Beach Hop Tour Announcement and Information
Specialist international enthusiast group travel company, Ticket2Ride Global Adventures, has announced a major tour that Australian street machine, hot rod and rock ‘n’ roll enthusiasts will find hard to resist. Run by experienced tour operator Chris Beattie, the tour will be coordinated and hosted by a select team of travel experts that Chris has assembled to give car and bike enthusiasts the chance to experience New Zealand’s premier automotive and rock ‘n’ roll festival. The 2025 Silver Anniversary Beach Hop Aussie Invasion kicks off in March, 2025 – which also just happens to be the 25th Anniversary year for the event.
“We are incredibly excited to be hosting our inaugural 2025 Silver Anniversary Beach Hop Aussie Invasion to New Zealand’s legendary Repco Beach Hop 25 car and rock ‘n’ roll celebration and festival held in one of the most beautiful and scenic parts of the North Island,” said Chris. “The Hop is similar in many ways to the Cooly Rocks On festival run in June each year in Coolangatta, Qld and has a huge following across the Tasman. It’s run in Whangamata on the Coromandel Peninsula, which is a truly spectacular part of New Zealand, with plenty of movies having been filmed there over the years, ensuring that tourists flock to the area to enjoy the incredible coastline and countryside.
“The fact that we are launching our first tour to the Hop to coincide with the event’s 25th Anniversary is deliberate because we want Aussie car, rock ‘n’ roll and bike fans to experience this landmark, once-in-a-lifetime event as the organisers will be going all-out to showcase the Beach Hop festival to the world!”
The inaugural Ticket2Ride 14-day 2025 Silver Anniversary Beach Hop Aussie Invasion will run from March 24 2025 to April 6, 2025 and according to Chris tour members are going to be able to do it in comfort and style, with campervan hire as part of the tour packages, as accommodation at the Hop is very limited and difficult to secure due to the nature of the very popular, but relatively small tourist resort where the festival is held.
Since 1995, Ticket2Ride has been taking Australian and Kiwi car and motorcycle enthusiasts to some of the world’s most amazing events. From the famous Sturgis Rally and Daytona Bike Week motorcycle festivals, to major NHRA drag racing events such as the US Nationals and Winternationals, not to mention the inaugural V8 Supercars race in Shanghai, and F1 races, we have catered for all tastes and interests.
Chris says Ticket2Ride has been a pioneer and innovator in enthusiast group tours. “We’ve also organised, promoted and led the world’s largest-ever motorcycle tour, when we took 498 Harley enthusiasts – and 348 Harley-Davidsons (and one BMW!) – to the world’s biggest-ever motorcycle party to celebrate Harley-Davidson’s 100th birthday in Milwaukee. So we reckon we know a thing or two about hosting large groups and giving them more than enough activities, attractions (and surprises!) to keep our tour members coming back for more.”
Located on the beautiful and spectacular Coromandel Peninsula south-east of Auckland, the Hop is centred on the beachside town of Whangamata, a tourist Mecca which caters to vast numbers of visitors each year. Chris says if you love classic American cars, hot rods and motorbikes, and you’re a fan of the culture and fashions of the 1950s and ‘60s, then you are going to be in Heaven at the Hop!
“Even better if you have an appreciation for incredible scenery, rock ‘n’ roll music and life at the beach. Because Beach Hop has all of the above – in spades!” reckons Chris. “And it even has spades, too! Just up the road from Whangamata is a fantastic little bay named … Hot Water Beach. And once you’ve rented a shovel at the beachside general store, you can simply stroll down to the beach at low tide and dig your own heated seaside spa pool. True!”
Because much of New Zealand is still very thermally and geologically active, with several volcanoes in the North Island especially, tour members won’t have to dig too far to find hot thermal water.
Even better, says Chris, legendary and energetic Director of Beach Hop, which was started back in 2001, Noddy Watts is keen to encourage Aussies to join with thousands of their Kiwi cuzzies and visit Repco Beach Hop 25 and he wants to welcome us with open arms (and beers!).
“It’s about bloody time more of you Aussies came over and enjoyed the Hop and all this great part of New Zealand has to offer,” he said. “And with Chris and the Ticket2Ride crew running the inaugural 2025 Silver Anniversary Beach Hop Aussie Invasion, which just happens to be our 25th Anniversary Hop, I’m confident our Aussie visitors will have a very memorable time, indeed! So come on over and don’t forget to bring the chilly bin and jandals, because it’s still a bit warm at this time of year, eh cobbers!” he joked.
Chris and his team plan to have tour participants in Auckland a couple of days ahead of the start of the Hop, which is scheduled to run from mid-March, 2025. That way group members will be able to provision their very well-maintained and equipped vans ready for five days at the Hop, after which they’ll be free to roam the incredibly diverse and beautiful North Island in search of even more fun and adventure! New Zealand really is set up for car, bike and motorhome touring and there are many locations around the North Island where you can simply pull over and park for the night without having to pay camping fees, so it’s relatively affordable, too.
Chris advises anyone interested to ensure they don’t miss out on this great and exciting landmark adventure. Even though it’s a while away timewise, the sooner people can secure bookings the better as being such a significant event, ticketing and shipping logistics will need to be completed well out from the March, 2025 departure. He says anyone interested should check out the preliminary itinerary and ensure they register their interest as soon as possible so they can be kept up to date on all of the exciting news and features for the 2025 Silver Anniversary Beach Hop Aussie Invasion as they break. And anyone who is thinking of signing on should also like and follow the soon-to-be-posted Facebook page as well.
Roll on March 24, 2025!