2018

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Tour Itinerary - Day by Day

• Day1

  Arrive Christchurch

  On arrival in Christchurch you will be transferred from the airport to your hotel. Meet your Tour Director and fellow travellers for a welcome drink and dinner.

  Stay: Ibis Hotel, Christchurch (D)

• Day2

  Christchurch - Franz Josef

  First up this morning you'll board the TranzAlpine, one of the top 6 train journeys in the world. This spectacular journey takes you across the Canterbury Plains and through the Southern Alps to Arthur's Pass. Later, visit Hokitika, home of the native greenstone (jade) for a factory visit and jewellery demonstration. Next stop is Franz Josef Glacier – a rare, still advancing glacier (optional Franz Josef Glacier scenic flight).

  Stay: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier (Graham Wing), Franz Josef (B, D)

• Day3

  Franz Josef - Queenstown

  Travel through the Haast Pass, view Thunder Creek Falls and take a rainforest walk. Then it's a trio of lakes – Wanaka, Hawea, Dunstan. Next up try sumptuous stone fruit at Cromwell, the stone fruit capital. Later, you'll visit historic gold mining Arrowtown on the Arrow River, previously one of the world's richest rivers. Arrive in Queenstown, New Zealand's adventure-capital for an orientation tour.

  Stay: Copthorne Hotel & Resort, Queenstown (2 nights) (B)

• Day4

  Queenstown ‘Free Time’

  Explore exciting Queenstown your way – from wine and garden tours to jet boat rides and white water rafting. This evening cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard New Zealand's oldest steamship, the TSS Earnslaw, to Walter Peak Station for a carvery Highlight Dinner at the Colonel's Homestead. An entertaining afterdinner farm show provides a glimpse into highcountry farm life. Why not join in a sing-a-long on your cruise back to Queenstown. (B, HD)

• Day5

  Queenstown - Milford Sound - Te Anau

  Travel along the Devil's Staircase and the shores of Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau. You'll be awe-struck by the great sights from Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest, to Milford Sound, one of the world's most amazing places, where you'll cruise on the waters of this natural wonder. En route you'll drive through the handmade Homer Tunnel to the abundant photo opportunities afforded by the Mirror Lake, Pop's Lookout, Cleddau Valley, the Chasm, Mitre Peak and Bowen Falls. Then return to Te Anau. Tonight you have the option to visit the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves.

  Stay: Distinction Luxmore Hotel, Te Anau (B, D)

View Full ItineraryTotal 14 Days

Day6

Te Anau - Dunedin

We'll cross sheep-filled farming land to Dunedin founded by Scottish settlers, for a city tour. The afternoon is yours to explore Dunedin as you wish – take a wildlife cruise, visit the Cadbury Chocolate Factory or ride the historic Taieri Gorge Railway.

Stay: Scenic Hotel Dunedin City, Dunedin (B, D)

Day7

Dunedin – Omarama

After a morning of time to yourself and the opportunity to visit historic Larnach Castle, New Zealand's only authentic castle. Travel through Oamaru which is famous for its white stone buildings made of limestone. Follow the Waitaki River, passing hydro-electric dams at Waitaki and Aviemore on to Omarama.

Stay: Heritage Gateway Hotel, Omarama (B, D)

Day8

Omarama - Christchurch

Soak up the alpine scenery of Mt Cook National Park, home to New Zealand's highest mountain. You may wish to take an optional scenic flight (weather permitting). This afternoon stop at Lake Tekapo and view the Church of the Good Shepherd, then continue over the colourful Canterbury Plains to Christchurch.

Stay: Ibis Hotel, Christchurch (B)

Day9

Christchurch - Picton

Travel along the rugged Pacific Ocean coast to Kaikoura, famous for its whales (optional whale watching flight available). Get up close and personal with some New Zealand fur seals at Ohau Point. Pass the Grassmere Salt Works then travel to the pretty seaside fishing village of Picton for an orientation tour.

Stay: Beachcomber Inn, Picton (B, D)

Day10

Picton - Wellington

We'll cruise on Queen Charlotte Sound and across Cook Strait to Wellington for a city tour before 'Free Time' and then you'll visit Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, where you'll have time to explore New Zealand's nature, art, history and cultural heritage. Stay: Travelodge, Wellington (B/D)

Stay: Travelodge, Wellington (B, D)

Day11

Wellington - Rotorua

Travel along the Kapiti Coast, past the dairy farms of Manawatu to Tongariro National Park and discover the alpine scenery of Mt. Ruapehu. Visit Taupo and drive along the shores of New Zealand's largest lake. View Huka Falls and pass the Wairakei Geothermal Power Station. Enjoy an evening of fun and laughter and gain an insight into traditional Maori culture followed by a delicious buffet dinner, at the Tamaki Maori Village.

Stay: Hotel Ibis Rotorua (2 nights) (B, HD)

Day12

Rotorua

Visit the Agrodome Sheep Show, the multiaward- winning stage show, for a sample of farm life where you'll gain an exciting and informative insight into agriculture in New Zealand. See the art of sheep shearing, sheepdog demonstrations, cow milking, bottle feeding of lambs and an exciting sheep auction. Then enjoy an afternoon of 'Free Time' – perhaps visit Rainbow Springs Nature Park, abundant with Rainbow Trout and native fauna including the kiwi, or Te Puia, where a local Maori will guide you through the geothermal valley with its mud pools and geysers. (B)

Day13

Rotorua - Waitomo Caves - Auckland

This morning travel through lush Waikato farmland to Waitomo Caves. See the amazing underground Glow Worm Grotto by boat and walk through the limestone caves. Later you'll follow the Waikato River, New Zealand's longest river, into Auckland. Enjoy views from Mt. Eden before continuing to your hotel. This evening celebrate your holiday at a Farewell Dinner with your Tour Director.

Stay: VR Queen Street, Auckland (B, FD)

Day14

Farewell from Auckland

Explore Auckland at your leisure before you will be transferred to Auckland Airport for your onward flight. (B)

• Click here to download the 14 Day New Zealand Marvel (2017/2018) PDF
• Click here to download the 14 Day New Zealand Marvel (2018/2019) PDF

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Tour Reviews

View all 54 reviews of this tour from past clients of Relaxing Journeys, averaging 4.6 out of 5.

• 5We were very happy with AAT Kings the holiday was fabulous. Did not have to do anything. The tour guides Susie and Monica were excellent. I was very happy with Toni and excellent communication from the onset of inquiry to booking through the process. Certainly will travel again with you guys and would recommend you. The only thing was I forgot that I was staying the first night in Christchurch post tour and fronted the first evening at drinks to be told we were starting on the next night/days tour. That was my mistake.

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  Jennifer Ryan (Australia) - 12/03/2018

• 5Everything was GREAT !! Toni with Relaxing Journeys did a great job in helping us put things together. She kept us informed of everything we needed to know from our initial inquiry in late July '17 until our departure from Texas to New Zealand on March 10th. The AAT Kings tour was great in selection of what it covered, in the selection of lodging and meals, and most of all in the selection and training of our Tour Director, Susie Ferkins and our coach driver Monica Bonji. They both were very knowledgeable and were great at handling all things related all activities relater to daily activities.

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  Richard Jones (United States) - 12/03/2018

• 3Unfortunately the weather was not so kind and we didn't get to see some of the main attractions, but that's not your fault. Thought the 2 day trip from Dunedin to Christchurch via Omarama was a waist of time and that it would be better to do Dunedin to Christchurch direct and use the extra time to include Bay of Islands as part of the trip.

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  Richard Laws (Australia) - 26/02/2018

• 5Mani was very helpful and the tour was very well organised. Everything went smoothly.

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  Marie-Christine Barichard (Australia) - 11/12/2017

• 5We enjoyed the itinerary that you set out for us. Katie Lupton did a very good job and well organised. She has a good personality and always taking good care of us. We were impressed with her knowledge and tour guide. Our coach driver, Mark also was a good driver and took good care of elderly people every time they stepping off the bus. We really had a wonderful time.

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  Lapaporn Paschkewitz (Australia) - 30/10/2017

• 4The journey was long and landscape becomes somewhat monotonous after a while, although still lovely to look at. Tour director's voice becomes monotonous when he speaks at great lengths and dulls the tired mind. There are too many optional tours that one would have thought some of them should have been included in the tour package. The Tour director was thoughtful about planning path to be accessible by wheelchair on and off boats and events to participate in activities.

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  Jenny Chok (Singapore) - 16/10/2017

• 4This tour was a great introductory tour to New Zealand. It allowed us to see a huge amount of the country and get a taste of almost everywhere. We got the opportunity to do some things I know we'd not have done if we planned the trip all on our own. It was also great having someone else drive us around on those unfamiliar roads. Cons: It was a lot of time on the bus, and there were quite a few places we'd have liked to have more time at. We also arrived later in the day to almost every city, so the shops and stores where closed. But, we did the tour in winter, so it might not be the case in summer.

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  Rebecca Naber (United States) - 19/06/2017
View All ReviewsTotal 54 Items
4Had a great time with the 46 others on the South Island tour and the 20+ on the North Island. Travel Director Kevin (and driver Geoff) soon had us all gelling well as a group. It was great to see so much and get a lot of information as well but some of the starts were very early and some of the days had very long journeys.
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Sandra McAllister (United Kingdom) - 19/06/2017
4Our tour guide and driver were a little quiet the first 2-3 days and some of us discussed whether to complain as there was no "personality" from our hosts at front of the bus, however, we decided to give it time as we learned they didn't know each other. As the tour went along things improved and all was well. The tour itself e.g. hotels, meals, bus & driver, tour guide and commentary, scenery, meals, lunch stops and the like were mostly very good. Many of us said there wasn't enough time in the small towns to look around, sometimes just grab a quick lunch and get back on the bus as we had much mileage to cover, understandable. Much of the South Island was cold, rainy and covered in fog during our trip so flights booked didn't happen, but the scenery was absolutely amazing everywhere we went and included tours were all great. My fellow travellers were a fabulous group of people from the world over and everyone got on well and spent time with each other, no matter who they were, so that made the trip very enjoyable as well. I would certainly recommend everyone should take an AAT Kings Tour at least once in their lifetime!
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Julie Harris (Australia) - 02/01/2017
5Everything was excellent; the tour guide Lu was very informative and Mark was an excellent driver. Everything went to schedule and the group we travelled with all got on rather well. Hotels were very good and food excellent. We had a very enjoyable holiday and will travel again with AAT Kings.
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Roy Stewart (Australia) - 29/08/2016
4The New Zealand Marvel tour is a great way to see a lot of the main tourist attractions and locations of New Zealand within a short space of time. It is a lively paced tour with lots of activities each day, which is what my husband and I were looking for as part of our trip. It was great to have all the driving done by a very competent coach driver so that we could sit back and enjoy the amazing scenery each day as we made our way through beautiful NZ. Thank you so much to Mani for all his assistance with our bookings - his service was really excellent and I would definitely recommend him and Relaxing Journeys to anyone. We hope that we will have the chance to visit NZ again in the future - it is an amazing country!!
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Cheryl York (South Africa) - 20/06/2016
5Enjoyed every aspect of my holiday
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Leonie D'Aran (Australia) - 09/05/2016
4The tour gave an excellent overview of New Zealand. Our guide Ted was very knowledgeable and our driver Paul was an excellent driver. We had a group of mostly British with a few Aussies and we as token Canadians. We had lovely weather (no rain) and were able to see all the sights of New Zealand spectacularly. It can be a bit wearing staying in a different hotel every night and living out of a suitcase but in the end many wonderful memories and new friends!
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Dirck Van Vliet (Canada) - 01/02/2016
5We enjoyed the tour very much, particularly my daughter. She loved every aspect of New Zealand; the landscape, the culture, the people. The organised tour made it very stress free for us. The guide, Mel, was excellent,; and the driver,Mark, was very proficient and gave us all a feeling of being in safe hands. We would definitely travel with AAT Kings again.
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Susan O\'Keeffe (Australia) - 18/01/2016
5Lovely guide and driver. Tour was a great experience.
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Siobhan O\'Keeffe (Ireland) - 04/01/2016
5This was a trip of a lifetime! We started in the South Island in Christchurch and traveled north to finish in Auckland. 14 nights in 12 different hotels. The trip guide, Ngari, was exceptional. Her knowledge of the area, history, and stories that she told to enhance the ride made it very enjoyable. We saw spectacular glaciers, mountain views, lakes, rivers, cute towns,and lots of sheep. (6-1 ratio to humans.) The optional excursions offered were varied to allow choices. The group of 42 was well facilitated and meeting times were met by all. This was a definite plus. The coach was comfortable and we made plenty of stops during the day for snacks, restroom, and photo ops. I would recommend AAT Kings as a tour for anyone.
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Judy Barrett (United States) - 02/11/2015
5This was a wonderful tour! Ngaire was a great Tour Guide and Mark our driver was a great asset to making the trip of a lifetime very memorable. We had a wonderful group of travelers on the coach too. Loved this trip.
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Donald & Jan Mantei (United States) - 02/11/2015
5All hotel beds were really very comfortable and great for a good night's sleep. Hotels were of high standard and in good locations. Included meals were also good. This itinerary covered a lot of sights and experiences and brought us to special places like Picton which other tour agents do not visit. Tour manager, Mark had lots of information on places visited and Paul our coach driver was a very steady and reliable driver. Really enjoyed the tour to both the South and North islands of New Zealand. However, a number of hotels had only heaters in the room and not air conditioning which might not have been suitable in the summer's heat. Would have been better if the free transport pick-up on first and last day could be for another day earlier and later since many of us come from far away countries and would most likely need to arrive earlier and / or leave later.
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Marina Peck Lan Ong (Singapore) - 31/08/2015
5Great selection of locations, great tour director and driver. Food was wonderful and we had good weather. I would have liked to have more free time at some parts, but understand the limitations considering traveling time. Nevertheless we stuck close to the timetable without any major delays. My cousin and I decided to extend our stay in Auckland by one day and had informed the agency to cancel our airport pickup. However it seems that the message didn't get through and we received a call at 6:30 a.m. informing the shuttle had arrived. It could have been a communication breakdown, but pity the driver who had to wait for us.
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Favian Ee (Singapore) - 31/08/2015
5An awesome tour, covering all the places I wanted to see, at the right pace, with an excellent tour guide and driver.
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Theresa Jones (United Kingdom) - 02/03/2015
5We absolutely loved the tour. The scenery was spectacular. Our fellow travellers on the coach were very friendly with a mix of various nationalities from around the world. The accommodation and meals were excellent. The pace was perfect with the right amount of leisure time to choose our own optional excursions. The tour director was awesome. He has an incredible knowledge of the New Zealand history, geographical features and the Maori culture. The coach driver was fantastic and drove very safely during the entire tour, especially around the mountainous roads. What made our tour even more enjoyable, was the perfect, warm, sunny days. Thank you for your organisation in making sure we had all the details of the tour, hotels, optional excursions and airport shuttle service.
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Virginia Verrelli (Australia) - 02/03/2015
5Holiday was a wonderful experience, would have liked another two night stop-over, mainly for a rest but probably would have missed out on a bit if we did that.
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Elizabeth Bonnar (United Kingdom) - 06/10/2014
4I enjoyed the tour very much. It was really nice to be met at the airport by a friendly face also to be taken back to catch the flight home. The tour guide was such a caring person and the same goes for the coach driver. Many thanks for your help. I will recommend this tour to my friends.

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Nallini Thevakarrunai (United Kingdom) - 06/10/2014
4The entire tour was good, except the food preference as we mentioned vegetarian, was a tough task to provide. The extra efforts are required to make such arrangements. Rest all was excellent.
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Venugopal Jajoo (India) - 12/05/2014
4The tour was advertised as a 14 day tour. Day 1 consisted of a welcome dinner at 7 pm, and day 14 was just breakfast and airport transfers. Some of the hotels were marginal, but still acceptable. OK. That is the bitching all done! Every thing else from the sights of New Zealand, to the people who ran the tour, (AATKings), was magnificent! Thank you for arranging our New Zealand experience!
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Terry Navin (Canada) - 12/05/2014
5Nicely planned tour with a reasonable pace of travel. Excellent coach Diver & Tour Director. Some more activities, which are optional should be included in the tour.
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Surendra Singh & Anita Singh (India) - 12/05/2014
5Excellent on all ratings. Our Guide Marty Paranihi should be the poster boy for AAT Kings. He's a fantastic guide, knows his stuff, adds his experience to enrich his info, very proud of his Maori heritage and able to give accurate insight into cultural relations and history. He's efficient, kind, competent, organized, personable and tactful in dealing with the many problems encountered in dealing with 50 different personalities. This was so evident in the way he worked with Michael our excellent and caring bus driver, meticulous in care of the coach. It was hard to believe it was the first time they had worked together. Even though we told them all this it would be nice if you shared these comments with them. They made the experience outstanding. Thanks to you also for your excellent communication and attention to detail in the planning. Excellent hotel location and selection. I'll definitely be recommending Relaxing Journeys and AAT Kings to friends....a very satisfied customer.
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Merlene Boyce (Canada) - 17/03/2014
5Very professional and we organized. Tour director, Marty, was exceptional. Pace was good. Hotel locations were good. Loved the 2 night stays - would suggest more if possible. Having said that, I don't know where else one would stay for 2 nights other then Dunedin. I felt that all of the included tours were well-thought-out. Our tour bus driver, Michael, was very professional as well. I understand that was the first time Marty and Michael had worked together. Together they made the tour an exceptional one.
I would highly recommend AAT Kings and would not hesitate to take another tour with this company. The questions I had prior to the tour were attended to by our tour organizers. I felt very confident all the details would be looked after in due time. Everyone I dealt with was professional and courteous. Well done.
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Susan Pidlubny (Canada) - 17/03/2014
5New Zealand's landscapes are AMAZING! Epic scenery, friendly people, great meals ... it was my best travel experience thus far - and that's saying something. Thank you for making it possible, Toni.

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Maria Szijj (United States) - 03/03/2014
4A great trip..good itinerary and pace. A beautiful country to visit made perfect by the tour team (Clarke and Monica) and the other participants on the trip.
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Chee Wah Chan (Malaysia) - 24/02/2014
4I quite enjoyed the tour. The tour director Clarke Hiroti was very knowledgable and provided us with lot of relavent information while we are going from place to place. He managed the timing of excursions etc very efficiently so that we want miss out anything. The tour drver Monica ia a very pleasent person. She drove very carefullly we felt very comfortable with her driving. The tour covered a lot of interesting places where would not have gone on our own. The hotels provide were moderate. The standard of Omarama hotel was poor. Meals were of moderate stanadard. Some of the excursions were exhobitantly priced. Ex Te Puia Gio Thermal Valley excursions. These are natural resources, and not much has been spent on infrastructure development So why should it be priced so high? I think some of excursions should have been included in the tour price.
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Munetantri Vincent Ariyachandra (Australia) - 24/02/2014
5We had 14 Day New Zealand Marvel tour. We came from Russia & the flight was really heavy but after we arrived to this marvelous country we were absorbed by our tour. We explored so many beautiful places & sites on both islands of New Zealand. Staggering views of lakes, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, different towns... It was wonderful. I think the best places were chosen & shown to us. I had lots of unforgettable moments & still under the impression of all which we saw. The tour is top-quality & organized perfectly, the service is excellent. We even didn't carry our trunks, everything was done for us. Really, I didn't want to return home :)
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Anna Volkova (Russia) - 17/02/2014
5Absolutely fantastic, the Tour was made by Tania and Allan our driver. Everyone was so friendly too. I am saving to come back to New Zealand even though it is a very very long journey but, I achieved my goal to fly in a helicopter and, it was over the glacier, amazing and truly fabulous! The itinerary was brilliant, we did everything on there and, was fantastic value for money.
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Pamela Kay Evans (United Kingdom) - 20/01/2014
5We were very impressed by the way Mani our tour consultant answered our questions, always came back with the answer and more. We will certainly be recommending Relaxing Journeys to friends and family in UK. From our arrival the professionalism of AAT Kings courier Phil and driver Vale made for a most enjoyable holiday experience. The locations were spectacular and it really was a relaxing holiday. Many thanks to all.
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Hilary Mclaughlin (United Kingdom) - 25/03/2013
4We enjoyed our coach holiday in New Zealand. The coach was very comfortable; most of the hotels were great. The Ibis Hotel in Christchurch has tiny bedrooms. Milford Sound cruise was my highlight; and Queenstown is delightful. Our bus driver Mark Anderson is excellent. he is polite, highly competent, and very helpful. Phil Wilson is a very knowledgeable tour director, but he does tend to have his favourites on the bus. Had we known that it was going on to the Bay of Islands, we would have continued. It would have been nice to have seen Nelson. Thank you
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Albert Eastham (United Kingdom) - 14/02/2013
5Had a most enjoyable time. Tour was very well organised. Support staff very hard working, knowledgeable and friendly. Everything went without a hitch. Would happily recommend both Relaxing Journeys and AAT Kings to other travelers to New Zealand.
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Stanley Telford (United Kingdom) - 04/02/2013
4Kirby is an excellent travel agent - always prompt and courteous with her responses, which I highly value. I would recommend anyone use Relaxing Journeys to book a Down Under tour. Our AAT Kings tour was the right itinerary for us and most of the accommodations were as we expected. In the end, we prefer the Globus tours we've taken, mostly because we preferred the higher level of service provided by the tour guides. Of course, this may just have been an 'off' tour for this particular tour director and really has little bearing on the AAT Kings company; we just felt the guide could have been a little more involved with the group activities.
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Gennet & Robert Paauwe (United States) - 04/11/2012
5It was a great tour. Kirby O'Connor was terrific. As we were booking from Canada, I had to be reassured that this was a legitimate company. Tour agents here in Canada warned me that I would not have the same assurances that I would have if I booked with a company in Canada. After reviewing many references & reading reviews from other participants I was convinced that Relaxing Jouneys was the company for us. We SAVED quite a lot by booking through you as well. Everything went off without a hitch including all of the extras that we added to the tour - extra nights, optional excursions etc. We were happy with the accommodations and meals. Some were exceptional & all were better than I expected for a low cost escorted tour. The AAT staff were excellent. Tour Guide Marty (we nicknamed him our HANDSOME MAORI WARRIOR) was brilliant and Murray was a very capable & accomodatiing driver. Our bus was full for most of the South Island but Marty was able to move us in & out and all around where we needed to be with ease. He knew exactly how much information to give us at any time and when to reinforce the details. His knowledge level and willingness to share was everything you could wish for. We were lucky with weather conditions as well with very little rain. The optional Albatross & Yellow Eyed Penquin tour in Dunedin was a highlight for us - again we were blessed with calm seas & lots of viewing. Our farm stay in Rotorua was also a memorable experience. We were the only guests on this coach taking advantage of this option but I highly recommend it. When Sylvia & I took our tour of New Zealand in 2006 we also enjoyed our farm stay. The only negative I would address is having a full coach. The one extra person did not have a 'regular' seat rotation and this meant that one person each day had to volunteer or be designated to sit in the middle at the back of the coach. Some folks did not mind but I found it quite uncomfortable - my husband & I shared it, therefore only 1/2 day for me. Doug & I have enjoyed a number of coach tours over the last few years. This was the second coach tour for Sylvia & I and the first for my husband Doug, in New Zealand. What a beautiful country! Well done!
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• Relaxing Journeys Experience
Karen & Doug Clarke & Sylvia Macpherson (Canada) - 16/04/2012
4Shame we had to miss visiting Dunedin. But extra bits were added to try to make up for it. Some accommodation not as good as others. When selecting hotels need to have larger communal areas. Our tour guide Mel and coach driver Murray were excellent.
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• Relaxing Journeys Experience
Paul Meachum (United Kingdom) - 13/02/2012
4Very enjoyable, well-planned. Whatever we saw, whereever we went was good. We're sure there's more which we would like to do next time. Some of the optionals were way beyond our budget, so we could not avail of them. Farewll dinner should have been better organised. By then everyone had made friends, seating at dinner should have been more convivial, friendly. There should have been some games, and fun activities. I'm sure everyone would have participated in the evening to remember. As we have already mentioned to Kirby, our Tour Director Nellie, and Driver Vale were the best. If we do another trip to NZ, both have to be there.
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Narendra & Lakshmi Naik (India) - 06/02/2012
4Excellent tour!! Tour Manager (Marty) and coach driver (James) were both brilliant! The tour has long, hard days but to see all the sights of New Zealand they have to be. Main criticism? There was not enough time to really see and enjoy each stop. Would we do another tour with Relaxing Journeys? Definitely, especially if we could have Marty and James again! Thanks to all who made this a wonderful experience. A special thanks to Georgie for all the help she gave us!
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Victor & Yvonne Instrell (United Kingdom) - 23/01/2012
4The most impressive thing of our trip was the beauty of the country especially the South Island. Loved the scenery, the sparkling blue waters, the mountains, the lakes, the wild flowers. I think this trip was a celebration of all of my senses. Loved the unspoiled beauty of nature without billboards, advertisements, rubbish or old things piled on roads or outside the houses. What a refreshing array of beautiful clean views. The tour guide, Martin and the bus driver, Tamati were superb. They worked together and with us better than the most sophisticated Swiss watch. Liked the rotating seat technique, easy to do and fair for all people. Liked the way Martin explained everything in great detail. Liked the 'break the monotony' activities we did. Everything was well organized, on time and with a variety of activities. Kirby at your office is the best. She was quick to answer all of my questions in a most knowledgeable, fast and professional way. Suggestions - more stops for photo opportunities I think would be welcomed by all. Maybe longer stops to enjoy a beautiful setting like next to a lake or overlooking the mountains would have been good. (Several of us wished that we had more time in settings like these to just look and enjoy the view.) More three course meals & at least a couple more free activities or outings where we don't have to pay. Thanks for the memories!
Poppy & Ray McAfee (United States) - 19/12/2011
5We had a great time! The bus was full but that worked well too. We saw so much, were very well looked after and learnt heaps about NZ. We were with a diverse and wonderful group of people too. A tour director who did not yammer on but knew when to tell us stuff and a fantastic driver. We loved the way they moved you around the bus. There were plenty of breaks too. We were blessed with great weather for 90% of the trip too!! I was a little disappointed that once we had paid our deposit we did not hear anything from Relaxing Journeys for months. It would be great to a get a regular email to be assured that the tour was still going ahead, tips about the travel... just reminders that we were in fact still on a tour. I can be a tricky experience booking from overseas with a company you find on the internet. There is always a bit of fear - what if they don't exist? Regular comms (just once a month) might have eased that a bit. Otherwise it was all processed smoothly, the tour did happen, we were picked up from the airport (though there was a bit of guesswork with who our driver was). I came home really 'relaxed'. It was just what I needed. I am recommending you guys all over the place! Jarrod may have heard from a friend of mine already!! Thanks team. Can't wait for my next trip!
Penny & Dorothy Johnson (Australia) - 24/10/2011
4It was a good hoilday in which I have seen the highlights of scenery in New Zealand. Everything was well organised and the group was a good mixture of international people. Hotels were in general also good. The tour guide was great.
Andre Van Mierlo (Netherlands) - 10/10/2011
5Thanks again for organising our tour and extra nights. We enjoyed our trip to New Zealand very much and the tour was good overall and the accomodations and meals nice. The only negative about the tour is that the timing is so organized around planning for the 'extra' tours not included that it skimps on the 'touring' part which is included. Some of the local tours which were included were skimpy (especially in Auckland) and did not cover as much as the literature indicated. The one in Dunedin was re-scheduled during the 'free time' the following morning, not the previous day when it was noted in the program, so we missed it entirely as we had made reservations to visit Olveston on our 'free time' morning. The guide Lu was knowledgeable and the driver Murray safe and timely. We did go on 3 of the optionals but as they are almost all very expensive, if you take as many as desired it would no longer be a budget tour! The ones we took were excellent value (Skippers Canyon, Te Puia, gondola/haka/dinner in Queenstown) but there were many more opportunities we couldn't afford. We had great weather in NZ overall and it is really a beautiful country with lovely people.
Terry & Robyn Sullivan (United States) - 27/06/2011
4A most enjoyable experience whch more than met our expectations. From the very first day we felt very much at ease and comfortable with our tour dirctor Joe Smith and our driver Murray Mckinley. Their friendly and approachable manner aided our enjoyment. There were so many highlights to the experience it is hard to pinpont specifics. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the following: Fox Glacier,Queestown, Sail on Milford Sound, Picton and the sail across to the North island. The included visits were excellent and well worth inclusion. Joe was extremely honest in her information on additional tours and we thoroughly enjoyed all those we completed. Furthermore, we feel that overall they were value for money. The only constructive and possibly negative comments were associated with the choice of hotels. The smaller hotels were far more friendly and meals most enjoyable, especially Kingsgate,Heritage Gateway and Beachcomber. Whereas, the larger hotels were somewhat impersonal and our last night at Auckland spoilt by problems with the evening meal. If we were to visit either Australia, Tasmania or New Zealand again we would certainly be contacting Relaxing Holidayss. Our thanks also goes to you for your assisrance in facilitating our holiday.
Sonia & James Sandland (United Kingdom) - 20/01/2011
4Please tell Georgina that she gave us the trip of a lifetime. Naoire, our tour guide, and Linda, our driver, are two unique ladies and their constant insurance for passenger well-being, holiday good-time and pride in their showing of New Zealand to us made it all memorable. We'll be writing to them. They created an atmosphere that made the whole group like a convention of the oldest friends.
Jeremy Swan (United Kingdom) - 03/01/2011
5We had an absolute wonderful tour of New Zealand with Relaxing Journeys. Marty and Megan, the director and bus driver were fantastic in every respect to make our experience sensational. We met a wonderful group of people who added to the great time we had. Nearly all the accomodation was great, especially the Mercure resort in Queenstown which was just sensational. The Mercure in Wellington was only just average. All the breakfasts were excellent with so much choice. All the included dinners were very good, with the Maori village dinner in Rotarua being a sensational experience. I could just rave and rave about so many of the experiences we had. Thanks to Georgie from Relaxing Journeys who was so prompt in answering all my questions before we went.
Marnie Bates & Garry Thurlow (Australia) - 27/12/2010
5My friend Helen & I thoroughly enjoyed our tour of New Zealand. We had a good group and the whole tour was well organised. Teo the tour director was excellant as a tour guide. He has a wealth of info. plus a cheerful disposition. My credit to the driver Murray who must have driven for years to acquire akills to manuover through all the winding roads of South Island. Queenstown was my favourite city. I could have easily stayed there and worked on a farm. I am glad we had an extra day on the trip in Queenstown. I have no complaints about the food or the hotels except to attract tourists from Asia, perhaps a few Asian dishes in the menu would be helpful. I have certainly advertised the trip to family and friends. Thanks to all who did the organisation, I thoroughly enjoyed my New Zealand experience
Thelma Younger (Australia) - 06/12/2010
5The trip was amazing in all aspects. The scenery and landscape of New Zealand was breathtaking and the excursions added another dimension to the trip. Our entire group was great and we all got along well and really enjoyed each other's company. I am sure this is partly due to the expertise and personality of our wonderful Tour Director, Robin, who worked diligently to make our trip comfortable and memorable.
Becky Love (United States) - 01/03/2010
5Hi everybody at Relaxing Journeys. Special greetings to Georgina Walpole who helped us get all the necessary information about this tour. Sorry for posting this feedback with some delay due to some circumstances; me and my wife Maria Grazia would like to congratulate with all of you for the perfect organization of this tour. It has really been a fantastic one in all its aspects and we have been very happy to visit NZ. Thank you, again.
Aldo Carniel & Maria Rondina (Italy) - 18/01/2010
5Having just returned from New Zealand I just want to let you know what a wonderful Tour Director we had in Julie Hodgson and our driver Paul. Nothing seemed too much trouble for them and Julie's passion and knowledge along the way surpassed anything I have encountered previously on other coach tours. As Relaxing Journey's was recommended to me, I will highly recommend your organisation to anyone who asks. My entire New Zealand experience was wonderful, enhanced not only by the group of wonderful people on the tour, but especially with the safety and professionalism of our driver Paul and I can't speak highly enough of Julie's expertise in all areas of her position. Congratulations to all involved and thanks.

Lynne Bailey (Australia) - 21/12/2009
5Sorry for the late reply, we have been meaning to do it for sometime now. First, we would like to thank you for all your help. Next, well, WOW! Our trip was awesome! The 14 Day coach tour of the North & South Islands was absolutely great. Even though we did not have the best of weather on the tour it was still very good, and it is true, you do need to have a variety of clothing while in NZ. We probably had the BEST tour director ever, Julie was outstanding, very knowledgeable, she loves NZ, and is a true ambassador. She was truly superb. We had an all girl team (director & driver). Again we were blessed to have the 'Best Team' to take us around NZ. Boy, you don't realize it until you drive through NZ on their roads and how very grateful we were to have an excellent and very professional driver as Megan to escort us around. They both helped the tour to be a great success. Being our first time to NZ the coach tour was a great way to see the North & South Islands. The only thing better would be is to take at least six months to take it all in, as there is so much to see and do. New Zealand is a beautiful and a wonderful place to see. The people are great and the scenery spectacular. Thank you for a wonderful NZ Experience!!
Greg & Brenda Goodkey (Canada) - 23/11/2009
5We would like to say how much we enjoyed the tour around New Zealand. It far exceeded our expectations and would recommend it to anyone who wanted to visit NZ. We do have one regret, and that was that we didn't include the Bay of Islands in our tour. Everything went well during the 16 days we were there, the company of people on the coach were fine, and everyone got on well with each other. The Tour Director Cally Burke, and the driver Clark (don?t know his surname) were excellent company, very informative, and very friendly. If we were ever able to come to NZ again to complete the parts that we missed this time we would certainly use the same company. Thank you for all your help before travelling, all the questions that we asked, and your assurance about the tour.
Jeff & Moira Jones (United Kingdom) - 31/03/2008

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