New Zealand Tour Review: Queenstown, Christchurch, Ohakune, Milford Sound, Mount Cook, Nature, Two-Week Trip

Review by traveler

Nathan J.

1.1.2024

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

New Zealand

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

Overall, our trip was excellent. Despite some of our excursions being canceled due to weather and some car rental arrangements, etc, getting off to a rocky start, we had a great time.

Everywhere we stayed had excellent service and accommodations. Due to some dietary restrictions, we did struggle in certain places to find affordable food that we could eat. Most notably, this was in Christchurch. Most of the struggle was due to the location of our accommodation and the timing of activities planned from there. This made getting food suitable for our needs the following day impossible due to it being too far to reach any grocery store or restaurant before they closed. At this stage in our trip, we did not have a rental car.

One other instance we felt ill-prepared for was our visit to Mount Cook. We stayed at a lodge. Not knowing our room came with a kitchen, we did not come prepared with much food to cook ourselves and had to rely on the restaurant. It was disappointing to realize the nearest grocery store was almost an hour's drive back the way we had come.

We were also been informed by the tour company that they would inform the places we were staying at and dining with of our dietary restrictions. We assumed this was not done, most notably for our stay outside of Christchurch. They had prepared a beautiful arrangement of snacks and hors d'oeuvres, much of which we could not eat due to it not being gluten-free. We are not certain if this was the fault of the travel company not passing along the info or if this was the hotel's oversight. Either way, we still had a good time.

One other small suggestion we would make would be to note what accommodations do not include elevators or are not handicap accessible. At some of our accommodations, all of the rooms were on the second floor, with no elevators. Even those traveling with large luggage would find this information useful.

Again, overall this was a great trip and Zicasso's tour company was good to work with. They arranged and planned an excellent trip, and were easy to contact when we had difficulties with car rentals on the first day. We would recommend them to anyone planning their first trip to New Zealand.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

We loved so many parts of the trip. There were epic drives with amazing scenic views. We got to see and experience the natural beauty of New Zealand in so many locations and in so many ways. We saw the Pacific Coast from the train, the west coast in Milford Sound, mountains, lakes, plains, and geological wonders. Our favorite for the scenery was Queenstown. We loved staying in Ohakune due to our very enjoyable and friendly hosts.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

We would pack lighter and stay longer in each place. This would enable us to avoid having weather interfere with activities because we could reschedule for the following day. We would eat out less and be more self-reliant, staying in places with kitchens.

Travel Company Comments:

Dear Nathan and Carolyn,

Thank you for posting your positive testimonial, I am happy to read you had a great time.

However, as mentioned, you had a chaotic start as the taxi was late to pick you up to drive you to the rental car company where staff told you he lost the key of your car. This situation is obviously not acceptable, I personally had a long chat with the manager of the taxi company telling him that many following services were dependent on their punctuality, and he told me he would have a meeting around that point with the team. As per the rental car company, the GM told me the staff was a new one who got overwhelmed on that day whereas the key was not lost. Fortunately, we have been able to postpone your Hobbiton tour as we knew it as a highlight of your tour.

I am surprised that the hotel did not take care about your dietary requirements which have been sent by us, they are always very focused on such details, all my apologies that they missed it out.

As per Mt Cook, we chose this accommodation to stay within your budget and not for the benefit of the kitchenette. As there are two restaurants at walking distance, we thought you would be happy with this option. Maybe we should have asked you if you were ready to cook, for you to be organized on site.

Thank you for trusting us as your travel planner, we are so happy to read you loved our country.

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