Australia and New Zealand escorted tour operator, AAT Kings, has announced an evolution of its touring styles with the addition of new Small Group tours for the 2026/27 season. The brand will now operate two types of guided holidays – Small Group and Classic Tours – on itineraries across Australia and New Zealand. Small Group tours will have an average of 16 and maximum 24 guests, offering a more intimate, deeper-access tour experience, and the shift comes from recent research and feedback from the travel trade.
Both types of tours continue to blend exploration, iconic landscapes, seamless comfort, and unique adventures and experiences – carefully curated over the brand’s 100+ year history.
D'Guy Charters, Kalbarri
14 new Small Group itineraries are being introduced, along with many new on-tour experiences. There are also nine new MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experiences, which offer guests extraordinary encounters championing local people, places, and the planet.
Up to 10% discount is available on select departures of 2026/27 Classic or Small Group tours, when booked before 30th September 2025.*
A series of agent training webinars are being offered with the UK sales team, Heather Colbourn and Gary Skilling, covering all the developments and key selling points for the new season. Sessions will run at 10am on:
- Tuesday 5th August
- Wednesday 6th August
- Thursday 7th August
- Tuesday 9th September
- Wednesday 10th September
- Thursday 11th September
Aerial view of the Ord River, near Kununurra.
Pre-registration is essential, but a recording will be made available to anyone who can’t dial in on the day. There will be three giveaways per webinar of £20 life:style vouchers and registration can be done by contacting the team or completing the form.
Ben Hall, AAT Kings Group CEO, said: “Guests asked for deeper local stories and more flexibility, so we’re rolling out Small Group and Classic Group departures from Tasmania to the Kimberley and right across New Zealand.
“Every new experience is designed to spark wonder, whether that’s sleeping beneath fiordland stars in Milford Sound, tasting bush tucker with Indigenous food advocate Rayleen Brown, chasing the sunrise over Uluru, or sipping organic pinot in Wairarapa. Our 2026/27 season hands you the keys to curate your own extraordinary holiday experience with many moments that surprise and delight.”
Highlights of the new Small Group itineraries for 2026/27 include:
- Tropical Queensland a 9-day tour from Brisbane to Cairns – expected to be especially popular with the UK and Irish market. The chance to see the convergence of two World Heritage Sites, with highlights including 75 Mile Beach and Maheno Shipwreck on K'gari (Fraser Island), crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, the Whitsunday Islands and a stay on Hamilton Island, a full day cruise on the Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. Priced from £3,731pp based on twin-share and excluding international flights. First departure 26th July 2026.
- Broome and the Kimberley Highlights a 7-day tour from Broome to Kununurra, from £2,918pp
- Tasmania & Flinders Island Explorer a 6-day tour roundtrip from Launceston, from £2,526pp
- Outback Icons a 15-day tour from Adelaide to Darwin, priced from £5,202pp
- Northern Territory Top End National Parks a 6-day tour roundtrip from Darwin, from £2,381pp
- Outback Contrasts a 6-day tour roundtrip from Alice Springs, from £2,349pp
- Northern Territory Dreaming a 12-day tour from Darwin to Alice Springs, from £5,280pp
- New Zealand’s Northern Gems a 10-day tour Wellington to Auckland, from £3,461pp
- Untamed New Zealand a 17-day tour Auckland to Christchurch, from £6,611pp
New experiences for 2026/27 include:
- Overnight on the Milford Mariner – Sleep beneath fiordland stars after kayaking past thundering waterfalls (Available on Untamed New Zealand; NZ Southern Sounds; NZ Southern Drift).
- Urlar Estate Tasting, Wairarapa – Organic wines and a seasonal platter with owners Tess & Brian (Available on Untamed New Zealand).
- Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim – Weta Workshop sets WWI & II aircraft stories in cinematic motion (Available on Untamed New Zealand; NZ Southern Sounds).
- Kangaroo Island Wool Tour, SA – Australia’s only vertical wool mill, fleece‑to‑fashion on Kangaroo Island (Available on Tastes of Southern Australia; Great Ocean Road & KI Escape).
- Flinders Island by Private Flight, TAS – Beach‑hopping, seafood lunch and island‑grown wine (Available on Tasmania & Flinders Island Explorer).
- FORK it FARM, TAS – Sustainable charcuterie and Tasmanian wine amid rolling countryside (Available on Tasmania & Flinders Island Explorer).
- Luridgii Tours, Kununurra WA – Dreamtime stories and native bush foods with Aboriginal guides (Available on Broome & Kimberley Highlights).
New MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® EXPERIENCES include:
- Templeton Flaxmill, Southland NZ – Help preserve New Zealand’s last working flax mill (Available on Essence of NZ; Spirit of NZ; Southern Spirit).
- Pounamu Carving Workshop, NZ – Watch artisans shape sacred greenstone and learn its Māori significance (Available on Spirit of NZ; Essence of NZ).
- Greytown Honey, Wairarapa NZ – Behind‑the‑scenes with fifth‑generation beekeeper Karly, from hive to jar (Available on Untamed New Zealand).
- Dabungool Cultural Experience, Hellfire Bay WA – Wudjari guide shares seasonal bush foods in Cape Le Grand NP (Available on Western Wonderland; South Western Escape).
- Emu Valley Rhododendron Gardens, TAS – Stroll among 500 rhododendron species—and spot resident platypuses (Available on Perfect Tasmania; Tassie’s Parks & Nature).
- Kimberley Adventure Tours, Broome WA – Pearling history, bush foods and private didgeridoo performance with local Aboriginal guide (Available on Broome & Kimberley Highlights).
- Kungkas Can Cook, Alice Springs – Bush‑tucker tasting with chef Rayleen Brown (Available on Outback Contrasts; NT Dreaming).
- Karrke Aboriginal Cultural Experience, Watarrka NT – Luritja guides share bush foods and medicines (Available on Outback Contrasts; NT Dreaming).
- World Heritage Listed Budji Bim Cultural Landscape, VIC – Walk 6,600‑year‑old Gunditjmara aquaculture systems (Available on Tastes of Southern Australia; Great Ocean Road & KI Escape).
Karijini National Park
