Kimkim Trip Reviews for New Zealand

Our stay at Sudima Auckland City was pleasant. It boasted clean accommodations, friendly staff, and good layout. The hotel's location was perfect and accessible, making our traveling and exploring of the city uncomplicated. However, the breakfast wasn't up-to American taste, but that could just be due to different customs. Overall, the service and facilities were commendable!

This resort wasn't quite up to our expectations. While it was clean and had promise of nice hikes, and waterfalls, many roads were closed and the hikes were hard to find. The wifi was weak and the hotel felt a bit outdated overall. Despite the resort's potential, it didn't quite live up to its prime. Regardless, it was a clean place to stay!

Much like the Sudima Auckland City, the Sudima Lake Rotorua was an excellent place to stay! The location was superb and the staff was extremely friendly. Our rooms were clean and comfortable. The breakfast was similar to the sister location, the bacon came off as a bit raw which was disappointing. Despite this minor hitch in the breakfast, our stay in Sudima Lake Rotorua was pretty good!

This activity was truly incredible. Exploring these unique caves was a blend of learning about stalactites and stalagmites and experiencing the wonderful light show created by glowworms. Our tour finished with an unforgettable boat trip in the cave river lit only by the glowworms above. Definitely a surreal and must-try experience!

Walking around the edge of an extinct volcano! Words can't describe the majestic views and raw natural beauty of the crater. The walk was a highlight of our trip and proved to be a thrilling experience!

The night walk through the Redwoods was an incredible, one-of-a-kind experience. The Redwoods were beautifully lit up, creating an enchanting atmosphere. The platforms and bridges made it a unique treetop adventure. This shouldn't be missed!

This was an absolute treat for movie buffs like me. Getting the chance to explore the beautifully recreated Hobbit village from the movies was fascinating. The place was full of the furniture details like in the movies. This addition is new and is something exclusive which made our visit special!

This bed and breakfast was in the perfect location! There is a village closeby with stores, restaurants, and gift shops! It is also about 2 hours away from Milford Sound, and the drive there was the most beautiful and picturesque drive my husband and I have ever been on. The host Hannah is incredible! She made sure that everything we needed was taken care of and then some! She was extremely knowledgeable about the area and had great advice for our journey to Fjordland. Thank you Hannah for being so great to us during our time there!

I loved this manor! The location was in a perfect setting in Christchurch. The hotel was decorated immaculately and the room was extremely comfortable. The food is also delicious and the staff there were extremely friendly and helpful.

This was a bucket list dream come true for me and it was an experience I will never forget! Not only was the set so incredible, but the general scenery was breathtaking! It was also awesome to try the ginger beer at the Green Dragon Inn. The Shires rest cafe also had delicious and fresh food (I had the fish and chips along with the salad).

This whole experience was amazing! It was so wonderful to get an education about the Maori people and culture.

This was one of the best things we did on our trip! The guides were very informative and friendly. The drive to the lake and the lake itself were beautiful. Seeing the glow worms in the caves were out of this world!

The food here was INCREDIBLE! I love the storytelling behind each dish and it was the best tasting food I've had. The drinks were also delicious, and the staff were friendly and inviting!

This charming B&B near Tongariro National Park (45-60 mins' drive) was a fabulous place to stay for 1 night on our trip. B&B owners Bernie and Marie were as warm as can be, and the property is clean, beautiful, and quiet. There are 4 rooms total, so even at "full capacity," it never felt like there were other guests looming over us.

Views and surroundings were stunning. The food provided was really good too, though it does require cooking on your own. The instructions for how to find the parking lot were a bit challenging to decipher, as road construction has since finished, and the directions were outdated. We did eventually find where to park, and then the 10-minute hike commenced... For the adventurous!

Wow!! This hotel was exceptional. The views of Lake Tekapo were stunning, and the hotel itself was beautifully designed. (Our room had a skylight that's designed for star-gazing at night!) Included breakfast could be taken in-room, which we opted for. Delicious and a great way to start the day.

This was the highlight of our whole trip. The fly-cruise-fly package was perfect for seeing Milford Sound and the surrounding fjords/mountains/lakes, and it was well worth the money and time. An absolute must-do if visiting the Queenstown area.

To start, this was a challenging kayak experience. Pros: Lake Taupo is a beautiful place to kayak. The water, on our morning, wasn't *too* rough, but it was definitely windy, which made for a challenging rowing experience, and it's not a short one. We spend more than an hour each way paddling. Cons: Firstly, our operator Liz was verbally and visibly annoyed with us that we didn't arrive 15 minutes early, which was never communicated on our itinerary nor the activity voucher. Additionally, she constantly belittled and corrected a new hire on her own team who was clearly in training when accompanying our group. Moreover, she continued to yell at other tourists from Taiwan, whom she thought were tiring out too quickly or not following her shouted instructions to keep up with the group. She actually had them turn back with another guide 1/3 into our trip, which made us think that if we didn't strain ourselves to "keep up," she'd turn us back too. Overall, she was a real detraction from the experience, and I think kimkim & Once Upon A Trip should be aware of all the above when continuing to send tourists to this operator.

Such a great way to see Kiwi up close and also support conservation in NZ!

This was so much fun! The guides were really warm and understanding of everyone's physical abilities, the kayaking was not too challenging, and the glow worms were really cool to see up-close.

This was a very special way to experience some Maori culture while in New Zealand. It was informative and entertaining, and the venue includes numerous geysers to view, too.

Stuart & his team leading this walk through Tongariro National Park were great. We had nice convos with others in our group, and the guided walk was somewhere between a walk and a hike. The views for those 2 hours, as the sun set, were just spectacular.

In one of the world's star-gazing capitals, it makes sense to take advantage! We were blessed with a clear night, and the telescope-viewing was a great way to see multiple constellations and planets before getting into the hot pools to do some more star-gazing while soaking away the day :)

The free guided tour at 10:30am was great, and I'd highly recommend everyone gets there in time to join it. The property is quite large, and having a guide to walk through it and explain everything was really helpful, from a scientific and cultural perspective. The mud baths were also really fun.

We were booked into one of the apartments at this site and not only was it a wonderful, well-equipped apartment but it had a garage for the car. The hosts were great fun to meet. it would be a wonderful place to stay for a longer time.

Old, tired and very dated. No amenities whatsoever. It was clean and is very convenient. The staff was super sweet and friendly. But I would not stay here again.

Great location.

The rarity of seeing such a beautiful cave.

Loved everything this sound offered. Spectacular in every way.

Never seen anything so beautiful.

Loved the first and last stop. Beautiful wineries.

First class! Wonderful B&B! I can not recommend it enough!

Wonderful staff and accommodations. First class room and view. You could do your laundry without being charged, big bonus. Loved it!

Wonderful Hotel!

Wonderful B&B!

Beautiful Hotel!

One of a kind experience!

Very nice low key hotel....in a very remote place. Great breakfast!

basic overnighter for airport....it was fine

Probably the nicest and most convenient hotel on the entire trip

see review comments....great fun

very upscale and modern; weird bathroom layout!

Great 50s vibe..but black carpet!!!! Well done though--refurbished motel

very interesting concept with "villas"...showing it's age a bit though! all parking in a large lot and steep incline to get to villas unless you ask for golf cart. Not well lit at night, but that's likely intentional!

very funky place...smaller than we thought...it's more of a b&b..great breakfast

great quick tour; barbecue dinner was great. too little time at cultural centre though

very long (700km or so) "day trip" but worth it....king's canyon was great....we opted for the easier hike on the bottom!

great time, terrific buffet (las vegas standards!)

highlight of trip see earlier comments...unable to complete due to severe storm, which required us to be moored at overnight spot for several hours...but worth it...the storm was incredible!

great views

wonderful train trip...relatively short; very nice that the guide drove us back, using a somewhat different route. He (hugh I think) was great!

great intro to gysers and maori culture; well done

very impressive tour to volcano edge.

no where near as "tacky" as i thought it would be...great experience! Well organized.

this was a self drive portion...great, but windy, roads...and some closed due to earlier flooding

Excellent service and comfortable rooms. Excellent location with delicious food for both dinner and breakfast. Would definitely stay here again and would highly recommend this place to friends.

Fantastic views and location. Close to trails and the dinner and breakfast buffets are wonderful. Would definitely recommend this place and will stay here again.

Very cute and unique place. Located near town and restaurants. Would highly recommend this place & will stay here again.

Perfect stay for airport convenience. Would highly recommend this place and would stay here again.

This place was just ok. The breakfast was mediocre and the place was old and rundown. Had beautiful lake views & was close to town, but I would not stay here again.

Fun experience. Great way to see the town. Food was delicious and great quality. Wish it had commentary about the city history during the tram tour.

This tour was Nothing Special. Coming from California and enjoying great wine tours there and have experienced wine tours in Italy- this was just ok. The wines were ok, and the wineries were nothing special- the lunch was simple. I would not do this tour again.

Excellent tour. Our driver Paulie was FANTASTIC. He was very knowledgeable and informative about the area. We felt safe in the bus and he was a cautious driver.

This was mostly a dinner and buffet tour. The farm portion was short and rushed. Minimal animal interactions. I would not recommend this tour if you’re looking for some animal farm experience

Fantastic experience. Highlight of the South Island. Must do and see

Nice views. Great commentary. Fun train ride

Quick stop in town. Not much time spent. Cute little town. Self exploration of Wanaka

Wasn’t expecting to love this but it was a treat! Guides were so enthusiastic and scenery truly stunning.

See written review

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs.

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs. We thought we had a lake view room and had to asked for a different room from the one initially assigned

This was the best hotel on our trip. Very specious and comfortable

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs.

We learned this Weta Workshop was not the same as the one in Wellngton. We heard from others the the one in Wellington was better than the one in Auckland

Ken is a treat! He proved to be knowledgeable, friendly and personable. I appreciated his jokes and insights of the area. I hope to go back one day and I hope I can catch another cruise with him.

This was a must do and worth the hour and change to do it. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history and the items in the museum. It’s worth spending a whole day there but you will certainly get the highlights with additional insights.

Eric was great! He knew a lot about the wildlife and history of the area. He also has great driving skills and was more than capable at pointing out hard to spot wildlife as we went along.

It you’re a rugby fan it’s fantastic. If you’re not a rugby fan, it’s worth doing to get an understanding of how important the game is to New Zealanders. The history and cultural context outlined in the tour was very good.

Intercontinental Hotel was great. We enjoyed snorkeling in their lagoon area and loved their restaurant service, which included a traditional Polynesian dance show one breakfast.

If we could do it over again, we would stay at the Hilton Moorea over the Manava Resort. Manava was nice, but our room air conditioning was not great and had a musty smell. However, the dinners and amenities (paddleboarding, kayaking, snorkeling) were nice. Our outrigger boat tour landed on a day that was rainy and windy, so it wasn't super pleasant, but it was just bad luck with the weather. However, the dolphin excursion at Moorea Dolphin Center was amazing.

The dolphin expert at the Center was really knowledgable and made it a fun experience. It was incredible to observe the dolphins in the water firsthand.

We weren't quite prepared to have this boat tour on a day of pouring rain and wind. We were cold and uncomfortable for the day, but our guide was pretty entertaining.

Our tour guide, Vatea, was amazing. He was so friendly, knowledgable, and had a great singing voice alongside his ukelele! The food was quite good and the lunch on the Motu had a nice setup with picnic tables in the water and fish swimming right by your feet as you ate. Snorkeling at the designated coral garden was incredible. And an unexpected bonus, Vatea stopped by the channel to the ocean and we saw many dolphins swimming nearby.