New Zealand Tours and Vacation Packages

We had an amazing time in New Zealand and used Zicasso to find an agent.  I spoke on the phone with them and they made a custom plan for us and price was competitive with several other companies.  They communicated quickly and sent our itinerary by email.  We used them to plan a  10 day, 9 night travel of the South Island including Queens town, Milford Sound, Franz. Josef, and Kaikoura.  We then took a ferry from Picton and met our relatives on the North Island and spent 6 days there going to Taupo, Rotorua, Waitomo,  Matamata and leaving via Auckland (North Island was on our own).

There was a change to our flight and we were not updated until we got our final itinerary by email so I would book flights separately in the future.  In addition, be aware they use another agent ATS Pacific to handle local arrangements and they made an error not booking a Milford Sound that we specifically requested and paid.  We did not see the error until we received vouchers and packet in New Zealand so spent some vacation time calling and emailing to fix the mistake.

Overall, we enjoyed our vacation and other than the agent's error in booking our Milford Sound trip, our flight getting rained out and some minor issues with Bluebridge, everything ran smoothly with taxi transfer, coaches and trains.

My husband and I went on a wonderful trip to New Zealand visiting both North and South Island. The trip was originally planned for 2021 but had to be postponed until this year. I prefer working with an agent, and Lindsay from our travel agency was extremely responsive, offering helpful options and suggestions. Even though the time we spent on the North Island was right after the torrential rains, we modified the itinerary to spend four days in the Taupo area and two days in Rotorua.

We hiked in the Tongariro National Park and part of the Great Lake Pathway, sailed to view the Maori Rock Carvings, and visited Orakei Korako geothermal pools and Huka Falls in the Lake Taupo area. In Rotorua, we relaxed in the mineral pools of the spa and enjoyed the indigenous Maori experience at Te Puia.

The next 12 days were spent on the South Island where we had sunny and warm weather! One of our favorite places was Abel Tasman Park where we went kayaking and hiked the beautiful Coast Trek. We continued our adventures with a memorable heli-hiking experience on the Tasman Glacier in the Mt. Cook region, followed by visiting the unique blue penguins and Royal Albatrosses on the Otago Peninsula and enjoyed a hike and cruise on the famous Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park.

We ended our journey with three days in the Lake Wanaka area where we kayaked, hiked, and visited some of the region's famous wineries.

We have just returned from a 6 week trip to Australia and New Zealand.  Our travel agents and their team at this travel company are personable, professional, knowledgeable and did an amazing job putting together our trip! Our collaboration involved several phone calls to discuss options and preferences as our trip was being organized as well as a pre-trip call to answer any questions.  Our email exchange was continuous and responses were very prompt.  We even received a call once during our travels to check in.  Our detailed itinerary was precise and accurate.  Every connection, tour, driver, hotel, etc. was on time and of excellent quality. While in New Zealand in Milford Sound our flight back to Queenstown was cancelled due to poor weather and we received a quick refund.                

In Australia we visited Sydney, Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road ( a favorite of ours!), Uluru, Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef, and Hobart, Tasmania.  We only stayed a few days in Tasmania but would love to return to enjoy more of the wilderness outside of Hobart.  

In New Zealand we visited Auckland and then drove to the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, and Napier.  Then we flew to Christchurch on the South Island and drove to Mt. Cook, Queenstown, and Dunedin.  If you are big fans of the outdoors, spend more time on the South Island.                                                                                                                 

Our agent selected beautiful and centrally located lodging that usually offered laundry facilities-helpful for a long trip!  The travel company also provided a suggested restaurant list that proved to be excellent!  We would highly recommend this company for your Down Under adventures!  When we travel again to that part of the world, we will definitely call this company.

Our trip to the South Island of NZ was well planned. We spent a week in the Marlborough area. We enjoyed a lovely train ride from Christchurch to Picton where we spent three nights and went on two mail boat cruises in two different sounds. Our accommodations in Picton were exactly what we wanted: a small, well-appointed hotel with a lovely restaurant. Our transition from the train to the car rental went smoothly.

Next up was our three-day hike in Abel Tasman Park. We loved the hike and the other tourists in our group. I highly recommend the lodging; the food was lovely. My only recommendation is to let clients know this is not an easy hike as there are ups and downs. We were the oldest members of our group, most in their 60s. We did fine, but the hike was more challenging than my husband anticipated. Nevertheless, we did enjoy the scenery, lodging, food, and guides. 

Our favorite two nights were at the retreat in Nelson. Absolutely fabulous. We were tired and worn out from hiking, so two days at the retreat were a treat. Great food, surroundings (including a pool and hot tub). The owner even did our laundry which was a bonus! She even made dinner reservations for us and arranged transportation so we didn’t have to drive. Our last night at a hot springs place was our least favorite. The food was fine, but the hot springs were too rocky for me to go in. Rooms were nice, and there was a steam room and massages. I think I was just ready to go back to Christchurch. It was very popular and there were a lot of people.

Franck arranged a wonderful trip for us, and I would highly recommend this travel company.