New Zealand Bus & Coach Tour Reviews

I enjoyed exploring the small towns that we stopped at on the coach tour. Lanarche Castle was very interesting as was the story behind it. The Wildlife Centre at Franz Josef was very good. I also loved the Scenic train ride from Christchurch to Picton.
Katie Goodman was extremely helpful in planning our trip. She offered lots of suggestions, and arranged for transportation as needed.

To be able to see so much of New Zealand and its culture on one trip. The scenery is absolutely stunning. Being introduced to the history and culture has been a great learning experience.
The guide on the tour was amazing - Hope Horsely. Also my trip coordinator, Chelsea Lodge was excellent booking the tour and answering my question.

We loved both Islands, great scenery picture perfect views in every directions. Bay of Islands and Russell exceptional, Kauri Museum world class and most interesting. Rotorua skyline Breakfast and tour to Te Puia Hot Springs and Education Centre a good day. Wellington great city, the Gallipoli exhibition excellent, not quite enough time in Wellington. Journey from Picton to Christchurch by train and bus along the coast was great. Christchurch to see the rebuild and realize the devastation the 2011 earthquake did was mind setting. Our trip to Franz Josef was curtailed due to weather conditions and heavy snow falls, the tour operators made up for the missed rail trip to Arthur's Pass at the end of our stay by doing the train trip in reverse, Highlights of the trip was across Canterbury Plain and into the Southern Alps with heavy snow falls and mountains covered, Queenstown to Milford Sounds and return to Te Anau was absolutely magical. Dunedin lovely city and great country to drive through. All the hotels were excellent, and dinners were interesting and great with our bus group all getting on so well.
Our coach Hostess Leeanne and Coach Captain Alex were both caring, excellent knowledge and information of their country and a great team to guide us around such a wonderful country.

Visiting New Zealand was amazing. I think the thing that we enjoyed most was that we could relax and enjoy the trip. We weren't stressed, even when plans had to be changed last minute due to weather, because we knew that Fine Tours (Shelby and others) were looking out for us and had our backs. So when we were travelling through the beautiful southern alps, past alpine lakes, when we were viewing the beautiful architecture of Dunedin, and catching sight of wildlife we would see nowhere else, we weren't distracted by scheduling worries or travel connection concerns. I just can't pick one top experience, but I have to mention how moving and beautiful the Maori cultural experiences, at Waitangi, Te Puia, and Te Pa Tu were. One more thing I want to mention is how much I appreciated the hotels we were booked into. They were exactly the kind of places I would have chosen myself. They were conveniently located, but also quirky, comfortable, and homey. I would never have been able to do enough research to find these gems like the Motel on York in Dunedin, Arthurs Pass Alpine Motel, and Punga Grove Motel and Suites in Franz Josef.
Thanks for helping us have such an enjoyable adventure!

The helicopter flight to Fox Glacier was unreal. The best accommodation was the Theatre Royal Hotel.
Had a great holiday and great backup when the weather upset a few plans.

Loved everything, probably the dolphins following the boat in the Bay of Islands we enjoyed the most.
Probably only need 2 course menu for dinners, food was amazing, but a bit too much

The helicopter flight to Fox Glacier was unreal. The best accommodation was the Theatre Royal Hotel.
Had a great holiday and great back up when the weather upset a few plans.

The tour drivers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic ! Very helpful at all! I would like to mention William who drove us from Hermitage Hotel to Christchurch. My friend unfortunately left her bag in a public toilet and just found that after the coach left the spot. Greatly appreciate William drove back to the spot right away and grateful that the bag was still there. His professionalism and patience are greatly appreciated ! Very thankful!

Queenstown was the most enjoyed. We had the opportunity to walk up to Ben Lomond cradle. Our favourite and most pleasant room was in Franz Josef. It was so spacious and comfortable.
The Tranz Alpine Scenic ride was an exceptionally exciting experience. Above all Emily was always helpful and she did a fine thing in organising our trip . High five for her.

We appreciated the superb professional customer service by Lisa Gloeckner during our South Island Scenic Explorer Tour during September 2025. We appreciated the prompt and friendly communication by email and telephone during the preparation of the tour details, as well as during the tour and on our return to Melbourne. The Tour App was very user friendly and convenient to use during our travels. Generally, the hotels were comfortable, clean and conveniently located to shops and activities. All the different transfers ran smoothly. Every driver was on time to meet us. They were very friendly and provided excellent commentaries during the travels.
We will certainly recommend New Zealand Fine Tours for their excellent service which we received.

Was a different side of NZ we never saw, all in the comfort of a fully guided tour without the hassle of planning and driving ourselves. The hotel was very good and a great journey overall.
Thank you very much for the helpful service and overall experience.

The favourite part of my trip was the Motorbike tour in the Bay of Islands, the Hobbiton visit and the tour of Wellington City.
I thoroughly enjoyed my trip with Grand Pacific Tours. The coach was first class as was the coach driver/tour guide, the accommodation was overall very good as was the standard of food and the extra tours. Overall organisation was excellent and the New Zealand people were very welcoming.

So so helpful and quick to respond to messages from start to finish! Emily-Rose was great and made a tailored itinerary and made it so easy for me to see what I wanted to in a short time. As a solo traveller when a few things went wrong (through no fault of anybody) I definitely panicked more! The team were so quick to reply to me and contact other companies to try rearrange / reschedule things when timings didn’t work out. So reassuring, would definitely use again if / when I come back to New Zealand!

We were well pleased that our flight to Hamilton, the accommodation and car hire after our South Island tour were all taken care of and went without a hitch.

From the booking to the actual tour, everything ran smoothly without a hitch. The tour leader, ( Krissy ) and coach captain, ( John ) were both amazing with the organizing, helpfulness and knowledge of the areas we were in, and made the tour very interesting and enjoyable.

I had a great time. Gina really was great

Hello This is Mrs Vrinda Mahabale from India. This was my first visit to a beautiful country Newzealand. My South NZ tour from 9th sept to 15th sept 2025 was arranged by Mr.Russell Littleford. It was wonderfully and comfortably arranged guided tour....right from initial telephonic communication till end. Every aspect was taken care of. I enjoyed every bit of it. The country is beautiful and so were the people....very helpful and cooperative. Thanks a lot for giving me such a wonderful experience . With best wishes Vrinda

Overall, I had a great experience and holiday in New Zealand. Thank you to Tia for helping me organise all the tours and for being patient with me regarding the many changes we made. Queenstown was breathtaking and I wouldn't hesitate in going back again.

Our driver Alex was so well informed. He was an excellent driver and always had plan B when unexpected difficulties arose.

The 5-day tour Janette put together for us was fantastic. The hotels and meals were wonderful - spectacular locations and views, no crowds during the August quieter season. The weather was clear and comfortable, and a lucky addition. I particularly enjoyed learning from our guide with Southern Lakes Chauffeurs. All of the guides had unique information and perspectives to share and enrich the experience. Thank you for putting together this lovely trip for us. The South Island of NZ is truly a special place.