Tour Reviews

—All in all, it was a great trip for us!

“We were promptly greeted by the driver who took us to and from Auckland. He was very polite and prompt. There seemed to big a mix-up on the departure time back to the airport on 19Feb, his manager apparently contacted him and told him to be at the M Social at 5 AM. Our 5:45 AM pick up got us there with plenty of time to spare. This also happened in Queenstown when the driver picked us up for the "Funyaks safari" trip and dropped us off downtown, he wasn't happy...Regarding the M Social, you were right, it was in a great location. The concierge was excellent and steered us to 2 very good restaurants and we found the 3rd and he concurred. The hotel housekeeping was just okay, basically they just made the bed each day. Tirtiri Matangi was fabulous and another great day in nature. I was also glad that you told us to book in advance. The ferry was sold out. Cycling in the Catlins was so much fun and probably our favorite part of the trip. Snow from Trail Journeys and his wife Jude were wonderful and we had a lot of fun together. They had not cycled here before and neither did anyone from their company. It was up and down big hills with views of the coastline and the countryside. He also took us to other places in the area. It was breathtakingly beautiful and we saw a lot of birds and other wildlife along the way. We all agreed that the accommodations were nice. In Curio Bay the hotel was clean but there are some cottages along the beach as well that were very quaint and inexpensive. The Whistling Frog was very nice but the 4 of us agreed that restaurant food was not up to par. This is the only place to eat! And Happy Hour was 4-5! One note about the cycling--we were heading west into strong winds everyday and we all agreed that it makes sense to try the trip going east. Jim and I were riding regular bikes but they had electric bikes and Jude was able to climb the steep hill easily! Te Anau was lovely and so was the drive to get there. The B&B was perfect. The Milford Sound was beautiful and we wondered about all the other fiords along this coast and whether they were accessible. We did not care for Southern Discoveries, it was rather touristy and the kayaking was a very short trip and not worth it. Queenstown was fun and we enjoyed the Kiwi Birdlife Park. The trip down the Dart River was very worth it despite all the gear we had to wear! It was a beautiful day. The Queenstown House Boutique Hotel was nice but we did not have a room in the main building. Our room part of another building and it was very small room with no view although the hotel was up on a hill and had a great view! We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Rata and was in fact our best meal on the trip. We visited a winery and spent some shopping time in Arrowtown. All in all, it was a great trip for us and thank you for your help in putting it together Shelley!”

—Jim Malter & Elaine Gadzicki, USA

—I have so many wonderful things to say about Fine Tours New Zealand

“I have so many wonderful things to say about Fine Tours New Zealand. My husband and I had been planning a trip to New Zealand for years and with Fine Tours, our trip was even better than we could have even imagined. Laura was amazing at coordinating everything. It took the stress out of the specifics of planning. I just had to pick areas we wanted to go and Laura would suggest activities and pick hotels in our budget. We flew into Auckland. The airport transfer was easy and smooth. Receiving the rental car two days later went perfectly. The guidebook was wonderful with all of the directions if the GPS was unclear. We could just relax and enjoy the vacation following all of Laura’s instructions laid out. All but two of the hotels we stayed at were absolutely amazing. The other two were just decent. However, Laura picked hotels that were easy walking distance to town centers with dining, shopping and activities. Her planning made the trip so easy and enjoyable. I would have had a hard time finding that good of hotel deals in our budget. Then there were the activities. Each was better than the next. Some were things we wouldn’t have thought to do but we are so glad we did-caving in Waitomo? It was amazing. The Edoras Lord of the Rings bus tour was so beautiful. Even if someone didn’t enjoy Lord of the Rings, the scenery on that trip was just breathtaking. I am so grateful to Fine Tours for flawlessly arranging such an amazing trip for us.  ”

—Evan & Kaitlin Easley, USA

—Awesome trip overall

“Awesome trip overall - we all really enjoyed it. We do have a few suggestions for improving the experience for future customers.  Our biggest comment was that In Queenstown, it would have been nice to know that the hotel we were staying at was a 30-minute water taxi away from the downtown area.  It was a nice hotel, but I think we'd have preferred staying in Queenstown proper Other comments: 1) We LOVED the George in Christchurch, and its concierge, Mark, who had some great suggestions for our time there and found us a last minute dinner reservation on New Year's Eve (that is one place I feel you dropped the ball - you and talked about your making a reservation, but it wasn't done; someone else in the office helped out, but it was Mark who found the perfect place for us.) 2) Suggested stops and hikes along our drive were great – we especially loved Lake Tekapo and the Observatory. 3) Mt. Cook was a real highlight - and the excursion was awesome. 4) The Milford Sound day was wonderful, in spite of having our flight back cancelled. 5) Absolutely loved Wanaka - esp the Tin Tub lodge, and could easily have spent more time here. 6) Franz Joseph was disappointing b/c we didn't get to see the glacier, but we did get great massages at the hotel. 7) We liked the Tranzalpine train, but honestly, as a non-driver on the trip, I got as much from our drive days as I did from the train ride.  I liked it but I wouldn't say it was a highlight.  8) We had you schedule our flight back to Auckland, and it gave us a 6-hour layover in Auckland - my bad for not asking you about flight times, but I would have opted for a shorter layover even if it cost more.  It would have been nice to have had the options offered and been able to make the choice. 9) All the transfer drivers were lovely and on time. Like I said, only very small disappointments on an overall fantastic trip.  thank you so much for all you help”

—Gregg Bradstock, Stephanie, Zoe & Zach Aldrich, USA

—A very smooth and well organised holiday.

“Just a short note to say what a wonderful trip we had in the North Island. It all exceeded expectations. We particularly liked Martinborough and the Foodie tour there, we will be back!  Thanks for all your help, a very smooth and well organised holiday. ”

—Alastair and Alison Burt, AUS

—We thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Zealand

“I have been meaning to send you an email to thank you once again for all you did to plan our New Zealand trip.  Everything went smoothly, that is until our last adventure to Milford Sound.  We were really bummed that day because the weather seemed so good at the time in Queenstown, but we do understand that one cannot control the weather, and we would rather be safe than sorry.  Our only day of really bad weather (rainy and cloudy) was the Sunday when we dropped Joe at the airport.  We had nothing on our agenda that day so it became a day of rest and relaxation… we checked out some local stores & the local bowling alley, and took a nap. We were happy with all of our accommodations. We liked the variety that you booked for us… from the executive suites in Blenheim to the comfy motel rooms with the great views at Mt. Cook to the quiet location and cabin-feel of the Kinross Cottages to the city hotels with great locations in Rotorua, Wellington, and Queenstown. Great job! I just wanted to thank you personally for planning our trip and taking time to chat with me when I had questions at the start.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in New Zealand.  We liked the freedom of being able to make little photo stops when we were driving through the countryside and along the coast.  We saw SO MUCH!  (BTW, I noticed the Fine Tours office location in Wanaka when we visited.  Sorry, but no time to stop in to say “hello” and “thanks”.) Thanks again for making our 2018/2019 winter break a memorable one. ”

—Susan, Leo and Joe Pospichal, SGP

—We had a fabulous 10-day trip to the south island

“I would highly recommend Fine Tours - we had a fabulous 10-day trip to the south island, and Laura put together an incredible itinerary for us that was detailed, just right, and catered to our every need. She booked tours for us that were run by very good operators, we were met and picked up at airports/hotels efficiently - everything was made easy and ran smoothly. We plan to return and north island this year, and will definitely want to work with Laura again’’”

—Alex Yu Ming Kuo, Gloria Tsuen & Daniel Kuo, HKG

—I would highly recommend Fine Tours New Zealand

“I would highly recommend Fine Tours New Zealand! Jane did an excellent job of listening to me on how we like to vacation, and she put together an itinerary that matched it! We traveled from Queenstown to Christchurch and the itinerary worked out perfectly. Milford Sound and Mt. Cook were the hi-lights of the trip, but we enjoyed all of it! If I get the chance to go back and explore more of New Zealand, I will definitely use Fine Tours! Thanks for an amazing trip!”

—Kathy, David, Michelle & Jason Blackburn, USA

—A most wonderful and enjoyable experience

“Thank you Jane for the excellent and prompt service starting from the planning and advice on the design of the trip to the support rendered during the trip and post trip. It has been a most wonderful and enjoyable experience in NZ.  ”

—Chan, Koh & Ngiam Families, SGP

—We had a lovely trip to your beautiful country!

“1st of all, We had a wonderful NZ experience 2nd – We had a wonderful NZ experience. I am glad we limited our vacation to the part that we did, I can’t imagine doing North & South islands in this amount of time.  We saw a lot of wonderful NZ scenery, and our timing was perfect for the spring flowers.  Weather cooperated with rain at night and light drizzle a couple of days but not enough to stop me from taking over 1300 pictures.  Lots of nice memories, IT WAS the trip of a lifetime for us.  Thank you for facilitating this wonderful time.  Both Milford Sound and Glacier Boat tours were great, our guides all commented on the perfect weather for viewing both of these areas and commented that 1 out of 3 trips on Milford were rainy and cloudy – ours was perfect, partially cloudy; the glacier boat guide commented that he hadn’t seen the surrounding mountains for 2.5 weeks due to clouds covering the mountain tops!  So were blessed all the way along our journey.   ”

—John, Lorna & Elizabeth Preece, USA

—This trip was a dream come true.

“Shelley - You did a fabulous job in creating an itinerary for Alex and I. This trip was a dream come true. One thing that would be helpful to note is that the Split Apple Lodge and the Rough and Tumble Lodge showed that laundry facilities were onsite which is not correct. We were planning for that and had to make some alternate arrangements but other than that, the trip was amazing. If you have guests that are active and are interested in seeing the Glow Worms, the Black Water Rafting trip is definitely better than the Waitomo Caves in our opinion. We were definitely sad to leave your beautiful country. Hope you had a Merry Christmas and if I hear of anyone flying to New Zealand, I will definitely send them your way! ”

—Christina & Alexandria Felts, USA