West Coast Day Tours

New Zealand’s remote West Coast region contains some of the country’s most dramatic scenery – wild coastlines, ancient glaciers, picturesque mountain ranges and lush native rainforest. Within the area’s five national parks are an array of scenic highlights, including New Zealand’s highest mountain, longest caves and famously the lowest and most accessible glaciers in the world, Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier.

Early Māori named the area Te Tai O Poutini, meaning ‘The tides of Poutini’, after the spiritual guardian of the prized pounamu (greenstone) found there in abundance. European settlers flocked to the West Coast during the gold rush of the late 1800s, but today it is one of New Zealand’s most sparsely populated regions.

GreatSights West Coast sightseeing tours depart daily year round from Queenstown and offer coach services to and from Greymouth further up the West Coast, as well as connecting to the TranzAlpine railway to Christchurch. Please note the West Coast is a very popular route during the summer months and passengers are advised to book early.