New Zealand South Island Express

Customer Reviews

• MH

  Maximilian

  · September 24th, 2024
  Loved the whole trip Our guide Duli was amazing he read our wishes from our lips and made them happen
  Trip date: August 2024
• 

  Annette

  · April 12th, 2023
  Great tour! We got to see so many places in such a short amount of time, and I had a great time. Made some friends during the whole time! Will be heading to see the North Island next year! I’m already looking forward to exploring! 😄👍
  

  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your wonderful review Annette! It sounds like you've made some life-long memories and friends during your travels, we're so glad you enjoyed exploring the South Island of New Zealand with us, we'd love to have you explore the North Island... Show more
  Trip date: March 2023
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  Janet

  · February 21st, 2023
  Our guide James took great care of us..Seen great sights!
  

  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Thanks so much for your review Janet! We're so pleased to hear that James did a wonderful job taking care of you and your fellow travellers, we hope you enjoyed exploring the South Island with us and look forward to welcoming you on another adventure in... Show more
  Trip date: February 2023
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  Sheree

  · January 3rd, 2023
  Due to an Admin error I could not join my tour at the departure point. Although my records were missing I did get the opportunity to join the tour a few days in. It was an OK tour. I really enjoyed some of the places visited, accommodation was OK. And most people on the tour were lovely. Of course there is always one person who makes it difficult for others and this tour made it easy to ignore them most of the time.
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  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Hi Sheree - thank you for taking the time to leave us this review. Our Customer Care team will be in touch with you directly regarding your experience. We're very sorry for the complications at the start of your tour, but so glad to read that you've... Show more
  Trip date: December 2022
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  Donna

  · November 17th, 2022
  Great scenery, length and size of tour is good. More time made for lunch would be good while travelling long distance i.e. cardrona hotel, picnic lunches organised for some activities etc. More structure, information and correct pricing required around the activities. The tour guide was informative enough, respectful and polite. However, he was 2 hours late arriving for the tour with apologies, excuses and blaming Hakka tours and the flights. Then he had to pick up his skate board at another hotel. We did not receive our tour around Christchurch as we were behind time. Breakfast could be better prepared and catered for. Would have been insightful to inform everyone about Lake Tekapo designated night sky project. Queenstown -visits to wineries for wine tasting was not offered even when requested by guests and horse riding was not an option. Dinner time was not as advertised. Everything was closing or could not accommodate a large group and when they could many items on the menu were not available. We did not visit Arrowtown as advertised. Wanaka is beautiful however the accommodation was overcrowded (8 in a room) with inadequate bathroom facilities. A bathroom was opened but it was filthy (I was the first one to have a shower and picked up two wads of hair near the drain). Our room was flooded by the water from the shower and peoples bags got wet. The tour to Mou Waho Island was disappointing and overpriced. We were told a large Catamaran would cruise us to the island. What we got was a water taxi with no access to outside and limited viewing. The driver said he was instructed to hurry by our tour leader as we had to be back in time. We arrived back in time but then waited on the street for 2 hours for the rest of the group who were late back from their activity. No body took responsibility. Franz Josef accommodation was great. The green stone carving and the hosts were excellent. The Kayacking was another great activity with lovely guides. The TranzAlpine train was also good. I organised additional accommodation in Christchurch at Urbanz an additional night only to be told I have to be out of the room by 10am and come back for check in after 2pm. What was the point of booking extra accommodation when I wanted the extra to be able to relax before moving onto the next phase of my trip. Please note…people from other countries do not want to be told about their country from someone who has only been a visitor. Tour guides need to be careful how they talk about other cultures. All cultures need to be respected not just Māori. Overall with pricing discrepancy, tour guides blaming each other, price discrepancy for activities, inadequate accommodation, being told I have to leave the accommodation by 10 am and not checkin until 2pm when staying for two nights, being billed twice for pre and post accommodation. I paid $270AU for pre and post accommodation. Then get billed again by Hakka and $250NZD is deducted from the bill of activities. $250NZD is $228AUD. I have not received the correct deduction, invoices or receipts. The list of disappointment continues. This was a disappointing, overpriced and confusing tour that I will not be recommending to others.
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  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Dear Donna – we are very sorry to learn of the multiple issues you encountered our New Zealand South Island Express tour. We have put your review to our Operations team to get a better understanding of your experience and investigate the issues you’ve... Show more
  Trip date: November 2022
• SG

  susan

  · November 5th, 2022
  Callum was a fantastic tour guide he made our trip memorable beside the hickups he had to fix.
  

  Intrepid Travel commented on this review

  Hi Susan so happy to hear that you had a great Local Leader in New Zealand! Thanks for traveling with us!
  
  Trip date: October 2022