New Zealand tour reviews

The trip was well-planned by Jon. Thank you Jon! We were spotted almost immediately when we came out of Christchurch airport and driven speedily to our accommodation. The accommodations throughout the trip were well selected, being accessible to amenities like restaurants and supermarkets, as well as spacious. Our favourite accommodation was Te Waonui Forest Retreat. Even though it was a free upgrade as our booked accommodation closed for the winter, the retreat was lovely! Do note that you have to find the bus stops to take the Grayline buses on your own but shouldn't be an issue if you give yourself enough time and rely on Google Maps.

Hi Brittany, A BIG THANK - YOU, for organizing our fantastic holiday, no stress, just sit back and enjoy the stunning beauty our country has to offer. Transfers arranged and waiting, bus pick-up on time and drivers complement the journey with history and informative local information, which we would never have gained from driving our own car. Accommodation warm and comfortable, walking distance from local shopping and attractions. We will definitely be recommending Thrifty Tours to friends and family as the way to travel. Kind Regards, Ken Raggett

Hi Brittany, I will just say that my daughter and I had an incredible time on the South Island of New Zealand!!! The land is truly incredible with a powerful Earth energy! The 2-day Thrifty tour kicked off our trip and it was an awesome way to start. The train was a lot of fun and the staff were polite and professional. We covered so much ground in 2 days and saw so many different things and remote places. It was a lot of travel time but how else are you going to see so many different things and remote places. Our “check-in” at the train and hotel were easy. Gary with Hokitika tours was waiting for us in Greymouth and was a great tour guide and driver. Same with Richard from Glacial Shuttles. He picked us up right on time the next day and we had a great tour to Queenstown. Both drivers were flexible and offered to stop and check out anything we wanted. Sometimes we stopped and sometimes we just kept going. Our trip from Greymouth to Franz Joseph was rainy and cloudy. We passed right by Mt Cook but couldn’t see it, but I trust it was there. When we arrived in Franz Joseph, the clouds were set low, so we didn’t see much of anything. You start to wonder why you can so far if you can’t see anything but I think that helped set up the next morning's surprise. We got up early for coffee in downtown Franz Joseph and the clouds had cleared and the view was inspiring! This 2 day trip might not be for everyone. Some people might not like being around so many mountains, rivers, giant lakes, ocean beaches, rain forests, glaciers and waterfalls. Especially waterfalls, if you really don’t like waterfalls, the south island might not be for you! But me and my daughter really love those things, so the South Island was like a dream come true! Separately, we also got to Fiordland and Milford Sound from the home base of Queenstown. Finally, we topped off our tour of the South Island with a live Kiwi encounter at the center in Queenstown. We flew from Queenstown to Sydney where we spent several days and then traveled to Uluru for several days. We finished the trip with 3 days in Auckland so I could see experience the city my daughter’s been living in this semester. We could have easily spent more time in NZ but it seemed necessary to step foot in Australia being so close. Thrifty Tours helped us to check out a lot of the South Island in a short time. We appreciate your help to set it up and include so many details and instructions. This e-mail is just my personal response to you. If you like, I can write up a similar review. We took a lot of pictures, but I need to sort through them to see if any are worthy of sharing. Thanks again, Josh

Thank you for a great trip. Owen Hunt was a great to work with on setting up our itinerary & tweaking it as things changed. All of our pickups, hotels, and excursions went perfectly. We did recommend Thrifty tours to other people along the way, and would in the future as well. Thanks, Mark & Lisa Montemuro

Vickie, thank you for creating a wonderful itinerary for us! We had a great trip. We loved both islands. In Rotorua, we also did the Redwood Night time Treewalk which we'd highly recommend to your other clients. A fun little extra. We also did a biking wine tour in Queenstown. The only item that was a little nuisance was leaving the Millennium Hotel on Stanley Street which was a steep street and having to transfer with luggage down to Athol Street in Queenstown for our transfer to Franz Josef. It would have also been nice to coordinate to have more than a few hours one evening in Franz Josef as it looked like a quaint town worthy of one day. We definitely want to come back and we'd use your services again if we can!! All the private transfer drivers were great as well!

Hello Chelsea, Our trip to New Zealand was "AMAZING..." (We may have got over the Jetlag, but we may take some time to get over the NZ lag) Tanveer and I wish to Thank you for being so meticulous in planning our trip and connecting all the dots smoothly throughout our Stay in New Zealand. From the very beginning of our interactions with you, we were able to gauge the extreme level of dedication and knowledge in your area of work. Your suggestions and recommendations in planning the activities, and seamless coordination, left no stone unturned in ensuring that every aspect of our trip was curated to ensure we get the "Best of Both ( not just "Both Lands" but both the Experiences of "Ethnic Teo Maori Culture- inclined towards the Natural Deities" and "Fearless Adventures of Land, Skies and Water" Whether it's exploring the breathtaking landscapes of Milford Sound, or immersing ourselves in Kaikoura these are examples of a few anecdotes that our journey was filled with Cheers to You and your team for assisting us in creating such beautiful Memories along the way Best Regards and Success to Thrifty Tours -Tanveer & Jasmeen PS: We were able to squeeze in a Quick SkyDive in Queenstown

Hello Gina, I wanted to thank you very much for all your hard work to make my cousin's and his wife's trip memorable and fantastic. Everything went as planned and they were thrilled to have such a wonderful experience. When I plan our trip somewhere in NZ, I definitely will reach out to you for advice. You were more than great! A total gem! Thank you! Cheers, Víťa

We have had a great trip in New Zealand thanks to you and your team at Thrifty tours. Everything from hotel pickups and drops, train and bus journeys and the various tours that you booked for us was perfectly coordinated and moved like clockwork. On this trip we got to see the modern cities as well as stunning nature and the picture perfect countryside. A special mention about Mr. Jon Andrews who not only booked my holiday but also actively helped me plan this trip with suggestions and ideas about transportation and hotel selections. Still remember the numerous phone calls he made to me regarding this extensive planning, since mine was not a regular group tour but a tailor-made one. Thank you for giving us this great New Zealand experience.

Mackenzie was the most helpful and patient in catering to my demands for the booking and customising the tour for us. I was traveling with my mum who is disabled and had special requirements which meant we had to go back and forth many times to discuss suitable options, which was done effortlessly. Being from Australia, I was a bit nervous traveling with a person with disability but Mackenzie made me really feel that I had someone local looking after all my needs and I was assured that we will have a good time. Everything was meticulously organised for us and I didnt have any troubles. They have an app as well which contains your personal itinerary hand typed by staff, thus making it so easy to refer to your bookings, and also you can contact them and any other tour operators via the app when in need, which made things super easy for us. A great experience. For reference, I booked an overnight tour to Lake Tekapo including accomodation and and transport back and forth from Queenstown.

I found Thrifty tours during my search for tour operators who provide personal attention and take care of specific needs. Initially Laurel from Thrifty listened to all my requests and took a day and came up with tour itinerary. After reviewing I asked for few changes, and then few changes one day later and couple of changes - 2 days after. She was patient & made requested changes to itinerary and also recommended some nice additions. Having worked through initial schedule & nominal payment, Thrifty made couple of bookings right away. We had to wait for NZ visa. Later when Sabina another tour coordinator took over, she helped with final itinerary about a month before our actual trip. Now coming to actual trip - It was fantastic. All the recommended tours - especially - TSS Earnslaw Steam Boat, Milford Sound are must visit for any new visitor. As we were vegetarians - special requests were made in advance which helped. We had two free days to explore Queenstown ourselves which we did on our own. After that we had travel from Queenstown to Christchurch and then to Frank Josef glacier. Only recommendation for Thrifty Tours is to organize tour starting from Christchurch so that Frank Josef could be finished earlier and rest of trip could have been done from Queenstown. As we had take flight from Queenstown it would have been easier to keep Queenstown last. That drive from Queenstown to Christchurch was a one whole day which we could have gained if the trip started from Christchurch from day one. Other than that - Thrifty Tours organized us a very well scheduled trip.