Once Upon a Trip

Monika, we can’t thank you enough for helping us plan a trip of a lifetime. After a couple itineraries, you were able to put together one that fit exactly what we were looking for. We got to see the beautiful South Island of New Zealand by doing the “fly-cruise-fly”, renting a car, glamping and multiple hikes/walks. We had an amazing time!!!

Our Travel Pro, Monika, was very patient with us while we worked through the itinerary for our New Zealand trip. In fact it took us (not Monika) 3 months to finally settle on the detailed schedule. We just kept asking questions and Monika developed options for us to consider. In the end her original itinerary was close to what we chose; well we added a few excisions and some of the hotels and B&B's changed.

I will say all the options Monika provided were excellent. Monika was very responsive to reschedules (due to weather) and in fact moved an excursion up a day, to keep us on schedule and allow us to do a challenging hike the next day that got cancelled because of weather.

If I had one recommendation to the reader, 16-days is not enough; if you are driving. We saw many highlights and are already thinking of our next visit to New Zealand. Monika was very cognizant of the travel times and provided us guidance to minimize our hours on the road and provide useful, fun, entertaining, & amazing stops along the way.

Monika will be our go-to for our next New Zealand adventure. It was so helpful having a local (she is based in Queenstown) expert.

Thanks,
Tom T

Hotel Reviews

Naumi Hotel Wellington

6141

Quirky mid-town hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Quirky, what more is there to say! In a really good way.

Location

Well except the parking, but we were RIGHT DOWN TOWN

Staff

Pointed us to a few interesting things to see.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great bed and linens

Kamana Lakehouse

Queenstown

Excellent location, great view of the lake. Great Staff

Authenticity & Character

It is called Lakehouse and it didn't disappoint with the Lake Views

Location

Staff

Came to get us when one of our excursion drivers showed up early!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The staff was responsive to a messy towel day

M Social

Auckland

Modern Hotel in the middle of everything! The first 2 days we just walked everywhere we needed to go.

Authenticity & Character

Modern and Modern

Location

Right on the waterfront

Staff

Helped with some tech issues and made recommendations

Cleanliness & Comfort

just great

Beaufort House Akaroa

Akaroa

The hostess and host were excellent and this is an incredible B&B

Authenticity & Character

French town with this chateau feel

Location

Small town and this was a walk to the waterfront.

Staff

Excellent Omlete

Cleanliness & Comfort

These linens I really want to know where they get them, was unbelievable comfortable!

Activity Reviews

Redwoods treewalk by night

Rotorua

Just fun and interesting in the evening!

Starlight Gourmet Kayak Tour - Glowworm Caves

Rotorua

Really glowworms only exist in 3 locations in the world, our guide was excellent and we really enjoyed the adventure.

Zealandia - Night Tour

Wellington

Everyone should do this excursion because it tells you about how New Zealand is reintroducing native birds.

Fly Cruise Fly – Queenstown to Milford Sound by scenic flight

Queenstown (NZ)

Everyone has pictures of Milford, but you need to experience it yourself!

Thank you Franck, of KimKim/Once in a Lifetime. The trip you planned for us to New Zealand exceeded our expectations. We kept saying, “thank you Franck”!! We loved the process of planning. You came up with a first idea plan and listened to how we wanted to personalize it to fit our dreams. We liked all of the accommodations upgraded to water/view front and we asked for something unique. It was nice having a few days in Auckland at MSocial to check out the bay and whale/dolphins excursion and acclimate to the 18 hour time difference. We loved the night time redwood tree walk and our morning stroll again in Rotorua. We had a breathtaking tour and wonderful chat with Jill Simpson, own of beautiful Akaroa Garden; then off to a fun and worthwhile dolphin cruise . Mount Cook Lakeside retreat on lake Pulaski was luxurious; great views, chef cooked meals and perfect location to explore the Mackenzie region. We had a private plane, The Grand Traverse to fly over the glacier and mountain areas of Mackenzie Aoraki National Park. Two of us made it to stargazing after a wonderful dinner in the dining hall, lead by lodge owner. Magnificent!!! Crazy, amazing place to stay (photos). We had an informative and fun backcountry tour as one of our adventures while there. We also got up close to an iceberg and glacier at Lake Tekapo, Next we drove to Clyde and stayed at a unique and authentic Oliver’s Lodge. The people are so welcoming there! Our favorite place was Milford Lodge staying at Cabot Lodge. Breidi met us with umbrella and she and husband Brad Alexander/owners made us feel so welcome. Such a luxuriously unique accommodations on the beautiful hills of their Lodge overlooking the Fiordland National Park and Lake Manapouri. Breathtakingly beautiful. Milford sound is a magical place. Jeff, of Trips and Tramps was our bus driver, part of our coach, cruise and walk tour. We snuck in a helicopter ride that he set up while we were there.

Thanks again Franck. It was a trip of a lifetime. You took care of every detail from pick up driver at every needed venue, rental car, and several amazing meals and awesome excursions. This was our second time using KimKim and you did not disappoint.

Franck was able to plan the perfect vacation for us. We took the quiz and everything he recommended was spot on! We had plenty of down time to choose our own adventures along the way. When our flight to the South Island was delayed, Monika messaged us and gave us options. Everyone was so helpful and we made memories that will last a lifetime!!! I will definitely book through KimKim again!!!

Our 12-day trip to the North Island was fantastic and exceeded our expectations! Our trip was originally scheduled for Nov 2020 and because of Covid we had to defer. Franck helped re-plan the itinerary for March 2024. Highlights included a New Zealand food story tasting menu at Ahi in Auckland, the Wai Ariki Spa at Rotorua, Mt. Takawera crater walk, Waiotapu geothermal area, Tongariro National Park and Kapiti Island. The trip was perfectly customized to our preferences and everything worked very smoothly.