Searching for a straightforward and inexpensive technique to tour Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific islands in a single journey?
Holland America has a brand new providing that permits for simply that.
The Seattle-based line on Tuesday will announce an epic monthlong itinerary that offers vacationers the chance to go to Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and a number of other of probably the most notable Pacific island teams with out getting on any inter-island flights.
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The “Islands of the South Pacific: Sydney to Auckland” voyage, as Holland America is looking it, will happen on the road’s 1,924-passenger Noordam and kick off Jan. 4, 2026, in Sydney.
Because it begins, the crusing will resemble a typical crusing up the east coast of Australia with stops at Queensland’s Moreton Island — a sandy getaway identified for sand tobogganing, diving, bird-watching and parasailing — and the Queensland capital, Brisbane.
Extra stops up the Australian coast will embrace Townsville, a gateway to scuba diving outings at Australia’s Nice Barrier Reef, and town of Cairns.
After every week of such exploring alongside Australia’s east coast, Noordam will strike out northeastward for a three-day go to to Papua New Guinea.
Among the many stops in Papua New Guinea might be Alotau, a buzzing harbor that was the location of the Battle of Milne Bay — typically billed as Japan’s first defeat within the Pacific throughout World Warfare II. Noordam additionally will go to Papua New Guinea’s Battle Islands and Kiriwina, the most important of the nation’s Trobriand Islands.
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From Papua New Guinea, Noordam will head eastward towards Guadalcanal within the Solomon Islands — the location of one other well-known World Warfare II battle. These days, it is identified for its unspoiled magnificence, which incorporates mountain spires, rocky coastlines, dense rainforest and spectacular waterfalls.
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Guadalcanal is simply the primary of a string of Pacific islands on the schedule. Noordam will spend the following 10 days hopping eastward and southward between a number of main island teams, together with the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji — each unbiased international locations made up of huge numbers of islands.
Noordam will go to three locations in every of those two island teams. In Vanuatu, it is going to spend a full day every in Luganville, Port Vila and Thriller Island. The Fiji go to will deliver day visits to Lautoka, Suva and Dravuni Island.
A closing Pacific island cease throughout this stretch of the journey would be the islands of Tonga, one other unbiased nation composed of a number of islands. Two stops are deliberate in Tonga, in Vavau and Nukualofa.
After touring these island teams, Noordam will flip southwestward throughout the Pacific to New Zealand, the place the journey will finish Feb. 1, 2026. Stops in New Zealand embrace Waitangi and Tauranga.
A ‘legendary voyage’ for Holland America
The brand new South Pacific itinerary is the most recent addition to a brand new sequence of so-called Legendary Voyages that Holland America unveiled in early 2023. The additional-long sailings, scheduled to happen over the following three years, deal with a single area and vary from 25 to 59 nights in size. Additionally they function particular programming.
The preliminary lineup of Legendary Voyages included each beforehand provided routings and a few all-new routes — the latter together with an epic itinerary centered on Japan scheduled for this yr that can final greater than 50 days.
The voyages usually deal with far-off locations — together with Australia and New Zealand, the Amazon and South America, the South Pacific and Hawaii, Greenland and Iceland, Asia, Alaska and the Arctic Circle. However in a twist, most sailings are designed to start and finish in a North American port. Which means North American passengers can attain distant locations with out ever getting on a global flight.
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The brand new lineup of lengthy journeys is designed to enhance Holland America’s celebrated assortment of even longer Grand Voyages — far-ranging, typically world-circling sailings that usually are 70 nights or longer.
The preliminary grouping of Legendary Voyages introduced in early 2023 included 17 particular departures between late 2023 and early 2025. Holland America has since been including further departures, together with the brand new South Pacific journey.
Holland America has lengthy been identified for longer sailings from U.S. ports that introduced folks to far-flung locations across the globe. The brand new Legendary Voyages and an expanded lineup of different lengthy voyages mark a doubling down by the road on such journeys.
Fares for the brand new South Pacific itinerary — which might be 28 nights lengthy — begin at $3,669 per particular person, not together with taxes, charges and port prices. Extra data will be discovered on the web page for the crusing at Holland America’s web site.
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