Guided Hikes in New Zealand for Every Skill Level: Discover Our Hiking Tours

New Zealand Hiking Tours For Every Skill Level: Discover Our Guided Hikes

Why Guided Hikes In New Zealand?

New Zealand is one of the world’s last untouched corners, famous for its great walks and guided hikes. A huge 33% of New Zealand’s land mass is conservation land, meaning it’s protected by law. About 3% of this conservation land is categorised as “wilderness”, which is quite rare worldwide and declining globally. Norway, for example, has around 2%.

How To Make The Most Of Your Hiking Trip To New Zealand

For most hikers, visiting New Zealand is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. How do you plan your time strategically to make the most of your guided hiking holiday to New Zealand?

For first-time hiking visitors it can be overwhelming to know where to start. It’s easy to find glossy Instagram shots of scenic spots and popular hiking tracks, but you often don’t know, or can’t trust, that what you’ve seen online is really going to match the hype. Furthermore, how can you be sure that the “must-do” tracks are a good match for your own personal fitness level and hiking aptitude?

The first question on most hikers’ minds is, which is better for guided hiking, the North Island or the South Island?

The scenery is spectacular on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Tongariro National Park, North Island, New Zealand

North Island Hiking Vs South Island Hiking – Which Is Better?

What Is Hiking Like In The South Island?

The South Island might be the bigger drawcard for most tourists for its high-alpine scenery but it can be a scary, intimidating place to begin your New Zealand guided hiking experience. In the South Island you’ll find technical tracks at a higher elevation which can create dangerous conditions for inexperienced hikers. The southern hiking season is shorter and often requires expensive, technical gear. Because of the increase in risk-level and extreme weather conditions, guided hikes and great walks in the South Island are considerably more expensive and financially punishing should anything go wrong. Sadly the South Island is suffering from unchecked tourism saturation which diminishes the authenticity of visitors experience. A peaceful, restorative outdoor experience is no longer a guarantee in the South Island, expect to share the tracks and huts with many other walkers and hikers.

What Is Hiking Like In the North Island?

By contrast hiking tours and guided hikes in the North Island are more suitable for regular, everyday walkers and hikers. In general, tracks are at a lower elevation therefore more inclusive and well-matched to hikers with moderate fitness levels and aptitudes. On North Island hikes it’s easier to get the right balance of great exercise on a challenging (but not too challenging) hiking trail with great scenery and features, whilst still leaving space for those fun, post-hike elements like a refreshing dip in the ocean, or a delicious meal in a local restaurant. You don’t have to exhaust yourself trying to ascend the same mountain peak for 4 days, you’ll save some physical capacity in the bank for enjoying your evenings as well!

Who Does The Best Guided Hikes In New Zealand?

Walking Legends Guided Walks

Walking Legends is the best guided hiking tour operator in the North Island.  And the only tour operator with the most diverse range of guided hikes and guided walking itineraries. Our range of 7 guided hiking tours in the North Island of New Zealand are the perfect holiday package for anyone who likes walking, hiking and trekking. We visit more regions of the North Island than anyone else, including those hard-to-get-to places that take you further from civilisation and deeper into the wilderness.

Where Are The Best Hikes in the North Island?

We only visit areas that have high value conservation forest and thriving populations of native wildlife. There are 5 areas of the North Island that are worth the effort for hiking. The best hikes in the North Island are found at Great Barrier Island, Coromandel, Lake Waikaremoana, Tongariro National Park and Taranaki. With us you can enjoy a hassle-free, luxurious guided walking holiday to these areas.

New Zealand Hiking Tours for First-Time Hikers

Great Barrier Island Escape 

• 4 days
• One of the best walks near Auckland
• Luxurious accommodation with ensuites
• Coastal hikes

If you’re just dipping a toe into hiking in New Zealand, our Great Barrier Island Escape guided hike is the perfect place to start. This is our gentlest itinerary with the best balance between walking and relaxing. We’ll walk anywhere between 4 and 7 hours per day with plenty of rest breaks and swimming stops. You won’t be gasping away under a heavy pack, this is a pack-free walk. All you’ll carry is that days essentials, like your lunch, drinking water and a raincoat. It’s lodge-based so you’ll have a hot shower and comfortable bed to return to each night. We arrange all your meals and drinks in one easy guided hiking tour holiday package.

New Zealand Guided Hikes for Moderate Fitness Levels

Coromandel Explorer 

• 4 days
• The best Coromandel walks and hikes
• Boutique accommodation with ensuites
• Coastal hikes

For hikers with a moderate fitness level, the Coromandel Explorer guided hike is the perfect fit. We’ve blended the best Coromandel walks and hikes with excellent accommodation and delicious meals into an outstanding New Zealand guided hike package. All of our itineraries are tailorable so this trip is perfect for singles, couples and groups of friends. That means if you have a few in your group who just want to do short walks, they can still come along. There’s no pressure to complete every walk.

The Coromandel Explorer guided hike is graded 4 out of 5. Days 1 and 4 are warm-up and warm-down days where we’re usually travelling to where we want to be. Day’s 2 and 3 are the stars of the show where we hike the best walks on the Coromandel Peninsula; the Coastal Walkway at the very northern tip and The Kauaeranga Kauri Trail, known as ‘The Pinnacles’ near Thames.

New Zealand Guided Hikes for Bird-Lovers

Waikaremoana Discovery Tour

• 4 days
• The best walks in Te Urewera
• Lakeside ensuite accommodation
• Remote wilderness
• Unique Maori cultural perspectives

If you do a bit of walking regularly at home, you’ll be well-matched with the Waikaremoana Discovery Tour. This is the easiest, and most luxurious way to hike at Lake Waikaremoana. We’ll do the highlights section of the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk, from Onepoto to Panekire Bluff, and sample a wide variety of other half-day walks in the area. Te Urewera covers 212,000 hectares of high-quality, mature forest full of rare native wildlife like our blue whistling duck, the famous whiō. Te Urewera is home to the fascinating Ngai Tūhoe people, “the children of the mist,” a unique and distinct tribe of indigenous Māori people with a wealth of cultural myths and legends that bring colour to this deeply affecting landscape.

The Waikaremoana Discovery Tour guided hike is graded 3 out of 5 so it’s on a par with the Great Barrier Island. We’ll do a longer, more challenging walk on Day 2 where we ascend Panekire Bluff. For the first hour of the track we’ll make a sharp climb up to the first lookout. The track is wide and well-marked with a lot of tree roots to step over. From the first lookout to Bald Knob, the track is much more easy-going. There’ll be natural undulations, but overall there’s no major elevation gain or loss as we work our way along the ridgetop. On the remaining days we have the chance to take in some excellent half-day walks to some very special and significant ecological areas.

New Zealand Hiking Tours You Haven’t Done Yet!

Taranaki Discovery Tour

• 4 days
• The best Taranaki walks
• Boutique ensuite accommodation
• Cinematic mountain views

The Taranaki Discovery Tour guided hike is the New Zealand’s newest, lodge-based guided hiking tour. The Taranaki region is a mecca for walkers and hikers and now you can experience the best Taranaki walks and hikes with the comfort and safety of a guided group. We’ll hike the Pouakai Crossing, an epic 19km day-walk which is every bit as exciting and challenging as the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, but without the struggle and stress of overcrowding. Visit Wilkie’s Pool and Dawson Falls, the Coastal Walkway and Te Rewa Rewa bridge for a broad sample of sights, tastes and sounds of Taranaki hiking.

This is another pack-free walk so you can use your energy to move your body and enjoy yourself while we do all the hard stuff in the background. Our meals and drinks are all catered as part of this guided hiking tour package. We’ll stay in beautiful ensuite accommodation in the green belt surrounding New Plymouth township, overlooking the meandering Waiwhakaiho River.

Our guides have put together a step-by-step guide to the Pouakai Crossing, so whether you come with us or go it alone, we hope you have a safe, enjoyable time!

New Zealand Guided Great Walks – The Coolest North Island Guided Great Walk

Tongariro Northern Circuit Great Walk 

• 3 days
• One of the North Island’s Great Walks
• Dual World-Heritage Area, the Tongariro National Park
• Incredible landscape and terrain you won’t find anywhere else in New Zealand!
• A quintessential Kiwi outdoor backpacking adventure

What Is The Tongariro Northern Circuit Great Walk?

The Tongariro Northern Circuit is part of the New Zealand Great Walk network. It’s one of only 3 Great Walks in the North Island and it’s an excellent multi-day backpacking trip. Perfect for hikers who have built up fitness and experience with day-walking from home and are ready for their first overnight multi-day hiking challenge.

Where Does The Tongariro Northern Circuit Great Walk Go?

The Tongariro Northern Circuit is a loop track in the Tongariro National Park, around Mt.’s Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, staying in DOC huts. Traditionally it begins at the Chateau Tongariro Hotel, but on this guided great walk we’ll begin at Mangatepōpō, at the same trailhead where day-walkers begin the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

What’s the Difference Between the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and The Northern Circuit?

Both the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and the Tongariro Northern Circuit follow the same route from Mangatepōpō over the Tama Saddle to the summit at Red Crater and down to the Emerald Lakes. After you reach Emerald Lakes the day-walkers head north down to Ketetahi to finish the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Northern Circuit walkers head east and descend into Oturere Valley. In doing the Tongariro Northern Circuit you’ll see all the best parts of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing track. You’ll still get Instagramable shots of all the exciting geographic features that the central plateau is famous for.

Is The Tongariro Northern Circuit Busy?

You’ll find this track is well-subscribed by other walkers. There’ll be lots of people to meet and mingle with on the track and in the huts. It’s a great entry-level overnight hike for solo hikers, families and groups of friends. Of the two DOC huts on the Northern Circuit track, Waihohonu Hut is the nicer and newer. Oturere Hut is compact and reaching the end of its’ serviceable life, tagged for replacement in the not-too-distant future.

How Much Weight Do I Carry on a Guided Hike of the Tongariro Northern Circuit?

You’ll be carrying more weight on this guided hike than on our other lodge-based guided walks. Expect to carry between 10 – 15 kgs, less if you’ve got light-weight clothing and equipment. Our guides will carry the food and cooking kit for the group, you’ll just carry your sleeping bag and your own gear. If our 4-day, lodge-based Tongariro Hiking Tour is the luxe way to hike in the Tongariro National Park, the Northern Circuit is the rough and ready alternative experience.

If you have never done a Walking Legends guided hike before and you’re not sure where to start, give our friendly team a call. We can help match you with the style and grade of New Zealand guided walk that is going to suit you best.