Traveling from Australia to New Zealand

05/21/2019

Service

Experiences in Australia were contrived and phony with no interactions with real native Australians.
Tour

Australia was a huge disappointment in regards to cultural experiences

Thank you for traveling with Collette to Australia and New Zealand. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to discuss your feedback.

Collette Support

05/21/2019

Good trip. Educational. New Zealand esp. was beautiful.

Service

The hotels selected by Collette in Australia were very small. With. 2 people in the room they were slightly bigger than a closet. I also disliked that some of the flights chosen were very early in the a.m. Getting up at 5:30 a.m. sort of ruined the day. The service we received was very good, but everything was rushed. New Zealand was a different story. Nice hotels, plenty of room picturesque towns. I grew up 3/4 of an hour from Manhattan and Australia reminded me of Manhattan. Melbourne was nice. Queensland was the best.
Tour

I liked Queensland in NewZealand the best. Lovely small town. Not too crowded. The hotel was 1 block off the water. Lovely town to stroll through.

05/21/2019

Service

Service excellent. Knowledgeable guides & good accommodations. Outstanding selection of natural wonders, museums, & animal parks. Would rate Collette higher except I believe there is always room for improvement.
Tour

First professional tour ever so that I have no cost comparisons. From the literature, I know there are both more expensive & less expensive tours. But I believed I got the value I hoped for.

05/15/2019

"Outback to the Glaciers" was a perfection description of this tour.

Service

Flights from Denver to LA were delayed twice. Sunshine was on the phone helping our group of six work through that, finding alternate plan in case we missed our flight from LA to Brisbane. (We did make it, but not without the help of a young man from Virgin Australia, who cut security lines for us, literally walked us to our gate, where boarding was in process.)
Tour

Good variety of things to see and do. One favorite was the star gazing at the outback dinner provided. The couple doing the meal was great - he with a great sense of humor, she was very knowledgeable re: astronomy, and the musician was good as well. Note: it would have been great to know what items are unacceptable to transport as souvenirs. (Should we have known this ourselves?) Had packaged meat and honey that were confiscated at the NZ airport. We would either have not bought them, or consumed them ourselves if we had known.

05/13/2019

Awesome experience. Service average at best

Service

It was OK. Had a nice group of travelers(29). The venues were great, except for the Outback. Pesky flies everywhere. The tour guide in Fiji was awesome. The one in Australia and New Zealand did not measure up to the standard that I enjoyed in my previous 3 trips with the company. The hotels were great, except for the one in Melbourne. Many of the first time travelers mentioned that they would not use the company again. I told them this experience was not usual with this company
Tour

Milford Sound was extraordinary. Queenstown was delightful. Fiji was everything that I expected.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to Australia and New Zealand. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Tour Management and Product Design Teams in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

04/17/2019

Collette Australian trip

Service

We had a very bad experience with Collette on the airline arrangements to and from Australia. First issue was a change in flight from Dallas to LAX, where the connection time was reduced from 1 1/2 hours to 40 minutes, which was unacceptable. We eventually got a later flight, but it cost us nearly $600 to make a change that should not have cost anything. We got no satisfaction from Collette when we complained about this. Secondly, we had to transfer our own luggage at LAX because we were booked on Virgin Australian and American does not have transfer arrangement. We were not advised of having to do this or why such a booking would have been made. Lastly we had an 11 hour layover on on return trip in LAX before we had a flight to ORD. No excuse for that at all. Our actual trip in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji was fantastic.
Tour

Outstanding tour manager. We saw a huge amount of country and net some great friends.

Thank you for contacting us again concerning your trip to the South Pacific. Your feedback will be reviewed to enhance the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

04/16/2019

Service

yes
Tour

The trip was extremely nice and the our guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant. He definitely made this the great experience that it turned out to be. The bus driver in New Zealand was also terrific. The only down side was that the flight home was exceptionally exhausting and I was very fatigued. I then had over an hour and a half drive from the Rochester airport to Lockport, NY. I believe that Collette should have provided some transportation to and from the airport for safety reasons! I would definitely travel with Collette again on future trips!

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. Collette does offer a hometown transfer service when our airfare is purchased. Our records indicate the transfer was declined by your travel group and a $50 per person credit was issued.

Collette Support

04/16/2019

Fun trip!

Service

Very organized. Got to see so much of the countries. Love that you plan everything and we can sit back and enjoy. Did not like how our flights going and coming were done. Had to call and tell them we could leave at a later time rather then wait at LAX for 10 hours. It was changed and had a 4 hour lay over instead. Also, on the way home from LAX to EWR my husband and I were not seated together and were 4 aisles away. We booked this 10 months in advance and you can’t get us seats together. Will do my own flights from now on.
Tour

Saw a lot of the countries we visited. Loved Sydney and Darling Harbor. Highlight was the tour of the Opera House. Fascinating. A true masterpiece. Loved our ride to Milford Sound on a rainy day and saw hundreds of waterfalls that were gorgeous. Queenstown was my favorite city. Beautiful on the lake, quaint town, lovely people. Highlight was taking the boat over to eat at the restaurant and then watch the sheep shearing afterwards. Restaurant was gorgeous, food fantastic. Fiji was wonderful. Beautiful hotel, fantastic people and gorgeous grounds. Alice Springs was a waste of time. Would rather have skipped that town. Would prefer an extra day in Melbourne. The Rendezvous Grand Hotel in Melbourne was not up to par. Needs to be renovated in the rooms. Great location, but would rather stay at a different hotel. Scenic Franz Josef Glacier Hotel was not good at all in the rooms. Everyone was complaining about their rooms. It was like an old dump. The reception area, restaurant and food were all very good.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to Australia & New Zealand. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Air department in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

04/11/2019

Poor air arrangements, great tour and tour manager

Service

There were significant problems with the air arrangements. Originally we requested premium class air for the entire trip as offered in the brochure. Nothing was reserved when we received confirmation. After much calling, the premium fare was obtained 1 month before the trip but it was only for the LAX to Brisbane leg. Checking this we were told premium service was not available on any other flights. We took over 10 flights on this tour and every one had premium service. What gives with that? The brochure clearly offers Premium Economy for the trip. Very disappointing. Also an excursions was requested and never set up until we discovered it with the itinerary and agin had to call to get it corrected.
Tour

Great tour and tour manager. Also on the go but got to see a lot

04/09/2019

amazing trip of my life! Never disappointed.

Service

wonderful, always looking out for us and checking to make sure we know where we are going next. Making sure we are all on the same page.
Tour

always on schedule, informative

04/09/2019

Trip of a lifetime!

Service

You communicated well before the trip. My wife called several times with questions and you were patient and informed. We got the answers we needed. This was our first trip abroad, other than cruises. Everything was nice. Great hotels and transportation. Gillian was perfect. She knew just what to do and when to do it. She took personal charge of our well being and advised us on how to get the best out of our experiences. She even helped me with my camera, as she had a similar one.
Tour

Seeing Milford Sound. The weather was perfect there and for Mt Cook, which I understand was very rare.

04/09/2019

Trip was great! Why cheap out on the return?

Service

The flight home was ridiculously long with two red eye flights. I would have cheerfully paid more for better flights.
Tour

Milford Sound was breathtaking.

04/05/2019

Service

Collette staff was available to help with all aspects of my recent tour.
Tour

We had a wonderful tour leader and 2 great drivers who kept the tour running smoothly. I especially enjoyed seeing the stars after our dinner in the Outback-spectacular!

04/05/2019

Service

Tour director: Well organized, buses were clean and odor free, prompt, drivers entertaining as well as knowledgeable
Tour

Accomodations were all good, great locations, had outstanding meals. A good overall tour- a little of everything Picture holding Koala and Sunrise Camel ride

03/27/2019

Smoothly run, well planned and coordinated.

Service

I thought that the arrangements and accommodations were well done. Hotels and meals were great and I especially liked the meals with the locals in both The Out Back and Christ Church. Our guide, Eddy, and all of the speakers were very knowledgeable and helpful. I truly enjoyed learning about the culture, but would like to hear much more.
Tour

Seeing the animals but disappointed not to see kangaroos. I especially liked the Out Back dinner with Tom & Kathy and the star show.

03/21/2019

Would book with you again. Charlevoix, mi

Service

I feel Collette is a first class co. You guide Kim was wonderful, very helpful,cheerful and informative. The choice of hotels was very good.
Tour

Experienced the March of the penguins. Held a koala. Land rover experience in Lord of the Rings.

03/19/2019

Great tour with Collette.

Service

The tour was well organized. Our tour manager did a wonderful job. She was always on top of things. She was interesting and knew considerable facts about the places we visited. The bus drivers we had were top notch. They also related facts of the area while driving. We stayed atbvery nice hotels. All the hotels had restaurants. Breakfast was included everyday. The only complaint I have is the choice of included tours in Sydney. We chose the hop on hop off ferry from the Sydney Harbor. Bad choice. It was very confusing. The schedules did not work. When asked, no one could give us the correct information. We actually were left stranded in Manly. There was no return hop on hop off ferry returning to Sydney. We had to pay to get back. Everyone on the tour got along well we definitely made some good friends on the trip. I would travel with Collette again.
Tour

The tour was expensive but it was worth the price.

03/18/2019

Service

Overall good. I had a problem with the office support before I left on my trip. I wanted to upgrade my airplane seats and I felt they did not even try. Horrible communication on this request too.
Tour

Cairns, Outback, Sydney, Queenstown were my favorites.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. Our notes indicate that both premium economy and business class were sold out at the time you requested upgraded seating. Your comments will be reviewed by our Air Department in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

03/18/2019

Service

I wished that we had known how expensive food was and we would have been better prepared. So glad breakfasts and many suppers were included. Yes I would tell my friends and family about the trip.
Tour

Everything was alright but why could some of the side trips been included instead of all the extra expense.

03/18/2019

Service

Every thing went well ! Very happy with the tour. I will recommend them to my friends.
Tour

We were busy touring and had no down time

03/18/2019

Service

should have arranged for more of some kind of tours for the last 2 days there. Was too much down time.
Tour

was too much down time....needed to add more tours of different places. We paid the big price...should have included more of other things/places to see.

03/14/2019

Service

We had a wonderful trip with David as our group leader, it was very organized and easy as far as getting to places and loved that they got luggage We would of course use you again
Tour

Penguins Outback cookout /stars All the beautiful scenery Queens town

03/06/2019

Amazing Australia & More

Service

Tour was a trip of what maybe the trip of a lifetime. Dave our tour guide was the greatest. The knowledge and experience was invaluable not only to myself and my wife but I believe wholeheartedly to the rest of the tour group. It definitely made the trip less stressful and more enjoyable. Even what I considered the end of the tour, we were still being guided through the last airport and customs we would have to negotiate when back in the States. I can't say enough about experience in Australia and New Zealand.
Tour

Wonderful and beautiful countries to tour, excellent tour guide in Dave, and a fun loving group of people to tour with. I don't know how my experience could have been much better. Looking forward to the next experience with Collette.

03/05/2019

Service

Service was excellent. Tour guide was very helpful and gave very good information. I would highly recommend Collette and would book again.
Tour

Great tours and food. Loved the Great Barrier Reef

03/05/2019

Get a great tour with a lot of extras.

Service

Been on tour with Trafalgar. Collette throws in a lot of extras over the competition.
Tour

Tour of lifetime. Saw Australia from rain forest (Cairns), to desert (Ayers Rock and Alice Springs), to Sydney, to penguins in Melbourne. South Island of New Zealand wS spectacular. A few days to rest in Fiji was the icing on the cake.

03/05/2019

The tour was great. Things happened when they should, without glitches.

Service

Collette gave great attention to detail. It started when I was picked up at home to be taken to the airport in Los Angeles, and it ended when I was brought home from that same airport at the end of the trip. Handling my suitcase was a real help. I have artificial legs, and provision was made for me when it was needed. The hotels, meals, and other things were done well without problems. David Cormier was great. I asked many weird questions about the places visited, and he had answers. I am a botanist, and I was able to see a great variety of vegetation. I and eight others went to Fiji on an extension of the tour. It was handled by Rosie tours. I went on some local tours there. One of the Fijians was assigned to show local plants to me on Tivua Island . I fell and cut myself outside the Rosie home. The people affiliated with Collette sent me to urgent care. Francis Fuata, and two women made sure that I was treated well and promptly. The damage was largely superficial. Francis took me back to the hotel, he arranged for some special things on the tours (including being shown he native plants on Tivua), and he took me and others to the airport when it was time to leave. He was great. I would like to go back to all of the places visited. I went thinking that this would be a trip of a lifetime. It was, but I am now thinking of another trip, though I am not yet sure where I want to go. South America? Europe?
Tour

The facilities and meals were excellent. Everything happened when it should. Things went well in Australia and NewZealand. David Cormier was great. I fell and cut myself in Fiji, and those who are affiliated with Collette in Fiji stepped in and made sure that I was sent to urgent care.Two women guided me through the process, and Francis Fuata made sure that I was properly treated and sent back to the hotel. The damage was largely superficial. He made sure that the local tours I took in Fiji went well. Things went like clockwork on the tour everywhere I went.

02/27/2019

Good. I could make a suggestion that I feel would be an improvement.

Service

Planning and execution were excellent, the latter due to our tour director, Mark.
Tour

well organized and executed.

02/26/2019

Service

The trip was planned very well . The tour guide was excellent Mark Godin . The hotels were very nice . My only complain is that not all the baths did not have walk in showers. If there was a problem it was taken care right away .
Tour

It was a good trip and the tour guide was excellent.

02/10/2019

Wonderful trip but could have been even better with a few changes.

Service

Flights, hotels, buses, meals were excellent. Most of the tour guides were fantastic. The schedule was hectic. I feel some of the excursions could have been scheduled better, or even eliminated. Lots of time riding a bus in countryside that doesn’t change.
Tour

Experienced some wonderful things that I couldn’t have otherwise. Was great to have everything all planned and scheduled. Loved the camel ride!

02/02/2019

Service

Every detail was covered...and with care and enthusiasm.
Tour

Hit everything on my bucket list in Australia, but New Zeeland was spectacular.

01/18/2019

Well done.

Service

Guide was very involved. Good tours. Great bus drivers.
Tour

Good sights. Great bust drivers. Well organized.

01/06/2019

Service

very good guide very professional and helpful good locations
Tour

loved tour guide tours were good

01/04/2019

Wonderful Trip!

Service

It was a trip of a lifetime and our tour manager deserves 5 stars! Everything was as good and well planned as possible and the only problem I had was with the coordination of flights to get to Australia. We had a 14 hour layover in LA and that was too long. The coordination of flights and airport guidance was also poorly planned and not communicated to us by Collette at all so we had a very stressful time making our way to our flight to Australia.
Tour

Perfect balance of exciting sights and enough downtime to enjoy it. Hotels were very good and had everything we needed!

12/12/2018

Service

Good itinerary. Excellent tour guide. I exerienced some health problems while on the trip an dhe really made sure I was taken care of.
Tour

The lillte penguins on Phillip Island, Aus.

11/27/2018

Service

Flight arrangements were mismanaged. Phone calls were not returned as requested to the correct number and times regarding air flights. Otherwise,satisfied.
Tour

See the various wildlife and geographic diversity

11/22/2018

Service

Everything was handled in an efficient and professional manner on our recent tour of Australia and New Zealand. Our tour guide was outstanding in every way.
Tour

New Zealand! Great tour guide and group of fellow travelers.

11/21/2018

Service

Services were terrific.
Tour

Tour was fantastic. Unfortunately there were to many 1 day visits to area's/town's and to many early wakeups

11/07/2018

Great tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Service

They put together a great tour and get you around to see all of the major sites. This is the second one I have taken with them. I wish this latest one had been a bit more "active". For instance, after I booked the tour my travel agent advised that a walking tour day had been changed to a coach tour. I would have preferred the walking tour.
Tour

Giving it 4 stars because I would have preferred a more active tour experience. Favorite memorable experience: Australia: Philips Island Little Penguin excursion New Zealand: Milford Sound. NZ is full of natural beauty

11/06/2018

Service

Great logistics. Superior hotels and dining choices as well as a great tour manager
Tour

Included all I expected on the tour

11/02/2018

Service

I traveled alone and felt totally taken care of. I had a great tour manager who looked out for me. I loved the itinerary and felt we had time to ask questions and relax between activities.
Tour

The tour took us to the places I wanted to see in Australia and New Zealand. We were busy but had time to relax and do things on our own. The tour manager was wonderful and truly "took care of us".

05/25/2018

Slow down the pace.

Service

In general, I enjoyed the tour & felt it lived up to everything advertised. The tour manager, Toni Ray-Ingram was fantastic & did an outstanding job. However, I think the tour is a bit too fast-paced. By the beginning of the third week I was feeling exhausted. My recommendation is to re-structure it slightly. Eliminate Melbourne & use that time to have one add’l “free” day in Sydney (where an optional day trip to some animal or marine life place could substitute for “the little penguins” option offered in Melbourne), and, one add’l night in Christchurch. The “home visit” with a NZ family was one of the best highlights of the tour, but it should NOT be left until the final night. By that time everyone’s thoughts were on leaving for home the following day ( some of us VERY early the following day) and most of us were VERY tired. I would have enjoyed the home visit much more if it was not left until the final night. So having one add’l night in Christchurch would allow for that. As currently structured, the tour leaves very little time to really enjoy Melbourne (& no free time there at all if you do the penguin option as most people do), so I don’t think it would adversely affect the tour if that was eliminated. Having an extra day each in Sydney & Christchurch would allow for a slightly slower paced tour & make it much more enjoyable. I would have given this tour five stars except for that.
Tour

As I said earlier, it would have been better if the tour was a bit slower paced, which could be accomplished by eliminating Melbourne & using the time gained for an add’l day each in Sydney & Christchurch. Move the NZ home visit to some night OTHER THAN the final night! Can’t emphasize that one enough! My favorite experience was the Sydney Opera House tour.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to Australia & New Zealand. Your feedback has been forwarded to the Product Development Team. Your comments on the pacing and layout of the itinerary will be used to enhance this tour for our future guests.

Collette Support

04/08/2018

Cross another trip off the bucket list

Service

This was our second Collette tour, and it was very well planned and executed. Our tour manager, Denise, was extremely knowledgeable, well organized, and ensured that the group's needs were met by all of the local vendors. This trip was a "bucket list" item for us, and Collette did not disappoint.
Tour

The tour hit the high points for us, and the most memorable were the Australian outback, the city of Sydney, and the south island of New Zealand. Getting up close and personal with Uluru (Ayers Rock), meeting a few aboriginal artists, and experiencing a "bush dinner" were especially fun. New Zealand's south island is simply stunning in its natural beauty and mountainscapes. The only downside was our final few days in Fiji. While a beautiful setting, the heat and humidity were oppressive. The resort was very accommodating and provided nice amenities, including a spacious guest room, but the only respite from the temperature and humidity were our guest room and the retail shops. The water on the "beach", which itself was very pebbly, was very cloudy, brown and unappealing. Because we had already checked out and did not leave for the airport until early evening, the hotel did provide the complimentary use of their spa to shower and change clothes, which we very much appreciated.

04/05/2018

Australia and New Zealand - a trip of a lifetime!

Service

This tour encompassed such a variety of experiences! We had an excellent tour guide who was with us from our arrival in Cairns, Australia, until we left for home from Christchurch, New Zealand. She was very knowledgeable about the tour and kept all 40 of us up to speed and pretty much on schedule! We felt we could have stayed longer in a couple places, but understand one can't see everything!! We also had excellent bus drivers who explained a lot about our destinations.
Tour

So many memorable things, but learning about the Aborigines of the Australian Outback was a real highlight.

04/03/2018

Service

Wonderful tour manager and tour covered all the sights we wanted to see or experience. The optional trips helped to enhance our total experience. We made some wonderful new friends.
Tour

Covered all things we wanted to see

04/03/2018

Highly recommend Collette tours.

Service

Collette did goodtours, a great guide, and we stayed in good hotels.
Tour

Loved the Penguin Parade on Phillips Island.

04/02/2018

Service

Answered my questions clearly and completely. Wish I would have gotten the pretour information sooner.
Tour

Great experiences in Australia and beautiful scenery in New Zealand.

04/02/2018

Had a wonder guide who was on top of everything in her control. Loved the

Service

Did not receive flight information until about a month before we left and some of your notices about hotel changes were not true.
Tour

It was a complete tour, a taste of the country, made you want to plan a return.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with this feedback. This has been passed along to our Client Care Center to ensure our pre-tour communication processes are more accurate and efficient.

Collette Support

02/20/2018

Service

Very disappointed in third party airline arrangements. Long delay (days/weeks) between time of request and response. Crazy airline routes on top of an already long journey.
Tour

Miggi our tour guide did a great job handling our large group of 44 people through multiple airports and two countries. Travel route for this tour needs to be revamped. Traveling by air over 24 hours with no sleep and starting the first day of the tour with a long day of boating to the Great Barrier Reef is not the best way to start this three week tour. Group was too large for this type of hectic travel itinerary. Too many one night hotel stays in a three week tour. With the limited time in each place and very little non-group time, we were never able to enjoy the interesting places we visited.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. \n
\nDue to Collette’s many tour packages which take place around the world, long plane flights are sometimes required. We understand that this aspect of the trip may be a bit challenging at times especially when there are connecting flights. Based on your origin and destination routes we had to work within the parameters of the program and airline flight schedules.

Collette Support

02/13/2018

Very enjoyable although quite rigorous.

Service

Tour manager (***** ****) was excellent. Places we visited and saw were all really nice. Would have liked to stay longer at a couple of the stops (especially Mt Cook in New Zealand). The tour negatives were (1) size of the group - extra time needed on all stops to get on and off the coach added hours to the trip and (2) making airline arrangements when booking the trip was very aggravating - use of a third party and the many days in between trying to obtain the best flights was not a pleasant experience. Took several weeks of back and forth and even then couldn't get what we wanted. Much different a couple of years ago when we went to Italy with Collette and airline arrangements were made same day on the phone. Company needs to seriously considering going back to the 'old' way.
Tour

New Zealand geography was spectacular.

02/13/2018

Service

The organization of the trip was incredible. The travel from place to place worked exceptionally well.
Tour

We loved the coral reef, the outback and the cities of Australia. We especially loved the contact with the aboriginal people and learning about their stories. Uluru was spectacular. A picture does not do it justice. New Zealand was also spectacular. We especially loved Milford Sound and all the waterfalls. Queenstown and all the adventures available made a memorable trip.

12/25/2017

Fantastic would definitely book with them again.

Service

The package they put together was fantastic. They optimized our time to see the maximum amount of the country visited, making the trip educational and enjoyable. They accommodated our requests.
Tour

There was so much going on every day I cannot pick a specific experience. To me, it was all amazing and memorable. From the scenery to the nature to the explanations given about everything we were doing, it was so much more than I expected. This tour was really the experience of a lifetime. The tour manager was so good when we left I felt like we were leaving a friend. I would recommend this tour to anyone.

12/20/2017

Excellent tour to Australia & New Zealand

Service

Collette's service was very good. No issues there.
Tour

All of New Zealand was beautiful.

12/20/2017

Enjoyable Tour

Service

In general, the whole trip was well planned with about the right amount of time spent in each area. I think doing assigned seating on bus tour days is an excellent idea. Our tour guide, *** ********, did and excellent job.
Tour

Very enjoyable, varied experience.

12/19/2017

Excellent trip

Service

It was a fabulous trip--our tour guide *** was the BEST!!!!!. Everything went according to plan. No scheduling issues. A MOST excellent trip
Tour

Everything about this tour was WOW, this was a trip of a lifetime

12/19/2017

A must see adventure

Service

You provided an excellent tour, with great highlights of the countries. You also provided an excellent tour guide that took great care of us and presented the highlights and other facts that made it great.
Tour

To experience the out back and meet the natives, and also learn their history and experiences, was also an interesting point. Then to travel and see the glaciers, what a contrast, and to see what they have done in the country was great.

12/18/2017

luggage travails with collette....

Service

I travelled with Collette before. On this trip I was surprised/shocked that Collette's rep (she called herself a manager definitely not a guide!!) would emphasised almost daily that she was a manager... she didn't answer questions- she had drivers for that. and driving thru the narrow roads they did! they fumbled with microphone and narrated/guided winding thru the traffic.. rather dangerous if you ask me.. you can not talk to driver on public bus where I live.. go figure... we spent hours each day waiting in hotel lobbies waiting for our manager to "count" luggage...one day we waited even more when she couldn't find the owner of a small carry-on only to realize (half an hour later..) that it was her own! that was annoying,, the other time she kept counting people on the bus.. and one was missing,, so she re counted and counted again.. only to realize that she didn't count herself in the tally... no ,,, you cannot make this up... you had to be there... we had to carry our luggage from conveyor thru the street up with elevators then down again, to our bus???!! After spending all day in a bus, arriving in hotel just minutes before scheduled dinners, we were advised to .."porter" our luggage into rooms.. because it .."might take some time for hotel porters to get it to our rooms??!! I believed that I paid collet for luggage handling?? some hotels were outstanding! some rather mediocre!!
Tour

carrying my luggage from a/port conveyors and hotel lobbies (after I paid Collette for this service??!!) looking from my hotel window , trying to see the famous mt cook.. and seeing just the brush, bushes. dump.. our rooms were all in the opposite wing in the basement area!!

Hello, thank you for your feedback. A representative from Collette will be reaching out to you directly to learn more about your experience.

Collette Support

12/18/2017

Counting luggage with collette

Service

extremely inefficient flight schedules with 40 people Collette could have made arrangements for charter flights! there were airports where we had to schlepp our luggage from conveyor across street up stairs than downstairs to our bus???!! there were some quite senior/immobile tourist just unable to handle the luggage over such a long distance! tour "manager" had a snarky advise...I quote.." people you can get a porter job .... our last porter quit so we are looking for replacement.. wow!! She ( i will not use her name- she knows who she is..) made very clear the first night that she is the " MANAGER - NOT A GUIDE" . she spent one hour in 30 C room (A/C broken!!) explaining the difference between guide and manager!! not a word on next day itinerary, just repeated her role as a manager and then wasted more time on 'Collette's tipping guidelines".... next day , in a bus, we all realized the difference between guide and manager.... All questions were answered with same answer,,,,, your bus driver is your guide, he will answer your questions.... She emphasized that she was responsible for our luggage.... so each and every day we waited in a hotel lobby and waited, and waited until she counted, re-counted, and again counted the luggage! one day (after she recounted all luggage three times, she kept asking whose luggage was the one WITHOUT COLLETTE GREEN TAG, After all people confessed that it was not their luggage.... SHE REALIZED THAT IT WAS HER OWN!!!! ONE CAN NOT MAKE UP THIS KIND OF A STORY.. YOU HAD TO BE THERE....... other than that ..she was witty, joyful, cracked jokes, told stories...
Tour

too much time /whole days pent on travel

Hello,\n\nThank you for bringing this to our attention. We have passed this along to a member of our guest relations team who will be reaching out to you to learn more about your experience. If we can be of any more help, please feel free to reach out.

Collette Support

12/12/2017

A very busy tour, some of the trips put us with too many other tourists

Service

Overall Collette was a good choice for this tour, other than a few hick-ups, it went smoothly.
Tour

It has to be the experience at Uluru just outside Alice Springs. Despite the rain at the rock(which had not had rain in 10 months) we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

12/02/2017

Service

Very well organized with many unique opportunities. I especially enjoyed the experiences with Australians and New Zealanders.
Tour

I enjoyed unique experiences and options available.

12/01/2017

Great Customer Service

Service

From the time we began planning, Collette and their customer support representatives were very helpful with their planning suggestions and advice. This continued all the way through our return home from a memory-filled trip.
Tour

This was our first experience with international travel, and it was also our first experience with Collette. We were very happy with all aspects of the tour. There were only a few glitches that were handled very well by our tour manager.

11/28/2017

Wonderful tour! Would definitely do another Collette tour.

Service

Loved that the Tour Manager took care of everything and I didn’t have to worry about any of the logistics. Would have liked to have had our documents sooner to allow sufficient time to completely review them before our departure. We received them less than a week before the tour.
Tour

Most aspects of the tour were great! Loved that the Tour Manager took care of everything and I didn’t have to worry about any of the logistics. The one thing that I didn’t like were the one-night stays in many places. With the one-night stays I felt like I didn’t get to experience the town at all. Would loved to have had more time at Mt. Cook and Phillips Island especially. I did feel like we got to experience a lot, and especially enjoyed time spent with the locals, ie., host dinner in NZ, outback dinner in Australia, and the farm visit for tea. Also really enjoyed the optional train ride to Frank Josef and the snow plane option at Mt. Cook.

11/21/2017

Top notch tour manager!

Service

I appreciated having a driver service for airport transportation. Our tour manager, **** **********, was just a wealth of knowledge. The insight he could give to the countries were traveling to added a richness to the experience I never would of had traveling on my own. He was great at suggestions for free time and the directions he provided to get there, well as the Australians say "spot on"!
Tour

We had a lot of country to travel in 19 days. Each day felt new and full of adventure. Up until the day to return home I kept saying it can't get better than this, but it did. I loved Alice Springs and Uluru. It was a part of Australia you never see much about. The culture and people were amazing. New Zealand was breathtaking. All the towns we stopped in were extremely friendly and so willing to talk about their home.

11/10/2017

Service

Most of our trip was really very good, but I do have some suggestions. First, no one was at the airport to pick us up after 33 hours in transit. I finally reached a Collette representative and a man showed up in a car too small with poor personal hygeine. Once we arrived, the hotel was fine, but we learned that the remainder of our tour would be a day late due to a flight cancellation. I had arranged my own flights and arrived a day earlier. This change for our tour forced us to have a very rushed first day experience. We also lost a day due to another Virgin Australia cancellation en route to Alice Springs. Hiring an unreliable airline to save money resulted in an important piece of the tour lost. The hotel that put us up told us that this was VA's third cancellation that week. Quantas, which we finally flew was the better choice and should have been used in the first place. As for the tour itself, it was very rushed. I would have preferred more days in one place. Fly from Cairns to Alice Springs, have a couple of days there and in Uluru. I could have skipped Melbourne. Sydney was just right. Would have liked to have hiked at Franz Glacier and Mount Cook. Queenstown was just right. Do not have the home hosted dinner the last night, instead, let people say goodbye and have the last night together. All hotels were totally fine. For these reasons, I could only give this tour 3 stars.
Tour

Sydney and Ayers Rock were my favorite experiences.

Hello, thank you for sharing this feedback with us about the tour. We have passed this along to members of our team for review. We appreciate you and value your insight as it helps us to improve our tours for future guests.

Collette Support

11/07/2017

One of the best trips we have taken

Service

Trip was great, saw a lot did a lot and ever thing was set. Tour director and driver were excellent, both had a lot of knowledge of the area.
Tour

Camel ride and ORV drive thru the mountain and river were a joy. Meals were excellent. NZ sights are unreal....perfect

11/07/2017

A GREAT "WOW" TRIP!

Service

Highly recommend Collette in every aspect of the trip from beginning to the end. The tour director **** was excellent in all aspects, very knowledgeable as was ***** the coach driver, personable and polite!! Both made the trip a "WOW" with all that we saw, did, options too, and the great new 44 now "friends" we met. Thanks.
Tour

From the Metro Car, the flights, the places we visited, the things we did and even the options were all well worth this bucket list trip.Besides the tour itself the options well worth considering like our Camel Ride! and the 4 Wheel Drive! and more.

10/17/2017

Service

**** was the best guide we've had on any of our trips. Trip needs a little more time in Melbourne as overnight with an AM drive around is a bit short. New Zealand was AWESOME!!!
Tour

Enjoyed the "little penguins" and everything in New Zealand.

07/12/2017

Trip of a lifetime!

Service

Well organized, telephone reps were friendly and always able to help even when we had delays with our flight. Only tour we saw that includdd the Australian outback. Optional excursions we're fantastic!
Tour

Everything was amazing! Hotels were clean and good quality, included activities, options, the other tour members all made this a trip of a lifetime! My favorite activity was climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I loved the blend of city and outback experiences. Only thing that could have been better was our tour manager. He was knowledgeable and organized and performed the basic requirements of his job, but his personality was sorely lacking. He was very controlling and got irritated when guests asked him to repeat directions or posed questions outside of his prepared agenda for the day. He was actually sarcastic and confrontational at times to some of the guests and to me personally. This is the only reason I'm not giving 5 stars. For the cost of this trip, guests should be able to ask questions at any point on the tour without incident and should never be made to feel like they are annoying. Fortunately the quality of the tour and the amazing experiences we had way overshadowed his shortcomings. Our coach driver in New Zealand more than made up for it with his narration and personal stories. With any other tour manager we would have had a five star experience! I would still travel with Collette again provided I had a different tour manager.

07/11/2017

Great information

Service

Information provided in advance detailed and helpful in planning for trip. Agent that assisted in making travel flights to and from home excellent.
Tour

Great options, however, some included stops could have been excluded to provide more time in places that were too short.

06/13/2017

A Beautiful Taste of Two Wonderful Countries

Service

It was quite an adventure to be on so many modes of transportation and to visit such a variety of places. There were so many choices for exhilarating experiences, and although the tour group consisted of mainly a 60-plus age group, it was never assumed -that we couldn't handle it. There was also the choice to lay back when needed or to not participate in certain things. I'm happy that my friend and I did try just about everything. We also had a nice glimpse into local cultures by visiting private homes, farms, wineries, and a venue in the Outback, among other things. Our tour guide, *Personal Details removed by Feefo* and the various drivers had a wealth of knowledge. Great job, Collette!
Tour

I can't really pick one, but the sunset at Uluru, meeting the Aboriginal people,and buying their artwork stands out as an amazing experience. (I can't seem to attach a photo..the link just brings me to my camera)

05/24/2017

Service

Travel arrangements were generally excellent. The only problems we experienced were not within your ability to control, particularly the problems we had in LA, with the movement from domestic to international terminals. The tour itself was excellent. The only complaint we had was the frequent "one night stays" at various hotels, with the continuous packing and unpacking. Due to the distances between various events, this was understandable, but still an irritant. Our tour guide, *Personal details removed by Feefo* was an example of excellence, with her knowledge and attention to details involved in the tour. This was our second tour with Collette and both were truly outstanding. We'll certainly consider Collette when we decide on our next adventure.
Tour

The tour, and the events included, were everything we had hoped for. Too many locations and events to really single out any particular one to mention.

05/04/2017

Enjoyable trip - saw so much!

Service

Everything went without a hitch. No one lost luggage, everything was as scheduled. No problems. Only suggestion would be to travel in a more logical manner. We flew to Queenstown only to fly to Christchuch, then drive back to Queenstown. Seems like a waste.
Tour

So many memorable experiences because we saw so much.

05/02/2017

Service

trip hit all of the necessary places to see. At times a little too much but we understand the regions dictate that. Excursions compiiment.
Tour

excursions we took were good.

04/26/2017

Service

Not enough free time. Had to fly too much. Should have gone from Cairns to Alice Springs to Melbourne to Sydney. Should have charter flights for 40+ passengers. We had 42. I liked the Great Barrier Reef. I liked New Zealand better than Australia. Beautiful country. Needed to include drinks with the dinner on the Steamship to Dinner excursion. The sing-a-long on the way back from the dinner was fun. The best part of the trip was the Fiji extension. I do appreciate the late checkout at the hotel. Tour guide was good. She did let 1 couple get away with being late nearly every time. She had to "baby sit" them the whole trip.
Tour

It was a good trip, but it did cost way too much for what we got. I really do think you should see if you can get charter flights in Australia. New Zealand was a really pretty country. Fiji was the best part.

04/26/2017

Service

The hotels were good. The boxed breakfast at the Sydney hotel was NOT GOOD. The one at Christchurch was better. I do appreciate having the boxed meals though. It would have been nice to have a hotel in Sydney in the harbor area although the other one was ok. I know it is necessary to fly to the different places in Australia, but maybe charter flights instead of commercial?? That was a very expensive trip and I think we spent too much time in airports. We also could have used a little more free time. The Flying Doctor and telegraph sites were good, but I would have enjoyed more time at the pool at the hotel.
Tour

*Personal Details removed by Feefo* was an excellent tour guide. The drivers were pretty good. The driver in New Zealand was excellent. I enjoyed the dinner in the Hunt's home in Christchurch. I really enjoyed the Great Barrier Reef! I didn't know all that was below the ocean surface!!I It was a good trip. We didn't have much free time though. It would have been good to know that it was possible to get tickets to an event at the Sydney Opera House before we had purchased "A Night Out in Sydney" excursion. It was the date of the excursion when we found out we could get tickets to the performance and it was too late to cancel. Also in New Zealand at the excursion on the TSS Earnslaw Steamship to Dinner cost $105 per person. For that price, we should have been given at least 1 glass of wine and at least a soft drink for dinner! They were charging extra for them. We had to drink water or pay extra. For that price they should have been included. It was really good to go to extend our trip for the last 4 days to Fiji. I appreciate the late checkout Collette provided for us. That was so nice. Thank you. I did recommend this trip to a friend. She and her husband will be celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2 yrs. She said they are going to start saving for this trip.

04/14/2017

Airline Travel department is very poop

Service

Their airline travel department is really poor. It was ok for booking but when changes had to be made at the last minute they were totally uninformed.
Tour

Great destinations. Great barrier reef was great

Hello John,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have passed it along to our customer care team so we can improve the tour for future guests. Your feedback is important to us and we look forward to traveling with you again on a future tour.

Collette Support

04/14/2017

Service

Local tours were very excellent. Our tour manager did an outstanding job! Everything was arranged and well-coordinated. He made the air travel in country very smooth. Some of the hotels were outstanding but there were a few that did not meet our expectations. The hotel in Sydney was too far away from the main attractions. Restaurants where Collette provided meals were mixed as far as satisfaction. The Greek restaurant in Sydney was not good at all. The lamb was extremely tough and fatty. No one in our group ate it. The hotel restaurant in Queenstown had good food but the service was worse than slow. All breakfast meals were terrific! We were very pleased with the number of attractions we were able to see in the 3 weeks but it did require being on the tour bus most mornings by 7 a.m. A couple of mornings we departed before daylight. It seemed we never had dinner before 7 or 7:30, which was late for us.
Tour

Our favorites on the tour were: petting kangaroos and koalas, Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef, Penguin Parade, Journey through Middle Earth and Mt. Cook.

04/04/2017

Australia and NZ in 3 Weeks -Bucket List Happily Accomplished!

Service

The tour guide, variety of experience, meal inclusions, and pace of the trip were excellent! We have already recommended Collette to several of our friends. This was a "bucket list" trip and didn't disappoint. We actually spent less money on meals than planned, since there were enough included meals in the tour. The hotels were centrally located, which gave us opportunity to explore on our own, and the tours started early enough in the day that we packed in plenty of sightseeing. 3 weeks sounds like a long time - but we were entertained and knew what to expect each day. This was largely due to our tour guide who had amazing attention to detail. Her transportation coordination of internal flights alone was amazing.
Tour

The variety of available activities really made this a great trip. Here are a few of my favorite things: -Seeing an opera in the Sydney Opera house after learning about it on the morning tour was fantastic. We enjoyed having dinner at a cafe on the dock and the view of the bridge and opera house prior to the performance. -Toasting with champagne at Uluru rock at sunset was a treat. -Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef was a highlight too. I never thought I'd be able to do something like that. -The aboriginal led hike through the rain forest in Cairns gave us insight into their way of life.The ruggedness of the trail made it more fun. -The view of Mt. Cook in the The Hermitage hotel was outstanding. -The tea and scones at the NZ farm was a treat and really getting to talk to the farmer after he sheared the sheep was fun. -Dinner with a NZ family on our last night really gave us insight into the way real people live. Our hosts were warm and friendly.

04/02/2017

Overall an excellent vaction with a wonderful organized tour manager Dave.

Service

Very well organzed tour director, worry free travel. Good food and excellent accomodations. Good location of hotels.
Tour

Excellent locations and good experience from Outback to the modern. Too much time was wasted in flying to the same locations over and over again. The tour lay out could be better organized.

Hello Pratap,

We're pleased to hear you had a great time touring the Outback! Thank you for sharing your feedback about the flights and organization of the itinerary. We will pass it along to our product team for review.
We appreciate you and look forward to travelling with you again soon.

Collette Support

03/24/2017

Trip was great but the service prior was less than expected.

Service

I talked to 5 different people and got 5 different answers about whether or not I would be able to scuba dive on this trip. if they don't know they should say so or find out. also, our flight was cancelled and I expected more help with finding other flights than what I received. in fact, I felt you should have known the flight was cancelled and notified me??
Tour

Loved the camel ride at Uluru, Sydney, and all of New Zealand scenery.

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, we’re going to pass it along to our Reservations and Air Teams to look into.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Collette Support

03/14/2017

Wonderful!

Service

We had a great trip, everything went very smoothly without any hitches. Our Guide, Michael Oghee was excellent! He was very knowledgeable and his attention to detail made our trip effortless.
Tour

We love the unexpected, so when in Cairns the fruit bats were very unexpected and enjoyed. The optional tour for the Little Penguins was amazing, Milford Sound was magical.

02/28/2017

Overall the service was great. The only problem I had was getting detailed...

Service

Overall the service was great. The only problem I had was getting detailed info for optional excursions. It was not available on line but my travel agent was able to get the info after direct contact with Collette. This just caused delays in decision making.
Tour

Getting the opportunity to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge. That's my kind of getting high.

12/05/2016

Trip of a lifetime

Service

Trip of a lifetime! Well designed, comprehensive and well-paced. Loved it all fabulous tour manager ********** made the trip.
Tour

The Daintree Rain Forest Dreamtime trip and all experiences in the Outback

11/29/2016

Knowledgeable when called for information. Sometimes lines were ******* an...

Service

Knowledgeable when called for information. Sometimes lines were ******* and hard to get through to an agent. Printed travel guide was an excellent resource while on the trip.
Tour

Overall a very rewarding excursion. Some included attractions were less than stellar.

11/28/2016

Would Like to do it again in a few years, New Zealand was Beautiful.......

Service

Vacation of a Life Time, So Much to See. enjoyed every part of the Trip..
Tour

All aspects of the Tour were Great, would recommend trip to everyone.......

11/08/2016

Great experience

Service

Good tour guide, excellent itinerary, wonderful people to travel with
Tour

We saw lots of great and interesting things for the time we had

10/26/2016

Great trip!

Service

Our Tour manager was professional informative and fun. He helped us experience our trip as an adventure and handled any bumps that arose, like disappoint over cancellation of the Koala Park and not getting to see the youth at risk. I liked the small group - it allowed us to get to know our fellow travelers well.
Tour

It is difficult to pinpoint to provide your favorite memorable experience, there were many from snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, experiencing Ayers Rock to sailing in Milford Sound. They were all great.

06/14/2016

Service

Service was good. Got us all the discounts available, got us room with view at our first stop, had expedited TSA pass at airport. Would recommend company and use again. Wish that we had known in advance that many hotels had laundry rooms for guests to use, that would have meant that we would not have had to take so many clothes.

05/26/2016

This was a trip of a lifetime for me and Collette could not have performed better.

Service

Service was excellent from my first phone call, people very knowledgeable and willing to look into any request I had. I questioned the air schedule and people got back to me to answer my questions and give alternative flights. Showed me that the flights originally booked were indeed the best ones. Spoke with many different agents and each one was as considerate and knowledgeable as the other. Very good responses. I would absolutely recommend this company and already have. I had already booked my next trip with Collette Tours.
Tour

This tour included the Outback which was one of the highlights for me. The tour of Sydney Opera house, Rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef, Cook Mountain, Franz Joseph Glacier. Too many experiences. I can honestly say that each day brought something new and exciting. I took advantage of many extras offered and also went along with our tour guide, who walked with those of us who wanted to see it all! She made this trip an absolute joy with her knowledge, attention to all details of our tour, her enthusiasm and her willingness to show us extra sights in whatever free time we had.

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From the Outback to the Glaciers

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