Once Upon a Trip

The only complaint is we thought we were being quoted in NZ$. We are Canadian. When we paid it was the first time we saw it was USA$. we booked late so had tompay all up front. We were shocked that is was American$ which is about 40% more.

Michelle was great and quick to answer any of our questions.

The whole trip was amazing. It was so great having our cars, rooms and activities all booked in advance . Everyone we had contact with was exceptionally curtious, helpful and prompt.
We particularly enjoyed the Doubtful Sound excursion but all were very memorable.

Monica was great to work with. Initially some of her proposals did not match what we were looking for but once she understood the type of trip and activities we enjoy she was able to target everything we wanted. She was more than willing to make any changes we wanted and search for offerings that met what we wanted. We started the planning process quite early but by the time we finally got everything chosen some of the accommodations we wanted were already booked. So, most of our accommodations were great but a few were not quite as nice.
She was always available for a phone call and when we were in country she kept in contact and kept us informed of changes due to weather.
Overall I can’t imagine a better person to work with and wish she could plan all of our future trips to other countries. Hope we can find more agents like Monica!

Hotel Reviews

Accommodation arranged as part of your Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise - Southern Secret

Loved everything about the cruise ship. Crew bent over backwards to meet everyone’s needs but were not intrusive in any way. Food was so much more than expected!

Location

Staff

Olivers Lodge

Clyde

Absolutely loved the ambience. One of the outstanding parts of our trip!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lake Tekapo Holiday Homes

Lake Tekapo

Authenticity & Character

Plain room with no characters and the barest amenities. TV only worked with apps and being from the US our apps do not work on NZ

Location

Overlooked the parking lot

Staff

Only 1 staff at the front desk in a different location

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was clean but the furniture was lower than IKEA for comfort

Timber Trail Lodge

Ongarue

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bike the Wine Tour - Marlbourough

New Zealand

Fun day with a great guide, Innis. He was the perfect mix of knowledge and humble guide. Never hurried us and let us set the pace. It was really nice to have a private tour with scheduled tastings as the wineries were quite busy, especially after lunch and when to tour busses arrived, but we never had to wait and got individual attention from the servers. Bikes are a great way to do this.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bikes weren’t of the best quality but did okay

Funyak Safari

Queenstown (NZ)

The views were outstanding and we had a very peaceful and enjoyable experience with a calm and fun guide.

Monika was so helpful in planning our NZ honeymoon! She really paid attention to what activities would be more/less important to us while keeping our budget in mind. Everything we did was absolutely wonderful - we couldn't have planned a better trip. We're so grateful for such an amazing trip!

Monika worked with us to tailor our trip exactly how we wanted! She was very patient and went through several iterations with us. We especially appreciated her help finding lodging - all the places we stayed were really cute and we never would have found them ourselves.

Overall we had a good trip but a number of glitches from Kim Kim’s side made it more difficult. For instance, our rental car was in Auckland city center rather than the airport. When we called Monika to complain instead of owning it, she blamed others. We also worked hard to get SIM cards for our phones. Ultimately we were unable to get them. Not sure why. Also Monika seemed unsure of basic questions like are hiking poles available for rent at the Tongriro Crossing. In Monika’s defense she found the answer to those questions quickly and got back to us. Ultimately, we were expecting more.

Hotel Reviews

The Prince's Gate Hotel

Rotorua

Lovely, quaint good location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Park Hotel Ruapehu

National Park Village

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Lunch was not ready when it should have been.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Naumi Hotel Wellington

6141

One room you could not fully open the bathroom door.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Nocturnal Adventure Glow-worm Tour

Rotorua

The guide was great and the home amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tongariro Alpine Crossing - self guided - parking & shuttle to the start point

New Zealand

Challenging hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our shuttle driver was great.

Transport

Hell's Gate

Rotorua

Guide was over the top. We paid for a pass for mud baths which we said we did not want.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Te Pā Tū - Maori Cultural Experience

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our car rental experience in Auckland was not memorable. The car reserved for us was a Subaru Outback, not an SUV, and it was not clear that the hotel parking charges were not included. The itinerary was long and winding, repetitive, and confusing. A simple daily summary with details about other attractions in the appendix would have served better. The font size was too small. Most accommodations were reasonable except Rotarua. Overall, it was a good trip.

Hotel Reviews

Sudima Lake Rotorua

Rotorua

avoid

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sudima

Christchurch

small rooms. Parking is additional. Good breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Peppers Bluewater Resort

Lake Tekapo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kamana Lakehouse

Queenstown

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

front desk needs training in politeness

Cleanliness & Comfort

Distinction Dunedin Hotel

Dunedin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The Mayfair

Christchurch

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Christchurch Tramway Tour

Christchurch

advance tram map would have been helpful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Larnach Castle Tour - unguided

Dunedin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Te Pā Tū - Maori Cultural Experience

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic Flight - Mt Cook Franz and Fox Magic - by heli from Tekapo

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fly Cruise Fly – Queenstown to Milford Sound by scenic flight

Queenstown (NZ)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Historic Steamship Cruise to Walter Peak Farm + BBQ Dinner

Queenstown (NZ)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Yellow-eyed penguins

Dunedin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport