Reviews for New Zealand Coach Tours

Great trip. Everything went well. I will surely recommend it to friends. I will also recommend they book via you folks. Every part of the trip was first class.

We had a fantastic time in New Zealand. We enjoyed the North Island as each area was so different from the next. South Island was just full of amazing landscapes.

From myself and on behalf of my family I profusely thank you for arranging such a wonderful and fully enjoyable 11 day Scenic Tour of Southern New Zealand.

My wife and I liked the Grand Pacific 14 day New Zealand Panorama. It gave us an introduction of the nice places to see in New Zealand.

My husband and I planned our New Zealand trip for my 50th and his 60th birthday and looked at all different options and contacted Natalie who was really helpful and patient with our list of questions.

Thanks for the great intro week to New Zealand with your Independent Thrifty Tours! Buses clean, on time and with knowledgeable drivers.

Thank you Emma and team for the most organised trip and making our holiday so comfortable and memorable.

My mum and her partner had an amazing time - thank you so much for organising. Each time I spoke to them they were raving about the scenery and their hotels.

Our recent tour of Rotoura was a joyful and memorable experience. Our pick up from our Auckland hotel and the tours were organised by Natalie from New Zealand coach tours who did an excellent job.

It was one of the best experience to have had with AATKings 15 Days New Zealand Splendor - you cant expect better than this in any way,

It is our pleasure to state that we had an outstanding tour, comprehensive and breathtaking. Thanks to your excellent team, Isobel and Stu, every moment of the tour was a total pleasure.

We really enjoyed our time in NZ and the tour was perfect for the limited amount of time we had in the country, we squeezed a lot in and so it was nice to have the one day to ourselves in the middle of the tour to relax.

Thank you so much for organising our tour of New Zealand. You we're really helpful and guided us to make the correct choices, told us what to expect and how everything worked. We've had an absolutely fabulous tour, thanks to you Joanna.

This was an amazing tour for the sights and activities we experienced. The booking process was very simple from England. Natalie always provided prompt and friendly answers to any questions we had, despite the 13 hour time difference.

We thoroughly enjoyed the AAT Kings New Zealand coach tour of New Zealand. It was great being transferred to and from airport at beginning and end to and from our accommodation and found the drivers very courteous and helpful.

We have enjoyed our vacation in New Zealand very much. I wanted to see both islands and the itinerary we had covered all the tourist attractions on both islands well.

We had a wonderful trip. We loved the colour Coach Tours booklet when we first arrived. It was very well organized and informative. It had all the details & hotels name where we stayed for the whole tour. We especially appreciated the assigned hotel at Christchurch at the end of the first week and at the end of the second week.

We finally are back home after our wonderful visit to your beautiful country, and we both want to thank you so very much for the trip you put together for us. I can't adequately put into words how much we appreciate all your work - everything went like clockwork from the time we stepped off the plane in Auckland.

Hello Erryn, Shaul and I would like to thank you for the marvellous trip you organized for us. Eveything was perfect! New Zealand is amazing and thanks to you and your company we could see it! We appreciated your efficiency. Many thanks again! Shaul and Patricia Goldberg

Natalie made the booking process easy and materials were very explicit. She even customized the basic tour to meet our needs and made a motel change on the fly. At all of the transfer points we were met by lovely people who made us feel comfortable and at home.

Had the best holiday ever, loved every bit of it. Natalie DeCaro was extremely professional and helpful. She is a credit to your company.

Kath Geipel and I would like to thank you so much for organising our recent tour of the North and South Islands. New Zealand is the most stunning country and we had a wonderful trip.

The apartment and hotels that were booked for us were nice and cosy. Hotel staff and coach drivers were friendly.

We loved our Grand Pacific 19 Day New Zealand Showcase Tour in October. You had arranged extra days for us both prior to the tour and after it and everything - the hotels and the transfers - went well.

We were very satisfied with the service provided throughout, from initial contact with Salli, advice, alterations, additions and final booking. The tour was amazing, hassle free, all transport and accomodations met expectations and more. Thanks for everything. We have already recommended this to others.

Thank you for all your help in arranging my trip to New Zealand. Everything went well with my flights, firstly to Singapore for the three days I spent there (loved it), then the rest to New Zealand and return.

Our trip to the South Island was really fantastic. All the pickups and drop offs worked well in Christchurch, Franz Joseph, Queenstown and Mount Cook.

New Zealand is amazing and I really enjoyed my stay there. Definitively worth a 27 hour journey. The tour was well organized and both of the coach captains were professional, friendly and helpful. A special thanks to Alarna for arranging everything perfectly.

Thank you for your help in setting up our tour of the South Island, we had a wonderful time. The motels were great especially Merivale in Christchurch and Punga Grove in Franz Josef.

I had a fab time - very well organised tour, comfortable hotels, tasty food, interesting guides, wonderful sites and all with a group of like-minded folk. I'm trying to work my way through my photos and make a coffee table book but there are so many to choose from... I will certainly recommend Kirra tours to others.

My husband and I have just returned from a 12 day customised tour of the North and South island and can give nothing but praise for the tour.

As Singaporeans, my family and I usually purchase full-board tour packages. As a result, we approached New Zealand Coach Tours with some trepidation but what a wonderful decision it turned out to be.

Jane was very helpful from the beginning until end of our memorable journey. Will surely be back to NZ again. Kindly keep us inform for any good deal family package. 

The Customised North Island to Mountain Melody tour was meticulously organized with perfection. The tours, the hotels, dinners and the transportation were excellent and we are very impressed with the service.

I was delighted with all of the arrangements as everything worked like clockwork. It was a relief to discover how dependable the drivers were; no problems and no delays. I was happy with my itinerary. 

Our tour was exactly as described. Lauren did an amazing job getting us what we wanted and was easy to contact and quick to reply. I would recommend friends travelling to NZ to contact New Zealand Coach Tours.

Big thank you to Alarna for helping us arrange this wonderful journey through the North Island. She was ever so patient as we adjusted and updated our plans.  

Thank you for such a wonderful and stress-free experience! It was so nice knowing that we didn't have to learn to drive on the left and knowing that all the arrangements were taken care of. Narissa was such a pleasure to work with.

Home and settling into life on the Sunshine Coast, back into shorts and singlet tops love it!!!. We had a marvellous time and want to thank you for the effort you made to ensure things went as smoothly as possible.

Had a great time in the South Island with a customised itinerary from Annelise. Response was prompt and our queries were answered almost always within the day. Our itinerary was packed to the brim with activities we wanted to do.

Awesome trip. Annelise is very helpful.

Hi Erynn, Thanks for organising the trip for my family. It was wonderful and you have the most helpful and friendly customer service skill. They loved the trip and said it was beautiful. They said the hotel booked was very good despite they were mostly a budget one. They didn't have any problem following the itinerary during the whole trip. It will even be better if they can stay in tourist spot a bit longer for but they understood it was a rush trip to see so many things in little days. They also commented that every morning, there were lots of different kinds of tour buses at their hotel so they have to be extra careful not to get on the wrong bus. Otherwise they are very satisfied with the trips and once again thanks for your help. Regards, Christy Tsang

It was wonderful, thank you! All perfect! Lauren assisted me very well!

Perfect! I  enjoyed every single moment. There are so many beautiful scenarios along the whole journey. The accommodation is great and the people are so nice. Thank you so much Salli for your recommendation and nice support! 

The trip was smooth and communication was very effective, even without any local number. Really impressed. Have already recommended this to a couple of people. Will post a detailed review in Tripadvisor etc at a later date.

Hi Christina. Well, we are back in Brisbane! :) I just wanted to give a little feedback and let you know that we had the most amazing time. Fantastic tour, awesome people, amazing tour director, wonderful driver, good food, nice hotels (but for a couple) and all in all we just had a most memorable vacation. Kevin (our tour director) was amazing. Very knowledgeable and with a great sense of humour. 

Hi Salli, Your organisation contact and professionalism was superb. The trip was wonderful, the coach drivers were interesting and very informative, the stops were timely and well organised. Our hotel accommodation was excellent through Heartland hotels, the rooms were nicely set up and comfortable. The staff without exception were pleasant and helpful. The weather was perfect we were very lucky all the way round we got some snow and no rain at all on the trip only in Christchurch which barely effected anything. We took the tram trip in Christchurch which was worthwhile.

Our tour was exactly as described. Lauren did a great job getting us what we wanted and was easy to contact and quick to reply. We really enjoyed all the history and highlights the drivers provided. The options for add ons and changes in stay was really great. I would recommend friends traveling to NZ to contact New Zealand Coach Tours.

Hi Jane, I am writing to let you know that my wife and I really enjoyed the itinerary that you put together for out trip to New Zealand. We enjoyed it immensely and everything went according to plan. The accommodation you organised for us was superb, the rooms we stayed in were modern, clean and spacious, and the staff were all very friendly and helpful.  

Hi Sara My mother in law and her friend had a great time and raved about the tour. They thought it was really well organised, was good value when considering all of the entries into activities and transport costs, and they were very pleased with the accommodation too! Thanks for showing them a good time Kind regards, Rob Foster

I loved my tour with Grand Pacific. New Zealand is beautiful. The bus was great, and the driver/guide was very knowledgeable. All of the accommodations were very good, some excellent and food was fabulous. I was lucky to have such a great group of people on my bus to make it very enjoyable. I will highly recommend this holiday to my Canadian friends.

We had a very good time spending 11 days travelling from Auckland to Christchurch. Our travel expert Salli was very helpful and talked to us several times before our trip to assure all is in order. Overall the tour was very well organised. All pick ups were on time. Pick ups were by local tour companies and the drivers gave us a brief tour of the city centre nearby before taking us to our hotel. 

Hi Natalie On our return I thought I must email and thank you once again, for help and advice with our trip. Grand Pacific made it a seamless and trouble free experience, very professional, with a well organised informative tour. with some great excursions and shows included. New Zealand was a great place to visit and would recommend our 16 day tour for anyone looking for an insight to your country with many lasting memories. Yours thankfully Roger & Julie

Dear Shelley, We would like to express our high appreciation for your arrangement of our journey in New Zealand. We have completed the whole journey and the motels and coaches are very nicely arranged. I would like to thank for your swift response and the quick arrangement for the last minute request. Without your professional guidance and support, we wouldn't have had this wonderful journey. Thank you very much again and we will certainly book with your company next time when we come to visit New Zealand.

We had a great time, wish it could have been longer. Everything went on schedule, no mishaps. All accommodations and tours were wonderful.

The tour organization was very good and the sites chosen also. The service from Christina Brockie was great, always helpful, always in touch and resolving our concerns very quickly.

La organización del tour fue muy buena y los lugares elegidos también. El servicio de Christina Brockie fue genial, siempre servicial, siempre en contacto y resolviendo nuestras inquietudes muy rápido.

First and Foremost, my sincere Thanks and Graditude to the entire staffl at New Zealand Coach Tours, Southern Adventures, Great Sights (for the most part) Newmans Coachs, and with a big bravo to REAL JOURNEYS, and it's partners for providing a most "adventuresome" 8 day "experience' on the South Island of your most beautiful, lush, "heaven on earth" country. much to be proud of. Salute! Ka kite ano, Dennis Fleurant and on behalf of Peter Nulle

Howdy, Gday & Kia Ora Shelley, Thank you! I appreciated your very nice response to my review of Peter and I's recent New Zealand Adventure. I am also impressed that my comments were taken to heart and that you and New Zealand Coach Tours are taking proactive steps to avoid future not so great tour experiences.  I only want the best for you Shelley and New Zealand Coach Tours, as you did for the two of us I also want to take the opportunity to commend the incredible care, comfort, support and hospitality shown Peter and I by the awesome staff and services of AIR NEW ZEALAND, Together, what you allowed us to experience is far and above and couldn't hold a candle to, ANY American Tour or Airline Operation that I have experienced thus far.  

The tour was absolutely brilliant, the sight seeing, the tour guide (Mel) the driver (Geoff) and the accommodation was 200%. If I had a repeat of what we had I would definitely go again the weather was good but next time would travel in summer mainly just to see the activities on the lakes like Lake Wakitipu. Overall everything was just great but definitely Mel our tourist guide was a big contributor to the success of the tour We wish her all the best in her future Good work AAT Kings

Hello Shelley We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in North Island All the arrangements worked like clockwork Our first hotel was the Grand Chancellor it was a great location but ... we were on the first floor in a corner and the traffic noise was terrible! It did not help that we had serious jet-lag! We think it is advisable to stay in one hotel – we would have left luggage there rather than taking it along with us! but ... I know that was due to the changes I made or requested! The Scenic is now an old hotel and in need of some repairs but actually I think we personally preferred it! We enjoyed both coach trips and particularly enjoyed our separate trip to Rotorua on the second day but ... the weather was rather dicey – not sure why the cyclones had to arrive when we were there. thank you again and kind regards Sarah Woods

I had a great time on my tour last week. It was the perfect balance of activities and free time. I got to see quite a bit in my short three days, and being able to do so without switching hotels every night made it much more pleasant. The hotel was great, and having breakfast included was a huge benefit, as each days activities began bright and early. Lauren, my consultant was especially helpful in both helping me figure out the best tour for me, and also in keeping me informed and updated.

Overall fantastic experience!! Coordination of pick-ups from airport through all destinations was superb! Tours in Rotorua & Napier were excellent! Would highly recommend New Zealand Coach Tours - Christina B is the best!!

Thoroughly enjoyed our trip around the South Island. Thanks to Christina for a well organised itinerary.

Dear Jane, The tour has been well organized and service is very good; scenery in NZ is wonderful. The service provided by NZ Coach Tour has also been fantastic. Will definitely recommend your company to friends who wish to have an escorted tour in NZ. Best wishes Yvonne

Thanks Shelley. Please thank all the staff involved in our trip, we had a great experience. The last 2 days on the South Island were particularly tiring due to natural disasters. I suggested to find a way to spend less time on the road. But on the whole we appreciate all the work put in. Thanks very much, Zipi & Barry Levinson

The tour was well conducted and covered most of the things I had wanted to see. It was a pity that the Trans-Alpine Railway was out of commission, but on the whole the tour was memorable. This website is very well done, clear and most easy to use. Lauren was most helpful and prompt with replies to queries. I would strongly recommend this site to those searching for tours to New Zealand.

Hi Shelley We enjoyed the trip and were really lucky with the weather though nearly all the coach got hit by a cold bug. Still it boosted business for the pharmaceutical industry. Personally we would have liked it if there were more 2 night stops. For example, Dunedin was a 1½ hour stop. But Queenstown was 2 nights, such a relief to be able to chill. 

Great holiday and fun times with nice fellow travellers. Natalie at NZ Coach Tours did a great job for us and John our driver was just brilliant, thank you so much. Mr and Mrs G Hall UK

We had a wonderful holiday in New Zealand. Our tour consultant was excellent. She managed our time difference extremely well while we were arranging payment for the tour. All my questions were answered very promptly. The information regarding the train journey that had to be cancelled was given to us before we departed. Most other people on the tour did not receive this information before they arrived. I had never heard of your company before trying to find availability online. No other company I contacted could offer any dates for this tour in February. I would definitely recommend your company to anyone. Thank-you The tour itself did not disappoint on any level.

Dear Natalie We’ve been so busy and we’ve been meaning to contact you since we got back home. We were actually over in Melbourne to visit our daughter so this was a holiday within a holiday, everything about it was just great, John our driver was just superb, we made many new friends (48 of us on the bus) and we all had a marvelous time. Do let us know about future tours and we would be especially interested in coach tours to the North island or Tasmania. Many thanks Greg and Elaine Hall

All arrangements went well and the tour was fabulous, fantastic scenery and knowledgeable drivers who were able to provide good insight into the history of the area.

Epic Tour with Haka Tours it was amazing. One of the best things Natalie did was to arrange for a private twin bed room for us as I was so glad I did not have to sleep in dorm rooms. the tour fit our budget and was excellent so I would recommend Haka Tours to anyone travelling on their own, wanting a small size group, and having a smaller budget than the cost of other tours. NZ Coach tours was great, answering questions, arranging transportation and giving advice to the best tour for us. Well done!

We truly enjoyed the tour, a great way to see everything in the whole of New Zealand without hassle of driving & where to go, made it easier to enjoy our vacation. Our accommodations were excellent/better that we had expected. Murry our coach captain/narrator was awesome, very patient & helpful, takes time to make sure everyone & their belongings are well taken care of; Kerrie our tour guide/coordinator made sure everyone was alright she was helpful and went beyond to help us without hesitations.

Driver/tour guide excellent. Hotel/food choices very good. Christina Is excellent. Will highly recommend Christina and New Zealand Coach Tours to our friends.

The whole experience was very good. We certainly were impressed by the driver/guides & their enthusiasm & knowledge. We were with a nice group of people.

This was the trip of a lifetime for us and Natalie did a superb job from start to finish. The itinerary had to change quite a bit - earthquake in Kaikoura, fire on the TranzAlpine train line....... Every time Natalie had a solution and the hotels and bus companies all delivered - Well done and thank you. Gillian & Ken Giles P.S If we win the lottery we will be back.

Thanks for all your help Natalie. The trip was wonderful. Accommodations were very good except Queenstown when we had to arrange our own dinner. We were quite far from downtown and the menu at the hotel was very, very limited and very small portions. Otherwise the meals were very good. Great drivers and met some wonderful people that I am sure we will keep in touch with. Thanks again.

We have just finished one of the best guided tours of New Zealand ever. Our tour guide Alan Chiron and our bus drivers, John Rusden and John Taylor made the whole trip easy and enjoyable. They were informative and funny and were an essential part of making the tour work for all of us.

Hi Lauren, we had no problems with your input to our tour. When we arrived in Christchurch on 23rd February we did not receive our welcome pack until the evening of the 24th.

Dear Christina Thank you very much for organising the above tour which we did starting from 29th Jan 2017.  You also did arrange for us the pre tour arrangements picking us from Picton ferry terminal. It was fantastic. My husband and I enjoyed every thing we saw and did. The coaches were very comfy, guides and drivers were friendly. South Island New Zealand is the most beautiful country we've been. We are thankful to you for your great service. We felt you looked after our needs extremely well. Best Wishes Kanthi

We had great experience in these tours. The quality is excellent The connections are smooth and reliable which make me very comfortable. Thank you, Michelle.

We were very fortunate to work with Jane during our NZ coach tour booking. She was very helpful, thoughtful and patient throughout the process. Her responses were prompt and informational.

Hi Salli, just wanted to say thanks to you and your colleagues at New Zealand Coach Tours for a great trip. We would certainly recommend our friends to take the bus rather than self drive if they are trying to see the best of New Zealand in only 17 days. Everything went like clockwork as far as the travel, tours, pick ups and set down were concerned except for a one hour delay at Akaroa when we had a flight to catch (we made it back to the hotel though with a good half hour to spare). We truly had a great time and saw so much of your lovely country.

We had a great experience on the tour of the North Island last year which is why we booked again for a tour of the South Island. This tour was even better as the scenery was spectacular. The tour was very well organised and within the time we covered a large part of the South Island. Jane was very helpful in arranging the tour and the extra nights accommodation and we would recommend this tour to anyone wishing a tour of a lifetime.

Thank you very much Jane for helping us to realise our dreams and take a trip to NZ. It was a fantastic holiday for us. We feel like revisiting NZ again whenever we can find bargain airfares to fly to Auckland or Christchurch. The South Island is where we would like to go again.

A wonderful feeling with good service and great accommodation, especially blue peaks Queenstown, which gave me the sense of going home.

We enjoyed the trip, very much and accommodation and activities were superb. Also Sahara and Jeff our coach drivers were very very good and helpful in every way, we miss them. We will recommend our friends and tell them about the AAT Kings tours. Please convey our thanks to Jeff and Sahara. Thank you once again Ramesh and Samy.

Hi Christina, We had a wonderful, most memorable Trip. NZ is the most beautiful country we have seen so far. Everything was great, no complaints at all and the tour was well planned and arranged. We have already recommended your name to our family and friends. Thank You, Sudha and Raj

It was a very enjoyable tour. Our guide, Dexter, was exceptional in terms of his knowledge of NZ history, bng and important also an ability to explain customs, agricultural practices, etc. He is patient and very helpful. The itinerary took us to the right spots, interesting and important.

I thought that my trip was wonderful. This is only the second group bus tour that I have taken and I was very impressed by it. A great part of that was thanks to our driver and guide, Paul. I learned so much from his commentary. The tour was so well organized with frequent stops at well selected places.

Great tour! No complaint about hotels. Tour guides very knowledgeable. Salli Smith is a great tour consultant. Gave me some good advice and always pleasant.

Everything (hotel bookings and transportation) was arranged as we had requested. We really enjoyed our stay at the Heritage Hotel Auckland--friendly and helpful staff from the second we got off the taxi to our departure.

The room was spacious for my parents and I (we were booked with an extra bed that was comfortable). Uncle Harding's transport service was also memorable even though we had a brief ride. He dropped us off at the airport with so many fascinating information about New Zealand!

Hello Michelle! I had a lot of fun in my tour. You and all the staff members were really great about helping me out when my flight was delayed few times ;-). My favorite memory is my hotel in Franz Josef, with the room IN the forest!

The South Island tour went very well. The information package had all the details we needed. The drivers/guides were knowledgeable and helpful. The accommodations were exactly as we requested and described. Even the weather was good much of the way. Beautiful country to tour. Sorry we could not visit you personally in Wanaka since it was a Sunday. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Jamey Campbell

This was my first ever coach trip and I had a great time. The coach driver was very well informed about all aspects of NZ which made the journey more interesting. Booking the trip with Salli was really easy and she was very helpful throughout the booking process.

Myself and my wife thoroughly enjoyed a wide range of hotels and sight seeing, not to mention the opportunity to explore cities on our own. The sight seeing was out of this world. I have referred my relatives to AAT Kings. I give high opinion of my tour and experiences.

Hi! Tour was excellent. Your help was most important thing when planning this tour. You were so patient and gave your expertise to our use. Thank you and happy new year for 2017!

I enjoy all the tour & accommodations, reminder that the driver should be more friendly and courteous!

Hi Jane our trip was amazing, pick up services and drop off services perfect. The accommodation was good, Te Anau was a bit like a bach but quirky. Queenstown was really noisy and Dunedin was not great. Thank you we had a wonderful time

Hi Louise,

Thank you for your prompt response ! On behalf of the whole group, I would also like to say thank you for your recommendation on all the sightseeing points which we all enjoyed thoroughly. The arrangement for the perfect weather with your magic wand is impeccable! We are all truly very thankful for your encouragement for us not to give up the tour post recent earthquake! Your experience must be very invaluable to your company! Simply unbeatable! Ciao Lolita

It was a well arranged, organized tour. The coaches were very clean and comfortable, the coach drivers were very professional and discharged their duties well. They were very friendly and helpful. The hotels arranged for us were great too. The people of New Zealand were very nice friendly people, the sceneries were amazing. Thank you for putting together a great experience for us. We enjoyed our stay very much

Hi Natalie! Thank you so much for helping to organize a fantastic trip. The whole trip was wonderful and has flown right by but at the same time i have so many wonderful memories (and pictures too). I'm just returning back home now via a short stay in Fiji :) Thank you again! Merry Xmas and cheers to a happy 2017!

Hi Salli, My family really loved the trip. They told me that the hotels were very clean, also that the staff from the hotels were in charge of their luggage (they were Happy with that) and the food was good. On the other hand, the driver always asked if they had understood the schedule and he was worried for them. The group was really friendly and open minded. In general, they told me that I could recommend this trip all my friends because it was a luxury trip. As you can see, all good! For this reason, I would like to say to you: thank you very much! Cheers, Judith

Dear Natalie, Thank you for your email. We had the most wonderful time in NZ! The South Island scenery was breathtakingly spectacular. There were too many "favourite" moments! But the Te Anau glow worm caves, helicopter ride on the Fox glacier and the shotover jet boat ride in Queenstown were amazing! The hotels were top notch, food was great and the coach drivers were very accommodating (Riki even used to sing to us...haha!). The only downside was the weather which prevented us from getting to Milford Sound on time. I have many happy memories of NZ to treasure! Kind regards, Stephanie Santucci

Hi Hayley Greetings from Dublin! I hope you had a great Christmas! I was quite jet lagged on the return journey so only getting back to you after my journey to say thanks to you for all of your help with arranging the trip around the South Island! I was so disappointed when I realised that we were not going to go into Wanaka as I planned to call in in person! I really felt able to book this trip because you were so positive and available to discuss the ins and outs of the trip! I had a lovely experience with AAT Kings and would recommend them anytime! Milford Sound was really the highlight though Queenstown was really lovely aswell! So thanks again and happy New Year Siobhan

Hi Michelle, New Zealand is such a beautiful country with very friendly people. The tour was organized perfectly. The hotels were nice the food was marvelous. JP, the guide, knew all the things about New Zealand, remembered our favorite things individually (such as our love of cookies). Scotty the driver smiled a lot, had good interaction with the passengers and drove carefully. Looking forward to joining this tour again when we go back to NZ Best regards, Citra Amelinda

Hi Natalie, We were delighted with our holiday in New Zealand - what an amazing country you have! Such diversity and stunning scenery. The tour was well organised, the guide and driver were excellent and we were happy with the hotels - the Langham in particular. We will recommend the tour to all our friends and would like to thank you for your services - your booking was efficient and very easy to use and you responded quickly to all our enquiries. Best wishes, Anne Dyson

The tour was wonderful, just a few comments. The seat belts on the bus cut into your neck. On the belts in my car I have a soft pad that velcros on. Mercure Queenstown Resort was too far from the city center. And too expensive to get a ride, we walked and it took us about 25 minutes downhill and 40 minutes back uphill. All the tours were great. And we also like the Grand Pacific bag we were given. Megan, Peter & Chris were great guides. Joe & Barbara Salmons

We were very pleased with the tour. Our guide and drivers were first rate. The hotels with the exception of the Scenic hotel Bay of Islands and the Quality Hotel Elms were very good. We were very disappointed with one tour option...the evening dinner cruise at the Bay of Islands. The cruise operator overbooked the cruise. There were not enough tables for the passengers. My wife and I had to eat dinner off of plates in our laps.

We just returned 3 days ago from our trip to Australia and NZ. The trip was more than we expected... starting with Dan, whenever I e-mailed Dan there was always a reply the next day and always offering to call me, he was very professional, kind and helpful. I made a comment on the form you had supplied at the end of the tour re the way we were handled by our Coach Manager Ken and our North Island Coach Driver/Tour Guide Linda, she was a terrific driver and very, very knowledgeable, our South Tour Guide was also a good driver but I felt knot quite up to par with Linda. The handling of the earthquake in Wellington was well handled, little confusion with the hotel accommodations after we left the hotel that morning but all in all no problem. I would highly recommend the tour and would most definitely book another tour if and when we would return to New Zealand.....thanks for the wonderful memories.....Christine and Hans Rainyn p.s. again Dan was WONDERFUL :)

Laura Davidson, consultant for NZ coach tours, handled our booking for the AAT Kings 15 day tour. We give her full marks for it. All went well without any problem what so ever. The tour, for us, was marred by me on the first day. I injured my left leg. MUST give the tour Captain & the driver our sincere thanks. They went out of there way to help us. Thanks Vale & Mark you managed to make our tour enjoyable despite my gummy leg.

Hi Jane,

Thanks for organising the South Island trip for us. We enjoyed the seamless process of transferring from one accommodation to another, as well as visiting Doubtful Sound and Franz Josef effortlessly. Thank you for the delightful tour. Regards, SK Seah

Hi Louis,

Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our New Zealand tour and all your arrangements worked out wonderfully, everyone met us on time and was so helpful. Our accommodation was also great and our rooms facing the views and lake were very much appreciated. Many thanks for everything and New Zealand people are most friendly and helpful. Take care Sheila Butt Jean McNally

All 4 of us really enjoyed ourselves and the itinerary that Jaimee put together was excellent. With the exception of a cancelled activity in Mt Cook due to adverse weather, the rest were just fun filled. I would also like to thank Annelise who help both me and Bee who arrived 1 day late due to a delayed flight from Vancouver. I would give a 5 star rating with lots of wonderful memories. Pual

It was a wonderful tour. We had a great time and met some interesting people.

Jane,  thank you for arranging our tour and the help given. Everything went smoothly for Veronica and I. Our travelling companions were marvelous, the coach captains were very helpful and knowledgeable. New Zealand is a wonderful and refreshing country. It's a pity the tour did not take us to Wanaka to see your office. Definitely we will recommend you and NZ Coach Tours if any of our fellow countrymen mentions wanting to visit your wonderful country. Best Regards from Veronica & Joseph Emmanuel (Malaysia)

Hi Shelley,

Thanks for a great trip, we had a wonderful time! We particularly appreciated getting picked up at our hotels and the transfers from the bus stations and airports. Having someone waiting for us made things so easy and stress free. Thanks for making the arrangements when our plans needed to change because of the earthquake. Everyone I dealt with at New Zealand Fine Touring during that time was wonderfully helpful and professional during what I'm sure was a tough time.

Good Morning Michelle,

A very Big Thank you and all your Staff Members so much for handling all the arrangements for our New Zealand Holiday. The hotels, sights & meals were great, making this the most unforgettable & wonderful experiences we have ever had. Truly the most amazing best holiday by far. We will highly recommended you to our family and friends when they want to visit New Zealand. "Kia Ora" Thank you Mollie

Michelle,

Just a short note to thank you for your assistance re our recent 2 week coach tour of north and south island of New Zealand. Both of us had a great time and really enjoyed all the included extras. We saw some beautiful scenery and have many wonderful memories. I must admit we were not prepared for the ‘cooler’ weather but to still see a lot of snow on the alps was a bonus. We were very lucky to be just ahead of the earth quake in Kaikoura, we were in Rotorua… I feel for all the people that were affected and especially those in the previous quake in Christchurch… I do hope nature is kinder in the future. Thanks again for your assistance and the coach drivers were also excellent. Kind Regards David & Trish Pearson

We would like to thank everyone from Grand Pacific Tours for a wonderful Holiday. The booking process was easy and Christina looked after us very well. She was very helpful in every aspect and it was nice to talk to her on the telephone as well as communicating via email. She is a credit to your company. I handed my evaluation form in at the end of the tour. Special mention to the staff at Scenic Hotel Blenheim who looked after us the night of the earthquake. I would definitely recommend anyone to travel with Grand Pacific and hopefully will return in the future. Tricia & Roger Fozzard

Our tour was the best bus trip I have been on. Jane our Tour Consultant planned everything and dealing with our last minute changes to perfection. Grand Pacific were amazing from the actual bus to our Drivers Riki and Kevin. Nothing was too much trouble. The hotels were amazing too. Dealing with my food intolerance's, they couldn't have tried harder. We were extremely lucky with our tour just passing through the earthquake epicenter mere hours before reaching Wellington. Our luck held in getting out of Wellington before the Floods locked down the city. The only downside I could think of was not enough time was available from place to place. I realise that to cover the ground we did, that is probably unavoidable. All in all a fantastic experience. Cheers, Denise & Dorothy

We had a fantastic tour of New Zealand. We were able to see all of the highlights of the country during our time there. We really enjoyed Milford Sound and Queenstown. While in Queenstown, we took a Shotover jet boat ride. We'd love to come back to NZ someday. Much thanks to Laura Davidson for helping us arrange our dream vacation! Jane & Jeff Owenby

The tour was great! New Zealand is a beautiful country. Our tour consultant Jane was great. She provided us with all the necessary paper work and answered all our questions. The tour guide, Val and driver Stu were fabulous. friendly, organized and very knowledge about New Zealand. The coach itself was very comfortable. The accommodations were very good. The meals provided on the tour were good as well. We look forward to coming back and perhaps touring north of Auckland. Thank you for showing us New Zealand and we look forward to touring with you again.

Salli, I just wanted to thank you. This trip was fantastic and we really, really enjoyed New Zealand. Everything worked and everyone was on-time. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thanks, Kevin

New Zealand – what a beautiful country. A big thank you to you from 5 of us. Thanks for all your help and cooperation in organizing the 9 Day South Island tour for us. Everything went smoothly and we had a fantastic holiday. (But a bit rushed. Especially scenery place drop for 10 to 15 minutes some places we just passed by). Our lovely Manager Mr Kelvin and driver were all very friendly & helpful. Accommodation was well located and comfortable. Food in Christchurch hotel – Worst. Really appreciated everything you did for us. Thank you.

My husband and I had an amazing experience on our tour with NZ Coach Tours. I was instantly at ease with Natalie. This trip is one that may not happen often so I was very particular about the details of the trip. Natalie is knowledgeable, thorough, fast to respond, and friendly. Every single day was a wonderful surprise. Natalie was available while we were on the tour if we had changes or questions. We were really grateful to her for all of her time and effort that she put into making our trip the dream that it was!

Enjoyed our trip in NZ. The arranged accommodations were comfortable and all had friendly staff. Above all, helps from Michelle and other agents were just wonderful.

I am so glad I came and am grateful to Jane for the wonderful tour she arranged for me. I have told my friends that I would use your company in a heartbeat to set up their own tour. I have presented to my co-workers and the ladies at my Mom's church about my trip and they all want to come see it for themselves. I have told them WHEN (not if) they go I will come with them. I had a couple of co-workers who would have come with me this time actually. The Tuscany Villa was wonderful to me. On Thursday 10/27 the Thermal Land shuttle driver was not notified to pick me up. The owner said he had not communicated well with his driver, so came and got me in his own auto and took me to meet with the group. I was impressed by this level of service. I think they thought I would be angry but I was not. I got to see this wonderful site, so all is well. Great Sights also forgot me when they were supposed to pick me up on the way to Auckland. Tuscany Villas called for me again and Great Sights got me a shuttle to make connections and all is well. Just one of those days I think. I only mention it so you know that the level of customer service was exceptional from all these people and I would recommend all of them to any one planning a trip. Loved Uncle at the airport as well, he was wonderful!! Thank you again Jane!!!

There have been more positive experiences then negatives to describe what I thought of the tour. The two drivers, both Steve's, North and South Islands kept us informed with information, they were very good at pulling our legs but accepted the Aussies teasing about Rugby ect very well. Our tour guide , also Steven, had lots of historical information and did a great job for the 30 + passengers on the bus. Both bus drivers and our guide knew where the amazing things to visit and see were. The company's choices for our accommodation were good to very good. The options on this tour catered for everybody, I choose the shot over boat experience [-day 6] , which was exhilarating and great fun, the fly over Milford sound [day 5] was breath taking. Day 7 helicopter flight over Franz Josef glacier and the landing also something to remember forever. I could say a lot more, what I will end with is that the trip gave me an appetite to come back and see more of NZ. Regards, Bert Muysers

Hi Salli. Thanks for the email. Dan was an A1 hands on 100% top guy who gave customer service a really special polish. In fact I found all of your team that I spoke to only too keen to do their utmost to help with any enquiries that I had. The tiki tour itself was amazing. A real one off lifetime experience. Our party were blessed with good company, we had a great crowd and every one got on really well Our drivers were hard working, attentive, personable and professional Thanks one and all to Grand Pacific Tours and to New Zealand Coach Tours.

Dear Laura Thank you very much for your mail. All went very well, thank you very much. Everything was well organized, the accommodation was excellent (locations were good). Highlight was without a doubt Milford Sound, followed by the TransAlpine train journey. If I would have some recommendations I would certainly have written them to you but all was very well organized. Thank you once again. Good luck there, i guess the busy season will be starting soon... Best wishes Davy

The overall 9-day arrangement was good, pretty seamless, except for the first day arrival at Christchurch after checking in to the Terra Vive motel. A 5-minute walk to the city centre turned out to be much longer, and most eateries closed around 5.00pm. I should have been informed that Riccarton has eateries opened till around 9pm. (was only informed on the return trip to Christchurch after checking in to Bella Vista, with the reception being nice enough to call a taxi to fetch us to the eatery that we want to go.) Bella vista's room in Christchurch that we stayed was really cramped, with hardly any moving space.The rest I have no complaints, including the coach and the driver come guide, with the in-between stopovers at rest areas pretty well-planned. Unfortunately, wifi is not commonly available at all rest stations. The 3-course lunch at Mt Cook turned out to be a buffet lunch, fine and no complaints. NZ is really scenic, true to its branding, and very original in its landscape. The coach driver/guide is very responsible in their handling of the coach and passenger safety, well done.

This was a very complicated trip. Between all of the bookings Leah made, and a couple more that I added, this trip included 7 airplanes, 7 hotels, 4 buses, 3 trains, 3 ships and 6 cars. Everything came off without a hitch! We truly feel that we experienced as much of New Zealand as you possibly can in 12 days.

Feedback on my NZ Tour 17th Oct to 2 Nov 2016. Wow! What a fantastic tour. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Please access my Facebook account under Ian Matanis and read the daily blogs and view the photos I logged. You are welcome to use my photos and commentary. Lots of my friends were touring with me on Facebook and loved the photos I uploaded. Thank you to Rob who was bending over backwards to ensure the Tour was set up to my liking. I also had a wonderful Tour Director Isabel and driver Monica. Both very warm, friendly and knowledgeable. Great sense of humor and great to be around. Having been spoilt with these 2 lovely people it was hard to get used to our new driver and tour director for the Bay of Islands tour. Unfortunately that tour director babbled on and tepeated himself too much. So much so, it was becoming annoying. Overall it was a fantastic tour and I am already recommending you to all my friends. Thanks again. Ian

We have just returned from our 13 day tour of North & South Islands. Our first bus trip and it was a whirlwind trip for sure! But many thanks to Natalie we did get to see and experience a bit of everything from Auckland to the Maori Culture & Hobbiton in Rotorua; from Christchurch to the excitement of Queenstown, Mt. Cook, Milford Sound and the Alpine train ride from Greymouth. Scenery was beautiful and being early spring, the lambs in the fields were plentiful. We felt we were given a great trip in the time frame we had to work with. Thank you again.

We are so happy to take the NZ tour. It was a great tour. It rained a little bit & snowed the night we arrived in Queenstown. The Milford Sound tour was just beautiful especially the cruise. My husband got addicted to flat white. I was able to see my cousin who live in New Plymouth as they took time to drive to Auckland & a high school friend who resides in Auckland. Thanks for the great tour.

Hello Michelle,

The tour was great. Going with Grand Pacific was a terrific choice. And that was because our friend recommended the tour company after her wonderful experience with them. The sites we went to were amazing. The meals were incredible. We liked most of the accommodations. Some were really better than others. We did not do many of the optional tours but the Skippers Canyon was awesome. We were glad we did that.

Grand Pacific 9 Day Taste of the South Island was awesome, accommodation was great, food was good, especially enjoyed Walter Peak Station and the Tss Earnslaw, special commendation to our bus driver, he went above and beyond to make sure we had a great holiday and he was a fountain of knowledge. Would give Grand Pacific Tours 10 out of 10 for making it the holiday of a lifetime. Kind Regards, Diana & Kevin

What a wonderful trip. Magnificent scenery, friendly and helpful tour guide and driver. Overnight accommodation was lovely. Meals were great. Fellow travellers were friendly and pleasant. Couldn't have asked for more.

The tour worked out well. We were picked up from the Mercure hotel on time to connect with the coach in Queenstown. We found the coach comfortable and the commentary by the first driver very helpful.

The scenery of the South Island is spectacular, affording numerous great photo opportunities from the bus. We were thankful for the several stops along the route to stretch our legs and use rest rooms.

We had an awesome trip with the help of Charlie, who's prompt and accommodating to our request. The coach rides to all the attractions from North to South island was so well planned, transfer from hotel to pickup point or airport was well organised and convenient too! Drivers were all awesome and friendly! The hotels that we stayed are great too. Overall, we enjoyed greatly and glad we choose New Zealand Coach Tours to plan this wonderful journey! Thank you Charlie! Jasmine & Chin Hong. Thank you Charlie once again, and will definitely recommend your service to our friends and relatives. Many thanks Jasmine.

Hi Christina, Thank you so much for organising this tour for us. It went very smoothly and well organised. South Island is very beautiful with stunning landscape. We were very lucky we had such gorgeous weather during our the trip except when we got to Nelson. It was a bit wet but that didn't dampen our spirits. It was a small group of 10 and we got to know each other. Lu is a great tour director, very knowledgeable, a great organiser and resourceful. Monica, our excellent and fearless coach driver. It was a great experience. Milford sound overnight cruise was the highlight. Overall, Ian and I thought it was a 10/10. We will definitely recommend you and AATKings to our family and friends. Regards Amy and Ian

Charlie was the ULTIMATE agent. We emailed 3 travel agencies and only Charlie got back to us in 24 hours (in fact he called us in the US in under 23 minutes) He was always prompt with replies and we loved the personalized web page for our itinerary and payments. The tour was indeed ultimate. Our tour group and driver cried when the two had to part ways at the end. The best parts had to be the White Island Volcano Helicopter landing and seeing penguins in the wild in Doubtful Sound. Can I take my tour coach home?

We had a wonderful time in this beautiful and action-filled vacation in the North and South Island of NZ. Louise Barrett has done a terrific job in customizing our itinerary to suit our taste. I would definitely consider NZ Coach Tours again in the future. Charles Chan, Sandra and Kevin Loo-Chan

We went on a seven day tour of the North Island of New Zealand. My husband and I have never been on a bus tour like this, but Haka Tours far exceeded all of our expectations. It was a fantastic road trip through a beautiful landscape with strangers who quickly became our friends. We really like the concept behind Haka Tours, and our tour guides, Katie and Si, were both excellent. They were super friendly and extremely knowledgeable! Haka took care of getting us from place to place and chose the accommodations, but each person in our group had a lot of freedom in deciding what they wanted to do at each of the places where we traveled.

Dear Louise, Thank you for all the bookings you have done for us. We enjoyed every minute of our tour and the stay at each and every hotel. I should praise all the people whom we have met along the way from the coach drivers to those who picked us up from each point. New Zealanders are warm and smiley to their hospitality. Thumbs up to your well planned and informative booklet. Infant i have forwarded your tours to some of my friends back home. Once again Simon and I would like to say a big thank you for making our tour so easy and relaxing. Regards, Lily

Just a quick note to say thanks to Jane Zwerrenz for a well organised & highly enjoyable tour. All connections were as expected, drivers were friendly & informative, accommodation was on the whole very good (with a couple of exceptions that were good, but maybe a little further from town than expected). All in, really please with what we had organised & would definitely recommend friends & family to look at using this company should they be looking to tour New Zealand. Thanks again, Jim & Rachel

Dear Shelley, We had a really fantastic time doing the South Island tour with New Zealand Coach Tours. At the end of the trip we felt that we should have chosen a longer tour than the one we had which lasted 5 days. I suspect we will be back for more. Very impressed with the detail that has obviously gone into the planning of the tour. And the package was executed almost seamlessly. Overall a great experience and highly recommended. Thank you! Ken Lee Malaysia 26/6/16

Dear Charlie, Our trip was good. We were all enjoying it. And all satisfied with your tour arrangement. Thanks you very much. Regards, Fanny Kurniawan

Dear Jane; Good Afternoon. First of all, I and my family would like to thank you for compiling such a magnificent package. We enjoyed the tour and the sites seen. Regarding the tour it self, every thing was fine except staying one night at Mt. Cook, I Think I would prefare to stay at queenstown instead. God bless you and your wonderful country. Best regards, Tareq Al Ali

Hi there, The tour was really good. I enjoyed the transfers and the drivers were very friendly and helpful. Just something my friend and I noted, when we got to Te Anau, we got there late and were put in the motel suite furthest from the main rd. We noted there weren't any others at the motel that night as all the room curtains were wide open. It would be best if you the motel owners would put women travellers in a better location next time. Apart from that very happy with the customer service. Thanks.

Dear Charlie, I am Jenny Toh and my family had just returned to Singapore yesterday after a 12 days holiday in the South Island. We were all very happy and would like to say "BIG THANK YOU' to you! The trip was thoughtfully planned and arrangement for transportation and hotels were with careful consideration of safety and efficient services! The drivers and hotel staffs were responsible and friendly! We enjoyed the scenery especially on the Trans Alpine Train, fantastic and magnificent views with the comfort of accompanying family! Good job, Charlie! Once again, thank you very much! With Regards from Jenny Toh

Michelle, The tour went very well. the weather was less than great, but it did not hamper the tour. There was one area that could be changed. The glacier tour on the Thursday evening did not have enough time. Given time and distance, I am not sure if there is a solution. I arrived at the glacier on schedule but this left only 1 hour of daylight. the walk to the Glacier was at least 45 minutes one way so it was not possible to get to the Glacier. Everything else was great.

We had a fantastic tour! The scenery on the South Island gave us so many wow moments, the things we learnt about the Maori culture on the North Island was interesting and fascinating. We would definitely recommend this tour to anyone interested in New Zealand. Kudos to Laura at New Zealand Coach Tours, she helped us with everything from pre-tour arrangements to re-arrange the entire arrangement when we had to move the trip to NZ. Thanks Laura! Kenneth / Lars-Goran / Helena

Hi Michelle, First of all I would like to thank you for helping us at the beginning of the holiday when we had flight problems. The fact that you were available to liaise with GPT and ensure we were met in Auckland even though we were 7 hours late was superb. Thanks again. This was our first ever coach tour, and we were slightly apprehensive about whether or not we would enjoy it. We needn’t have worried! From the time we were picked up at the airport to the time we were dropped off at the end of the trip, everything was great and efficiently organised. The hotels were all first class, and the tour captain drivers (Rangi Chris and Andrew) were extremely good company and well informed. 

Shelley, my wife and I would like to personally thank you for your gracious communication with us while putting our New Zealand trip together in February. Under Brian Cor...(name not at my fingertips), our magnificent guide, Greg and Allan, our bus and commentary drivers, we and 42 others had an amazing trip, where we learned a little bit more about your beautiful country, met new friends, and enjoyed the local hospitality. While we did not make it to Wanaka to thank you personally, this will have to do for now. You and others behind the scenes made this trip possible, so thank you. Have a great day. Whakawhetai koe (if that is appropriate) Dean and Susan Lausten

Dear Charlie, Thank you for your contribution towards a fantastic holiday and lifetime experience. We could not have enjoyed it more! We filled in the normal assessment form but wanted to elaborate our views and have now done so in the attached. Please distribute this as appropriate particularly to AAT Kings. Happy to address any questions you or others may have. Thank you again for all your hard work in making this possible. We could not have done it without you! Kia Ora Kindest regards Mike and Ruth Purves

Really awesome Mark the tour guide new so much and was so helpful as was Trent the driver who's driving was great. The scenery, accommodation food was all top class we would go again tomorrow we have told friends.

Hi we had a lovely time in New Zealand. all accommodation was great except the Camelot Motor Lodge In Christchurch which was run down. All connections between places went smoothly and we didn't have any issues. The drivers were all very good and had a vast knowledge of the area. Enjoyed skippers canyon and the Buffet Dinner was wonderful. Shame the snow wasn't falling (maybe next time!) Would love to travel back to Queenstown it is very beautiful with a good choice of restaurants to choose from. We would have like to have spent more time at Franz Joseph Glacier as it was too late to go to the base and get up close to the glacier. Would have also liked more time in Christchurch. Thanks for a lovely holiday. Angela Greg And Maddie Latham.

Send us your feedback here...Charlie: Thank you for arranged this trip for us since last June. As we go the trip were so interesting , we were joke about it include the air, bus, cruise, kiwi rail and many of other attractions beyond our thought. Everything was so smooth and carefully plan by you , such like limousine pick us up with personal greeting from place to place, travel like VIP. Most importantly you are a top agent with tender thought for your customer/clients. Actually I highly talk about you as much as my trip, gee.....Thanks again.

Thank you for a lovely trip. It gave me a wonderful view of the South Island. Extra days along the way to take it all in would have been nice if there was more time. But I was happy as it was and Nigel our coach driver was excellent. My accommodation was so comfortable and friendly. Thank you for the adventure.

Hi Charlie, Just a note of thanks for the 6 day New Zealand adventure you planned for us for early March. We had a wonderful time, though it was for sure a whirlwind overview of your beautiful country. We just got a taste, but want to return some day for the full meal! Thank you so much for your attention and care in planning for us - Everything went very smoothly. Best, Elizabeth Daskarolis

We had abit of trouble before starting our 13 days tour in New Zealand.. but once we arrived everything started to feel like "the real holidays"! Everything was planned for us & accommodations booked were really quite good & comfortable! We were lucky enough too, to have a great weather whenever we went out for the activities... especially for the Helihike on the Glaciers, jetty on the Glacier lake, Lake tekapo, Mt Cook.. really amazing & beautiful places! The coaches were comfortable & the guides were very informative! I think that the price for the 14 days package was worth giving! thanks again for helping us plan this unforgettable trip!

The tour was very well run and gave the traveler a great initial opportunity to see the wonderful country of NZ. Just a few comments however. Day two over night at the Copthorne Hotel. After return from the Bay of Islands tour at 1645, I was advised the last van to the hotel was at 1700. That would be no problem as there were taxis in the town. I walked around town and found a very nice place to eat. At 11900 hrs I attempted to find a taxi, after looking and walking around to find one for 35 minutes, I walked the 1 km to the hotel. The only reason I knew where it was is the bus driver pointed it out earlier in the day. The walk could be difficult for a person that has issues walking. The following day I was at the wharf 40 minutes early waiting for the "coach". I nearly missed the city bus that was actually the coach. I had no idea the transportation was a bus driving a number of people to different destinations. This was OK but it should have been explained clearer in the Iti. Each day was nicely planned with the suggestion of other activities. Unfortunately at no time did we arrive in time to advantage of any of these suggested activities. The coaches were clean, and the driver very well informed at we drove along. Breaks for tea and lunch were well planned.

Nice trip. Incredible experience in Milford Sound and Franz Josef Glacier. Especially thanks for the owner/management team in Motel on York, Terrace Motel and Amore Motor Lofge. They are so helpful. Also the driver who took us from Christchurch to Kaikoura. Hope have an extra day in Te Anau. Thanks a lot For the tour consultant Michelle Chave. For sure we will come back.

Hi Charlie, I wanted to write and tell you what a fabulous time my husband and I had on our New Zealand tour December 25-January 6. We had never gone on a tour before and we really enjoyed the relaxation of knowing the details were taken care of and all we had to do was sit back and take in the beauty of New Zealand. I told my friends and family that if they lose track of me they should check New Zealand because I probably went back and didn't tell anyone! Thank you for all your help. Sincerely, Sherry and John Reimer

Apology for late feedback. I had a wonderful trip and enjoyed every moment of the beautiful scenery and sumptuous buffet meals. I only received my travel wallet/itinerary towards the end of the trip.

Everything worked like clockwork - all the information we needed was provided and all connections were made easily. The accommodation was more than adequate and the excursions, both those included and the three additional options we had were excellent. The weather was good apart from the Millford Sound trip but was still good, and even then, we got to see the moodiness and all the waterfalls. We felt that all the guides, drivers etc we're all very friendly, courteous and knowledgeable. All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our tour and we would recommend the company to anyone we know coming over to NZ. Many thanks Christina and everyone involved. Regards Margaret Horne.

Dear Hayley, A short note to say thank you for the fantastic tour which you so well organized. The transfers and coaches were always on time and their staff polite and helpful. Will certainly recommend your office. Thanks Elias, Cathy,Charalambos Angeliki

Thankyou to Jane for booking my 19 day Grand Pacific Tour of New Zealand - things could not have worked out any better, perfect.

Dear Charlie, We are back home now. The holiday with Kings certainly lived up to our expectation, we had a most enjoyable time (full marks to all who made it that way). Patricia

We had a wonderful trip to New Zealand. Christina arranged an awesome trip that included a visit to a farm and sheep shearing demonstration. Christina's recommended Maori village tour was outstanding. All of the travel connections worked perfectly! I had some concerns booking a trip over the internet, but after a quick telephone conversation with Christina, I was convinced that her company could deliver.

Hi Charlie, Just wanted to mention that i had a wonderful time in NZ and the trip was great. I had really good weather overall and the organisation of pick ups and coaches was spot on. The motel stay was excellent apart from Edgewater at Te Anau was not of the same standard as the rest of my motels. Overall the trip was really good and thank you for the experience, i shall plan to come back again as i think i need more time to explore the other wonderful places in NZ. Have a great week ahead and thanks again. Btw i did go for the Nevis bungy jump it was awesome ;) thanks again regards, Amol

Had a great time Andrew & Chris both very informative both very different all accommodations & food were excellent,The group were all different and had a great time The only disappointment was the food at the Copthorne Hotel at Auckland the last 2days lot of people complained in our group also notices a few meals being sent back , would recommend you're Tourers to friends thank you Tony/Kerry Hamer Ps did hand in the form as requested in Auckland. Michelle, the itinerary you provided was also excellent Tony /Kerry

My husband and I thought this was a great tour, especially for wanting to see and do as much as possible in an efficient way. Everyone was very kind and nice. All the coach drivers were very nice. The narrative was appreciated but the kiwi accent is hard to understand sometimes. The motels for our category were great although The Camelot Motor Lodge was dingy and I had a bug crawl across my face during the night. People nice there though.Elm Wildlife tour well worth it but it took six hours so we had no extra time to check out Dunedin. We expected more from the Mt Nicholas Farm Experience. Beautiful cruise to the farm but the actual farm tour felt like more of a petting zoo. Apparently the thousands of sheep were very far away because as we were driven around some of the land we saw a couple hundred penned up for the tourists but that's about it. Couldn't understand the driver at all! Then the barbecue was a joke! We had five minutes to eat a sausage we could put on a plain piece of bread plus a few cold pancakes. This meal was a total let down. We were rushed through the entire experience. We were glad we went though.

I had a wonderful time in beautiful New Zealand. At first I was concerned that the bus driver was also serving as guide but it did work out well. The driver/guides were informative about the history and culture of the country and were both extremely competent drivers on some challenging stretches of road. All our pre-tour and post-tour accommodations worked out without a hitch. The tour did have some long days on the bus but in retrospect I would not have wanted to skip anything!

Our trip to New Zealand completely surpassed our expectations. New Zealand was larger and infinitely more varied and exciting than any brochure could capture. From the moment we contacted Jane Zweerrenz at New Zealand Coach tours until we said farewell to our driver, Mark and our guide Mel, we felt like honoured guests for whom nothing was too much trouble to arrange. 

Hi Michelle I had a great time, all the group were all good fun, your drivers are very good at their job. Most of the Hotels were of good standard and had good internet access, only the Chopthorne hotel in Auckland the internet was poor only 30min free. You need good internet access in the last hotel for departure arrangement . All over it was a great Holiday. Thank you Kind regards David Holland

Just want to say we had a great time on our tour.The motels that we stayed in were all very nice and the places we stopped at on the way for morning and afternoon tea and lunches were all fantastic. The bus trips were fun and the train trip at the end just topped it off. It was awesome. Thank you so much for a very enjoyable holiday. Rosalie.

I did submit lengthy written feedback to the rep in Christchurch so I hope that arrived at its destination. Overall the trip was fantastic, and good value for money. For me personally the highlights were Queenstown and Milford Sound - the hotel in Queenstown was fantastic and it was nice to have two nights as the pace of the tour was fast. 

We had a great time on our Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga excursion Feb 1 - Feb 4, 2016. Documents were waiting for us on arrival at Sky City Hotel. We were picked up promptly at 7:10 and boarded the coach. I was a little surprised at how many people were traveling with us but once we arrived in Paihia many went on to other excursions. The arrival in Paihia was a little confusing because the driver had to sort out the arrangements for several of the passengers and give us additional instructions for the day and lunch. Guided tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds was interesting and travel by ferry to Russell was nice. I enjoyed the short guided tour of Russell and and it's history, we were also able to walk around the town. 

Mum & I thoroughly enjoyed our 14 day tour. Chris & Megan our drivers were skilled drivers & very informative. We were very lucky with having fine weather, there were 2 nights that were too hot for mum to sleep comfortably. (no a/c or ceiling fan) Scenery especially in the South Island was amazing & the activities each day were interesting & fun to participate. We had a terrific crew on board that made the tour all the more fun! Thankyou Michelle for your guidance before the tour:)

In addition to the amazingly beautiful country we have toured, the way you run the tour bus amazed us, too. It is so smooth and so efficient. Yes, we'll come back to visit again but will take our time and use the pick-up-and-drop-off-as-necessary way to tour your country in details. In general, we are very satisfied with the accommodation. Even there was a miscommunication between you and the Blue Peaks but we counted it as minor. One suggestion: a breakfast at the Rydges Latimer on the first day should be included. Think about it: we just arrived the night before where are we going to find food for the second morning as foreigners? Special thanks to Natalie. She has done more than she needs to to make sure we have a good time. Also, thanks to Shelley even the 2-day tour didn't work out for me. That was due to myself's worry that the four-hour cruise will turn my stomach upside down. The people who pick-up/drop-off us were all very nice and pleasant to chat with and very informative. The bus drivers were also amazingly good, especially Tom. Yes, we tipped him and he was surprised. :) My Chinese friend at Auckland already has your information. She will not recommend the "famous" Chinese tour to her friends anymore. Thanks.

Trip was great. Jim did a great job Wish the Dunedin hotel had air conditioning! Thanks

Thank you for the coach tour arrangements. My trip went quite well and the accommodations, coach drivers, and tour staff were all very polite, helpful and knowledgeable. I learned a lot about New Zealand, its sights, history, economy, and the amazing and diverse beauty of the place. While I wish I'd had time to visit Dunedin and the north part of the South Island, the rail ride across the Alps was special. The hotel in Auckland was especially perfect; it was a great location and very nice. "Uncle Harding" is a gem with whom I really enjoyed discussing Maori culture and history while being transported.

We found the whole process of booking the tour efficient and trouble free. Thank you. Our request for three separate beds in one room was met by every place we stayed in. Staff were professional and always helpful which was greatly appreciated particularly as Sally was in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, however, Copthorne Hotel in the Bay of Islands deliberately prevented wheelchair access to the dining room, reception and main exit by erecting an elaborate barrier in front of the doors between our rooms and the dining area. This practice continued despite our requests to make the areas accessible. I hope that this can be dealt with as there were other tourists there with mobility problems who must have found the alternative, stairs (impossible for Sally) difficult to navigate.

Dear Charlie, We arrived back home last night from our trip to New Zealand after a fabulous time. We wish to thank you and your organisation for your impeccable arrangements that helped serve up a lifetime of wonderful memories. Thanks once again, Regards, Dr Prasanth Koyimedath

Send us your feedback here... Your organisation for our AAT Kings 14 day New Zealand Vista tour was flawless. Your instructions/advices were as helpful as they could be. AAT Kings tour met with expectations and was as advertised - their onsight people (tour manager and driver) did everything they could to make this an enjoyable experiance.

We are home still dreaming about our New Zealand trip! It was beautiful and everything went great. We have never been on a tour, and usually drive and plan our selves. However, The independent tour is the way to go in New Zealand. We were very impressed with being picked up at every stop and going on some wonderful planned day tours. It feels like New Zealand has the tourist industry all figured out, and I've never heard of an independent tour before now. We had no headaches of figuring out directions or what we should see. It was well worth it, thank you for your efforts of customizing the trip. We loved having a couple of free days also. We especially enjoyed the glaciers, the fiords, the cruises and the train rides! Lake Wanaka was a pleasant surprise as it was a nice town. We stumbled on a flea market. Overall The food was outstanding and fresh. The motels were nice with kitchens so we never went out for breakfast, but had fresh fruit, cheese, bread and eggs. We especially liked Tuscany Villages for being more updated, and the Punga at the Franz Josef with a fireplace. We are creating our own photo book of the trip for a keepsake! Thank you for for well thought out planning. No worries mate! Joanne and Yuri Morozov

From the moment I arrived in Christchurch to my final hotel I found the tour well-organised, friendly and informative. The coach was clean and comfortable, the driver incredibly hardworking and knowledgeable and extremely competent. It would have helped him, I'm sure, to have had a second driver/courier to help him but he coped admirably. There were some areas of the tour I felt could have been improved upon but I appreciate that the logistics may not have been possible. I would have liked longer in Wellington and wondered if we could have travelled straight to Picton to catch an earlier ferry to have an extra day in Wellington as there was little to do in Blenheim and we arrived there quite early. The tour introduced me to places I would not have known about so if I am fortunate to visit this beautiful country again, I will know what is available and can spend longer there. I can only thank you all for such a wonderful experience. The organisation has been flawless from start to finish and you should be proud of yourselves as a company. Thank you.

Hi Charlie We have just returned from our wonderful holiday wit AAT Kings to NZ Everything went to plan and we had such a good time Many thanks for everything Helen & Ricky Horsewood

had a great time, everything was great. Only thing I would suggest is in the itinerary it would be nice to have a map which shows the route. Otherwise it was great fun. Thanks.

Hi Charlie Have just got back to the U K and must give some feed back I thought the trip was very good and would recommend you . The hotel where all good as the companies who did the pick ups I must say the company at Christchurch was very professional with tidy transport and smartly dress .Once again thank for a very enjoyable trip and would go with your company again

Tour was well organized with bus changes etc all working smoothly. The early starts most days were a problem and made it sometimes impossible to use the full breakfast included - or necessary to rise before 06.00. Whilst the hotel in Rotorua was nice, I had lunch there one day -fish & chips - which was awful. I complained but got no recompense or explanation. breakfast was not buffet style so it was necessary to choose & order making early rise even more necessary. Overall I enjoyed most of the included visits. I did think that the cost was very high - about the same as a month's all inclusive Ocean Cruise in the Carribean.

we were very impressed with New Zealand Coach Tours. All of our tours and tranfers were well organised which allowed our holiday to run smoothly. We had a great holiday and would recommend you to anyone looking at taking a holiday to New Zealand.

It was a well organised tour with good accommodation and the coaches were comfortable. There was good commentary and plenty of stops en route. There was a misunderstanding concerning the trip to the Franz Josef glacier. The itinerary stated that there would be a short trip to see the glacier but on arrival a walk lasting one and a half hours was arranged. We had not anticipated this so spoke to the driver who wasn't very pleased that we didn't feel able to do this walk. He did come back for us after we requested an earlier pick up.

everything was great. One suggestion..there were many on our buses who did not have English as their first language so the drivers were frustrated that often passengers did not get back to bus on time. Perhaps a hand-held sign indicating time of departure would be helpful as sometimes I had difficulty with the N.Z. accent. Velma

Hi Everyone Happy New Year to you all Please excuse my delay in thanking you for organising such a super tour for us. It was perfect from start to finish and we enjoyed every minute of it. The motels were spacious and adequate, especially the one in Dunedin, Motel on York, I enjoyed the 'spa' bath, very welcome after a days travelling. We would have loved to have spent more time in Dunedin. All the drivers on the coaches were friendly and knowledgeable better than any guide book and we had a good laugh with fellow travellers.

Charlie, I'm happy to hear from you and hope you and all the folks there had a wonderful Christmas. My trip was life-changing, and all of the arrangements were flawless. Received everything I needed in the folder of info I got on arrival, all accommodations were completely great and exactly what you described, all transportation worked fine. The South Island was enchanting, and I loved my brief stay in Wellington, so surprised and pleased with the hotel. Your staff was enormously knowledgeable and caring, and went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable and happy. I felt that all of the care and thought put into the trip was essential for a person traveling solo. Thanks so much for all of the great communication, beginning two years ago and continuing throughout the trip. I've talked non-stop to all of my friends about my great New Zealand adventure, and how you and all the staff made it a beautiful experience. Thanks again for all. Best, Deb

Our private group of 14 enjoyed every moment of the New Zealand trip organized by Andrea Petic with New Zealand Coach Tours. Many fellow travelers agreed that it was trip of a lifetime! Everything went according to the plan. We had great hotels, interesting tours and very comfortable transportation. Our driver/guide Terri was exceptionally very helpful, full of interesting information about places we visited and New Zealand in general – he had an answer to any question! We would be happy to recommend your company to any of our friends! Alex A. + 13 others

Thanks Natalie for all your great advice and organisation for this trip, I had the best time! Everything was planned out exactly as I expected it to without a hitch anywhere along the way. The tour guide, Marty, was awesome :o) that guy deserves some serious recognition. Some feedback for next time though:- - tell me that Trafalgar is actually who I will be touring with as I spent too long at the airport looking for AAT Kings contacts when it should have been Trafalgar ... almost got the wrong transfer twice! - help match age groups better as the average age of my tour was significantly older (at least double my age!) than I expected which impacted on my plans on a few of the days for activities etc - I didn't get any included choice activity on Day 8 and had to pay for every single activity I signed up for and the tour guide didn't seem to know anything about an included choice voucher - Christchurch is still a very run down town and staying an extra day wasn't necessary at all, I spent most of it sleeping Thanks again Natalie for your fantastic service whilst booking this trip, I'll definitely be in touch again for my next one. Sue

Hi Charlie, Thank you for all our travel arrangements. Everything went perfectly and we had a fabulous holiday. Deb Boswell

Hello Andrea! I just wanted to write you to thank for all your help. The tour organization was perfect. All worked perfectly, in time and how you prepared. Hotels were great and I really loved New Zealand. Hope to contact you guys again to arrange a tour for the South Island soon. Regards and thanks so much again, Alejandro

Hi Kerry, Everything was absolutely fantastic! Every place we visited had its own magic, but the Tongariro Crossing was one of the most amazing experiences in my whole life! It really proved to be a challenge since all of us are quite unfit people, but once we got to the summitŠ wow! One of the loveliest images I¹ll have in my mind for the rest of my life! I have no words to describe such perfection of landscape. My husband and I will definitely take the South Island tour, probably next year, not quite sure. Depending on how long it takes us to save some money again. But we will do it for sure. We¹ve seen pictures from the other guys who continued the tour, so we definitely need to take that one too! Oh, and one more thing, Hygi our guide, really cool and friendly guy! Made us feel relaxed all the time and told us nice stories about the places we visited. So thank you so much for all your help, rest assured that we had the most amazing experience and that we are looking forward for the next one!Cheers, Cintya

Hello Charles, We are home and getting our rest. On behalf of my family and myself, thanks to you and your team for putting on a terrific trip. Mother Nature had her moments, but had ours as well. First of all, we all agreed that Mt. Cook was the highlight. Also, getting close to Tasman's Glacier is impressive. Secondly, the strolling in the Botanic Gardens of Queenstown and Christchurch were refreshing and relaxing. Thirdly, all the tour drivers and accommodations in all six cities were top notch. (Charles, the personal drivers to and fro stations/airports were nice touch, thanks) Finally, New Zealand was wet, fresh, airy and green. Thanks for the memories. Happy holidays and best regards, Kenny Quan and family

Natalie was very efficient in setting up all of the details of the tour, and was very professional as well as friendly. It was an easy experience all the way around. We enjoyed all of the venues we visited, and Alex Rollinson, the bus driver on the South Island was excetional in the way he organized and handles 48 people, some of whom became ill. Kudos to everyone. We had an amazing time. Thanks especially to Natalie, who arranged everything, and helped me sift through the options, including self drive, etc.

Charlie We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for organising such a wonderful itinerary, and well co-ordinated "Independent" tour of the South Island. From start to finish everything fitted into place perfectly. We were especially, pleasantly, surprised with the efficiency surrounding transfers to/from coaches to our Motels. In particular the four hour "private" taxi ride from Pukerangi to Queenstown. The accommodation was more than adequate. At worse , it was "fit for purpose", and at best, beyond our expectations. We would have no hesitation in recommending you,and the whole of the New Zealand Coach Tours team. WELL DONE! Very best regards Malcolm and Heather Mckelvie-Seth

The tour went very well! Very good coaches, friendly, knowlegable drivers, good accommodations, good food (for the most part). We would recommend to anyone. Thank you. Ella and Laverne

Hello Christina, As we are coming towards the end of our tour with you I would just like to acknowledge what a well organised, balanced and successful tour you have given us. We were disappointed to have the first activity cancelled due to the weather but as we are from England we are used to that! The highlights have been too many to mention and we have always been met with a smiling face, courtesy and helpfulness. As long as the driver arrives tomorrow morning its 10 out of 10 and that is pretty good from 2 retired teachers! Thank you so much for all you have done to make this first few weeks in New Zealand so very memorable. Yours John and Jacquie Troake

Dear Charlie, Thank you very much for working with us and booking an unforgettable trip of a lifetime. You were absolutely wonderful. Thank you again for everything. Darcy and Marina

I was extremely happy with the tour and it was worth every penny. The South Island of New Zealand was breath taking and our tour guide Lu and our awesome driver were very informative, attentive to our needs and just outstanding individuals! Thank you for a trip i will never forget!

Very good tour john Taylor was top class. Good sense of humour. And put everyone at ease A good ambassador for your company. South Island great. With comfortable rooms and good meals. North Island was good to Alan was seviceable. But not up to johns standard. Again hotels were good and all your reps did a great job. Overall good value for money. Right from office staff to hotel staff. Would recommend your company to friends. Many thanks. GED and Angela

This tour was fabulous !......from the excellent service provided by NZ Fine Touring, the train ride through breathtaking scenery, the charming, entertaining bus drivers, the whitebait fritters in Hokitika, stunning Franz Josef Glacier and the accommodation there ( our new favourite place !), the day two coach trip with its beautiful lakes and perfect weather. It was a very special two days !

I really enjoyed my tour and had no problems with any accommodation and transport bookings. I never had any moments of uncertainty with any aspects of the tour. The people were all very friendly and I recommend to anyone that this is the best way to enjoy New Zealand.

it was a great experience for both of us because it was our first time away from home on our own, being picked up and dropped off throughout the trip made it so easy and without stress. Friendly too.

One of the great highlights of this tour was a personal tour of Dunedin organised by NewZealandcoachtours. Really friendly tour guide and showed us some great sites. Our personal favourite part of the tour has to be Milford Sounds. Amazing.

Thank you Charlie for arranging everything for us.

After a stuttering start (never again will I book a flight that arrives so early), and a keenly anticipated tour cancelled due to snow closing the road on my first day, I had the BEST time. The bespoke tour you organised so expertly for me then went from strength to strength. I quickly became accustomed to being met off the coach, train or plane, my suitcase expertly swept in front of me, to my hotel for that day. My short 15 day tour gave me the perfect introduction to this amazing country. Every driver was very knowledgeable and helpful. I would recommend your company. Thanks Andrea! I'm so glad I emailed you ten months ago!

The tour was carefully organized. Everything went well. My tour arrange staff, Verity, responded in every of my query very fast and handled well. I enjoyed the tour very much !

Hi Charlie, We have reached back home after the most wonderful time we had in New Zealand and thanks to you and your entire team for making it hassle free for us. Am sending you a photo of the two of us before our Skydive experience in Queenstown. Thank you once again for all your help and support. Best Regards Anil

Hi Charlie, Just a quick note to say thank you for helping to organize our holiday. New Zealand is a beautiful country, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Everything ran like clockwork, and we won`t hesitate to recommend your company to family and friends. Cheers, Nola and Wayne Forbes.

Dear Charlie Firstly could we say that booking the holiday online was simplicity itself. All the information we required was to hand, was flexible to our requirements and very reassuring. On the tour, we did so many things and saw so many places, it's difficult to know where to begin, but here goes: Overall we had a brilliant holiday even though the weather wasn't kind to us, particularly at Mount Cook and Milford Sound. We enjoyed the rather hectic schedule, although on two or three occasions, it was nice to be able to stop at a hotel for more than one night! We thought the organisation of the itinerary was first class, particularly on the part of our Coach Captain, Trevor. He alone handled baggage, arranged wake-up calls, departure and arrival times and juggled with delivering people to their various chosen excursions on time as well as booking them. On top of this, his knowledgeable and informative commentary was entertaining and his driving was absolutely impeccable. On one occasion, the organisation fell down when we were taken early morning to Christchurch train station to discover that the service to Kaikoura had been stopped a month early. We feel that Trevor should have been informed about this. We were very impressed with the standard of the accommodation and the quality of our meals throughout, with a only a couple of exceptions. The included excursions were well chosen and excellent - we particularly enjoyed Larnoch Castle, the Greymouth to Christchurch train, Rotorua and the Bay of Islands cruise. Milford sound was great but would have been superb had the weather not been so foul. We personally found New Zealand generally to be rather expensive, and the optional excursions very expensive. With this in mind, we have come to the conclusion that the complete tour package was excellent value for money and would thoroughly recommend it. Thank you. Kind regards, Trevor and Gerry Dixey.

Hey Charlie, I would have no problem telling everyone who contacts you that your service was the best i have ever had in all of my foreign travel! Your first hand knowledge of every point of interest and tour company was amazing, and so helpful! Your ability to make adjustments and provide alternate itineraries was first class, I would tell everyone i know to use you for help in organizing a trip to the worlds most amazing location! Thanks again Charlie, because of you it was an unforgettable experience! Take care, Jon

Charlie, We cannot thank you enough for steering us in the direction of Grand Pacific small group tours. As far as we know, there is nothing that compares to this tour in the US. We felt our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, and very compatible with our entire groups needs, which were very diverse. The tour itself covered both islands very well. We have some Kiwi friends that told us that we pretty much saw all the best areas. Our hotels were exceptional, the food was fantastic and we really enjoyed getting to understand the Maori culture. For such a small country, this is a lot of history and beauty! Thank you again for suggesting this tour, Dennis and Sue

Hi Andrea I had a fantastic time, New Zealand is absolutely beautiful. I got along really well with my roommate, Lynne from Scotland and met some truly wonderful people. I now want to save up and go back again, I would love to do a more intensive South Island Trip, something like 14-15 days, if you have anything like that please send me through some info. Thank you for all your help. Kind Regards Leanne Chamberlin

Dear Andrea, We had a great vacation experience. We would like thank you for all the great coordination and arrangement from your end. We came back to Japan yesterday. We traveled with our 2 year old son & we were fingers crossed if we can really do this 9-day tour. We were completely dependent on the arrangement and suggestions from your end. Your great coordinated arrangement in taking care of all minor points of arrangements did help us and motel accommodation option did help us a lot to make the little food for the kid. The arrangement of lacto-vegetarian lunch/dinner in the package was great and we enjoyed the same. The weather was great along for us and it did really made it superb for us. We loved the warm and friendly New Zealanders as they were very cooperative for us with the kid. We were lacto-vegetarians but we were happy to find good choice all along & made it easy for us.The extended stay in Te-anau did gave the opportunity to see the glowworm caves which our 2 years old really enjoyed. On the day to Fox glacier, it would have been great if the option of private hot pools was suggested before as a option. Two subsequent day travel from Queensland to fox glacier and then to Christchurch the next day was tiring. Some activity could have been planned around fox glacier area. We loved the Willow bank Wildlife Reserve & Maori dinner in Christchurch. We loved the motel accommodation in Mt.cook where we could see the glacier across the doors. We additionally did the SKY gazing in Mt.Cook and it was a great to the see the skies from southern hemisphere. The TSS Earnslaw tour was great. My son enjoyed the farm tour. We would plan to visit once again in few years as we loved the experience of touring the country. Regards, Kidambi Narayanan & Jayashree

My first overseas trip & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Travelling single but everyone on the tour was wonderful. Accommodation top class, meals very good & included trips/activities also. The tour guide & coach driver were friendly, fun & very informative. Would love to visit the South Island some time in the future.

Hi Andrea, We just got back to Auckland yesterday and are heading off to Singapore tomorrow so I wanted to thank you for the excellent itinerary arrangements you made on our behalf. It went so well ....until the very end when the weather played havoc and that was no one's fault. We had our Franz Josef glacier excursion cancelled because of road closure and the Tranz Alpine train ride turned into a special adventure due to the track closure. At least we got 3/4 of the way to Christchurch and then got to experience going backwards on the train and a bus ride down the mountain roads in torrential rain! All memorable and I suspect not uncommon with the rains of the west coast. The drivers , Kim, Murray, and James were excellent. Murray was especially exceptional with his wealth of knowledge and own travel experiences. The several hours of the drive from Pukerangi to Queenstown were very informative and entertaining. I learned so much about sheep and farms and the countryside..... We also truly appreciated the accommodation in Christchurch as it was so close to our initial start and proved central for walking, tram, etc. excellent again and we felt very safe! Thanks so much for your coordination. Well done and much appreciated. Gail and Jackie

Hi Andi, I just wanted to drop you a line to say a big THANK YOU for organising all my tour to the South Island. I specifically wanted to tour in Autumn and it was spectacular, change of colours of the trees and a bit of snow on the mountains. The South Island is beautiful and I definitely want to come back and explore more. I can't say enough about the tour, it was Fantastic!! Absolutely loved every minute of it. Hotels were awesome, meals were fantastic, the whole trip went without a hitch. Grand Pacific Tours were great and would recommend to everyone. Our Coach Driver was Steve, kept us all on time, heaps of local knowledge, great suggestions for optional tours and fabulous sense of humour. I've been on tours before but this was the best and Steve was the best, even though he volunteered me to be part of the Haggis ceremony in Dunedin! I admit it was a lot of fun. Met a great bunch of people and staying in contact with a few now. So once again, THANKS!!!!! Kind regards Donna Kelly

Dear New Zealand Tours, We were impressed with the professionalism of our tour guides. We loved the scenery and our highlights were seeing Milford Sound, the Franz Joseph Glacier and the train trip across the South Island. One point of constructive criticism is there were no enough vegetarian lunches on the Milford Island Cruise so we did not get a lunch since we do not eat ham. Otherwise, it was our first tour and it was great to have our lodging and breakfasts taken care of. New Zealand was special not only for our tour but because our oldest son was married on the North Island. The scenery was spectacular and we can understand why the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings films were filmed there. All the best, Bill and Eliana Reeves, San Francisco, California, USA

Our tour and all its arrangements were wonderful. Our consultant Andrea helped us to find the right tour and sorted out the extras without fuss. And then the tour was everything we dreamed for it and more. Thank you New Zealand Coach Tours - you may it all easy and we loved our holiday to NZ.

We had a great tour! As it was off peak season when we toured, our coach less than full allowing lots of room for everyone and no problems with line ups at attractions.

Hi Charlie Thank you so very much for the most well organized 21 day trip – I enjoyed every bit of it, even the freezing and windy Mt Cook (which I have still yet to see!). I will most definitely return next year and book another long tour through you. You, personally, have been amazing and your organizational skills and attention to detail I rank among the best I have ever experienced. Thank you again. As a sole female traveller, I could not have been in better hands. Warmest Regards Julia Unger

Hi Andi We were highly delighted with the Grand Pacific tour of New Zealand and would recommend this tour company to anyone. The drivers Alec and Russell worked very hard and were so knowledgeable and helpful. Also a big thanks to you for arranging the tour, flights and extra accommodation for us. Everything went to plan with no hiccups, even the weather was kind to us. Thank you once again Linda & Richard Swann (Rosalind & John)

Hi Charlie, We have been back from our trip for about a week now and things are starting to get back to normal at the office. I just wanted to let you know that we REALLY enjoyed the AAT Kings tour of the south island. Our guide was great, the accommodations and food were good, and the sights were beautiful. We were lucky that we visited Milford Sound the day before the snow came and closed the road. It would have been very disappointing to have missed that part of the trip. Thanks again for all your work in helping me to plan our trip. Donna Mantoan

Hi Mr. Charlie, good morning Our trip was great We have to say that this Kirra tour was one of the best we did. Our driver/guide/baggage handler/ Mr. Graham was simply fantastic, helped us and gave all the information we needed, explaining with perfection every detail each new place or city where we've gone. We've been very satisfied with all aspects this trip, from the beginning, through the great attention received by email from you Mr. Charlie (Coach Tours), and throughout the trip. The tour was really good. Beautiful places and great hotels and services, congratulations! Special emphasis by the excellent commitment of our driver Mr. Graham. Kind Regards, Antonio & Amarilis – Brazil

This was my first coach tour of any kind in any country, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We felt we were looked after really well. It was lovely to have our cases carried for us. The accommodation varied. Some had better food, some had comfier beds or better showers, but all were of an acceptable standard. We enjoyed the attractions and activities which were on offer. On a couple of days we felt we packed too much into the day, and would have preferred more time at less attractions. We also appreciated the spare time to enjoy places at our own leisure. Our only real disappointment occurred on the last day of the tour. Having got up really early, we were dropped off in Auckland before lunch, and felt we had been abandoned in favour of the people carrying on to The Bay of Islands. It would have been good to have something arranged for our little group to enjoy together. The Harbour tour or High Tea at the Sky Tower spring to mind. We could of course have arranged something ourselves, but we had no prior knowledge that we would be dropped off so early. However, we did enjoy the tour very much and it was an excellent way to see a beautiful country in comfort. Both our drivers were very knowledgeable, and brought to life a country that they clearly both love.

Hi Charlie, Just to let you know we had a great time and enjoyed the itinerary you put together for us. My visitors have gone back to the UK with many happy memories. Kind regards Margaret.

Hi Charlie, I'm back in Ireland now and have to say had a great time. Thank you so much for your tireless efforts to get me on a tour. You were brilliant, the tour and accommodation were great. Trevor our guide was excellent. We met up with other tours on occasion but our tour was far superior. Would highly recommend your company. Brilliant brilliant brilliant! Best wishes and thank you again for your fabulous service Páraicín Mooney

Back home now. We had a fantastic time. The tour was great (even if a bit tiring), so much to do and see. Never a moment to get bored. Our Tour Guide; John Paul and Patrick our driver were both great and knowledgeable, plus good company. We had every faith in them both regarding our safety and making sure the trip went well for everyone. The hotels and food were extremely good, but one we felt, did not come up to the standard of the Heritage or Scenic hotels and that was the Ibis in Christchurch. The room was very gloomy and the dining area rather basic. We know from some other people that they felt the same. But having said that, they are usually business peoples' overnight stop hotels all around the world and hey- nothing is perfect! Anyway, Barbara thinks that maybe on her visit next time she might consider doing the same in the North Island. Thank you for your help in assisting making our trip a holiday of a lifetime - especially for me as I may not be able to go again. Regards, Pauline Clark and Barbara also.

All went to plan although I was hoping to see a bit more snow on the mountains in South Island. Thank you for helping to arrange the holiday.

Dear Charlie We very much enjoyed our holiday in New Zealand and thank you for making all the arrangements for us to make it into a hassle free holiday. All of your arrangements worked well from arriving in New Zealand to getting back to the airport at the end of the holiday. AAT Kings were very well organised on their trip which helped to make it an enjoyable experience. All the hotels were very good and very well located making it easy to walk around the towns and cities. Activities were as stated in the itinery and we had a reasonable amount of time at each place. Optional extra activities were also well planned. The tour guide was knowledgeable and helpful and the coach driver was very good. We were a large group particularly from Christchurch going south and then back to Christchurch, everything ran smoothly including transfers back to the airport. Thank you once again for all your help in making the arrangements and answering all of our questions. Regards Jonathan and Linda

I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our tour. The accommodations were great, the coaches worked out wonderfully and I couldn't have had a better time. I will definitely recommend your company to my travel agent anyone else interested. Thank you for helping us have a memorable vacation. Wendy Zumbrun

When searching for help in planning our New Zealand vacation we went online and up popped New Zealand Coach Tours. We left our email on their website with the hope or hearing back from them soon. Charlie Burford contacted us in less than 24 hours. From that initial contact, to the end of a perfectly executed one month vacation, we have great praise for Charlie and New Zealand Coach Tours. During the planning phase, Charlie was instructive, knowledgeable, accommodating and gracious at all times. He was always on top of our itinerary, keeping us informed by email or a telephone call. We felt as if we were talking to a good friend by the time we started our journey. We had a long and sometimes complex trip with many side tours. We were picked up at our hotels, sheep station stay, train and bus rides, ship overnight stays and special tours. All were executed like a beautiful pas de deux, in other words, perfectly in step with one another. We remain impressed with Charlie and New Zealand Coach tours. We highly recommend them, without reservation, to anyone contemplating a New Zealand vacation. Betsy Glover Sally McNulty Michael McNulty

We are VERY satisfied with the service that we received. Last minute changes were handled efficiently and everyone was so friendly throughout our stay.-so nice to be met at the airport and be chauffeured about. We are not used to driving on the left and having transportation arranged was quite a relief - my husband actually got to enjoy the scenery. The hotels were clean & cozy. Having small kitchens was an added bonus that we don't get often in North America. -great when you get tired of eating out all the time & just want to fix a simple meal yourself. The Bay of Islands tour was amazing. Those drivers are very well trained and full of interesting facts and stories. (the only bus tour we were disappointed in was the Auckland City Tour. The driver chatted a lot but did not give much information..."a big city is a big city-they are all the same" -not exactly exciting stuff!). The booklet with our itinerary was very helpful and will make a wonderful souvenir. All in all we are very impressed with your company and the tourist industry in New Zealand...You know how to do it right! We would strongly recommend to anyone visiting NZ to use your company. We have travelled throughout Europe and this was the easiest and the best trip ever. Thank you to everyone. /verna & jim

Dear Andrea, This is long overdue - I've been back from my trip a month now, but have been very busy. I just wanted to let you know that all of the arrangements you made for me were perfect. All the drivers were punctual, friendly and professional and the hotels just fine. I loved everything I saw in New Zealand and particularly enjoyed the North Island tour. Any slight disappointments I had were due to my own lack of research. I could certainly have used a few more days in your beautiful country! Thank you so much! I would recommend you to anyone. Sincerely, Susan Lee

Dear Andy, The tour went perfectly. All transfers, accommodations and coach tours were very good and on time when it was the case. The tour you organized gave us a nice idea of the South Island and included wonderful places and fantastic landscapes. Thanks a lot for giving to me and my wife fond memories of your loving country. Best regards, Luiz

The tour was amazing. We were comfortable; we got to see everything that we wanted; and we were well taken care of. Thank you for an unforgettable trip!

Hi Charlie, Thanks for all your support in arranging my custom tour on the dates we wished on such a short notice. The entire booking process was hassle free and you understood very well what our requirements were in just 1 email ... no going back & forth in emails:) My family had come to NZ for a visit and we all had a great time and my family could take wonderful memories home. Everything arranged was perfect and flowed exactly as it was mentioned in the itinerary (i.e) all transfers, accommodation, flights, coach tours, veg. meals were very good and on time... I would definitely recommend New Zealand coach tours to my friends in Auckland as I really preferred this method of seeing South Island. Once again, many thanks to you and I would be your repeat customer soon:) Smruti.

Hi Andrea, Thank you very much for all your help with the organization of our South Island NZ tour and flight to Auckland. We had a brilliant holiday and have taken some wonderful memories home with us of your beautiful country. Our cameras worked overtime, we couldn't fail to take some super photos - some even look quite professional! Thank you once again, Robert and Nicky Sacre

We had a brilliant tour, thank you. The tour director, Ngairi, and driver, Mon, were good-humoured and knowledgeable. They contributed a lot to the tour's success. The itinerary was good though we'd have liked more time in Wellington and Napier and less time on the west coast with the sand flies. We're already recommending the tour to others as it was so good.

Thank you Charlie and New Zealand Coach tours for being so friendly and helpful in organising our AAT Kings tour. We were delighted with the price and you made it very easy for us to sort it out. The tour was amazing and you contributed to a wonderful holiday so thank you.

My husband and I enjoyed our trip to New Zealand. Alan, our guide, was very knowledgable and was passionate about New Zealand. He ensured that my special dietary requirements were met which I appreciated. Mark was a very pleasant and competent driver who focused on safety. We were very happy with the level of accomodation at all of the hotels we stayed in. When we first arrived in New Zealand we caught the shuttle bus as instructed. The driver wanted us to give him a voucher which we had not been given at that time. We received it later that evening at our welcome meeting together with all of the other paperwork. Day 6 - I was disappointed that the trip did not include whale watching as the itinerary said "En route to the whale-watching haven of Kaikoura" and showed a picture of a whale's tail, making me, and others on the trip, think this was one of the things we were going to see. I found Christchurch a very sad place due to the damage caused by the earthquake and would have preferred to only go there once. Whilst there we struggled to find somewhere to eat as it was a Sunday and most places were shut. Did not feel that this was the best place/time to leave us to arrange our own meal. The meal on our last night at Novotel was not of good quality, and the service was particularly poor - they didn't seem able to cope very well with a large group to cater for. Towards the end of our holiday we went on a treetop tour which was not very interesting - just trees! Can't remember where this was. Nobody seemed very impressed by it. New Zealand is a beautiful country and we enjoyed our coach trip very much. Travelling this way meant that we could see as much as possible in the short period of time we had.

Hi Charlie Burford, We have safely arrived back to Austin, TX. The tour was excellent. There was no issues. There was very good food, Hotel & services. We did go to two cricket matches Wellington & Auckland. It was great to see live cricket in stadium after a long time. The people in the group were very friendly & we met lot of wonderful people mostly Australian. We really enjoyed their company. The Grand Pacific tour captain Dexter & Megan provided excellent service. Thank you for helping with the tour booking. Navin & Jasu

Hi Charlie, We had a wonderful time in New Zealand and everything we had wanted to do, we did, and you did a wonderful job in the itinerary as we had requested. Thanks so very much. New Zealand is truly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Diane For your own information, all the accommodations were wonderful, except, the one in Franz Joseph Glacier, Punga Grove Motel and Suites. the manager at hotel did not start the day until 8 a.m. and couldn't give us a wake up call. we had our own alarm clocks so it didn't really matter but we didn't care for this place. Matter of fact, I would not recommend Franz Joseph Glacier as a stop, although I know I selected it. I would add your town of Wanaka as a place to stay for 2 days. We enjoyed the small towns best, as we usually do and glad that Auckland and Wellington were merely stop over places to go from there to elsewhere. All the buses, and transportation were so well planned and everything was truly wonderful. the driver from Mt Cook to Dunedin was wonderful and we really think highly of him - please let him know. Now that we have been to Dunedin, I think I would skip that town or make it for one less night. Had I known, I would have flown from Dunedin to Auckland and not taken a bus as it would have eliminated one day. WE hiked in Mt Cook and at Abel Tasman National Parks and it was wonderful. We really enjoyed the Dart River Wilderness excursion also. If you have any other questions, please send me an email. Thanks so much. Diane

Hi Andrea We are back in the US after several weeks in Sydney and the New Zealand trip. The experience was wonderful and we thank you for planning it for us. All transports went well and we met many friendly people. The accommodations were nice. Most of all we enjoyed the scenery and the different places we visited. Best Runa and Runa 😃

Absolutely brilliant!!!! :) Everything went like clockwork and we were met exactly as the itinerary said and the hotels were good. We would thoroughly recommend this method to see the South Island. Well done! Fabulous experience. Happy Happy customers!!!!!

Hi Andrea We are back home in the UK after a fabulous holiday in New Zealand and Australia! I just wanted to thank you for all your help and guidance. Everything went as planned, like clockwork and the small group AATKINGS inspirational journeys tour made it all really comfortable with excellent hotels, meals and space on that coach with like minded people. Even our personalised whistle stop cherry picking trips in North Island all went to plan! We are so glad we chose The Southern Drift tour and feel we really explored South Island. Stewart Island was really special and we have the photos to prove it - only 2000 of them to sort through and edit. But all full of unforgettable memories! I remember you saying 'you'll want to come back' and I know we will! The icing on the cake was to be upgraded to a junior suite in The Rendezvous in Auckland on our last night - the very night the Aussies had lost to New Zealand in the World Cup! And it coincided with the last night of Chinese New Year! So, once again many many thanks. Jan and Colin Vigar

Dear Andrea, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful time I had on the 3 day tour. The accommodation at Franz Josef was more than I expected and had a great view of the glacier. The staff and all bus drivers were very friendly courteous and knowledgeable and went out of their way to help. I would certainly recommend this tour to anyone. Regards Janice (P.S. I really enjoyed the hot pools after a day’s walking.)

Charlie, Just a note to say we thoroughly enjoyed the tour and were blessec with good weather throughout. A nice bunch of passengers and special mention must be made of Graham our coach driver/courier who made the tour doubly enjoyable. Thanks for your help throughout. Doug

The hotels were great. The locations were perfect and the rooms clean and quite spacious. All the breakfasts were also great. The tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable as was the driver. My only problem was a horrible virus that I got early on the tour along with most of the bus. I tried to make the most of the tour inspite of the virus. New Zealand is beautiful especially the South island. Mila

We both had a wonderful holiday in NZ. Tania and the bus driver did a magnificent job. The only accommodation that was not up to par was the Mercure in Auckland - lifts in the hotel were a BIG problem. We would recommend your company to anyone wishing to tour NZ Merilyn Braunsthal

Dear Andrea, I must admit I had some doubts about booking our tour through a company on the other side of the world, but the service we received could not be faulted. From the first contact when you telephoned us back after my first enquiry to the final details we were kept fully informed at every stage, provided with information about travel arrangements and our additional requirements (hotels and internal flights) were organised quickly and efficiently. We are very grateful to you and Charlie for your efforts and would highly recommend your company to anyone seeking to arrange a tour in New Zealand. Our tour, the 18 day Best of New Zealand, was all that we had hoped. The information provided by the tour personnel was outstanding and we visited places we would not have seen if we had arranged a tour independently. On our first trip to New Zealand, the tour provided a marvellous insight to both islands, and gave us the opportunity to judge where we would like to spend more time when we return. Overall, it was a great experience and our thanks again for helping to make it such a success. Best wishes to you both. David and Paulene West

Dear Andrea, Just wanted to let you know we had a BRILLIANT holiday in New Zealand and everything worked out perfectly. We were extremely impressed with your organisation at New Zealand Coach tours and also that of Grand Pacific - we couldn't fault a thing and it was the best organised trip we have ever been on. THANK YOU! We will be recommending New Zealand Coach tours and Grand Pacific to everyone. Christine Phillips

Hi Charlie, Just a quick thank you for our holiday arrangements. Everything went to plan with no hick ups. We had a fabulous time over there and will definitely be back to do more exploring in the North Island, so we may be in contact again one day. I will gladly recommend your tour company to anyone else that is planning to travel there. Thank you again. Julie

We had a terrific tour, our Drivers were superb with a great depth of local knowledge. We would certainly recommend your company.

I have just returned from visiting my brother in Auckland You and he arranged a trip for me around the south island This trip was superb everything went as smooth as silk and it was all fantastic I would like to thank you most sincerely for what turned out to be a holiday of a lifetime ,enjoyable interesting and extremely well organised even down to the taxis that all picked me up and made it more interesting with their friendliness and information. All I can say is many many thanks for your contribution to a truly wonderful holiday Les Paling

2 disappointments. Firstly, being British, it would have been nice to see where the treaty of Waitangi was signed but instead the driver took us onto the peninsular and showed us a Golf Course. I'm sure there was no signing on the 18th green. Secondly the Farewell Dinner left a lot to be desired. The first course was Seafood Chowder or NOTHING. Yes that's right 20 of the party of 31 left at the end just had to watch, including my wife, as the Copthorne Hotel was the only hotel on the tour that could not provide an alternative starter. The 2 lads serving seem to have no idea what they were doing and had to have a recount on deserts. I'm sorry that Grand Pacific use this hotel as it was a let down after the rest

Hello Andrea Well we've just returned home after our trip to NZ. Thank you so much for putting together a wonderful experience. Everything was so well organised - it went like clockwork. We were happy with all of the accommodation you chose for us and found them all to be very centrally situated. The transfers all went to plan as well. The only 1 that I would possibly not reccomend is Quest Apartments, Wellington. The room was fine but the hall way outside our room was smelly with very old carpet and our room facing the street was noisy with traffic (all night). The change in accommodation the 1st night in Christchurch to the Rendezvous actually worked out for the best as seeing how we arrived so late after our delayed flight it was great to be able to get late night room service. When we did eventually get to stay at the Heritage, Christchurch we loved that too. Also fyi the Blue Peaks Motel in Queenstown turned out to be really great. Just 1 thing I will mention is that it would have been good to have had a bit more detail in our itinerary re our transport details ie we didn't always know which bus company we would be travelling with and whether our pickup would be by the bus or private car. But they still all worked out well and we weren't too worried. So thanks again, we were very happy with the service you provided and will recommend to others. Anne Fisher & Michael O'Rafferty

We recently returned home from a most wonderful visit to New Zealand. We booked the 14day AAT Kings Southern Spirit tour through the New Zealand Coach Tours Company. While the country is so beautiful; the thing that will stay with us forever are its’ people. We can’t say enough about the warmth and kindness everyone showed us. It started with Andrea, the New Zealand Coach Tours agent. She was so friendly and helpful; answering even the smallest question in a timely fashion; even calling us on our cell phone when she saw we were struggling to complete our reservation on line. She clearly wanted us to have the tour that best matched our needs and style. AAT Kings provided us with a wonderful tour; however, we did find the information on side trips published by AAT Kings a bit hard to understand before leaving for our trip. We were happy to find out that we could make choices on these extras as the trip proceeded. Another surprise was the fact that the bus had folks on 18 and 21 day tours over lapping with our 14 day tour. This made us a bit sad to leave while others continued. The tour itself was a great overview of the south island with a couple of nights in Wellington for good measure. The accommodations were great, as was the food. Our guide, Tania, was very helpful in going the extra mile to assist us in hooking up with some dear friends that live in New Zealand. Tania clearly loves showing her country to visitors. The one downside for us was her lack of clarity when explaining things to foreigners. While we all spoke English; the differences in pronunciation and expressions made things challenging at times. Also, her enthusiasm, when interjecting bits of information, distracted her from completing her previous message with some frequency. Our bus driver, Stu, was wonderful. We were completely confident in his driving skills; enjoyed his sense of humor; and appreciated his ability to pass on information regarding the sights (he’s a guide in his own right). We had bus trouble on one occasion; and we were truly impressed with Tania and Stu’s ability to troubleshoot this in a most timely fashion. We received a warm welcome from the Kiwis at every turn. If we opened a map to find our way during free time, someone immediately stopped and tried to help; even to the point of walking us to our destination. While a few locals assured us they had their share of “naughty” people; we never met a one. Awesome trip!!!

Hi Andi I had been planning on writing to say how much I enjoyed my trip, so your e-mail was a welcome reminder. Everything turned out beautifully. When I arrived in Wellington, I received the packet you sent and was pleased to have brochures about places I would be visiting. I was particularly happy with the book of spectacular photos by Craig Potton. The Great Sights tour bus driver Tom was nice and very knowledgeable and provided a most interesting commentary on the journey from Christchurch to Queenstown. He also had a sense of humor and a couple of times, as we were passing certain towns, he sang us a song about that place - e.g. Geraldine (in this case, a person). There were quite a few people from Japan on the bus, so there was a Japanese-speaking lady aboard for their benefit. We had many interesting stops on the way and opportunities to take photos of the marvelous scenery. At the Hermitage - where the lunch was wonderful - the view of the mountains from the dining room was perfect. Blue Peaks Lodge and Motel was very good, with a marvelous view, and conveniently situated to town. I thoroughly enjoyed the Highlights tour I did in Queenstown. The driver Chris (a Welchman) was also very informative and willing to be flexible, it turned out, as one of our small group wanted to do bungy jumping and there was a wait for that. Since, by that time, we had already watched some daring jumps, Chris took the rest of us for wine and cheese tasting while the newlyweds stayed behind for the young lady's turn. It didn't seem to matter to Chris that this tour took more of his time - and we were all happy. I didn't expect the Newman's bus driver on the Queenstown - Franz Josef trip to provide a commentary - and he didn't have a lot to say - but it was very scenic trip. The Glacier Valley Shuttle owner/driver told us some interesting facts and the hike to the Glacier was worth it. My accommodation that evening at the Top 10 Holiday Park was really nice. I had an ensuite room and the adjoining kitchen and lounge (with TV) was shared by 3 or 4 other guests. There was other accommodation with communal facilities. Everything was very well kept and the Holiday Park owners were very pleasant and helpful. The final day was all travel - Franz Josef - Greymouth by bus, then to Christchurch by train. It was good to see the lush greenery on the West Coast. The Train ride was super - smooth, roomy and great views out of the big windows. I met some nice people from many different countries on my travels, had lots of good experiences and everything went like clockwork. Thank you for putting my trip together. Sue Stricker

We enjoyed our trip tremendously. All of our arrangements were handled expertly. If there were hitches, even those had been handled expertly in advance! New Zealand Coach Tours are my go-to resource for anyone planning on touring this wonderful country. Their attention to detail, suggestions, and the personnel who took care of us were top notch. They understand the value of customer service quality delivery and they get it right. Kudos to you!

Andrea Thank you and your colleagues for your organising such an enjoyable tour. We are now back home and have been very pleased with what you all did. We were amazed at how quickly you organised a spare coach and repaired ours when it suffered a breakdown on the Sunday afternoon near Milford Sound. We thought that the hotels were, on the whole, very good; the Scenic ones were excellent. Thank you. Philip Dickinson

Hi Andy! I am now back home from my visit to Australia and New Zealand and able to draw breath - and shiver in the wintery winds and snow flurries! I would just like to thank you for everything you did to ensure that my first visit to New Zealand went really really well. The AATKing Tour of North Island was just great. A very nice mix of people and the AATKing personnel - Sarah and Mark - were excellent. My independent bit of travel which you kindly organised for me went like a dream (although I could have done with some of the info that Sarah readily gave us en route!). Having said that the driver from Nelson to Greymouth was very good at keeping us informed. And all the pick-ups and drop-offs worked like a charm. I finished my visit staying with relatives in the Dunedin and Bannockburn areas and enjoyed one of the best summers on record! And the wineries, jet boating but balked at the bungy jumping although I did visit the A J Hackett Centre! I will be back again - hopefully at a different part of the year to experience a change of season - and I am telling all my friends that it should be on their bucket lists - once the kids are off the payrolls!! Take care and many thanks and if you ever make it to Ireland - do let me know! Kind regards Deborah Powell

Dear Charlie, I just want to thank you (and Andrea) from the bottom of my heart for putting together such a wonderful, memorable and exquisite Custom South Island Tour. You had been patiently and skillfully answering my many questions for about 9 months before the actual tour! You both always tried to provide me thorough, practical and intelligent information. Since this was my first trip clear across the world to NZ, I had many concerns and detailed inquiries but you handled them all and were very reassuring. When I finally arrived, I had the most courteous and professional help from the driver who met me at the airport and he even helped me select a phone ‘for emergency use’. Turns out, I didn’t need it; but it was good to have and I wanted one at the time . He pretty much ‘set the tone’ for the whole trip! Everything you planned for me worked exactly as you said it would, and it worked like clockwork! I could not have imagined a smoother trip than this was. I can’t say how much I enjoyed this wonderful trip and experience. To see your beautiful country, to enjoy the delicious food and meet the lovely local people. It was a trip of a lifetime! Though I traveled alone, I never felt lonely. The bus drivers, motel owners/managers, transportation people, tour guides and others all went out of their way to be helpful and accommodating! I enjoyed all the lodging and excursions you planned for me. One was better and different than the next! When I had an issue with one motel in Christchurch (because of noisy patrons) you promptly made sure that I would stay in a different place on my return to Christchurch. Everything was so beautiful but one of my favorite excursions was the Glacial Explorers tour. Being on the glacial lake and seeing the pieces close up – stunning! I took more pictures than I ever have on a trip, since everything just ‘took my breath away!’ To sum up, I would highly recommend you to others, and I am very glad I found you online. I would love to do another coach tour someday – soon! Please keep up the excellent work and enjoy each day. With deepest appreciation and best wishes, RK

Hi Andrea, Just a quick note to thank you for your assistance with booking our Coach Tour of South Island from January 25th to 1st February. The whole trip was brilliant & went off without a hitch, even the weather co-operated! we have now returned to the UK & are getting used to what passes for Spring here. Once again thanks for your help D & V Dwyer.

Dear Charlie, Thank you for the organisation of our New Zealand trip. First of all, thank you for all your assistance as we worked through what we were going to do, and for the changes we had to make when my son decided he wanted to come also. The pacing of the trip was brilliant. It allowed us to see all that we wanted to see, without any idle time considering we visited both South and North Island in just 9 days. The hotels were wonderful. Nice, clean and very central; within a short walking distance to the city centre. The Camelot Hotel gave us our papers when we returned to them following our tour. We got our flight tickets just in time; the day before we were to catch our flight to the North Island. The tours were great. Thank you for organising some of the tours (Milford Sounds and Hobbiton), and your suggestions of others. We ended up booking Kim from Iconic tours to take us to see some wild life. He was a very good tour guide, and a lovely person. The Coach buses were large and comfortable; and the drivers very friendly. An exceptional driver in particular was the driver that took us from Rotorua to Auckland, via the Waitomo Caves. His commentary of the landscape, history and stories was very thorough and interesting. The Taieri Gorge Train and the Intercity train to Greymouth were magnificent addition to the coaches. All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and again would like to thank you for your assistance. I would recommend you to my friends. Regards Souad

Hi Andrea and New Zealand Coach Tours, we visited NZ during three weeks in dec-jan. and you took care of one of the weeks for us. We just want to thank you and confirm that everything worked out fine. We had a fantastic trip, and if we can we will return. Your schedule for us worked smooth and all the people we met took care of us in a splendid way. Especially the guides. They were really great. So thanks again and we wish you all good. Best regards, Torsten Hild

Hi Charlie, Just to say 'thanks' for arranging our wonderful trip round the South Island! Everything worked a treat, and we even had great weather for Franz Josef, Mount Cook and the rail Journey, which must be better than average for the course. Motels great too. Again our sincere thanks, John and Margot

Hi Charlie ! Just a few words to let you know that the tour I went on in the South Island from Christchurch to Christchurch from the 10/01/15 to the 19/01/15 was absolutely great ! The organisation ,the places we visited ,the coach ,the guide and the driver were fantastic .Back in France I remember with great pleasure every day of this tour . May I insist that the guide " Tania " was really exceptional :very informative about all cultural ,historical ,social aspects of the South in particular , and about New Zealand in general. Her various skills enhanced the tour and made it very entertaining . I shall certainly come back to N.Z. and I would highly recommend ATT King to anyone. Regards . Jeannette Tappy

Wwe had an amazing time. Arrangements, via email, and an initial (and unexpected) telephone call from Charlie Burford, in response to my enquiry, went smoothly. Ted, the tour guide, was engaging, enthusiastic, and entertaining. Monica, the driver, was knowledgeable and a fantastic driver. Trips were well organised, varied and informative. Giving a well balanced view of New Zealand life and culture. All hotels were great but The Langham was excellent.

When you travel so far away, it is often difficult to ensure you are getting what you want, unless you join a pre-planned overall vacation tour. I wanted some of the convenience of a planned tour, but also the ability to be flexible and add things into my tour that were not necessarily part of a package. Working with Andi and New Zealand Coach Tours gave me the benefits of a package tour, without any of the restrictions. I was flying in to New Zealand from the US and it really helped to have the initial part of the overall vacation planned and secured before leaving. Andi worked with me to ensure that the pre-tour and during-tour activities were secured and also made sure there was transportation to and from every activity. Everything was thought of - from making sure we got picked up early for our Milford Sound Tour to booking us on a late afternoon bus to get us to Franz Joseph Glacier. During the 'free day' in Queenstown, Andi made sure we were coordinated to take an early morning Jet Boat Tour AND we were able to return in time for a really great boutique winery tour around the area. It was great not to have to worry about the details, everything seemed to be covered. One small detail I think would have been helpful, since we spent 3 nights in Queenstown, a map with a listing of restaurants, types, price ranges, etc., would have been great to help us out while staying in that area. Overall, working with New Zealand Couch Tours and Andi really did get our vacation off to a tremendous start. Thank you for everything!!

A very scenic and interesting coach tour with excellent commentary and helpfulness from our very experienced tour director and driver. N Z highlights were spot on, however personally we would have preferred perhaps an additional night in Auckland and/or Wellington rather than 2 nights in Rotorua and Christchurch..Excellent choice of hotels for a 3 star tour apart from Mercure and Ibis. Good hotels in the more rural locations - more hotel for,your money! Thanks for prompt email replies,to,any queries sent and joining instructions.

Hi Charlie, I would like to congratulate and appreciate "New Zealand Coach Tours " and you on behalf of myself and Asif for arranging such an planned tour for us. It was very professional , all commitments were taken care off and everything delivered as promised. We had a very relaxed and fun filled holiday and could enjoy the amazing South Island and beautiful "New Zealand". The highlight for us was "Milford Sound " and to describe it better the first time we saw it we went "Speechless ". We felt we are blessed to see this place and happy that it is on our beautiful Earth. Thanks for everything you made us fall in love with "NewZealand" and we just want to keep coming back :). Have a Great Day. Cheers, Tanu and Asif

Andrea My wife and I have just returned to the UK after spending four weeks in New Zealand. I arranged a Southern Spotlight trip through you between 4-12 January. Everything about the trip was excellent and I am very grateful for all the arrangements you made which went like clockwork. I will have no hestitaion in recommending you to anyone who is considering a coachtrip in NZ. Alan Ball

Hi Charlie I'm back home in Australia today. I would like to say thank you for your help in organising my holiday and touring in New Zealand. The AAT Kings tour was really good and I enjoyed seeing the sights of the South Island. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in New Zealand and was very happy with the extra accommodation and tours that you suggested then booked for me. The train journeys were magic. I did cancel the whale watching tour in Kaikora as it was much rougher than I anticipated and I didn't want to ruin my good memories of my cruise at Akaroa the day before when the weather was amazing and I saw the Hector dolphins swimming with the boat and little blue penguins swimming as well. Overall my trip was fantastic and thanks for suggesting the additional tours for me. Thanks Rhonda Hansen

Everything, from our initial exploratory chat with Andi, to ensuring we caught our (very) early flight home was professionally executed. The itinerary is amazing - we could not imagine a better one for this tour! The tour guide and bus drivers provided a relaxed and fun atmosphere that enabled our large, eclectic group of strangers to quickly bond into a very fun-to-travel-with group(it seemed we were always laughing)who looked after each other. The one recommendation we have is to allow more time in places like Oamaru and Dunedin. On a scale of 1 to 10, this was definitely a 20! Thanks to all of you at NZ Coach Tours for making our trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!

Booking this tour from the UK was made very easy through your website and any questions promptly answered via email. Very competitive price and accurate tour description, overall a great tour. Thank you

Send us your feedback here... Fantastic tour. Great accommodation. It was wonderful not having to worry about anything. All the drivers/receptionists we met along the way were extremely helpful. Made for a really fun trip.

The tour was excellent and exceeded my expectations. It was well arranged and every day was good. I enjoyed every aspect of it, the quality of the coach, driver and hotels was very high. New Zealand is a wonderful country and New Zealanders are lovely people. The service in arranging this tour was excellent and gave me great peace of mind here in the UK before I left.Thank you for a wonderful tour

Send us your feedback here... I would like to say what an excellent tour this was. We were very well looked after by Tania Simpson, our guide, whose knowledge and sense of humour really made the holiday. The hotels were very clean and the food we had was excellent, and our travelling companions were most interesting and varied. What a beautiful country New Zealand is.

Overall we were very happy with NZ Coach Tours in their organisation and support - setting up what we needed, with extra days, was booked quickly and trouble free, as well as our airport transfers. Shame that NZCT could not have arranged much better weather in the North Island for our tour! Would recommend to friends etc.

.Hi Andrea, Thanks for the note. Yes, we had a great time in South Island. Thank you for all the arrangement. The coach transfer were great and definitely a great help. Our coach transfer at Dunedin was excellent, he went out of the way to give us a quick look of Dunedin. Pleasant chap who loves his job. Much appreciate. Would also like to record a thank you to your staff of Alpine coachlines for taking the trouble to drop my wife's hat which we had left behind. Much appreciate. Overall, great and wonderful trip and thank you Andrea for the arrangement. Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2015.

Andrea, I just wanted to let you know that my Mom, Marilyn Bakewell had a fantastic tour this weekend. She was overwhelmed with the level of service the hotel provided even when the Scenic Hotel was overbooked and she was upgraded to the one across thr street. Thank you! We will definitely book with you again. Bill and Mary Mohs

Thanks for every thing. It was a wonderful experience. Both the driver ans tour director were very nice and helpful. Wish you all happy and merry chrishmis

Dear Andrea This is to say a massive THANK YOU for organising a wonderful tour of your beautiful country for both myself and my daughter Rusiru. We were so impressed by the punctuality of your colleagues who came to pick us up at various destinations and their knowledge of the locality which they imparted to us voluntarily. We were particularly impressed that you organised a 4 hour transfer from Pukarangi to Queenstown where we had the coach to all ourselves! The hotels were very good quality and value for money, special mention need to be made of the Heartland Hotel in Queenstown and Scenic Hotel in Franz Joseph. All in all, we were very well taken care of during the 8 day journey and had a wonderful time, thanks to your organisation of the itinerary. We are hoping to do a tour of the North Island in the near future and wondered whether you are able to arrange it too. I have already recommended your company to my friends in Brisbane who are also interested in doing a tour next year. Thank you & Merry Christmas! Ayomi Kariyawasam

From outset I have had nothing but great help from New Zealand coach tours.. I had an independent tour with specific things I wanted to see and dates to fit in. Charlie and his team sorted it out and it went as smoothly and without any hassles at all. I had an amazing time and covered everything I wanted to see. The Motels were fine and near eating places and easy access to supermarkets. I Would highly recommend this company and am really grateful for all their help with my trip. Thank you.

Send us your feedback here... Very well organised and enjoyable. Accommodation varied from excellent to satisfactory. Meals included were excellent. Tour director excellent and very informative. Local guides and optional excursions well chosen. However more time at stops would have been an enhancement.

Hi and Merry Christmas. We thank you so much for setting up the Coach Tour with Kirra Tours. We quite enjoyed the whole tour, people were great and friendly, everyone mixed well. Especially liked that Ross, our tour guide socialized with the group for dinner. He did a great job as driver and tour guide, very informative, we learned a lot about your lovely country. Hotels and food were good, some better than others but all in all no complaints. We would recommend the tour to others, thought we got good value for our dollar (cost). This was the first time we did a coach tour, would definitely do another. Our only recommendation would be that you include a little about the weather, chances of cold or hot especially for those coming from northern countries (Canada, US, etc). We were expecting a little warmer weather and not quite prepared for the colder weather we experienced for that time of the year (our ignorance we’re sure). Again thank you so much for your help. We have some wonderful memories and great photos. Cheers, Dennis & Muriel Miller

We had a wonderful 8 days in a beautiful and wondrous country- rolling farmland, impressive high country, majestic mountains and glaciers and unforgetable lakes and fiords. As good as all this was, it was the superb organisation, the excellent documentation and your friendly and knowledgeable coach drivers and all the other staff who looked after us, these were the icing on the cake for us. Thank you Andrea, Joanne and John Nairn from Melbourne

A truly great experience that exceeded my expectations. The attractions we were shown were all very good and well paced. Arrangements at the various accommodations were very slick and the check in/out was simple and efficiently handled. The driver/guide was probably the best I have come across with a wealth of local knowledge delivered in a relaxed and entertaining manner. We would recommend this tour as a great way to see the wonders of New Zealand

Hi Andrea, Thank you for the email. I was intending to do this. Firstly your organisation was excellent and everything flowed efficiently like clockwork. Murray, our driver picked us up exactly on time at the Airport Gateway. He was informative, personal and made some recommendations. We enjoyed his conversation. He asked for a voucher, but accepted our assurance we did not have one. Rydges Latimer was excellent,.

Hi Charlie, We both really enjoyed our Kirra 12 day Classic Southern Discovery Tour. Thank you so much for organizing and booking the tour for us, your service to me was exceptional and I will recommend New Zealand Coach Tours whenever I can. The accommodation met expectations with the Scenic Hotels just a bit above the others with extras in the bathrooms. We did enjoy the evening dinner at Walter Peak Station, the deserts and the sing song on the return journey were great.We did the River scenic cruise on the Haast River with a little excitement thrown in. The highlights were Milford Sounds and a scenic helicopter flight over and onto the west coast glaciers. We did the 40 minute trip and it was fantastic. We were so lucky with the weather for Milford and the glaciers. Having never been beyond Christchurch I would recommend that tour to anyone that wants to see most of the South Island. Thank you once again, Kind Regards, Ruth

Dear Charlie and team, Thank you very-much for organising our coach tour! Everything went according to schedule and our accommodation (bedding in particular) worked out well. We had a memorable experience in NZ - South Island was definitely the highlight. Breathtaking scenery. Excellent tour operator. Thanks again, Charlie Regards, Michael L

Both my wife and I enjoyed this tour very much. We were very impressed by the knowledge and organisational skills of our driver Trevor. There wasn't anything he didn't know about the South Island or any situation he couldn't deal with in calm way. All the accommodation and food was very good. We especially enjoyed the lake trip on the steamer TSS Earnslaw and visit to Walter Peak Farm and the cruise on Doubtful Sound, as we were unable to get to Milford Sound because of bad weather. We would recommend this tour as an excellent, comfortable and stress free way to see the sights on the South Island.

My husband and I had a great tour - it went very smoothly and we took excellent pictures. The drivers of the coaches and the trains were very informative and we learned a lot about New Zealand's South Island. The Tranz Alpine Scenic Train is not to be missed. All our accommodations were great - lots of room, great views and easy to explore from. Wonderful trip.

One of the Most Memorable tours for my Family. New Zealand Coach Tours were brilliant, they took all care right from Landing in Christchurch late in night to Completion of Tour and Leaving NZ from Christchurch. Special Thanks to Charlie and Andrea, they were quick in their response , guiding us on activities suitable for our family and facilitating whenever we required their support. The Motels and Booking for all activities at Franz Josef, Queenstown- Skyline Gandola, Milford Sound Cruise, Glacier Explorer at Mt Cook etc were Top in class as per our requirement. We were Family of Four and having Dietary requirements during our trip were well taken care. I would 1000% recommend their company to all my friends and friends.

Hi Andi Just want to thank you for the fabulous tour you put together for us. Everything went so smoothly. All pick-ups and tours were there exactly on time. The boat trip on the lake at Mt. Cook was great – as you said it would be. The shuttle to Franz Joseph was perfect. I never would have known we needed that – we met another couple who did not have that organized and never got to the glacier. We were the only people there as it was late in the day and what a spectacular experience – surrounded by the mountains, waterfalls and glacier with no one there but us! The hotels were all lovely, the locations were perfect. We were very lucky to have wonderful weather for the whole trip. We never saw any rain. Thank you again for all your work and wonderful suggestions. I will definitely pass on your name to any of my friends planning a trip to New Zealand. Warm regards, Marcia Ostrover

Andrea. It was basically perfect. U did wonderful I suppose a super minor thing was not being able to enjoy a couple of breakfasts at our Christchurch hotel because of our early departures. We loved all our hotel accommodations. Queenstown was terrific and loved our Fergberger. I thought of you when we had our bus stop inWanaka. You guys have a wonderful life inNZ!' We are grateful for lucking out and contacting you. Fondly, Brian

It was the most well planned and enjoyable trip we have taken. The transfers are seamless and the accommodations were as described. We will return to New Zealand Coach Tours for our next trip.

The tour was excellent. Everything went very smoothly. We loved all the train journeys. We were very impressed with Pam who drove us to Franz Glacier and whom we hired the next day to take us to Fox Village. She was full of good advice and went out of her way to help. We LOVED the location of the Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook and were lucky enough to have fantastic views of the mountains in the sunshine. The drivers all turned up promptly to ferry us to the stations or,on our last day, to the airport, and were very friendly and helpful. All in all a great tour.Thank you.

Send us your feedback here...Thank you very much for planning our Explore New Zealand Tour. The Birthday cake at the Queenstown Gondola Restaurant was great. The only thing that didn't come to expectation was the transit in Christchurch . Blue star taxi pick us up and didn't know where to proceed. Didn't have final destination.Got Lost in the Square area. Had to walk about a block half to ask the bus driver if it was right bus.Taxi driver had to cross red light. very upset w us

Dear Andrea, We arrived back in the UK yesterday and finally getting over the jetlag. I just thought to drop you a line re our recent trip with NZ Coach Tours. We had a great time. Very well organised with almost military precision, which really impressed me as I am a retired veteran with over 37 years service!! Everyone we met new what they had to do, they were all very knowledgeable about their own areas, friendly, polite and helpful throughout. We would heartily recommend a tour to anyone with you in the full knowledge that they will be in safe hands. The South Island of New Zealand is really beautiful. Very well done indeed. Yours sincerely, Doreen and Jim Prior

I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday thanks for the efficient arrangement of all the coaches, pick-ups and hotel accommodation. Everything went well and hassle free. Thank you for making my holiday in NZ wonderful and memorable

We took this tour for 2 weeks from mid-end September, 2014. I will briefly describe our experience. For: Well arranged, good breaks, good commentry. Against: Costly, lots of excursions are extras, no proper vegetarian food. This tour covers both North and South islands and covers a large area. ou will be able to see most of the Newzealand's famous areas. There were enough breaks and weather was nice. Our driver Mark was excellent. The tour is not cheap. We have come from England and having travelled Europe and USA, our expectations were high. Unfortunately, it did not fulfill them. We were particularly disappointed by lots of extras. We expected Sky Diving, Safari tours etc to be extra but not to include small things such as Chocolate factory or Castle trip was disappointing. Anywhere in Europe, these would have been included in coach tours. My wife, son and myself are vegetarians and only two out of ten dinners had vegetarian option otherwise we were asked to take Pasta and boiled rice! I gave this information in feedback form and to Charlie but there is no real response. One more thing, NZ hotels do not provide internet which is norm even for Bed & Breakfast hotels in Europe. In summary, if you find it difficult to arrange by yourself, want suitability of coach and guide, this is a good trip. However, if you can do some more internet search, want to have same fun with lot less money, there are cheaper, better alternatives. Vegetarians - look elsewhere as neither our tour director nor AAT kings have any idea about it. Hope this helps in deciding. Good luck. Dr.Gandhi

Hi Charlie, We really enjoyed our trip to New Zealand. Your itinerary was very good. We liked your choices for activities. Our favorite was the Mita Village in Rotorua. The entertainment and food was wonderful. Our main problem was the Rendevous Hotel. I understand that there are few hotels in downtown Christchurch. It had only two slow elevators. On our three night stay one of the elevators was broken. When tour groups arrived or left, we couldn't get on the elevator for an hour. We had to use the stairs. The breakfast was very over priced for what we received. The chef would not make me an omelet. Thank you for your assistance. We will recommend your service to our friends.

Hi Andrea, Thanks, I really enjoyed the tour and thought it was fantastic!! The accommodation was really great and the tours with Great Sights were great as well. Everything worked out perfectly, thank you very much for your help! Cheers, Olena

Hi Andrea, The tour arrangements, especially the hotels were absolutely superb! The itinerary of the tour was great, the transfers (from the train to the bus or catamaran or boat) were coordinated VERY well. Our tour package was delivered the day we arrived at our hotel. Everything (all the arrangements done by you) was just excellent, just like the spectacular sights during the whole tour! This is the BEST tour we have ever had (and we have travelled the world).. Best Regards, -Charlie.

A good trip which I would be happy to recommend. Itinerary fine, good people, accommodation, meals and bus. Careful driver, good commentary. Scottish haggis business in Dunedin a bit dated. Christchurch is depressing.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour of New Zealand. Our driver and our tour guide (Ted) were both wonderful -- friendly, attentive, knowledgeable, and fun. Can't think of anything to criticize -- the hotels, the tours, the food, the schedule, all were just right for us! We highly recommend your tour and we have already told our friends. Thank you!!!

Hello Andrea: I’m sorry that it has taken so long for a reply/review relating to our trip. We have just arrived home having had a month in Australia/Singapore. Firstly, let me congratulate you and the company for the fantastic tour that you arranged for us. Working ‘remotely’ via e-mail to sort out details of such tours was very new for us, but from the very first meeting with your agents (at Auckland airport) the whole thing was brilliantly well organised. There were many pick ups via transfers or actual bus journeys involved; the timings on every single one of them was excellent. Many actually arrived slightly early, which for us was very welcome! All of the drivers were a credit to their respective companies, with a particular mention here to our driver who took us from Mount Cook to Queenstown. The road conditions were treacherous (black ice) but he was a real professional and he deserved a medal! Strangely, another highlight for us was that due to a road closure the trip to Milford Sound had to be cancelled. This allowed us to go to Doubtful Sound, and I cannot believe that Milford would have been half as much fun as the really wonderful time we had on this trip. The Real Journeys people were truly brilliant in taking us on this tour, even though the change was made at short notice. All of the arranged trips were very worthwhile and enjoyable, with perhaps the exception of the Franz Joseph glacier for which there was too little time, mainly because of early nightfall during winter. An extra couple of hours would have been perfect! At some stage I will try to write up a review on the website, but it was essential for us to write you personally to thank you for the great job that you did with regard to the organisation of the whole tour. We had a really wonderful time. Thank you so much! Adrian & Marianna

Hi Andrea It was great. The tour exceeded my expectation. Well done! Cheers Christine

We would like to express our sincere appreciation for the arrangements made by you, all of which were met as per our entire satisfaction. A vacation worth remembering!!

I really appreciate your great arrangement. I and my wife really enjoyed my 4 day trip in South Island. Mount Cook, Queenstown, Milford Sound are really nice places to visit. The pristine scenery is a great blessing not only for New Zealand but also for people and tourists. One minor thing was not good for us. When we arrived at Glacier Josef, the person to pick us up came late and we had to run into the glacier but couldn't reach the glacier because of the darkness. All other thins are really perfect, and I and my wife really thanks for your perfect arrangement. God Bless New Zealand and You! Sincerely Yours, Jeong Duk Yi

All tours were efficiently and professionally done no hiccups at all. I would like to single a couple of people out for their outstanding work. Kym from Iconic was fabulous. The trip from Mt Cook to Dunedin was excellent with Kym even thinking of supplying nibbles of New Zealand products to eat along the way. His knowledge on any question asked was second to none and also took us to the steepest road in the world in Dunedin which was fun . If anyone wants to tour off the tourist trail I would recommend this route and using Iconic. Another was driver Steve (Intercity) who took us from Franz Josef to Greymouth. He kept us entertained the whole trip (He should be on the comedy circuit) and stopped in at a cafe at a small town (of which name escapes me at the moment) which bake their own cakes and savouries . The cafe is according to Steve was featured in a film called "goodbye pork pie". The motel accommodation was very good. The view from The Blue Peak in Queenstown has spectacular views across the lake and peaks. The York in Dunedin was nice but if you are a smoker I wouldn't recommend it. as one has to go off the property to have a smoke . No smoking in the carpark even. Security cameras are set up everywhere which is good for safety though. Kym (Iconic) asked if we could have a ground floor room as my back was playing up and I was limping. The bloke at reception although helped carry our cases was almost rude. (We all have bad days I guess). I wouldn't recommend (This was my own fault as I asked to stay there) staying at Mt Cook national park , unless you can hike or want a rest. The resort is very nice and the backpackers pub friendly. The place is expensive and nothing much to occupy ones time. I would suggest going in there on the coach and get some stunning photos of Mt Cook during the lunch break there and head on to elsewhere to stay. Bernie and Tim at the Pungi Grove Franz Josef were excellent hosts and the room spacious and cosy looking out to beautiful tree ferns. Thanking you again for organizing a great holiday. Regards Deb Shipard

We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and cannot imagine what we would have done without the coach tour set up. We were completely taken care of from the second we got off the plane to the second we left and were blessed to have encountered so many wonderful people. We never had to touch our bags (and we had 4 big heavy ones!) and although we had an exact itinerary of travel prepared for us, we were still able to enjoy the independence of each destination stop. Thank you so much for the most incredible experience!

We had a fabulous time on our tour of the gorgeous South Island. We received everything promised and the staff was wonderful to work with. Queenstown is lovely and we were in awe of the beautiful scenery.Weather forced a switch of plans in our schedule but all was handled very well and we just switched days for Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. Blue Peaks Lodge was clean,comfortable and met our needs. The Glow worm caves at Te Anau was a surprising favorite for us all. The boat trip to the caves was in total darkness so we did not get to see scenery on the way which was a little disappointing.Lakefront Lodge was very nice and the staff was quite lovely. We all thought that we would like to have stayed and explored Te Anau a little longer. This would be a lovely place to stay when the weather was a little warmer and you could enjoy the picnic table outside of your room. The bus trip to Milford Sound was one of our favorite trips. The driver did a wonderful job telling us about the area. The scenery was beyond beautiful. The nature walk during the trip and stop to walk down to a lovely stream in the snow was a highlight.Milford Sound is stunning and we were lucky enough to see pods of dolphins and seals. Walters Peak Farm tour was a perfect day. The weather was perfect. The meal was delicious and the staff there was lovely. We had a beautiful table in the window with incredible views. Everyone enjoyed the farm tour and time to feed some of the animals. The driver on our trip from Queenstown to Christchurch was very helpful and informative. The stop at Mt.Cook and the Hermitage was too short. The meal was nice but we would much rather have had time to explore the museum and visitors center. This part of the trip could have had better time management and is the only time we really felt rushed. Church of the Good Shepherd is lovely but that portion of the trip is just a short few minutes stop... not sure what we were expecting. Sadly we arrived in Christchurch after dark. Our driver drove us through the city and we were able to see only a little bit. This was a portion of the trip that we feel you should prepare guests for. The bus stop is in an area still recovering from earthquake damage and you are left outdoors without any office or staff in attendance. We were dropped off at the Camelot on the wrong side of a busy city street which left us a little uneasy. The Camelot was disappointing. The carpet in the room was dirty. We expected the motel to be quirky but were disappointed in these accomodations. Our morning private driver was gracious. The dark street bus stop we were left at was concerning. The Intercity Coach was just a regular city bus. The driver did not offer any highlights of our journey and was a bit short with the passengers. Since the rest of our bus trips had been different this was unexpected. Connections to the Interislander Ferry went very smoothly. We were very happy with our tour except for the few small things mentioned. The tour allowed us to have fun and not worry about the details of transportation or where to stay. That allowed us to just enjoy the experience. Thanks for the help in planning this very special trip for us!

Hi Andi, We had a fabulous time! We were very sad to leave such a beautiful and friendly country. We all thought the tour itself was great. We liked the hotels that we stayed at in each town, and the people who worked there were friendly and helpful when we asked questions. The excursions and places that were apart of the tour were interesting. Everything just seemed to flow together, even when we had a set back or two. The optional excursions were really great too, at least the ones that we got to do. We had some weather issues the first couple days we were there, which cancelled a few of the optional excursions that we had signed up for, but we knew it was a risk. We put those excursions on our to do list for the next time we visit! Our tour guide, Lu Tyree, was absolutely wonderful! We cannot say enough great things about her. Since we were some of the youngest passengers on our tour, she allowed us to go our own way and explore and even gave us tips and directions about things to do and see when we stopped in the towns, which we really appreciated. We felt like we were able to maximize our time in each town and see more of the area and more of what those towns had to offer. We told Lu on multiple occasions that we really appreciated that. Lu made the coach rides entertaining, along with the bus driver, Murray, who was also fabulous. We would highly and definitely recommend AAT Kings to our friends and family and would not hesitate to book another tour with them in the future. Also, I want to thank you, Andi (and Charlie), for your help with everything, while we were getting things booked for the trip. You both answered all our questions and in a timely manner, and we really appreciated that. It definitely made the process less stressful, especially with our first tour being cancelled, and the craziness that followed that. So thank you for all your help. It was greatly appreciated. :) Thank you again, Kristel

Dear Andrea, Thank you for all arrangement for our trip, and overall we are very satisfy with your arrangement and the services. You gave clear information and easy to be contacted when there was urgent things. All information and vouchers have prepared and gave when we arrived. You choose the great location for Hotel accomodation, so we can looking around by ourself when we have free time. All pick up and transportation arrangements are on time and on schedule, and we are happy for that. Of course, I will recommend your excellence service to our friends who will have destination to NZ.

The tour was nicely planned with a relaxed pace that allowed us to enjoy. Although we encountered rainy weather, it did not dampen our mood and we enjoyed every minute.

Dear Andrea, We arrived in Toronto two weeks ago and have not been well since we arrived home. Our tour on the South Island was amazing. Your performance, arrangements and accommodations were excellent. The hotels had beautiful views. Our private cabin on the over night cruise opened unto the deck and we enjoyed the spectacular view of the fiords. Thanks for arranging this wonderful tour which will remain with us forever. Our best regards, Michael and Joan

Hello Andi, Thank you for getting in touch with us again and please accept my apologies for not replying earlier. We had the time of our lives in NZ and particularly our South Island tour. Part of the reason it went so well was thanks to your help and those at NZ Coach Tours. Each place we visited lived up to our expectations and even though we were moving around quite a bit it was made so much easier because all the arrangements you made for us all (without exception) went to plan. From our first hotel stay in Christchurch to the transfer to Queenstown airport on our last day - everything was excellent. The coach journeys were interesting and very scenic. All the coach drivers were punctual, charming, knowledgeable and helpful and made the traveling easy, with plenty of stops to take pictures etc. The Tranz Alpine train journey was fantastic and would definitely recommend it as well as the trip to Milford Sound which was superb! The hotels and hotel staff were lovely and we were even upgraded on a couple of occasions. We honestly have nothing negative to say, everything was really well organised and took all the stress out of traveling. We would definitely recommend NZ Coach Tours and would use you again- genuine value for money. Thank you very much. Best Wishes, Colin Shipley

Dear Andrea, My family and I enjoyed the tour so much. Everything was nicely arranged. Lunch at Mt Cook with the magnificient view was superb. Being able to see dolphins and seals at Milford Sound makes the 13 hrs return trip worth it. We were only disappointed (things that are beyond your control) that we did not make it to the glazier viewing point coz it is almost dark, we only make it half way and decided that we would not be able to see it in the dark also if we walk all the way, and the train to christchurch was delayed by 1 hr so half the journey was already dark. We understand that its winter time so shorter daylight. But other than that, your recommendation on everthing is awesome. Thank you

Hello Charlie, We three ladies Kay Giles, Angie Breton, and Audrie Rowe,from Guernsey Channel Islands, have just been to New Zealand and did the 15 day Splendour tour, we cannot praise the way we were treated enough, and thanks to you for sorting our booking for us. Marc Hockley our tour guide,was always approachable,helpful, friendly, nothing was too much bother, we knew when and where we had to be ready, very organised. We being "The ladies at the back" of the bus, did everything we could do ,whale watching in the helicopter, flight around Mt Cook, 2 Jet boat rides,Franz Joseph landing, the bus was always there to pick us up after. Now to our driver Michael Robins, he was a really safe driver, curteous, friendly, helpful,as with him, nothing was too much bother.As we were going to pass through Kaiapoi on the way to Christchurch, the boys dropped us off at the house for a BBQ with our friends , can you imagine what they said when they saw a coach draw up. We made our way to Christchurch later on that evening. The hotels were first class with fine meals and beautiful rooms.Thanks to them we had a trip of a lifetime. Thanks once again Charlie,

Dear Charlie We had a fantastic time in New Zealand. The coach tour was perfect. Everything happened as your itinerary said it would The coaches were so comfortable, the drivers knowledgeable and enough toilet and eating stops were allowed for at all times. It was obvious this was a well thought out itinerary. Allan’s highlight was his helicopter flight over Mt Cook. We were so fortunate that the first snow had fallen 2 or 3 days before our trip. The scenery was magical! I loved the trip to Milford Sound and the Nature Cruise, although it did get a bit unsettling when the skipper took the boat out into the open sea. I think most people were green by the time we were back in the Sound. Luckily I had taken a travel tablet so I was fine. People came good very quickly however when a dozen dolphins started following and playing with the boat. Although Queenstown was nothing like it was 41 years ago when we were last there, the scenery makes up for everything. We rode the gondola and found at the bottom of it, the caravan park that we had stayed in, those 41 years ago. We didn’t check if the wooden cabins were still there! The three nights in Queenstown were just enough! We were wondering whether we should have stayed in Franz Josef an extra night as the glacier was amazing but there was 100mm of rain overnight and it looked like continuing the next day so we were happy to go to Greymouth. Bathing in the hot Baths and dinner at Alice May’s was a great way to finish the day there. The Tranz Alpine rail trip to Christchurch was just the right way to finish our tour. We have travelled on the Rocky Mountaineer train from Jasper to Vancouver and this train trip, although a lot shorter trip is certainly comparable with scenery. The facilities on the train were terrific and the viewing platform was a fantastic idea. We found all the buses arrived when you said they would, they knew who we were and where we were going. The motels were more than adequate for what we wanted and the Receptions answered all our queries and were only too happy to recommend eating places. We received a discount at a number of places because we mentioned our motel which was a lovely surprise. One motel that stood out was Punga Grove at Franz Josef. Bernice couldn’t do enough for us and gladly rang to check on a number of things for us when we were not sure that we could fit everything in. Usually motels don’t like their towels going out of the motel but she encouraged us to take their towels to the Hot baths rather than hire ones. Joe at Camelot was very helpful as well. We have no complaints, everything was so well organised we would have no hesitation in travelling with your company again. Thanking you Lyn and Allan Brown

Hello Andi, It was just awesome! I had never experienced such independent coach tour. Before I got started I was afraid a little bit about the arrangement because I need to make the other four people to be satisfied. As we got there we were so amazed that from beginning to the end all the connecting was running so smoothly and all activities was perfectly organized. I appreciate that and thank you again! Best wishes to you! Hong

My husband and I only had 5 days to visit New Zealand. Most tours offer minimum 7-days tour. But thanks to newzealandcoachtour! The customized arrangement were beyond expectation and very well managed. We visit the best places and of course we got best picture. Autumn in NZ is so so beautiful and we vplan to visit in spring, summer and winter, with New Zealand coach tour

South Island was wonderful and we visited most of the scenic places on the island during our 8 day tour. Thanks a lot to the Team at New Zealand Coach Tours and especially to our tour consultant Andrea for organising everything so well for us. We had no trouble at all while booking or while undertaking the tour. Cheers. DJ

Tour director and diver were great. Very informative and helpful in obtaining information on what to do and see. Accommodations were very nice except for Twizel which was very dated, poor lighting and the food at dinner was not up to the standards of the other hotels. They had too many tour groups and did not keep up with replenishing he food as needed. Would have liked a few more active options but overall would highly recommend this tour.

Hi Charlie. Thanks for the most excellent and enjoyable tour that your efforts and those of Grand Pacific made for me. The arrangements, hotels and - save for one meal of chaos at Mercure Queenstown - the food arrangements. I must say that the food and service at the Distinction, Te Anau were so very good and worthy of special mention. They say that the sun shines on the righteous; well, I must now come under that heading as for the full 13 days we were either just ahead of the foul weather or just behind it. The days at Wanaka for the airshow were perfect and the sun shone throughout. I have to say though that, good as the airshow was, the highpoint for me was the visits in Invercargil to the Page ' fastest Indian ' store and even more so to the Bill Richardson Motor Museum - both are unique with the vehicles that have been amassed and restored and so kindly put on display for enthusiasts and the public to enjoy. Likewise visits to the railways were interesting and trips worthy of doing. Our driver Paul [ sadly not with us on the last couple of days ] was a font of local knowledge both on the places themselves but also on the various little odd folklore and stories of the places we visited and passed through. Thanks again Charlie for arranging this enjoyable holiday and experience.

Hi Charlie- I've been meaning to e-mail you. Our trip was amazing and I think on many parts due to your suggestions and assistance. I guess I can't give you credit for the spectacular views, but the package if vouchers I revived (and the scanned copy to the hotel when I misplaced it on the first day) made our trip Easy and enjoyable. The accommodations (serviced apts.) were great: roomy, efficient and right in town. All of the transportation (busses, trains, individual pickups) were prompt, easy and providers friendly and informative). When we ran into travel disruption due to the huge storm, you were very accommodating and rearranged our motel and tour so that we didn't miss anything. And you overall flexibility in planning the trip was awesome. We were able to plan our trip so we could move around the country and do everything we wanted to do when we wanted to and you planned and took care of all of our transportation and accommodations. It was a perfect way for us to travel and you and Andi were so nice helpful and immediately responsive whenever we contacted you. Thanks for everything. Hattie

Dear Charlie: we had the best time in the world in New Zealand. Thank you so much for recommending that we take the higher-priced tour. I saw the places the other bus was staying at, and I am much more satisfied with our experience. We were glad that almost everything was included in the price. We may not have wanted to spend the money for all the different activities, so would not have had such a wonderful experience.

We had a great experience with the tour, absolutely fantastic and jam packed with amazing scenery. We also make many new friends. The tour guide (Alan) and bus driver (Paul) were great and very knowledgeable. Thank you Charlie Burford for all your help and arrangement.

Dear Andrea, I would like to express my outmost satisfaction with the tour in the South Island of New Zeeland which was organized by New Zeeland Couch Tours, and tailor made for me. I felt like a VIP gust all the time, it was wonderful to be treated in a special way, from your meeting with me on the airport to every little movement on time at every place and according to the itinerary. The accommodation was just the best you could find, convenient, clean and comfortable. I was impressed with the way the tour was put together. It gave me the chance to see so much in such little time. Not time were spilt. New Zeeland Coach Tours went out of their way to make my visit a pleasant one, and even went so far to give me discount on the package. Thank you for your personal attention to me and my needs. I would strongly recommend New Zeeland Coach Tours to any one with delight. Danie Steyn, Groot-Marico South Africa.

Hi Andrea, I just wanted to tell you that we really enjoyed our tour of New Zealand. Your organisation was fantastic and so well done. We are ever so grateful. Everything went smoothly and we were lucky enough to experience reasonable weather every day. The tour arrangements went well, very easy to follow each day with the vouchers provided. We would certainly recommend New Zealand coach tours and we will be back one day to spend some more time in Queenstown, Dunedin, Mt Cook, Lake Tekapo, Nelson and Glaciers. The train and buses were arriving on time and dropping us off at reception for the next leg of our tour. All the coach drivers polite and informative and all hotel accommodations were really good. The sights we saw in the South Island were spectacular and we plan to return again in the near future. Thank you so much. German & Vilma

Everything worked out well. Organised trips/visits were all great. Very happy with everything - would use this company again for next visit. Sid & Annette.

Dear Charlie New Zealand is the most breathtakingly beautiful country I have ever visited . In fact at times on Doubtful Sound and at other places where we stopped to enjoy views with my family, I was almost moved to tears. I have just looked at my photos and they are WONDERFUL.I used to be a photographer and I truly appreciated the bountiful magnificent scenery. The trip was good, well organised and the only disappointment was the heavy mist and rain at Franz Josef. The accommodation and breakfast service was very good and everyone without exception was kind and friendly and extra helpful to two elderly folk. The food at the stops was good, and the restaurants excellent. Thank you for the refund. We are not offended because your staff sorted the problem efficiently, so that is all that matters. I wish we could afford to live in NZ, I would go dotty just going for drives and doing photography and then my oil painting. What an inspiration it has been. Yours is truly a wonderful country, I can say this with confidence because we are very well travelled. God Bless your country and All who live in it. Lorraine van Hooff

We joined the AATKings tour at Auckland and enjoyed a really interesting week going up to The Bay of Islands and then down to Wellington via Rotorua.The tour leader was very informative and fun with an excellent driver and comfortable coach. We had a good selection of optional trips - our favourite was a day on a Tall ship in the Bay of Islands, the weather and the dolphins were a great bonus! Hotel accommodation was good,with only one noisy room. we really enjoyed the evening of Maori food and entertainment, and the Agrodome in Rotorua. Altogether a highly recommended trip.

We were very impressed with the arrangements. Hotels were OK, drivers were knowledgeable and helpful. Our trip from Queenstown to Christchurch was little long and not very productive. We chose that way so it is not you, however, next time we may choose to fly rather than take the drive. Or else you an suggest a better way to do it than what we did. The experience with NewZelandCoachandTours was fantastic, thank you.

All was fine. Accommodation was clean and good locations, staff very friendly. We found some days very hectic, i.e. not enough time to eat at destination before going to bed and getting up early for the next tour. All in all very good. We were very disappointed that we were not able to experience Trans Alpine Scenic tour train die to the weather as that was sold to us as the highlight of our holiday.

We had a wonderful with AAT Kings. All accommodations, places we visited, and activities were extremely good and we would neither one of us change a thing. Our travel companions on the bus were very cohesive and we enjoyed each other tremendously. Kevin and Monica were the high light of our trip as they made it all happen. They make a great combination and all entertainment was excellent. Can't say enough about how much we enjoyed the tour and we would travel with AAT Kings again. Time and funds would be our only items to consider. Ha Thanks again for a great tour.

Thank you for arranging the tour for us. Everything was superb and we had a most enjoyable holiday in New Zealand.

Hi Charlie, thanks for all your help with the bookings. We're just back in the UK after our extended holiday but we wanted to say how fantastic the coach tour was. Intensive but we saw places we might otherwise have missed. Julianne was an excellent guide and Alan was a superb and friendly driver. Made some great friends and miss you all.

Charlie, Really enjoyed the trip ! I am glad that you ordered good weather for us . Thank you ! All of the pickups and hotels where as expected, on time and as advertised. The scenery is just fantastic and the hiking breathtaking. I would have to give the trip an A+ if I was grading it. The only place that was questionable was the location of the Edgewater Hotel in Wanaka. For travelers without transportation it is a little of an inconvenience to not have a shuttle into town.Also it is very difficult and expensive to start any activity without transportation. I would definately recommend New Zealand Coach Tours to fellow travelers. Best Regards Nick & Carol Westermeyer

We had a fantastic time on the South Island Andrea arranged everything to perfection Accommodation was great We were amazed at all pick-up times being on time Enjoyed all tours The Best Holiday credit to New Zealand Coach Tours and Andrea Thank You For the Time and Effort you put into our Holiday Sue and Allan Hawkins Melbourne.

Your company did a great job responding considering the time differences. The comparison chart is great for determining what is included in each package. Thanks John

Carol and I both enjoyed the Tour. We found all the hotels to be very good: The Hotels in Franz Joseph and Queenstown were particularly good both as far as the room and the food were concerned. Both the Coach Captains were excellent: both were informative, amusing, excellent drivers and very good time keepers. The activities included with the trip and those, optional ones, we undertook were enjoyable and rewarding. It is difficult to select any activity as being particularly good as most were excellent. The only activities that did not keep up the excellent quality were the "glow worm caves", "The Agrodome" and "Whale Watching/Hole in the Rock Cruise" none of which lived up to the high standard of the rest of the tour. All in all an excellent tour which enabled us to see parts of New Zealand we would not have seen otherwise. We would recommend it to everyone

I had a wonderful time on my 12 day tour - met wonderful people and saw wonderful things. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Special thanks to Trevor - a fantastic driver and excellent representative of Kirra Tours - so informative, professional and friendly - and a great sense of humour. Well done to everyone who made this such a successful trip for me.

Hi Charlie, We had a fantastic time in New Zealand, coming home was a bit more difficult - hence the late reply! The tour you set up worked out very well, we were both impressed with the transportation, the accommodations and the activities. It was nice to have both the coaches and a few individual tours. The accommodations were very high quality. The vouchers worked great and we were very pleased on how smoothly everything worked. The packet you provided was informative and very easy to follow. Having breakfast each day at the hotels was great too - although Graham would note that sometimes we only had 20 minutes to eat (breakfast started at 6:30 and we had to be ready for pick-up at 7:00). It was nice too to have a few "special" dinners as well as have the time to find the local places on our own. The activities were fantastic, it was wonderful to be able to so easily customize our tour, we thoroughly enjoyed the couple of activities you arranged specifically to our request; the Moraki boulders and hiking on the the Franz Joseph glacier - and did not miss the LOTR or wine tours that we cut out. I think the only thing I should have added was a second jet boat ride, one on the Shotover as well as the one we did on the Dart river. I am sure we saw much more of New Zealand by having the transportation, activities etc. arranged ahead of time than if we had toured on our own. I would highly recommend NZ Coach Tours. Sincerely, Cindy Thomas

The tour was very well organised .Whilst we were initially apprehensive about some of the arrangements falling through and being left stranded all pick-ups went as planned . The accommodation in Auckland was in need of a make over but the other motels were fine . All the drivers and hotel staff were informative and helpful. We particularly enjoyed the trips to Hobbiton ,Mitai village and the Walter Peak dinner each of which was of a very high standard

Dear Charlie, Since I feel like I know you by now, I prefer to write you directly. Our 3 day tour was wonderful. The hotels were superior—they spoiled us for some of the more informal lodging arrangements I had made for later in our trip. We especially enjoyed the Scenic Te Panua Hotel in Napier. The staff there helped us find a wonderful little restaurant for us to celebrate my birthday. Thank you so much for the beautiful hard-backed photo book of New Zealand. It will help us show our friends here what we saw until we get our photos organized. A few observations about the tour: The first day (March 10) was really, really full! The Waitomo Glowworm Caves were wonderful; the guide who was part of the Maori tribe that now owns those caves, was delightful. Despite the fact that she was probably about our age, she stood on the prow of the little boat and pulled us along the cable that guides the boats through the caves. The lunches and snacks were all excellent. We enjoyed the Agrodome show and tour of the farm. The cultural performance at Te Puia was excellent. The performers—singers and dancers and narrator—were very talented. The guide there was outstanding. I especially enjoyed the flax weaving demonstration because New Zealand flax is quite different from the flax grown in Ireland and in the southern US. We did not get to our hotel room until 5:25. When I looked at the schedule and saw that we might be picked up for the Mitai hangi meal, etc. as early as 5:45, I panicked and called the hotel desk to ask if they had an update on the time. They were so nice--They assured me that they would have our ride wait on us, so we would have time to change out of our traveling clothes. The MC for the evening was quite good. We did, indeed, get to see our meal being cooked, at about 7, and then we were told it would be another two hours before we got to eat! We really wished we had taken time to eat the snacks that we’d been given in the afternoon. But when the dinner was served, it was delicious, and we were invited to come back to the buffet as often as we would like. We thoroughly enjoyed the other folks at our at our table—from England, Canada, and Australia. We watched the warriors arrive in canoes and we attended the Mitai performance before dinner (The performance was entertaining but not as good as the Te Puia one), but we did not go on the after dinner canoe ride to see the glowworms at the Mitai village. I was exhausted, and not too enthralled by the idea of tripping through the bush and climbing into a boat in the dark, so we just waited at the bus until they came back. We heard it was very good, though. March 11-Breakfast at the Millenium was excellent. The Intercity coach tour was fine. Because the driver was on a tight schedule, we passed the view points for Huka falls without being able to stop. There’s nothing he could have done about it because he had to be in Taupo at a certain time. We had time in Taupo to have a great lunch at a restaurant right across from the bus station, Body Fuel. I recommend the fresh fish sandwich! We loved Napier—it’s a lovely and very interesting town, and, as I’ve already said, the hotel staff was extremely kind and helpful. March 12—Our personal tour of Napier with John was fun and informative. He is definitely an architecture expert and Art Deco devotee, but we found his commentary very interesting, and he has a great personality. The story of the complete rebuilding of Napier after the 1931 earthquake is amazing. I have a picture of Jack under the arch on the beach in Napier, the point from which John says the first sunrise of the millennium was really seen—despite media claims to the contrary. When we realized that we needed to eat lunch before we met the afternoon bus to Wellington, he suggested a beautiful garden tea room and made sure we were served promptly. The Intercity trip to Wellington took us through some more lovely countryside, and our friends met us at the transportation/train station there. All in all, your tour was a wonderful solution for us. It took us where we wanted to go, and we probably learned and saw much more than we would have seen on our own. Thank you for working with us, and making our first few days in NZ so memorable. Marion and Jack Mitchell

Hi Charlie Just wanted to send you a BIG thank you for all your help - you were right - we did not want to go home!!! All the accommodation was spot on especially Picton. Couldn't believe we had only booked one night there. Fabulous stay. Marahau was wonderful too in fact everywhere was great for different reasons. we LOVE New Zealand and plans are afoot for our return!!!! Your accommodation choices certainly put a gloss on everything. Shame we didn't manage to fit Wanaka in too!! We had a great time on North Island too meeting all the rellies we didn't know we had. All in all a wonderful month there. Just wish the journey wasn't so long - but worth it when you get there. When we return we will definitely be contacting you again and we will definitely be staying longer!! Thank you very much. Kind regards Veronica

Hi Charlie Thank you for your great job. Your provided information made the booking stress free. We were impressed with the organization and professionalism and it gave us confidence that we made a good choice. The general tour pace was excellent, allowing plenty of free time to either relax or pursue more vigorous activities depending on individual preferences. Both coach drivers, though very different in personality, were very good careful drivers with great knowledge of their islands. The tour was full - 48 people for both the islands but everyone was cooperative and friendly. The way we changed seats on the coach is very good and gave everyone a 'fair go' at the best seats. We were particularly blessed with excellent weather! Only two wet days and one of those was at Milford Sound and other last day on Christchurch! We particularly enjoyed The Bay of Islands, Longlands Farm and Restaurant, Rotoroa and Agrodome, Napier in the North Island and of course Wellington. We really enjoyed the fantastic Tranz Alpine scenic train trip in the South Island. Franz Josef glacier was spectacular!! We were all blown away with the cruise on the Milford Sound! The Larnach Castle was marvelous.The hotels were all of a good comfortable standard. Te Waonui Forest Retreat in Franz Josef was fantastic.What about the views from the Mercury hotel in Queenstown!! The food was always good. We had a wonderful and memorable trip to New Zealand with Grand Pacific. We will recommend to book the tour via New Zealand Coach tours . Best Regards Maia

I Wasn't expecting too much from the coach tour, but how wrong was I. My wife being disabled means that we rely on others, to make certain arrangements, for our trip to be hassle free, and Charlie, you excelled in this department. Thank you very much. The coach drivers were excellent, especially Russel England. Nothing was too much trouble for them, from organising the optional trips to keeping us informed about the people and towns along the way. Thank you again for everyone involved in making our coach trip very enjoyable.

We had a fantastic time on the AAT Kings 17 day New Zealand Magic bus tour that we arranged through your good selves (New Zealand Coach Tours). We had a wonderful knowledgeable tour guide and a great driver (Mark and Trent)and were blessed by good weather for the whole 17 days ! Cannot fault it and would thoroughly recommend a similar tour to anyone in the U.K. or elsewhere. Regards, David Tully U.K.

We had an amazing time on the Kirra 23 day tour. New Zealand is an amazing country with so much diversity to experience culturally and environmentally. Our driver and guide, Andrew, was organized, informed, helpful and very funny. We saw so much and are so glad we left the driving and deciding to the tour. Loved it all - fabulous food, wonderful hotels, great scenery, fun experiences. Andrea was helpful prior to the tour and answering questions. Thanks, Kirra - Judie and Richard

Absolutely marvellous holiday which fully met our expectations. Excellent arrangements and itinerary with a number of extras which enabled us to see as much of the country as is possible in three weeks. Overall, the hotels were above our expectations with only one being below par. Particular thanks to the coach driver and tour guide, Andrew Brown, who kept us both informed and amused throughout the trip and did an excellent job of driving over some difficult roads. He also did an excellent job of arranging the many optional extras for a diverse coachload of travellers. June and Roger Thompson

We had a wonderful time; helped along by Jullianne, our guide. The spent on the road was just right. Perhaps a bit too rushed - considering we had been travelling for over a week in North Island. Hotels good. All arrangements worked. But would I repeat - yes and no. Yes we would come again but, Its along way for a UK traveller; certainly we enjoyed seeing your country. thank you.

The trip to New Zealand was great. Although a friend of mine had prepared the itinerary, Charlie added to it with explanations and additional suggestions. There were also suggestions for additional activities in the booklet I received when I arrived in Auckland. To my amazement, everything occurred exactly as it was scheduled. Once, when I offered a voucher to a driver, he told me he did not need it because my travel agent was so well organized that he (the driver) had all the information he needed. I agree about the well organized agent, Charlie. Thank you! Ann Goerdt

We had a wonderful journey through the North and South Islands and saw the most beautiful scenery and spectacular places. We certainly did see a lot. Everything was what we had hoped for and more. The places we were taken to left us wishing to make a return trip to follow up on some of them. I think the highlight for us was the beauty of Queenstown. It was just breathtaking. Also the Milford Sound cruise and the journey in was amazing. The Franz Josef Glacier and the trip on the railway from Arthur's Pass to Christchurch was another part that will always be remembered. Christchurch certainly left us with sad memories and hopefully it will not be too long before the beautiful city will be restored to its old feeling. Our driver Mark was a wonderful driver and we felt at ease at all times even though there were some sections that other driver's would not have handled as well. We felt the tour leader Julieanne spent far too much time speaking about her own family and affairs rather than the trip. This was felt by most passengers so it was a change when in the latter part of the trip we learnt about NZ. The other matter was most felt the passengers would have all boarded together and spent the entire trip together instead of dropping off and picking up new passengers. Also most felt it was an inconvenience to have a full bus of 49 passengers and singles being asked to sit in the spare seat a few times as that seat is very difficult to the rest of the back seat passengers when having to get in and out and does not have arm rests and a luggage section. We were very happy with all your help in the build up to our trip and would not hesitate to book through your company again. Thank you very much Charlie. Regards, Desley and Margaret.

Andi, I wanted to let you know what a wonderful time we had on our 4-day coach and train tour of southern New Zealand on March 4-7. All of the connections were on-time, and everyone we encountered was welcoming and professional. The lodging at each town was quite nice and well located in relation to sightseeing and restaurants. Now that I have an idea of the complexities of moving so many people among multiple locations and transfers, I am even more impressed with your services and the subcontractors with whom you work. I’m sorry that I don’t remember everyone’s names, but the drivers, greeters, and hotel staff we encountered in Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Mt Cook, etc., were exceptional. (As just one example, our local transfers in Dunedin (I believe it was Kevin and his wife) were so nice – good knowledge about the town and places to visit, and Kevin escorted us into the train station and stayed by our side until we boarded our train). In each leg of the journey the drivers’ knowledge of the area, good humor, and even the brief stops (for photos, rest breaks, and fresh fruit!) made the experience a pleasure. Thank you again for your help in making this such an enjoyable vacation. We would surely love to come back some day to tour the rest of NZ! All the best,

Kath and I would like to express our gratitude for all the work you put in for us in regard to our trip to the South Island.  We had a marvellous time and think that the Island is a beautiful place.

The tour was the best we have been on in over 30 years of touring. Accommodation, sightseeing, meals, coaches and drivers were all 1st class and the weather was perfect. Special thanks to the Scenic Hotel Marlborough for the excellent birthday cake they provided for my wife--complimentary. Would recommend this tour to anyone. Mick Stratton

Hi Andrea Sorry I haven't replied sooner. The tour was fantastic even though exhausted by the finish. Weather was pretty good most places. A big bonus to get both Larnach Castle and Olverston House in same tour. Would have loved to have gone to the Dunedin Museum but we opted for the Taieri Gorge train trip thus no spare time left.

We loved our trip and appreciate all the help you and Grand Pacific gave us.  Someone really helped us do everything in every part of the trip.  It made very much stress free.

Thank you for taking good care of us.

We had a very good trip on the South Island, 4-14 February.  Even the weather was good. The hotels, motels and the lounge were central situated.

Have a nice time Elisabeth o Ola from Sweden

Enter your story here... Overall,a wonderful experience. The accommodation in Dunedin and Queenstown was ideal,especially as the latter also had guest laundry and drying facilities. In both cases the staff were friendly, helpful and positive.

Very much enjoyed the tour of the North Island - hotels typically what one would expect of 4 star rating with the exception of the Copthorne at Bay of Islands, which was super! Included excursions were very good, and a nice choice of optional ones.

Hi, Charlie, Good to hear from you! Indeed, the trip was terrific. It's a popular tour---no vacancies. There are several variations of the Grand Pacific Tour, but I'd elect the one I took: with a driver/narrator & a tour manager. I liked the tour that included the trains, as well------good fun and historic merit. I really can't think of much that I'd change: I was comfortable with the pace, the diversity, the free time allotted.

Hi - Great Tour - It was non stop and went like clockwork! The Christchurch part was an eye opener, the residents are all pulling together to put it straight again. Thanks New Zealand Coach Tours, Andrea & the Crew.

The Dunedin, Queenstown, Milford Sound and the Glaciers tour arranged for us by Charlie & Andrea of New Zealand Coach Tours was one of the best holidays we ever had! The hotels were centrally located with great customer service and rooms were clean.

We have both enjoyed our holiday. Kevin the director was so,so good.He really made everything happen with all problems solved, and lots of fun. It was just great, thank you AATKing. From Joan and Robert

This was a late booking very ably handled by Andi Petic. The Coach station in Auckland needs sorting out, total mayhem at 7.15am. The coach was old and not very comfortable and the driver was obviously bored stiff with his job and his commentary was equally boring and stiff!!

We had a wonderful time! Everything was so well organized, on time, the accommodations were clean and well equipped. All drivers and tour guides were very knowledgeable about the history of NZ and the surroundings.

Thank you so much for putting together this amazing trip for us!

Katia Postow

Hi Andi!

Thank you for everything. Don`t worry. “Vana Tallinn” is very good if you will try it – 12C….-15C, or mixed with coffee, or mixed with Champagne. (Look at us - we a still a live even Tiit after beating by New Zeeland beast)

Hi Andi, I just wanted to say thank you for all your help in planning our trip. It was certainly the trip of a lifetime and you helped to make that happen. Everything was wonderful, the train, the buses were very nice and comfortable, and the motels were great.

We enjoy our tour with your company very much. The buses were always on time, the drivers very nice and we didn't have a single complaint about that part. There were a couple of hotels that we thought you could have done better with. But, first of all, let me say that the upgrade they gave us a Mt. Cook was wonderful and very much appreciated.

Charlie did an awesome job setting up our tour and we had a fabulous time in the South Island! The staff at Camelot Motor Lodge went out of their way to help us - gave us umbrellas for walking in the rain, even mailed a shirt that we left behind.

It was a great experience. The weather throughout the journey was great and sunny. Only rained half day in Dunedin. I enjoyed the most are Queenstown dinner,scenic flight over Mount Cook, Dart river jet boat and a lot more!! Milford Sound cruise was also stunning.

Andrea

our trip was fantastic, and enjoyed. Our bus driver Dennis did a great job of driving and educating us on New Zealand history, life facts and much more.I would recommend the tour to anyone.

Rich and Harriet

It was a great time indeed. To most of us, if not all, it was the most exciting holiday we have ever had. And New Zealand is probably the best destination to spend a holiday I think. My daughter is a good example. When we were about to leave Auckland, she said "No I want to stay here and play". Then she said the same thing again almost everywhere we went to, in Rotorua, Wellington, Queenstown, ......
 

Hi Andrea,thanks for your email.I had a really great time on my trip to NZ,and thought the arrangements were all excellent.The standard of accommodation was higher than I expected,and the bus trips were fine- very punctual with helpful staff.

This tour was amazing. I loved all the places we stopped and visited. The views were breathtaking and beyond beautiful. Cameras cannot capture how wonderful the Southern Islands are. The accommodations were beyond our expectations. The food was great as well, offering many different choices and the desserts were delicious.

We were really lucky that we came across 'New Zealand Coach Tours'. We planned this trip for celebrating our 2nd marriage anniversary and they made our trip really amazing. New Zealand itself is a beautiful place, lovely & helpful people. The tour director and coach driver were very informative and friendly.

The tour was well organized and all worked out well. On day 2 on the way up to Cape Reigna we were not taken to the Puketi Forest and did not see the giant Kauri tree which was a pity. Otherwise tour was to my satisfaction. Thank you Charlie for your coordination and assistance. Regards Franz Ziegler

Great tour very organized New Zealand coach tours good company good communications take care of all your booking. Would highly recommend tour and booking company.

We had a fantastic time , all the motels were great, could not have been better if we had stayed in hotels. Drivers were polite and helpful. The tours were excellent and well catered for. I have recommend this trip to other people. Great job well done and thanks for a great time. Helen and Roy Sutton

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip everything went to plan with no problems at all, all of the accommodation places were good and great locations, even the weather was pretty much perfect everywhere I went so I was very lucky indeed.

Thank you very much for arranging this tour for me.  All your arrangements were perfect and I enjoyed it to the full. A special thank you for the book "Explore, Dream, Discover".  What a lovely picture book filled with special memories for me. 

Booking was really easy and Andi helped me personalize the tour for my mother which was great. My mother had a wonderful time and really enjoyed herself. Her favorite part was the massage and mud polish at the Polynesian Spa.

They were absolutely excellent, and most things worked very smoothly.  The voucher system was excellent.  Uncle Harding Tours were very helpful.  I must say that all the way round NZ I found the people warm, welcoming, polite and helpful, but not pushy.  It was a lovely country. I don't think we discussed the standard of hotel to be used.  In fact they were just right for me. 

Wow! We had such a wonderful tour. From the beginning Andrea organized a trip that took into account our 11 year old sons needs as well as ours. The whole experience was professional, the transfers fantastic and always on time. The commentary on the bus and train etc just made the whole experience more enjoyable. The scenery was out of this world. Thank you to everyone who made our experience so enjoyable. I would re book this trip in a heartbeat.

Just getting back to you regarding our tour which was arranged by your company. We booked late but your staff looked after us so well it was unbelievable. They were so efficient, especially Andrea, it was such a pleasure to deal with them.I would recommend your co for touring in New Zealand and have already done so on Monday to a couple from my home town.

This coach trip was amazing. It was excellently organized and managed, timed to the minute, and the activities fantastic! Accommodation was wonderful and the coach journeys guided with an amazing amount of interesting information all day long! None of our party of 4 (ranging to 85 years of age) could fault it at all. An amazing, cost efficient way to see the sights with no hassle and in comfort. My partner returned to the UK and said it was the best holiday he had ever had! Thank you SO much.

Happy New Year to u and everyone in New Zealand Coach Tours. Our family had a wonderful, memorable and enjoyable time in NZ. Everything form accommodation to sightseeing were perfect. Thank Andrea for arranging the tour and I will definitely recommend you to my friends who intend to go to NZ.

Hi Kerry, Thank you so much for helping me to arrange the south island tour that I went on with Mum ... couldn't have done it without your help. All the motels were excellent and coach pick-ups and journeys very comfortable and informative. The motel in Queenstown was definitely our favorite but we could not fault any of them.

Enter your story here... I had a fantastic time touring NZ with AAt King tours. The tour guide Marty was very eloquent and informative and helpful. His aboriginal stories were fascinating and his cheerful personality ,an added bonus.The accommodation in all hotels was up to the standard.Transfers were on time and problem free. My only criticism is that not enough time or information was given,beforehand ,to be able to have experienced a swim, in the hot,sulphuric ,waters in Rotorua.I would not have minded giving a miss to the little,Springdale park in order to be given a choice of a swim in the hot springs. Or may be ,the time in Rotorua should have been extended. I was also disappointed that I did not meet you while I was in NZ, having got to know you a bit before my trip to NZ. My thanks to NZ coach Tours ,for giving me a very memorable time in NZ. Regards Saeeda

I went to NZ in August 2013 during their winter. I had a great service. Everything went like clockwork. One item was cancelled and they phoned me in advance. Later i got the refund for the cancelled item ok. No stress. Bernard

I brought my family to the South Island of NZ in December for 9 days and it was truly spectacular. We had booked a 2D1N tour from Christchurch to Greymouth from Charlie and we enjoyed the train journey and the scenic hotel very much. I would strongly recommend those who are pressed for time but still want to have a glimpse of the west coast, to take this tour. Pace of tour is perfect and the hotel they arranged is definitely a great one to stay at. The drivers are professional and informative with refreshment stops throughout the journey. NZ coach tours make it easy for us by printing vouchers for us that we can present at various check-in locations. Most importantly, Charlie whom i had extensive correspondence with via email and live chat, is always willing to create the best tour experience for you. They can even call you wherever you are. In fact, our day tour from queenstown to christchurch with a stop at mountcook was arranged by him even when it's not shown on the website. So feel free to discuss your plans with them and I believe with their expertise, they will be able to customise something for everyone. Plus there's no obligations. With nz coach tours, you are in safe hands. Thanks Charlie once again :)

This trip was one of the best we had. From the onset starting with the booking till the journey home, we were blessed with the experience and hospitality. Although we were miles away with time difference when we booked this coach tour, with no idea if the company we were dealing with, we were pleasantly surprised by the service we were provided, Once again, thanks to Charlie Burford.

Hi Andrea, Thank you so much for organising my tour of New Zealand. Your organisation was fantastic and so well done. I am ever so grateful. Everything ran so smoothly with all the coach drivers polite and informative. My son and I even got a five star upgrade in Franz Joseph. The whole holiday was fantastic and I felt very safe thanks to your excellent arrangements. Thank you again and Happy Christmas, Debbie George

Hi Andrea, I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed our tour of New Zealand as well as our accomodations in Auckland. Tania, our guide and Rob, our bus driver made our tour all the more special. There is not much I'd change except for one or two of the accomodations. Everything else was great. New Zealand and its people are amazing. I'd definitely recommend AAT Kings to family and friends. Thank you so much. Lucy Gualtieri

I can't tell you how wonderful our trip was to New Zealand!! The arrangements you made for us were perfect. Everyone met us on time, all bus, car, boat and train adventures went perfectly. Everyone was friendly,, professional and helpful..to not have to worry about the planning was wonderful. We are home in Oakland now and already miss our NZ sites and sounds..the wonderful birds..just great. Thank you soooo much for all the planning, emailing and last minute arrangements. Have a very Merry Christmas and wish Charlie well from sunny but chilly Oakland California!!!

A very nice tour. We ejoyed it. The timing was great and puntual. The only set back was the pickup has been changed to a location further from our Christchurch hotel and luckily we checked before hand otherwise we will not be able to make it.

Words fail to express our happiness whilst holidaying with NZ Coach tours. Every activity was beautifully co-ordinated .. What a time.! The beauty of this country is mesmerising .Thanks to the entire team of guides cum drivers for their tireless efforts to make this holiday a memorable one .......

We have arrived back from our holiday in New Zealand (unfortunately - it was too quick) and I thought I would provide some feedback for you. Firstly I would like to point out the fantastic service provided by both the transfer drivers - I think it was Graham in Christchurch and not sure of his name in Queenstown - however both drivers were punctual and both went out of their way to assist us where they could. They were fantastic and if you can I would appreciate you passing on our accolades. The train trip was good and timing etc worked well. The accommodation at Franz Joseph was Ok but we did have an issue with water coming in through the window seals and when we mentioned this they advised that they were aware of this issue. If it wasn't for that it would have been good however it did put a dampener on the stay (pardon the pun) as it made the rom quite steamy. As for the accommodation in Christchurch and Queenstown, these were very comfortable and at both places the hosts were very friendly (especially Christchurch) which made the trip very enjoyable. Overall the itinerary and transport were all good, the voucher system worked well and everything flowed as we expected. We would gladly utilise your services again in the future! Thanks for assisting with our arrangements and making our first trip to NZ an enjoyable one

It was a great trip! thankyou for organising it for us. The food, accommodation, coach personnel were all excellent and we had a nice amount of free time to explore ourselves.

Hi Charlie, We've been home now for a few days, and have had some time to recover! (No jet-lag - just sheer exhaustion from all the activities we managed to fit into the trip!) We would just like to say a huge "thank-you" to you for arranging our itinerary during November. What an unbelievably majestic country you live in - the scenery is absolutely overpowering! We really had the most fantastic holiday - every single thing went according to plan, and wherever we were expected to be, we arrived at, and were made to feel welcome by all involved. Your intervention on our behalf for our 30th Anniversary paid off in a couple of places as well, so thanks again for your efforts! I am sure this will not be the first time anyone has said this, but we would unreservedly recommend your services to anyone wishing to embark upon a similar venture to ours. Once again, very many thanks to you and your colleagues - we shall be back (maybe not for a few years though!) All the best for Christmas and the New Year, Kind Regards - Alex & Sarah Mowat

Hi Charlie My family feels very comfortable ,very courtesy and enjoyable tours provided by your arrangement. Started from the guy picked up us from the airport till check in the hotel.The guy is very helpful and very polite.The first time we ever experience such well manner, patient in nature and customer focus tour assistant with such excellent services provided. Secondly come with the bus driver,the bus driver also very polite and professional in every aspect from explanation,handling of visitors safety and with passion. Thirdly the hotel and food provided is very excellent.Lastly we have travelled so many countries around the world but such your service provided to customer so far we only experience first time in New Zealand , by AAT. We will coma again and will introduce more visitors to enagage your company for thier tours in future Once again.Thanks for your excellent service provided to us. Best regards Matthew

Your tour arrangements were excellent. All the pickups were there on time and your choice of accommodations and activities was knowledgeable. We had a great time. Thank you, stefan

Dear Charlie We are back from our round the world trip and during our visit to New Zealand we really enjoyed your well organized 12 day highlights tour. Good selection of hotels and a pleasant and safe travel in all means of transport. occasionally there were pick up delays and some of the stopovers on the coach tours had a rather commercial background. The choice of hotels was well done, however the Novotel in Queenstown could be replaced by a better choice. Thanks again for your help and support. We are constantly recommending your company to our friends. Kind regards from Switzerland, Erica and Beat

Dear Andrea, We only returned home on 20th after our 7 week's holiday and one of the things I vowed to do on our return was contact the three travel agents who helped arrange the various elements of our trip. We visited Australia to see our daughter, then New Zealand and the West coast of America on the way home. Obviously,seeing our daughter was the highlight of the holiday but we both agree that New Zealand was the country we absolutely loved. First of all, the planning and organisation was spot on. And that was all thanks to you Andrea. Everything ran like clockwork from being met at the airport in Queenstown on the 3rd Nov to being brought back there on the 11th. I kept a diary each day and on consulting it now,the words stunning, amazing, beautiful and amazing feature on every page in regards to the scenery. We have lovely landscapes here in Ireland but New Zealand is,on a much grander scale with its snow capped peaks,gorges,forests, glaciers, lakes. The list is endless. Our hotels were great,nice spacious rooms and good food. All the arranged pickups were on time,the coaches comfortable and the drivers very informative. My husband worked as a driver/tour guide himself for most of his his working life and very much appreciated the professionalism and dedication of the drivers. Once again, I must thank you for arranging the whole tour so well. I would highly recommend you and your company. I feel you listened to what we wanted and delivered the goods. Thank you for a wonderful holiday. Yours sincerely, Claire O'Brien

Hi Charlie First of all a big thank you for such a splendid tour. It was amazing and as part of our holiday of a lifetime, well fulfilled expectations. If there was any way of improving it, it would be to have some time between tours. For example following the magnificent (and long) day to Milford Sound it would have been great to have a day in Queenstown and gone on to Mount Cook etc the following day. We were delighted that our tour seemed to be personalized in that each day we were with different operators and different people each day which we enjoyed. We were amazed at how well organised it all was. It went like clockwork. The poorest, if one could say that, was the visit to the Salmon tank on the second day but realise coach drivers need a stop. But we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to beautiful New Zealand. Thank you very much indeed. We would have no hesitation in highly recommending these tours and your company. First class! Sincerely Wilf & Pat Urquhart

The trip was fantastic. Ross our bus driver is fantastic he goes above and beyond in his care of the people on tour. We really enjoyed this trip and we are sure without Ross's knowledge of the areas it wouldn't be so enjoyable.The service,accommodation and meals were fantastic. Recommending your tours to all our friends.

Everything went smoothly and according to schedule. Coaches were comfortable and hotels excellent. Did begin to suffer from scenery overload towards end of tour - 2 very long days on coaches, but plenty of stops, thank goodness. Loved it !

Enter your story here... My husband and I enjoyed our tour tremendously. The tour was well organized and well ran. Our guide was good, knowledgeable and hard working. The driver, though, was a bit standoffish. Overall it was an eye-opening and wonderful trip. Will recommend your company to my friends.

We did have a fabulous trip in New Zealand and I do believe this was made better by our trip that we booked with you. The tinier you provided was excellent and ensured that we made the most of our time in the North Island and that we fit as much as possible in. We enjoyed every single excursion that you booked for us, I think one of the best ones was the Dune Rider and Cape Reinga day. Body boarding down the giant sand dunes was just amazing and probably something we will not get an opportunity to do again. Hobbiton is a must see for any fans of the Hobbit, its just a magical place and well worth a visit. We really enjoyed the various Maori excursion we went on. Also the glow worm cave is something that has to be experienced, the boat ride in the dark is really cool. We were happy with all the hotels that we stayed with, though I think the least impressive was the Copthorne in Auckland, compared to the others. The other hotels were fabulous though and we were really impressed with our hotel in Napier. That was just luxury. We were both delighted with our trip overall. When we arrived the package that you had delivered was full of useful information that we used the whole time we were in NZ. And many thanks for the photo books, they are really good and we really appreciated those. The only thing I'd say about the package is that I dont think it was delivered to the right address. The photo of the card that was stuck in the door looked more like my cousins neighbours door. This door didn't have the number on it whereas my couins door clearly had his number on it. Anyway either way we got the parcel and that was more to do with the courier company than your company. I cannot recommend your company highly enough, we had a fantastic trip and you were most helpful in the run up to our trip when putting together our tinier and being in constant contact with us before hand. Thank you for making our trip to NZ one to remember.

Our trip arranged by Andrea at New Zealand Coach tours was really fantastic. My husband and I were traveling with our 2.5 year old son, and while we are very seasoned travelers, we had not done a guided tour such as this before. Everything arranged went very smoothly and all the tour guides were hospitable and informative. We especially liked our team of husband and wife drivers who met us in Dunedin (sorry the name escapes me). Our only regret is that we did not have more time to spend in this beautiful country. Our tour allowed us to see as much of the South Island as time allowed. I would recommend NZCT and would assure anyone of their expertise.

It has been a wonderful and amazing tour (6 day Dunedin, Queenstown, Milford Sound and the Glaciers) although I couldn't visit the glaciers because of the splits. I felt very comfortable with all the friendly and helpful people (Charlie Burford himself with his help when the tour to the glaciers was cancelled; the friendly driver in Dunedin, especially the driver from middlemarch to Queenstown with a lot of interesting stories and all the others …). Many thanks to all of you, it has been a wonderful time. I'm sure I'll come back!

Fantastic Holiday. Impressed by the VIP treatment by all Motel/hotel staff and the Grand Pacific Tours Coach team in particular the driver Chris Hannah. One of our best holidays and will definitely recommend to family and friends. Thank you.

We had an outstanding time thanks to NZCT and we have been commending them to friends back here in Sydney. All our transport connected seamlessly and was very comfortable. Similarly all our accomodation was really comfortable and met or exceeded expectations. We particularly appreciated Andrea keeping us updated regarding possible implications of some difficult weather conditions but fortunately this ultimately did not end up affecting our itinerary.

We had a wonderful trip recently to South Island. Our heartfelt thanks to Charlie who contacted us when a portion of our itinerary was cancelled due to recent bad storms with alternative suggestions/recommendations, he was so helpful and pleasant, sorry we didn't get to meet you! We did enjoyed everything about the trip. What a beautiful part of the world! The coaches were comfortable, the coach drivers were very friendly, pleasant,entertaining and knowledgeable. The cruises to Milford and Doubtful Sounds were amazing. The itinerary package awaiting us at the hotel, especially the little booklet on the New Zealand journey was a very nice touch and keepsake! Hopefully we will visit again to see some of the other places we didn't get to see this time! Thanks again!

Our AAT Kings Tour was great. From the moment we arrived in Christchurch we were treated exceptionally. AAT Kings tour guide and driver were very helpful and full of information. The sights were saw were spectacular and beautiful. Thank you Charlie for arranging this tour for us. We will be back to do the North Island next time.

Hi Andrea Thought I'd reply direct to you and let you publish whichever bits you like. I am afraid it may turn out to be a little long. First of all, we were met by Raewyn at Christchurch Airport. She met us with a big sign 'Ann and Mike Marks' and a huge smile and handed us our documents for the rest of the tour. As we drove to our hotel she gave us a brief outline of Christchurch and the history of the places we passed. She took us to our hotel and insisted on waiting until we were seen by the Reception staff. She carried one of our enormous cases into Reception despite our protestations. She then told us who would be meeting us on our return to Christchurch. What a wonderful welcome to the South Island.

Aloha to AAT kings, We wanted you to know that we had a wonderful time on our trip with you on the North Island. The bus was comfortable, our leader, Lu was fantastic and funny too. It is true that Lu can! Our Driver, Mark was truly "top notch" and helpful to me personally when I needed walking directions in Wellington. The AAT Kings crew went out of their way to make our experience the best. We also found the included meals and activities excellent. The Glow Worm Caves, the Hole in the Rock, the Cultural Experience and Dinner, and yes, even the Sheep Shearing demo will all go down as "must do's" when we tell friends what they should do when they visit. Mahalo for a great tour and a wonderful introduction to New Zealand's North Island.

Enter your story here... Thanks Mr Charlie,we had a wonderful trip in NewZealand,all your arrangements were nice and the hotels you provided in all the locations were great. We are highly satisfied with your services and would like to thank you for that and if we go to NewZealand again ....we will surely take your service again. Rajesh Manwani & Family.

What an amazing 4 days on the South Island! Am so glad I booked with New Zealand Coach Tours. I was in New Zealand on a work-related trip, but had a few days free, so decided to do some travel on my own. As a solo traveler, I really liked the idea of booking through a tour company so all of the details were taken care of for me and the arrangements were made in advance. From tour recommendations, to my endless questions, Andrea was extremely helpful and timely in communicating with me in the 4 months leading up to my tour. The tour itself was perfect. From the airport pickup in Christchurch, to the hotels, the tours, to my drop-off at the Queenstown airport on the last day, everything went off without a hitch and everyone I encountered - drivers, tour guides, hotel staff - was extremely friendly and helpful. The folder I received upon arrival was very helpful with all of the brochures, and the bound copy of my itinerary will make a great keepsake. For more specifics - Chateau on the Park was nice. Staff was very helpful, food was great (ate at the bar for dinner and had the breakfast in the morning). Free internet was very nice. The rooms were just a bit dated, and there were several little things wrong with my room - a very wobbly desk chair, no sound on the TV, a light out, and a deadbolt lock that wouldn't work. Alerted the staff to these issues when I checked out. Still doing earthquake repairs there, so the front entrance is still closed. Great trip to Queenstown with Great Sights. Very informative commentary from Brian, comfortable coach, great lunch at the Hermitage. (Much fancier than I expected!) Beautiful scenery! Novotel Queenstown was also great. Perfect location, good food (ordered room service one night, ate at the bar the 2nd night), and breakfast was good as well. Only small issues were the lighting in the rooms (a bit dark) and the limit on the free internet allowance. Trip to Milford Sound was just amazing, despite the weather. Coach was comfortable (although very full!), driver (Ben) was informative, and the scenery was just breathtaking! Cruise was excellent. Great lunch (very generous quantity of food!), great crew, and very nice boat. Never felt crowded, despite everyone gathering indoors and under covered areas to stay dry. Flights back did not happen due to weather, but I was given the option to take a helicopter back, but it was just out of my price range! A great day overall. Queenstown Morning Highlights Tour was also very good. I was the only one on the tour, but my guide, Cliff, was great! Very informative, and we were able to see a lot and learn a lot about the area in a short period of time. Van was spacious and comfortable. Just a great tour - Cliff really went out of his way to make the tour personal by taking pictures for me (the self-portraits got a bit old) and giving me more time in Arrowtown when I saw the perfect necklace I'd been searching for in NZ. So what an amazing 4 days! Worth every penny to have everything so perfectly planned and to be taken care of so well. I always felt safe, and really liked the hotels since they both had restaurants on site to go get dinner. So thank you, Andrea, again for all your help planning the perfect tour to the South Island of New Zealand! I hope to be back one day, and I will know exactly who to call to arrange another tour! :)

It was a great way to get an introduction to the south island and to see as much as possible in a short space of time. The days were long and many hours were spent on the buses however the commentary was very informative and the drivers were all pleasant. Accommodation was all to a high standard, however as I was travelling on my own I could have had much smaller accommodation at a cheaper price. At the motel in Queenstown a family were complaining to the staff that they had a very small studio apartment where as I had an apartment fit for a family of 3. This seemed silly and a waste of money on my part. It was however very well organised and made me fall in love with New Zealand. I only wish I could have had longer.

Thanks for organizing our tour Andrea. Every thing went smoothly and we were lucky enough to experience good weather every day. The tour arrangements went well with buses arriving on time and dropping us off at reception for the next leg of our tour. All accommodation was to our liking, with the staff at the Camelot Hotel in Christchurch very friendly and helpful. Our private driver was very friendly and provided much insight into the changes and plans for the future re- build of Christchurch. The sights we saw in the South Island were spectacular and we plan to return again in the future.

I have been meaning to write to you about the trip in NZ, which was absolutely fantastic! I utterly enjoyed myself and really appreciate the efforts that you and your team put in to coordinate with different agencies or individuals in arrangement for the tour. The places that I was brought to were breathtaking and the accommodations highly exceeded my expectations. I especially enjoyed my stay at Queenstown (indeed a beautiful and welcoming place worthy of a queen's residence) The coach drivers were extremely experienced and knowledgeable, usually giving detailed and informative commentaries while driving (which really impressed and fascinated me, for I am never good at multi-tasking) The only thing about the trip that I might be less fond of was the long hours on the road - but it was a coach tour, and the best sceneries were spotted along the way - so that, too, could be a plus point. Therefore, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the excellent experience that you and your team made possible! I will definitely recommend New Zealand Coach Tours to my friends interested in visiting NZ, and I might travel with you guys again when I visit the country next time. I love the flexibility that New Zealand Coach Tours provides, and the customised itinerary is delightfully able to add a personal and welcoming touch to the entire trip. Keep up the good work! Wishing you and your team all the best! Warmest regards, Jenny

We did a 4 day tour from Christchurch to Mt Cook, Queenstown, Milford Sound, and Franz Josef earlier this year. Visiting New Zealand makes it clear why it's ranked as one of the "happiest countries." The South Island scenery is spectacular, different from place to place, but impressive everywhere. The drivers/guides were a great source of information and explanations. Thank you to Tom, Kazumi, John, Paul, and "West Coast" George! By the way, Japanese is spoken in Te Anau (at least at the "Pop Inn" refreshment stop). Kinuko and Glenn

Excellent trip throughout - save for the weather that is ! All went smoothly and the driver was a great font of fact, local knowledge and trivia during all visits whilst his driving was safe and responsible. The Hotels were generally good and the food usually more than adequate. Thanks !!

Liz and I have recently returned from our 8 day tour. The tour was magnificent in all respects. The scenery of the South Island of New Zealand must be as good as anywhere in the World - the trip to Queenstown through the Canterbury Plains past the magnificent lakes and beautiful Mt Cook. The trip to Milford Sound and to the west country and Franz Joesph Glacier was superb. Queenstown was so beautiful but like most cities and towns in NZ you have to be a bit of a mountain goat as it was pretty steep. Both train trips were very memorable (if the weather was perhaps not as kind - a bit of rain but NZ needed the rain). In closing I must congratulate you on the fantastic organisation of our trip everything went like clockwork, we were met on time at every occasion by very friendly helpful people who were only too happy to tell us about their part of NZ esoecially in Christchurch and Wellington. The buses on all occasions were comfortable and high quality and the drivers very informative. The accommodation was excellent at all the places we stayed. In closing I would like to thank you for helping us have a very memorable holday and I would not hesitate to recommend your company to friends and family. Evan Richard

My recent trip to New Zealand included your 18 day Classic New Zealand Panorama which I can honestly say was one of the best experiences of my life. The itinerary was fantastic and included some of the best sights your wonderful country has to offer. Hotels were well chosen and the food in each one was of a very high standard. Ross Bridgeman , our very knowledgeable and extremely skilled driver with a great sense of humour was outstanding and he was largely responsible for ensuring that everyone had a wonderful time. Thank you.

A wonderful experience, New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever been to and the people the friendliest I've ever met anywhere. Credos to NZ Coach Tours, my solo travelling around South Island was an experience I'll never forget. I was taken care of from start to finish and the guides were amazing. Thank you.

Overall a great tour, but there are a couple of gripes. We thought the 1st day was too crammed, perhaps the Roturua visit could be made the following morning? Also, in Napier the Guide went on too long about the Art-deco architecture at the expense of a winery visit-not good! However, fantastic hotel in Wellington. Thanks, Charlie. Regards, Robert Walker.

My wife and I had a brilliant time in the 5 weeks (nearly) that we were in NZ. We packed a lot in on our first visit to the country and could have spent longer there and had more time in each place, though suspect that we might just have visited a greater number of places had we come for longer! Highlights for us in the North Island were Bay of Islands and the especially Cape Reinga Dune Raider trip, Rotorua area and Napier with some great B&B accommodation. In the South Island the highlights were Mount Cook incl the Glacier Explorers trip, Queenstown incl the Nomad 4wd Arrow River trip to Macetown and the Dart River Safari from Glenorchy and beautiful Akaroa on our last day. Everything went very smoothly with no problems whatsoever - people were there to meet us and coaches arrived at our accommodation on time where planned. Sometimes wished they were not so early in the morning, esp after a late arrival at a location the night before! All in all we thought it was a well-planned itinerary that Charlie Burford put together for us and we would definitely consider going again. Now to sort out the hundreds of photographs taken....

An amazing journey that was enhanced by the fantastic organization from Charlie and New Zealand Coach Tours.You guys are the tops! Only one small niggle was the Blue Peaks accommodation in Queenstown was quite tired and dated. Pretty poor. Would have preferred to have paid more for an update. The best stay was The Camelot motor lodge in Christchurch. 10 out of 10 for customer service and hygiene. Other than that, thank you for all the organizing. We will definitely be using your services again and recommending to all our friends.

Thank you Charlie for your help and advice in booking a fabulous AAT Kings coach tour of South Island last month. It was a perfect introduction to NZ and enabled us to sit back and enjoy all the wonderful sights the country had to offer before we embarked on our own touring for the following three weeks. The tour director, Phil, was super - informative, entertaining and very helpful. Our driver Mark was excellent too. All the hotels were great and we managed to do so much in a very short space of time. It's a brilliant way to start a holiday - after such a long journey we could relax for a few days. Thank you once again. Lynne and Keith UK

This was a very excellent tour for our group. We are an organisation which offers holiday experiences to people with disabilities. we had previously done a tour with NZ coach tours through the North Island a few years back and this time we decided to travel through the South Island. The tour guides were excellent, informative and always engaging our group with conversations. We had some issues at one place with the toilet not working in one room in Queenstown, but the reception were quick to fix that issue. In fact the staff at all accomodations venues were more than willing to help our group when needed. All in all a great experience for our group. We recommend this tour for anyone who want a quick week tour of the South Island. Cheers Joe

We have very appreciated this tour and organisation of Kirra Tour. Thank you to our coach captain, Andrew.

Feedback on AAT Kings 15 Day New Zealand Splendour commencing 26 Feb 2013 Tour itinerary was excellent, hotels excellent with the exception of the Wellington Travelodge which was OK, central location at least but not up to the standard of the rest of the tour hotels. Included meals very good and the optional tours were very good. Coach driver and coach were very good with the driver proving to be a far better commentator than the Tour Director whose commentary and explanation often lacked detail. Not so good points were: Poorly worded, misspelling and bad grammar in the details on the first night drink and dinner information sheet had many people confused. No confidence in AAT’s administration. Some examples: # The tour had several segments with people leaving (e.g. Wellington) and joining (e.g. Christchurch). Thought it strange that the Tour Director did not have the relevant information on who was leaving at what point and needed to ask the group who was leaving and when. # Did not receive our itinerary and vouchers until half way through the tour in Christchurch. # Received a second invitation in error for joining the tour drink in Christchurch. # At least one member of the tour did not have reservations at some of the first few hotels. The Tour Director was rated as poor by us (and others on the tour) in comparison to other tours we have been on with Trafalgar (Europe), Insight (Ireland and Canada/USA) and Western Trails Tour (USA). E.g. Quite abrupt and unhelpful to some of the group, no priority given for ground floor or close to reception rooms for those with obvious mobility issues and not a good look for the TD to be seen drinking during the day. We hope our AAT feedback sheets were handed in as no one was given an envelope to seal it in and return as per the AAT instructions.

Enter your story here. ..We enjoyed our Bus Tour with a few reservations,we felt that we were treated with indifference by some of the hotel reception staff. There was 1st class service at the Hermitage and Heartland Queenstown. The Fox Glacier hotel was the most disapointing, we were advised by the receptionist that we had been "upgraded to the White Pub" ( which was also a Heartland establishment) across the road, we duly went across the road and were showed to our room, we found this to be substandard, the toilet and bathroom were dirty, we complained to management and were re - located to a adjacent room, this was cleaner. On reading the on line advertisment for this establishment, I believe that we were located in budget accomodation rather than 3 star that was expected and paid for. The other complaint that I have is that we were asked for credit card details by each hotel, when I queried this, I was told that "it was for any accidental damage to the room" yet no checks were done for damage were done on the rooms prior to our departure from each establishment. This complaint may be outside the organisers control, however, it did sour the trip a little. On a more Positive note we must give a big thank you to all the drivers of the Taxis and the tour buses for making our trip enjoyable they were truly good ambassadors for the country and the company. Regards Gordon Andrews

We had a wonderful Highlights of New Zealand coach tour from Feb'7th to 21st 2013. Our coach captains (Alex on South Island and Cole Marsh on North Island) were both superb, very friendly and highly knowledgeable. All our hotels were excellent, with the exception of Heartland Hotel Fox Glacier, which although the food was good, the room was awful. The rooms are in dire need of complete renovation, the bathroom only had a small shower and was so small they had to put the wash-basin in the bedroom! However, the actual tour was very good indeed. We enjoyed travelling with a great bunch of fellow travellers, some of whom will be friends for life, they know who they are! Would certainly book with you again. Thanks Charlie for all your assistance in booking our extra nights in Auckland. Derek and Christine Sanders

I was very pleased with the excellent arrangements for our 5-day tour. Our vouchers were left at the hotel, and in spite of that, all of the bus drivers, coordinators and even the train station staff were very helpful and did what was necessary to get us checked in and on our way with NO trouble at all. The drivers were informative and helpful and pleasant. I would recommend the trip to my friends. Thank you.

We were impressed by the prompt response to emails and excellent advice from Charlie at New Zealand Coach Tours and our 23 day holiday with Kirra exceeded our expectations in every respect. From the minute we arrived at the airport everything was taken care of. The organisation, attention to detail and our coach driver Lee's enthusiasm, sense of humour and willingness to do his utmost to make the tour special for all his guests were truly commendable. We were more than satisfied with the quality of the coach, the accommodation, the food and the included experiences. Optional trips were arranged for us well in advance and without fuss throughout the tour. The warmth and welcome we experienced from all the New Zealanders we met was wonderful and was a definite highlight of the holiday. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone young or old who is prepared for early starts in the morning! It is the perfect way to experience a new country. We saw all the important sights as well as areas such as the Coromandel and Abel Tasman National Park (which are not included on many tours) and all without the hassle of having to drive or organise anything for ourselves. Also,the sense of fun and camaraderie in our group of 30 people from around the world enhanced the tour no end.I haven't laughed so much in a long time. Well done Kirra Tours!

Tremendously enjoyed the tour, the only way to visit New Zealand. Great meals good choice of attractions to visit. \the visits to the old steam train are 1 too many, we certainly could have done without, The Plains Vintage Railway to experience a ‘K’88 Steam Locomotive, Your accommodation: Donegal House Donegal, accomodations here were not standard to what we had been given and received the rest of the trip. We hawe build a website so passengers can add to the photos, www.fullcolours.com/NZ Thank you to Nick our tour guide, he was fabulous and the 2 drivers, John and Chris were most amicable and experts drivers. Everywhere we went you're recognized as tops in travel. Bob & Jackie Beauchemin Ottawa Canada Robert.Beauchemin4@sympatico.ca

We had a great time on this Southern Panorama tour. There was a wonderful variety of nations represented among the passengers. Our tour guide Sarah and driver Vaile were expert, efficient and willing to 'go the extra mile' for our enjoyment and comfort. We were fortunate enough to have a long run of sunny days, to make our experience really special. It was a terrific short holiday.

New Zealand has many wonderful things to see, but they are far apart. We traveled over 2000 miles in the ATT Kings bus, that was absolutely full for half the trip. People kept joining and leaving the tour in mid-flight, which I could not understand. Some of the hotels were sub-standard in both rooms and food. The Travel Lodge in Wellington was the worst. Tour director was great with Moari culture details and NZ history, but lacked in communicating the travel arrangement details. When asked about these, we got either no answer or a smart-alecky answer. Driver Murry was superb. Overall enjoyed the trip and beautiful New Zealand. You need a month to see it all.

It was a great tour visiting the best sites of NZ. The driver, Trevor was not only a very good and skilled driver but also an excellent guide and companion. The tour was well organised and managed. The days were well fullfilled and included different aspects and insights of the cultural life within NZ. I would recommend this tour to anyone interested in getting a good understanding and view of NZ. Best Franz Ziegler, Geneva, Switzerland

We were very impressed with all arrangements and generally very happy with the accommodation booked for us. Thanks to Fran and the team at Coach Tours for organising a terriifc set of arrangements for our holiday.

We booked our AAT Kings coach tour (NZ Contrasts) through New Zealand Coach Tours, and found our tour consultant Charlie to be extremely helpful from the beginning. Through numerous emails back and forth, Charlie was always extremely prompt and helpful with his replies. In fact, despite the geographical distance, we received better assistance from New Zealand Coach Tours than what we got from our local travel agents. Having the personal login to the site, was great for managing our tour and payments, and we were lucky enough to get a much better price using the website, compared to other avenues locally. The NZ Contrasts tour covered all of the highlights of both the north and south islands, and exceeded our expectations for accommodation, food and inclusions. I'll definitely look into using New Zealand Coach Tours for any future holidays to New Zealand.

Thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Picked up on time, accommodation good,saw dolphins on the cruise section. enjoyed the 90 mile beach experience.A very good start to our trip to New Zealand.

On behalf of my parents and uncle the 5 day southern highlights has been an unforgettable experience for them. The itinerary was just enough days to capture all the natural wonders and history of the south island a really "must do" for travel enthusiast around the world. They love it!!!! Thank you NZ Couch tours for a very well planned itinerary would be recommending your company and this tour.

Kia Ora! Although this is our second time tour to NZ,(25 yrs ago to both island)we still find it the utmost beautiful place in this planet.We are looking forward to see the other side of NZ next opportunity.

We all had a wonderful 10 day with your company and would highly recommend you to familyl and friends. Maureen

Hello again, Charlie Thank you for organizing a great trip around the South Island. The accommodation was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed all the inclusions.It was certainly an easy way to see the maximum in a short time. Being with Real Journeys proved the right move in Queenstown, when the road to Milford Sound was closed and instead of returning to our hotel we were able to enjoy Doubtful Sound instead. Our only major disappointment was that we were unable to take a helicopter flight in place of the glacier tour because our day in Franz joseph was a no-fly day. But you should have seen them when we were leaving the next morning! We would happily recommend New Zealand Coach tours to anyone.

We are quite happy with the 9 day tour arrangement.The motels were very spacious & comfortable. We traveled in good buses & drivers were very good & punctual. We enjoyed ourselves at each & every stop. We could organize private trips during free days. We got back the moneys worth. Our decision is to make another trip with you probably next year covering a longer period & both Islands. Thank you for the excellent arrangements you made for us. We also celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary privately in Christchurch. Asoka & Nelum

Enter your story here...This was without doubt the best tour we have ever been on. The whole thing was so well planned, everything tied up seamlessly and we had no problems at all, even though my husband uses a wheelchair. We were especially pleased with the choice of motels - all high quality and very near the town centres. The taxis used for transfers were excellent, several of them giving us the scenic route to the motel at no cost. Printed itinerary was beautifully set out, in fact we have kept it for a souvenir. NZ is the loveliest country in the world. Thank you Charlie, and next time we are visiting our family in Australia we shall book another tour with you for the North Island. Hilary and Geoff, UK

Hi Charlie, We thankyou very much for a fantastic holiday, it really was value for money. The organization was perfect, every day was a highlight. Our top highlight was our driver/guide Dennis, he kept everyone informed and entertained, even the odd whinging pom. The information he gave us really helped us to enjoy the wonderful area's that we travelled through. We will travel with you guys again. Thanks to yourself and all of the Kirra team. Mike and Diana Hawkins.

We had wonderful holiday on the 8 day Northern Spotlight tour. The itinerary was perfect, our Tour Guide and Coach Driver very helpful and informative. A great quick glance at the North Island.

I really enjoyed our trip. The group was diverse and lots of fun. The coach captain was always helpful and good-tempered and I learnt a lot from his commentary. Hotels and meals were excellent and a special thank you to Charle Burford who helped me with some extra trvael arrangements. I have already recommended this trip to some friends. Eve Tuck

Enter your story here...THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK CHARLIE, GREATLY APPRECIATED,REGARDS ANTHONY

New Zealand Coach Tours is the best way to see New Zealand! They are very professional, considerate and knowledgeable about everything we did and saw. The buses are top notch, clean and comfortable to travel in. We had a wonderful 6 day trip of the South Island using New Zealand Coach Tours. Being that we had never been to the South Island we knew we had to trust someone to handle our hotel reservations and transfers to and from the airport along with picking the best sights to see, Charlie Burford with New Zealand Coach Tours did an absolute wonderful job for us! Thank you Charlie, we could not have asked for a better trip than you organized for us. Mark and Nancy from Chicago

We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 day tour of Central North Island. The hotels were very comfortable, the arrangements went very smoothly. There were so many highlights that it is hard to select the best. Napier with its Art Deco buildings was fantastic. Our tour driver who was full of interesting info gave us an extra hour which was much appreciated. It would be helpful to give Intercity Coaches users an indication of how far the hotels were from the bus station.

We are completely satisfied. Every arrangement went smoothly and ON TIME. We would happily book with NZ Coach Tours again.

Thank you for organizing such a great trip. We enjoyed our time in New Zealand and the tours were excellent. Thank you again for all of your help and hard work! Brittani

We had a fantastic time on the tour. Everything was planned very well. All the pickups were exactly on time. The places we went to were amazing. We loved your country and if we were younger would like to live there. We will recommend you to our friends, and hopefully will come over again and do another tour with you soon. Thank you for such an enjoyable tour.

We had the best holiday ever. Our guide and both drivers were excellent.Nothing we asked of them was too much trouble.The accomodation and meals were of very good quality,and the scenery and tours were magnificent.The whole experience has demanded a return trip. Lyn and Bruce

The tour was fantastic. Every arrangement made by you worked to plan and we had a great time. We are glad we had more than one night in places as there was so much to do and at least we did not have to move on every day. The motels were excellent and extremely well located in each destination. Thanks for arranging a wonderful memorable tour for us.

Dear Charlie Thanks so much for organizing this tour for us. We had a really great time. You and your team paid attention to every detail. We were greeted warmly by all our drivers and tour guides. The transfers were smooth and we had help with our (heavy) luggage every time. The drivers provided commentary along the way which was informative but not overwhelming. We didn't feel like we had to put headphones on to drown them out! The accommodations were what we were looking for. Nothing fancy but good clean rooms with kitchen facilities. Close to the action. And we have to thank you personally for providing us with a custom tour. You managed our change requests quickly and courteously. It was a pleasure and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you and your company to other Canadian travellers like us. Suzanne and Kelly

very good tour with excellent guide(mel) and driver(murray) the only two things was the hotel in wanaka was not upto the standard of other hotels and the trip to milford sound was very long and tiring other wise very good

NZ coach tours are very organised. Everything was exactly as agreed. Accommodation was of a very good standard. Full marks. Had a great time in the South Island. Stunning country..loved every minute.

The Kirra tour was fantastic. Everthing worked like clockwork. A really great group of people, Good guides and very competent drivers. We had a fantastic time and a holiday to rember. I can recomend it to any one. I had been wanting to do it for the last 35 years but finally we managed it. It was so simple the booking and your additional arrangements fitted like a glove. Extremely efficient and easy. We have traveled a lot in the last few years and have in generally recieved very good service, However, i think that your site, booking arangements, organisation comes out on tops. Thanks for everything, well  done

My husband & I had the most wonderful holiday with the tour Charlie organised for us. We saw so many places in a short time. I will be sure to recommend you to our friend back in Australia. New Zealand is certainly a beautiful country the scenery is amazing. The accommodation you chose was very good. Thank you so much. Cheers Val & Mike de Burca

Great tour with a fantastic tour guide and coach driver. All hotels we stayed at were first class and the places we visited were just stunning. A must do tour!

Hi Had a wonderful time. Beautiful Scenery, meet some wonderful people. The Bay of Islands was spectular. All accomodation was excellent, bus drivers were informative and helpful. Would recommend these tours to anyone.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Tour, which gave us the opportunity to explore the beautiful Islands of New Zealand and make new friends. The Tour provided a wonderful balance of both road, rail and water trasportation. The Driver/Guide of both Islands were skillful and very informative, cheerful and always willing to help. Accommodations and meals were of good standard with the exception of Fox Glacier. The optional tours provided a wide range to suit all tastes. We have very fond memories, which are brought to life with our many photographs taken on tour. We would highly recommend this Tour.

EOur 2 day tour to Rotorua was excellent.The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. The only downside was that Grey Line neglected to advise the tour operator for day 2 that we were in Rororua and to be picked up at the hotel at 8AM. When the operator did not arrive we had the hotel check with Grey Line who at first said there was minor delay but later admitted that they had not advised the day 2 guide at all. This operator arrived at the hotel at 9:30 and provided a good tour under the circumstances. We were led to believe that this was not the first time this had occurred.

The tour is great, the service is superb, although we went without a tour leader, we get more than we expected. My deepest appreciation to every one, especially thanks to Mr. John who drove us from Queenstown to Christchurch,he is really a great tour leader who explained the whole journey in detail. We surely will recommend you.. Salam from Indonesia

The trip was good. Having motel as our accommodation was worth it. Basic necessities were met. The only 'surprise' we had was during our stay in Camelot motel in christchurch. we booked our room for 3 person. That night, 2 person showered. When the 3rd person wanted to shower, there was no hot water. We rang the reception and they weren't very helpful. We were asked to wait for the hot water to be available again and they dint offer any other option. We waited for 2 hours and still it was the same. the 3rd person then ended up going to bed without being able to shower. That wasnt a pleasant experience. Other than that incident, the rest of it was good

I spent 10 days touring the South Island on an independent tour. The hotels, service and meals except for Chateau on the Park in Christchurch were excellent. Given the struggle for Christchurch all is forgiven especially after the return night at the George. Scenery was superb as expected. Great work NZ. For all the great things, I would not repeat the independent tour experience. It really consisted of a series of day tours on public transport without the advantage that unless you are ready and waiting at the stop, the coach leaves without you. Several times departures were long delayed by inconsiderate passengers who turned up when they were good and ready. Despite valiant efforts by frustrated drivers to get the recalcitrants onto the coach, those efforts were ignored. One brave driver did drive off without listed passengers only to stop for them on the road shortly thereafter. There are advantages in the organised tour including never having to drag luggage to meet the coach at a public bus stop and the pressure of the tour group to keep everyone on time.

It was indeed a wonderful experience for me and wife seeing beautiful places in NZ. This really commemorate our 17th Anniversary and memorable honeymoon. Very informative description of the places visited by the Tour drivers from Great Sight and Real Journey. NZ, you have great and spectacular places - Mt Cook, Milford Sound, Omarama, Lake Tekapo and impressive Canterbury scenery. Look forward for next visit in future, perhaps this time is to the North Island.

the trip was great. arrangements where excellent, busses arrived on time, the drivers were very good tourist guides, and the hotels were fine as well. apaprt from the price of the package which is extremely high, i have no other comments on the package itself which was a very good choice of seeing the highlights of the south island in 5 days only

Hi Charlie, I arrived back in the UK from New Zealand yesterday, just wanted to say I loved the tour of the South Island taken with Kirra Holidays, had a wonderful time enjoyed everywhere great guide/driver Trevor really he knew his history food and accommodation great. I have, and will continue to recommend it to everyone I meet.

South island is simply spectacular. Mind boggling scenery (if the weather cooperates, of course). Folks at New Zealand Coach Tours put together a decent program. I was picked up at each location with courteous people, "mostly" on time (See item 3 below). A few little concerns, however: 1. The lodges used by this company do not have central heating systems and rely on small electric space heaters. These heaters are very inadequate in winter. Be prepared to sleep in your clothes, and wake up an hour early to turn the heat on and run back to bed while the room is (trying to) warm up. 2. If you are travelling from Queenstown to Fox or Franz Joseph Glacier in winter time, you will NOT get to see much, if anything. This is because the bus arrives around 4:30 - 5PM, at which time it starts getting dark. The next morning, you are picked up early in the morning, so you don't have time to see anything then either. In summer, when there is more daylight hours, it may be different, but in winter it is complete waste. 3. The price is little over-inflated. If you were to purchase everything yourself, the total cost comes to about $1500-$1600 (including transfers), yet the cost of the trip is $2000 (for single person). Considering that the travel agents should be able to get better pricing then you can individually, the markup is rather steep. One has to decide whether such a high markup is worth the convenience. IN my case, one pick up was delayed significantly to the point that I almost missed my bus. The pick up person told me that s/he forgot to put in the schedule and only realized when I called to ask why they were not at the hotel to pick me up. So if you are paying several hundred dollar markup, one would expect such things not to happen.

We loved our trip. Every detail was excellent and we are recommending NZ Coach Tours to all. Thank you Charlie.

We had a wonderful time and the Coach Driver, Peter was very entertaining and informative. The itinerary was well thought out and for the most part the accommodation and meals were very good. We are looking forward to returning for more touring with Kirra Tours.

Hi Thank you very much, we had a wonderful time with the trip. It is perfect and we are happy. We will share with others to join the tours in the future. We are appreciated, thank you for a plesant journey. Best regards, Kanyarat V.

This is my second trip to the South Island and the first trip for my wife. Both of us really enjoy the trip - the beautiful sceneries and the beautiful days through out the trip. The arrangement by New Zealand Coach tours was flawless and excellent. Thank you Dave and all at New Zealand Coach Tours.

We had a wonderful and memorable trip to New Zealand with AAT Kings. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful and picture perfect postcard scenery. I am delighted with the service of New Zealand Coach tour especially the service provided by Charlie. I will definitely recommend to book any AAT Kings through New Zealand Coach tour.

Hey Charlie, Just wanted to say thanks for a fantastic tour, the inlaws loved it and had a great time. Top marks. Kind regards, Tracy

I'll write a quick summary: Good part: - Helpful tour consultant - Excellent Tour Guide (Trevor) - Good comfortable Coach - Mostly good quality hotels - Good breakfasts all along Some problems: - Delay in Pickup from airport due to incorrect flight info - Numbr of bad dinners as dietary needs not conveyed

Excellent all round tour.A little tiring due to lots of early starts bit neccesary due to distances covered. The tour was well planned out covered some of the most spectacular scenery New Zealand has to offer.Ecellent coach driver for south island part of tour Well done Reece Winter !!!!!!!!!

Thank you AAT Kings for such an exciting tour of the very beautiful islands of NZ. Ted was a very knowledgable & cheerful guide & gave us a wonderful insite into both the cultral & historical history of your great country. John our excellent driver was also very entertaining. I understand that this is the last season for the Cost Saver tours & I am very sorry to hear this as I will not be able to travel with you again if this is true as the Premier tours are well above my means. I have no complaints wth the quality, comfort or content of my tour, all was brilliant & thoroughly enjoyed by me & my new found friends. Please think again before ending these great value Cost Saver tours.

I would just like to say that the New Zealand South Island tour we have just returned from was absolutely fantastic. Phil Wilson was our tour guide and he was only happy if we were. He did everything possible to insure that our holiday was the best. He was very knowledgeable and very organised. The accomodation and meals were excellent. We couldnt fault anything. From the very first enquiry, David Kettle, our tour consultant, made everything so easy. Thank you to David and Phil and also Mark, the bus driver whom we felt very safe with, for a fantastic holiday. I would highly recommend AAT Kings and will book our next tour with them without hesitation. We plan on touring the North Island next. Thank you so much AAT Kings, well done. Diane and Geoffrey Whitworth Victoria, Australia.

Thank you very much for your organisation of my tour to your beautiful country. Ms Tan and I especially loved Eliza Manor and the Corpthorne hotel was good. Breakfast at Eliza manor was delicious and the little gifts on Valentines day from Ann the manager was really heart warming. Ann was very helpful and cheerful and made us feel so at home. It was a great idea to stay two nights in Christchurch so we could rest after our flight due to jet lag and three nights in Queenstown was more relaxing. We liked the driver/tour guide Paul James Brown @Brownie from Real journeys who gave excellent commentaries and sang beautifully a medley of Maori songs! David who was our driver from Queenstown to Christchurch on 18 feb was couteous and very informative. However we find the food in the places we visited expansive but most times delicious. All in we really enjoyed our NZ experience. I would love to visit Queenstown in winter to see a beautiful winter wonderland. Thanks again. Cheers! Pam

David, we'd like to express our thanks to you for arranging such a wonderful visit to your beautiful country. Your suggested itinerary, tailored to fit in with our existing arrangements, worked perfectly for us. The independent travel using coaches in the south island was ideal, each journey a mini-tour in itself with knowledgeable and entertaining commentaries from the drivers, frequent refreshment & comfort stops and plenty of photo opportunities. We had ample time for exploration at each destination and being dropped off & picked up from the hotels made the travelling so easy. All of the accommodation was of excellent standard and very well situated. (Thanks here to Ann at Eliza's Manor on Bealey in Christchurch – don't know if she's the best B&B host in NZ, but we think she must be a contender!) The overnight sailing on the Fjiordland Navigator in Doubtful Sound was an absolute delight, the journey to Deep Cove was itself an adventure, having to cross Lake Manapouri & the Southern Alps before joining the ship. A truly memorable experience, facilitated by the friendly, helpful crew. We loved our time in the South Island and were able to relax and appreciate it thanks to your excellent planning. We started the self drive tour of the North Island in Napier. Having arrived from Christchurch we picked up the rental car from the airport, the Europcar desk had our details in advance and all of the documents were ready for us. Just a signature required, probably our easiest rental ever. The Kruse GPS/commentary system is really worthwhile and certainly enhances any journey, with information about the present and past of your location and alerts for any upcoming points of interest. Your suggested route meant that we never had a journey that was too long or tiring, the easy check-in at well located hotels kept everything stress free. In fact being stress free is a big part of why this trip to New Zealand was so enjoyable. From our initial welcome from Lyndall when we disembarked the Coastal Pacific at Christchurch station, to our eventual arrival in Auckland, all of the arrangements worked perfectly and for that we are very grateful. It really made for a thoroughly memorable and hugely enjoyable travel experience. Thanks once again David for putting this trip together for us. We have and will be recommending your company to anyone planning to visit New Zealand. Best Wishes Barry & Cherie

It was a fabulous tour! Made all the more memorable with professional, knowledgeable & friendly coach drivers cum tour guides. Looking forward to visiting South Island in the future :) Thank you for the great service! Gerard & Raneetha (Singapore)

Just wanted to put on record how much we enjoyed the above tour and thank you for making sure we had a really nice bunch of people to travel with! Ngaire was an amazing Tour Manager. She was very friendly, knowledgeable, and made the trip very interesting - we got so much more out of our trip than we would've done if we had driven ourselves and James was a great driver and a really nice bloke. Just one thing might be good for your "leaders" to mention. When we got to the salmon farm, wherever that was, maybe people could be warned about the sand flies or maybe even carry a repellant for us city folks. We were bitten very badly. Our delicate pale British skins I guess. Not used to it, whimps that we are - and these kept us awake for nights to come and I'm still itching occasionally! Just a thought. Please thank everyone for making our trip so memorable, easy, pleasant and enjoyable.

The tour was a great success. aided by the good weather. The guide, Ted, was exceptional being both humorous and interesting. The quality of the hotels was very good.

Trevor and I would like to say a big thank you for all your help in arranging our tour of the South Island of New Zealand. Everything went to plan and we spent a wonderful relaxing two weeks enjoying every moment. Best wishes

Hi Angela, just wanted to thank everyone involved on making our South Island Trip an amazing time for John and I. From the start to the finish everyone from the bus drivers to the motel owners were just the best and the accomadation was fantastic, specialy getting upgraded to the Heritage in Queenstown what a surprise!!! John left his jumper at the Mt Cook Kiosk and even that was returned to us in the post thanks to the bus driver. We have done a lot of travel overseas but this trip would be the tops, it went so smoothly and we did not have to worry about a thing. Thanks soooooo much Angela for orginising the trip for us it was a trip of a lifetime. We are now looking at going further down the South Island so will be in touch.

Dear David, Thank you for your fine arrangement for our holiday in South Island, NZ. The schedules were perfectly smooth and on time and our tours went without a hitch. We enjoyed our trip tremendously and now we are back in Malaysia via a short stay in Melbourne. Once again, thank you so much.

Hi David, Brenda and I would like to thank you for organsing our South Island holiday so beautifully. It was wonderful to have the pick up at Christchurch airport when we arrived so late at night. The lovely lady who collected us was so helpful and also so informative. The tour was fantastic and John the driver and Julie the tour director were just excellent from start to finish. Our accommodation was fabulous and the food was just delicious. I am on a gluten free diet and everyone was well aware of this condition and had cereal and bread waiting each day for me. We are still in awe of how beautiful the South Island is. At every turn there is something even more spectacular than the moment before. The tour really highlighted wonderful spots to visit. We were very saddened by what we saw in Chrsitchurch but amazed at the strength of "the locals". Every New Zealander who crossed our paths was so friendly and helpful. They were all a pleasure to meet and spend time with. When we first boarded the coach, Julie thanked us all for coming to NZ and told us to return home to tell everyone that NZ is open for business. We have indeed done this and while we we there we certainly spent our money to help rebuild the deveatation that has occurred during the year. So much so that we had to post parcels home. Thank you for a wonderful introduction to the South Island. We will definately be back in the years to come. We wish you and your family a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year. kind regards Michelle and Brenda.

I have been home a week now and wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your expertise in making my time in New Zealand such a great experience. From the time Lindl picked me up at the airport until she took me back 10 days later, I had the most amazing time. I loved Christchurch even though I had to dodge the barricades a time or two. The park and botanical gardens were lovely and I spent many an hour walking through them. The folks at Camelot were as warm and welcoming as you described and it was the perfect spot for me. Then when Ian from MoaTrek showed up on Monday with only 2 other passengers, I thought I had hit the lottery. Together the 4 of us toured the South Island with many unexpected and spontaneous moments throughout the week of Nov. 14-20. Your country showed itself off beautifully especially because we had unbelieveable weather. And the flight into Milford Sound was one of my favorites of the week. Ian is such a skilled leader. His wealth of everything from history to geography to anthropology to biology to politics to sociology to religion and every other “ology” in between, filled my head with a wealth of information about your country and its ancestors. His passion was evident when at times it seemed like he was seeing things for the first time. He handled all of our arrangements with grace and finesse. I was most pleased with our accommodations and the variety of home stays and boutique hotels made each night a different adventure. My impression of New Zealanders from all over your country is that they are the most friendly, hospitable people I have ever met in all my travels. Honestly, if I could uproot up all my family and friends, I would move there in an instant. To MoaTrek, I understand that you do not usually send out a tour with so few passengers, but I want to personally thank you for doing so. Not only was the service so specialized and personal but I thank you for honoring your commitment. I had another tour cancel before booking with you so it was most important that your tour happen for me especially since I was traveling alone. I never felt that corners were being cut or things left off the itinerary. If anything, it was just the opposite. I will be sure to pass the word along to others who are traveling to NZ that they need to book a trip with you above all others. I now have the task of sorting through about 1500 pictures and creating a way to share them with family and friends. My best wishes to you during this holiday season and may business be good for you in 2012.