Stay in a luxury hotel in Canterbury with Small Luxury Hotels of the World and get back to nature with beech-forested national parks, alpine treks and coastlines dotted with seal colonies.
Luxury city and town breaks in Canterbury
In Christchurch, hark back to varsity days as you travel Edwardian-style in a punt under the wrought-iron bridges on the River Avon. Jugs of Pimm’s are your reward when you moor up by the pavement cafés on trendy Oxford Terrace. You can add oil landscapes of the Canterbury Plains to your art collection at local galleries and dine on Rakaia River salmon in Ashburton’s lakefront restaurants.
Luxury beach holidays in Canterbury
Spend nautical days off the coast of Kaikoura spotting humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins, before tasting the day’s koura crayfish catch. Pastel weatherboarded cottages line the harbour in Akaroa with quaint craft boutiques selling jewellery made of Pacific blue pearls and rainbow paua shells. Promenade past Victorian bluestone residences with views of azure Caroline Bay in Timaru.
Luxury countryside retreats in Canterbury
Emerald-green kea parrots soar over Arthur’s Pass National Park’s alpine forests and valleys as your TranzAlpine connoisseur rail carriage follows this old Maori hunting trail. With the show-capped Southern Alps at your crampon tips, Hanmer Springs is the place to be outdoorsy chic. Explore Forest Park’s trails on horseback or play a round of golf on the pristine 18-hole fairway. Skink lizards and black scree butterfly turn up during tramps across braided rivers and tussock grassland in Craigieburn Forest Park.
Your luxury hotel in Canterbury is never far from the South Island’s glacial valleys, snow-capped alpine peaks and whale-watching expeditions in the Tasman Sea. Book with Small Luxury Hotels of the World for a relaxing stay in a boutique cedar lodge on a working sheep farm in Arthur’s Pass.