Amplified NZ Tour in reverse

Customer Reviews

• LE

  Luke

  · November 29th, 2024
  Our guide was amazing. A couple of hiccups but he handled it well and made sure we arrived at our destination
  Trip date: October 2024
• K

  KathyLopez

  · March 3rd, 2024
  Lots of activities to chose from
  Trip date: February 2024
• A

  Anonymous

  · March 2nd, 2023
  This tour company over promises and under delivers. The description and photos of the accommodation and transport were great, however what we were provided was not even close to what was promised. The bus was old, dirty, and had wonky AC and no sound system. Accommodations were very basic (not as pictured) and we were put in 8-10 person dorms usually. Twice, at UrbanZ hostel we were put in a large dorm with mixed sexes. The manager said "Tom" had authorized it. I did not receive what I paid for. I should receive a refund of at least 25% for myself and my companion for the misrepresentations.
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  Haka Tours commented on this review

  Kia ora, thanks for your feedback - it's essential for us to keep ensuring we're providing the best service. We're sorry to hear your comments as this is not what we usually expect to hear from guests who have travelled with us. We are passionate about... Show more
  Trip date: December 2022
• J

  Jarron

  · January 20th, 2023
  Jayden was the absolute best. Absolute love for his country and so knowledgeable about the land and culture. He’s truly a gem in a gem of a country.
  
  Trip date: November 2022
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  Mandi

  · January 2nd, 2023
  I’m not sure where to really start, so I will say to anyone looking at investing this much money hoping to have a nice, stress-free vacation, you are better off planning the holiday yourself and saving some money. Even though I paid well in advance for my activities and events during the tour, several of them were overlooked and never booked and because Haka does not have control of bookings that are full, you the customer pays for that by paying for something you won’t even get to do. Of course you will get your money for that event back, so they say, but it won’t happen until the tour is over. Even though the description says hotels AND hostels, it is ALL hostels. A few were pretty good and only bunked 4 people each and had its own bathroom, but others tried to cram up to 8 of us, coed at that; into a tiny room with 4 bunkbeds and no air conditioning. In fact, none of the hostels had air circulation so it is necessary to bring or but a portable fan if you get hot easy. Our tour guide, Grant, seemed really cool at first, but as the tour progressed, it was obvious he was not really focused on making sure we had the best time possible. He openly stated that problem solving was not one of his talents and that he was planning on taking a long break after our tour was done and possibly doing something else instead of touring. He wasn’t concerned whether or not we had the best time. If anything went wrong or something went sideways, a few of us would end up being the ones on the phone calling the main office or our travel agents to get it fixed instead of him doing it for us. The bus he drove us around in was not very good and just had enough seats for our group with no extra leg room. The air conditioner would stop working or freeze over and then would poor water out from the top onto the person’s belongings sitting underneath it. The mic system didn't work so he would either yell over the sound of the engine when talking or quickly go over everything we would see while the bus was parked before heading into that city or location. Our tour was 16 days long and traveled the north and south island, but most of our trip was spent on the bus or sleeping in the hostel since Grant would have us leave super early most days for the next city and we wouldn’t get to the next one in time before all the shops or restaurants closed, which is around 5-6pm. We didn’t feel like we had time to really immerse ourselves in the climate or cultures of each place and it was always go go go go. If we were not happy with the sleeping arrangements, he would just always say we were lucky to have beds at all, which since I paid as much as I did for this trip, having a decent place to sleep each night should have been included and not just a perk or bonus. I also never knew the exact timeline for the tour, besides the basic itinerary that is on the app, nor did I have any idea of what activities were actually available in each place since TourRadar only offered some of those and not all. It would have been nice if Grant had gone over what was on his paperwork with each person at the beginning so that there was time to make corrections or phone calls before those things were no longer available. The main office apparently forgot to follow up on one of the most anticipated activity I was looking forward to in Queenstown and I didn’t even know I wasn’t scheduled for it until I made Grant go over my specific itinerary. Thankfully I had my paid invoice showing that I paid for these things or else I would have just lost money. And though there were other things that could have been offered or set up by Grant or the main office instead, I was the one calling the suppliers and making the arrangements and paying extra out if pocket since I couldn’t get the money that wasn’t used for other activities until the tour was over. It was in doing this that I found that some of the events were actually cheaper going through them directly where they were more expensive through Haka. And the included daily breakfast was not anything to look forward to. It was just a couple boxes of cereal, milk, bananas and apples, and instant coffee. We usually would stop on our way to our next location each day to have a real brunch with food and coffee that we just paid extra for. New Zealand is beautiful and has always been the top country I’ve wanted to visit and it will always be one of the tops. But what makes NZ great has nothing to do with what Haka Tours offers. Pick several cities, book your hotels, call and reserve all the great things to do in each city, and learn the bus/rail transportation system to get around and I promise you will be so thankful by being in control of your money, your time, and your experience. I hope this review helps put some things into actual perspective for you. I know only return trip to NZ, I will be planning everything myself.
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  Trip date: December 2022
• 

  Mukesh

  · November 27th, 2022
  Tour driver and tour guide was excellent. He has good knowledge of tour and he guided us very well. Only draw back of this tour was hostel. Some of hostels have room very very small to have six beds in one room. We didn't have room to put our bags on floor.
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  Trip date: November 2022
• E

  EdrianJohnMontero

  · February 3rd, 2020
  It’s an awesome tour to take. Especially if your level of activity is high and you’d like to be around same people.
  Trip date: October 2019
• HW

  Holly

  · January 22nd, 2020
  My 16 day Haka tour was absolutely amazing. Our tour guide (Baby Jesus) was the most kind, fun, and helpful person I've ever met. He made a point to learn all of our interests and tailor the tour to suit what we wanted to get out of it. The hostels were good quality, and the activities offered at each stop were of such a broad spectrum that everyone found things to add on. Even when things went astray due to weather, Andy did everything he could to find an alternative (which was always fun). Everyone on tour was so friendly, so now I have to visit Germany, Austria, Canada, Poland and Mexico. Poor me huh? ;) I would recommend this tour for anyone with a sense of humour and a thirst for adventure.
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  Trip date: January 2020
• C

  ClareB

  · January 18th, 2020
  Absolutely do it! Worth the long trip to see both islands and to experience some of the cultural aspects of the country. Be prepared for long bus rides and making stops longer than you want to stay for. Be prepared for not the nicest accommodations (more expectation setting about this would have been helpful).
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  Trip date: January 2020
• MU

  Marie

  · January 16th, 2020
  This was a great tour, it covered the most popular tourist areas and provided lots of opportunities for adventure activities. It’s only downfall were some of the accommodations. Having paid a hefty single room supplement expecting all single rooms would have private bathrooms I was later informed that private bathrooms would only be available for 70% of the time. The reality was private bathrooms were less than 50% of the time. This was very disappointing, more so because in some accommodations some people paying single supplements had private bathrooms whilst others paying the same didn’t. The tour leader, however, was excellent, and we did have a fantastic trip.
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  Trip date: December 2019