Relaxing Journeys Reviews

Great staff, very slickly organised, good food and accommodation - a super experience.

We had a wonderful trip and would recommend it to anyone.

We had an incredible holiday in New Zealand, thanks to Relaxing Journeys and our patient consultant Georgina. We saw the awesome landscape from road, train, boat, small plane, kayak and on foot. We smelled native beech forests, touched smooth blue icebergs and were followed by fantails on a lagoon. We climbed mountain tracks and saw spectacular sunsets. The accommodation was excellent, right down to the last night as we looked out across the lights of Auckland from our balcony.

Tour was as I expected - just what I wanted, a whistle-stop tour of South Island.

Firstly thank you for organising the trip for me. It was exactly what I wanted as I had very limited time to see South Island. The driver (John Taylor) and guide (Raewyn) were very professional but also good fun - lots of stories and jokes to keep us entertained along the way! I also met some lovely people - several I have exchanged email addresses with and some of us have made plans to meet in the UK, Southern Ireland and Australia. As a single traveller this is really important to me. Having been on 2 successful tours by myself in the past in Cuba and Vietnam I was not disappointed on this one. So thank you Georgina. I would certainly not hesitate recommending you and Grand Pacific Tours to friends and family.

Isobel was great! Very knowledgeable & charming. Itinerary was full! Lots of bus riding, but to be expected. Some hotels better than others, but understand in some places, you take what you can get!

Except for the car the bookings and instructions were first rate.

Our New Zealand Splendour Tour with AAT Kings was terrific! Our Tour Director Hope and our driver Mark were awesome! They were a great team and their knowledge and insights enhanced the grandeur and cultural richness of this fabulous land of the Kiwis. Their passion was contagious! Our expectations were exceeded. We only wish that we had chosen a longer tour that would have given us the opportunity to visit some additional places and to spend multiple nights in more of the places we did visit. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting New Zealand. Mani and Marie Sarmon with Relaxing Journeys were the best. They were very helpful and guided us through the entire booking and trip preparation process. They kept us fully informed all along the way and answered all of our questions, of which there were many. Will definitely recommend Relaxing Journeys to others thinking about a trip down under.

I would like to thank Jo Shanks for all her help and as for Isobel our tour guide she made it for me.

We found working with Jo and Chelsea at Relaxing Journeys to be an excellent experience. They created a tour plan for us that met our wishes setting us up for a truly memorable New Zealand adventure. The self driving tour gave us a good mix of planned activities as recommended by Relaxing Journeys and flexibility to pursue our own interests as we traveled.

Easy to access. On time. Polite, friendly staff. Boats & buses very clean & comfortable. Bathrooms clean. Prepared lunch very good. Thoroughly enjoyed all facilities & tour. Beautiful ride! Thank you

Great guide and driver. Nothing was too much trouble. Lucky with the weather too. Early starts were challenging but worth it to see as much as we did. Really love NZ.

Set of words can never explain how wonderful tour I had with your agency - tied up with Grand Pacific Tour. What an amazing service I received. The best thing was, I did not have to pick my luggage anywhere. All the hotels were good. Coach at South Island - Rod was full of information and what expertise in driving! Incredible. All arrangements were very smooth. Special thanks to Kris who took care of me like my own family person. She was so caring and active person. I also would like to say that the cost you charged me was "commendable" honestly. At this cost, such tour is truly impossible for anyone else. Even though I was a solo person on tour, all my arrangements were incredible. Marie, you are simply an angel and I sincerely wish you and your organisation a great success ahead. I have shared your agency details on Instagram and FB, in case anyone plans to travel to NZ :) Thanks a million and God bless you loads.

Thank you Relaxing Jouneys and thank you Teresa. You guys are great, the time saved to streamline our vacation is really much appreciated. South Island has so much to see and do, you guys are most fortunate and yet it's gonna be tough to keep improving, but here goes. We had several minor negatives, amazingly lots of positives, but overall South Island is just so amazing we believe everyone would need much more then 2 weeks or multiple trips to appreciate the beauty that is NZ. Thank you again.

Without exception every one that I came across from Relaxing Journeys were so kind, friendly, knowledgeable, professional. The tour was unbelievably good and throughly enjoyable. I will use Relaxing Journeys again. A big thank you to all.

Great tour. Good guide, very knowledgeable and passionate. Amazing close encounter with the seals. Fun 4WD trip on the beach.

Our trip to NZ was excellent, a bucket list journey. Was really impressed with the Trips/Tramps day trip to Milford, Andrew was a fabulous guide. Hard to mess up a place as beautiful as Fiordland. Car and accommodations were all to expectations. No surprises is always a good way to have a vacation.

Great organisation and lots of tips on what to see and do both between each town / city where we had reservations at hotels and at each location too.

Everything worked out perfectly.

It was well organised and the arrangements were excellent. We had a fantastic time seeing this beautiful country. Special thanks to the tour captains and tour leader who took good care of all of us.

The tour with Grand Pacific Tours totally exceeded our expectations. Coach Captains Rikki and Chris with tour guide Marita ensured that the tour went without a hitch. Their company along with a great deal of information and some good humour was appreciated by us as a couple and I think by all of the tour group. The hotels with excellent food were well chosen in some dificult areas of the country. The places of interest chosen to visit were varied and intersting. Chelsea at Relaxing Journeys kept us fully informed before the trip which was greatly appreciated. Well done to all concened for providing an excellent holiday.

We booked in a very short notice this great tour to bridge our 5 hours stay between incoming and departing flight. Our guide was very knowledgeable and kindly and did an excellent job. Unfortunately due to the short notice the price for this tour was quite high but understandable if they have to organise from Friday afternoon to Saturday morning this tour. Thanks to Georgina and her whole team from Relaxing Journeys that she could make it happen.

This was a wonderful way to be introduced to New Zealand. Our driver and guide were friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. The hotels were sometimes basic, but they were always clean and met our needs.

I have been waiting until I finished unpacking to write you about our adventure on the South Island. Annie and I both thank you profoundly for putting together such a perfect package that allowed us to enjoy our trip with very little stress and maximum enjoyment. Everything went perfectly -- really, perfectly! I will elaborate below, but here are some general points: 1. We were able to immerse ourselves in nature, which is exactly what we wanted. 2. The lodgings were great -- quite a range of styles, which we liked. Some were quirky, some elegant, some over-the-top hospitable. 3. The tours were well-chosen. (My favorite was the jet-boat; Annie's was definitely the blue penguins in Oamaru.) 4. The pace of our itinerary was fast, but necessarily so for us to see as much as we did in three short weeks. We didn't feel rushed because we were so excited to get to our next location. 5. The overall cost was very reasonable, given the quality of the accommodations and level of service. Thank you for helping to make us comfortable within our budget. Some specific feedback: The wilderness lodges at Arthur's Pass (my favorite place in the whole trip) and Lake Moeraki were highlights. We were pleased to meet the family who owns and runs the lodges and hear about the incredible conservation work they have done on the West Coast. The lodges were beautifully designed and extremely comfortable. The meals were excellent, and we enjoyed the optional activities provided each day. Five star, all around!! The trip on the Alpine Train was beautiful, but if we were to do it again, we would probably drive as the train was crowded and noisy the first day, and on the second day, we went through, rather than over the pass, which we would have liked to experience. Better perhaps for those who don't want to drive. Annie had an excellent birthday dinner at Rata in Queenstown, and enjoyed our tour to the Aspiring Wilderness. The Luxury Dairy B&B was very convenient, the host was gracious and the breakfast good. In general, Queenstown was a bit too busy and touristy for our taste, but we're glad we had some time to be there. And the dinner at Rata was excellent :) The trip to Doubtful Sound out of Te Anau was a highlight. A long day, but worth every minute. We're sorry we didn't see Milford, but given our preference for the road less travelled, I think we made the right choice. The Cosy Kiwi B&B was our least favorite of the lodgings. I know you didn't have many choices at the late booking date, and it was perfectly fine -- just not quite as cosy or friendly as all the others. Dunedin was another highlight -- the all day trip on the Otago Peninsula was spectacular, including the family of orcas that put on a show for us! We had a rather noisy but fun dinner in a restaurant near the university. The Camp Estate was a hoot -- such a beautiful setting and so elegant! We felt a little scruffy in our travel clothes, but were welcomed warmly regardless. The Pen-y-Bryn in Oamaru was another unique experience! Amazing art collection and a Paris-trained chef! The blue penguins were wonderful. And finally, although our three last nights in Christchurch were unplanned, we fell in love with this beautiful, but damaged city. We mostly just walked around and took pictures of the old, the new, and the under repair. The Heritage was excellent! We had a lovely suite that allowed us to regroup before heading home. We loved the building, especially the bar. The staff was incredibly friendly. So, all in all, an excellent trip! Thank you again, Georgina, for planning so thoughtfully for us. We have passed along your name to several people we met along the way who will be returning to NZ, as we hope to do in the future.

Great excursion! I was really happy the lady in Te Anau let me go on an earlier visit to the caves. Otherwise I would have had to hang around in town for several hours and come back to Queenstown late. Guides at the caves were also really good!