through the heritage architecture of Adelaide Central Market, stroll through the Art Gallery of South Australia or visit the National Wine Centre to taste some local vintages. We’ve included a short walking tour with a born-and-raised local, Katina, who will give you an orientation of the city, teaching a little about Adelaide’s history and showing off the best shopping areas and food spots.             

Included: 4* hotel, walking toour             

Day 4: Fly to Kangaroo Island

After breakfast, you’ll be driven to the airport to catch your short flight to Kingscote in Kangaroo Island. On arrival in Kangaroo Island, you’ll be met and driven to the gorgeous Sea Dragon Lodge, on the eastern tip of the island. Once you have relaxed take a walk in the surrounding bushland or head to the secluded private beach at Pink Bay before settling in for a delicious dinner.

Included: Breakfast, transfers, internal flight, Sea Dragon Lodge              

Days 12: Kangaroo Island food and drink touring

After breakfast, head off for half a day of touring on Kangaroo Island. You’ll spend the day indulging in some of the island’s best food and drink providers – the day might include a visit to the organic honey farm to learn about Ligurian bees and taste their honey, a KI Brewery for a tasting paddle of their craft beer or a visit to Emu Bay Lavender Farm, home to an estimated 7,500 plants. One place you’ll definitely visit is Kangaroo Island Spirits, Australia’s first dedicated gin distillery. Join a guided tour of the garden with a distillery host, learning about the native botanicals that go into the specially crafted gin. Afterward, take some time to appreciate samples of gin and mixers and enjoy lunch in the garden. Come back to the lodge in the afternoon to relax on your deck, swim from the private beach at Pink Bay and enjoy an indulgent and delicious dinner.        

Included: Breakfast, dinner, shared touring with other guests, Sea Dragon Lodge             

Day 13: Kangaroo Island nature touring

Spend the day on a small-group tour with other lodge guests, exploring the diverse natural attractions and wildlife of Kangaroo Island. Enjoy short walks, a picnic lunch and close up wildlife encounters while learning about the history and nature of this amazing island.

First stop is the enormous Australian sea lion colony at Seal Bay, where you can wander along the pristine beach, learning about these beautiful mammals from your guide. After this, you’ll head to Flinders Chase and along the drive you’ll witness the remarkable regrowth of the island after the 2019 bushfires. A stop at Remarkable Rocks will give you the first views of the rugged coastline in this diverse national park. Learn about the early maritime history of this wild environment, all the while spotting other native animal species including long-nosed fur seals at Admirals Arch, echidnas, kangaroos, tammar wallabies and a range of birds and reptiles.

On the return to Sea Dragon, you’ll stop for a swim or a short walk at one of the many picturesque beaches (temperatures permitting), arriving back at approximately 5.30pm. Enjoy a rest in your room with a cold glass of wine before tucking into another sumptuous dinner.  

Included: Breakfast, dinner, shared touring with other guests, Sea Dragon Lodge 

Day 14: Fly to Adelaide

After one last delicious breakfast, you’ll be driven back to the airport in time for the short flight back to Adelaide. Spend the rest of your day exploring the city and enjoying a delicious dinner to celebrate your final night in Australia. 

Included: Breakfast, transfers, internal flights, 4* hotel  

Day 8: Fly to Sydney

This morning you’ll be taken to the airport in time for your flight to Sydney. On arrival, you’ll be met and driven to your hotel, checking in for three nights. We recommend dropping your bags and getting straight out into the city, preferably straight to Circular Quay to admire the iconic views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. 

Included: Breakfast, 4* hotel  

Days 9 & 10: Sydney 

You now have two days to enjoy Sydney. To help you on your way, we’ve included an iVenture Sydney card, which gives you to access many of the main sights in the city. As well as entry to the Opera House, Wildlife Sydney and the Aquarium, the pass also gives you access to some brilliant tours. 

We've included a illi-Langi The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming tour. This 90 minute tour takes you for a leisurely walkabout with an Aboriginal guide in The Rocks in Sydney. It's the perfect way to explore this area and gives you the opportunity to discover how the ancient Aboriginal DreamTime is still alive within the modern Sydney landscape. You'll learn about the billion-year-old harbour, marine environment, sandstone strata, waterways, flora and fauna and how it shapes Aboriginal thought and behaviour.              

Included: Breakfast, Aboriginal walking tour, iVenture card, 4* hotel                                     

Day 11: Fly to New Caledonia 

This morning, you’ll be driven to the airport for your flight to Noumea in New Caledonia. You’ll arrive in the evening and be met and taken to your hotel in the city, checking in for two nights. 

Included: Breakfast, transfers, international flights, 4* hotel       

Day 12: Amedee Island 

Today, you’ll set off on a full-day tour to Amedee Island, a tiny paradise where palm trees sway and colourful fish flit through the water. The sand here is sugar-white and the coral beneath the crystalline water is healthy and plentiful, thanks to the island’s status as a protected marine park.

During the trip, you can go stand up paddleboarding, snorkel with the local turtles and learn how to climb a coconut tree. You’ll also visit the Amedee Island Lighthouse. Built in France, it stood in Paris for two years before beginning its journey to Noumea, where it was finally erected in 1865. You can also send a postcard home from the island’s post office, officially the smallest in the world, and enjoy a delicious exotic lunch whilst watching the famous dance show.

On Amedee Island, you’ll have access to a “bio suncream” distributor, a 100% natural sunblock that doesn’t hurt the coral. Read our blog post for more about visiting coral reefs responsibly.         

Included: Breakfast, day tour to Amedee Island, 4* hotel               

Day 13: Drive to Kone

This morning you’ll pick up your hire car and drive north to explore the New Caledonian bush. The driving here is easy, with brilliant roads throughout the island. We’d recommend a stop at the Boulouparis niaouli distillery where you will see how local niaouli essence and perfumes are made. 

Soon you’ll get to Great Fern Park, a beautiful area between the villages of Farino, Moindou and Sarramea. The park lush, green and full of ferns, many as tall as trees, with spectacular walking trails of different lengths and difficulties to enjoy. Almost 70% of the plant species here are endemic, as well as several species of birds, including the cagou and the Caledonian warbler. This park truly is the lungs of New Caledonia, with huge ‘arborescent ferns’, that look like huge trees creating a canopy above the smaller plants that carpet the ground.

By the end of the day, you’ll arrive in Kone, checking into your hotel for one night. 

Included: Breakfast, car hire, dinner, 3* hotel     

Day 14: Drive to Poe Beach 

After breakfast, you’ll drive to the airstrip, to enjoy a microlight flight over the New Caledonia Barrier Reef and the Heart of Voh. This stunning experience is sure to be a highlight of your trip – with incredible views over the lush green mangroves where the natural heart shape has grown, and then out over the reef. Look for hammerhead sharks and turtles in the turquoise water before soaring over the blue hole, a stunning area of the reef with a rich blue colour. 

After this unique experience, you’ll head back to earth and drive south towards Poe Beach, right on the beach beside the reef you were just flying over. Check into your guesthouse right on the beach. 

Included: Breakfast, microlight flight, car hire, 3* guest house   

Day 15: Poe Beach 

Relax on Poe Beach, where you can chill by the water or go on a snorkelling tour out on the reef. There is an underwater trail with well marketed pointers and a pontoon for resting and sunbathing. Look for coral, fish and rays in the perfect water. Make sure you stop in at La Roche Percée Beach, where you can begin the 3 Bay Trail – this will take you to the neighbouring coves of Turtle Bay and Lovers Bay, where you can admire the mighty palm trees and clear water.

Included: Breakfast, car hire, 3* guesthouse 

Day 16: Drive Noumea, fly to Isle of Pines          

This morning you can relax on the beach or in the pool, before driving back down towards Noumea, dropping your car off at the internal airport before catching the short flight to Isle of Pines. On arrival, you’ll be greeted and taken to your hotel. One of the beautiful islands in the world, Ile des Pins is home to Cook Pines, trees that resemble the masts of sailing ships, set against a clear turquoise lagoon.

Included: Breakfast, car hire, internal flight, 4* hotel      

Day 17: Isle of Pines

On your first day in Ile des Pins, you’ll set off on a full-day boat excursion to spot dolphins and turtles in the water. In the morning, you’ll visit Ilot Brosse, a tiny island covered in the trademark pine trees of this region, where you can snorkel and swim in the perfect water. Next, you’ll head to another small island, Moro, for lunch. Here, you’ll enjoy grilled lobster, fresh coconut and crunchy papaya salad in the sunshine – delicious!

The rest of your time is free to breathe in the beauty of the island, walk hand in hand down the beach and toast cocktails at sunset. Don’t miss the spectacular landscape of Oro Bay, the famous natural swimming pool in New Caledonia. Oro Bay truly is paradise – swim, snorkel, relax and soak in the incredible turquoise and blue colours of Ile des Pins.

Included: Day tour to Ilot Brosse and Moro, 4* hotel       

Day 18: Fly to Noumea

After breakfast, you’ll be taken back to the airport for your flight to Noumea, where you’ll spend your final day in New Caledonia. Why not enjoy a delicious seafood dinner by the harbour, the perfect end to your time on these paradise islands?

Included: Breakfast, transfers, internal flight, 4* hotel    

Day 19: Fly to Singapore

This morning, you’ll be driven back to the airport for your flight to Singapore. On arrival there, you’ll be met and taken to your hotel, checking in for three nights.            

Included: Breakfast, transfers, international flights, 4* hotel       

Days 20 & 21: Singapore     

Spend a couple of days exploring this island city – strolling along the harbourfront, enjoying the lush Botanical Gardens and shopping in the designer boutiques of Orchard Road. We’ve included a short walking tour which will give you some insight into Singapore’s heritage – you’ll walk along the river to see a local fishing village and learn about the colonial buildings and bridges before sipping Singapore Slings in the iconic Raffles Long Bar. 

Singapore is melting pot of culture and the best place to experience this is in its food – try dumplings from the hawker stalls of Chinatown, spicy curries in Little India or nutty satay in the Malay District. As the sun sets, make sure you take a walk-through Gardens by the Bay; the enormous illuminated “trees” are a spectacular sight at night. 

Included: 4* hotel            

Day 22: Depart Singapore   

After breakfast, you’ll be driven back to the airport in time for your flight home. 

Included: Breakfast, transfers, international flights         

Day 23: Arrive UK