South Pacific Wonders including New Zealand's North Island

03/27/2020

Service

Our tour guide, Kathy Fil, was excellent. The whole trip was very enjoyable and so informative.
Tour

Touring New Zealand was my favorite part of the trip.

03/12/2020

Service

I would recommend and have recommended Collette for their service. The experience is always first class and well planned for safety, comfort, and FUN.
Tour

One of my favorite experiences was cruising to Mitford Sound. I love to boat ride and the scenery as we cruised in New Zealand was absolutely beautiful. Also, I enjoyed our day at the Mt. Nicholas Country Farm and the informational tour and, of course, the cruise there and back. I didn't expect to enjoy the Hartley Croc Farm, but it was fun - especially holding a sweet koala.

03/12/2020

Flight connections could have been reduced & better.

Service

I did not like the fact that a tip amount for the tour guide had an amount of between 5-8 USD dollars. They are already getting paid by Collette & we paid a huge amount already for the trip. I don’t feel that was appropriate. She could make upwards of 3,500 extra in tips alone. Not appropriate.
Tour

Better tours & flights

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our South Pacific Wonders tour. We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with feedback on the tour. Your comments will be reviewed by our internal department managers so that the overall touring experience for our guests can be improved.

Collette Support

03/05/2020

Excellent value for dollars spent!!

Service

Excellent value 4 my dollar spent. Excellent itinerary, tour manager and facilities used.
Tour

The tour was very well planned with excellent accommodations and adventures included. I actually have two favorites from this trip number two was the evening we spent with a family in New Zealand and the number one was going to the sheep station in New Zealand.

02/17/2020

Service

Great tour guide! Peter Camara was awesome!! I was expecting an Australian/kiwi as a tour guide but peter was great and knowledgeable!! I never did tell peter that....lol
Tour

The optional off-roading tour was great!

02/17/2020

Service

Peter Camara was an awesome tour guide. Very knowledgeable!
Tour

Doing the luge was a lot of fun!

12/08/2019

Absolutely wonderful trip to Australia and New Zealand! Lovely! LovelY :)

Service

Absolutely wonderful! We enjoyed an awesome trip of a lifetime! We marked off a trip on our bucket list! Peter Cabera is an excellent, humorous, efficient and lovely tour guide! He started with Collette 33 years ago! Wow! A true testament of the love of one's job! He handled the trip with the upmost of professionalism and knowledge of beautiful Australia and New Zealand! Ann and I were impressed with the local guides and the knowledgeable bus drivesr too! We loved our trip so much that we are looking forward to booking many more tours with your company! :)
Tour

Excellent tour!!!!! Sidney, Darling Harbour was gorgeous! I loved holding the koala bear at Hartley's Croc Farm!

11/30/2019

Service

bad start to our tour. in chicago trying to board the plane and they had to fit us in other planes after 2 hours of trying to figure in out. thank god our local tour guide was with us. i think we should have toured syndey the canns. that would have cut out 1 airplane flight
Tour

i was very happy with seeing new things. i did appreciate the time on my own to explore. i would have liked to see more of australia as we were only in big cities there. this make me rate the new zealand part higher. we got to see more of the country rather than just another city.

11/29/2019

Service

I found it difficult in arranging this tour. I do not like calling and have to wait to get to an actual person and then to have a situation where one person can't answer/deal with all the questions and having to be sent to various different people. Also, there were a number of changes that had to be dealt with relative to the flights before we could book. I felt as though we did the work to make the flights correct instead of Collette doing the work. Also, while our tour guide knew information I didn't find her (Kathy Fil) to be very warm and friendly. It would be nice for Collette to provide bottled water each day when on the bus.
Tour

Sydney was everything I expected and more, New Zealand was phenomenal and Fiji was relaxing

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our South Pacific Wonders tour. We're sorry to hear you experienced some pre-tour issues. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Client Care Center so that our pre tour communication processes can be improved.

Collette Support

11/28/2019

Bucket list trip

Service

Great itinerary, extemely well organized. Coach drivers were very good at sightseeing narratives. Tour guide was a bit controlling at times.
Tour

Loved the tour of Sydney Opera House, tours of the indigenous sites and visit with New Zealand couple. Loved the Fiji option. .

11/10/2019

Great job

Service

I feel that Collette takes care of their clients. There was confusion regarding what was included and it was explained and taken care of and was included. The tour managers are outstanding. The accommodations are excellent.
Tour

Milford Sound tour was oustanding

11/07/2019

Service

Everything!
Tour

Sheep station. Many others too.

10/31/2019

Service

The overall trip was fine. The flight from Chicago to Hong Kong lay over was just one hour, fortunately I made it because I requested wheel chair assistance, unfortunately my luggage did not make the transfer, so I was one day without my luggage. The Tour manager, Vic was fantastic. Australia and New Zealand were fine. I was disappointed that I didn't get to take a hot air balloon ride nor an opera in the Sydney Opera house. I was disappointed when we arrived at Fiji, we received no assistance from ATS Pacific. We were signed up for the trip to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant for 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. only to discover with the assistance of Rosie's at the hotel that the trip was only available at 8:30 a.m. I would recommend Rosie's over ATS Pacific. The lay over in Los Angeles was 9 hrs. There was an earlier flight from Los Angeles to Detroit, but I would have had to pay $75 more, which I refused to do. As stated earlier, the Australian and New Zealand part of the tour was great, but it leaves a bad taste with the lack of service in FIJI
Tour

Visit to the sheep station and family visit in New Zealand

10/23/2019

Service

Our tour guide Peter worked very well with our guide Dame Jean Marie. The two made sure everyone in the group and taken care of. No one was left out and made sure we knew what was going to be taking place each day. Peter repeated once or twice to make sure everyone heard and understood.
Tour

Love the Pre-excursion to the Outback. Love seeing Ayers rock and the Camel ride was the highlight of my trip.

10/23/2019

Service

Stacy Moule was our guide and she was absolutely phenomenal...she made the trip, the telephone communication was very good... all very knowledgeable, polite, quick to return all calls, and very patient staff. I can’t say enough good about Collette!,
Tour

Great excursions, Stacey Moule, awesome tour guide, timing of excursions was good.

10/20/2019

Great guide makes for great trip!

Service

The tour was run efficiently with little wasted time. Our tour guide, Peter, complemented the tour organizer (Jean Marie Sindelar) very well. We were always informed about timing, location and other amenities to be aware of.
Tour

Sunrise from a hot air balloon at Ayres Rock and the camel ride for the same were definitely highlights.

10/20/2019

Great tour guide made the trip!

Service

Our tour guide, Peter, was excellent, well informed and VERY organized.
Tour

Hot air balloon in the outback.

10/19/2019

Service

My guide was Stacey Moule and she was wonderful! She had an Australian accent so she was very pleasant to listen to. She was exceedingly knowledgeable about the area we were seeing and always gave us options of where we could go on our off time. When one side trip fell through due to an avalanche of snow, she scrambled to get us to go see glow worms in a cave. This entailed a scenic boat trip and a tour inside a cave with a waterfall! I think I had a better time on that sideline tour than if we had gotten to the place where the avalanche occurred! Our driver was Peter (Weller?) and he told us stories of every place we went, and his personal stories of when he visited there that were very interesting also. I would recommend Collette and will be taking more tours with you, This being my first tour with Collette was a very positive first experience that will lead to more. I dreamed of going to Australia since I was a young teenager and it may have taken me 50 plus years to get there but the wait was worth it!
Tour

The shotover jet river ride was a memorable experience that you could probably do on any river, but the scenery was not to be duplicated anywhere else in the world. Those mountains were magnificant!! And I really can't decide between that and the Te Anau Glowworm caves. And I do have a picture of me holding a Koala bear at Hartley's Crocodile Adventure to make my trip official.Everything was just so memorable. I even ate a crocodile pie!

10/18/2019

Service

The flight layover in LA was 10 & 1/2 hours!!!! I found this to be a smack in the face after a great trip. I did not appreciate the little effort that went into making sure we had a pleasant return trip; would have also been nice to fly directly to Detroit but you sent us to Chicago for yet another layover before we could head home to Detroit!
Tour

Some of the Hotels weren't that great in fact the place in Queenstown was dirty.

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Discover the South Pacific Wonders tour. We're sorry to hear you were disappointed with your return flight schedule from Fiji. Your comments will be reviewed by our Air department so that the overall touring experience for our guests can be improved.

Collette Support

10/18/2019

A wonderful vacation

Service

The tour of Australia/New Zealand/Fiji was wonderful. A great pace, wonderful tour guide, knowledgeable and personable bus driver/narrator, great hotels and destinations. This was our first tour and likely won't be our last. Our only complaint would be the airline chosen for our return flight from LA to Detroit. They coulda/shoulda used Delta for a direct flight instead of United, which required a connection in Chicago. When you're travelling over 24 hours to get home, that makes a difference.
Tour

We were well cared for the entire trip. Knowledgeable, personable and experienced tour manager, beautiful and interesting destinations.

10/15/2019

Service

Colette has top notch tour guide
Tour

Everything was explain very nicely

10/15/2019

Service

Best tour guide EVER! Collette's tour guides (with one notable exception) are always excellent, but Peter was, in the true sense of the word, outstanding.
Tour

Collette's tour managers (with one notable exception) have always been great, but in the absolute literal meaning of the word, Peter was outstanding!

10/12/2019

all mangers and tour guides did a fantastic job and were very knowledgeable

Service

All were very knowledgeable in their area and very personable. Gave the tour presentations with so much information it is hard not to have a great experience from all we saw.
Tour

The country I most enjoyed was New Zealand. Not only a beautiful county but the people were very friendly and interesting to be around.

07/15/2019

Service

Barry was great. But upset because he did not go to fiji
Tour

Fiji was very disappointing because of location of hotel

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. We're very sorry for the disappointment you experienced in Fiji. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Tour Management and Product Design Teams in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests. We have mailed out a letter of apology, check and travel vouchers as a customer service gesture for the issues experienced in Fiji.

Collette Support

05/30/2019

Service

Collette had our tour of Australia, NZ and Fiji very well organized and our Tour Manager Kathy was outstanding.
Tour

The trip to Milford Sound was the outstanding part of the whole tour.

05/26/2019

Service

The tours were scheduled well and our guide was excelkent, Miggie Chang. Our bus drivers were very informative and helpful.
Tour

Holding a koala, seeing Sydney Opera House... I think the flights in U.S. were bad. Needed a direct flight to LAX if possible.

05/26/2019

Emily Bernstein wonderful

Service

Office great
Tour

Air schedule could be better with nonstop from Houston to Sydney instead of going lax it is horrible

05/26/2019

Service

Good communication and customer service.
Tour

The tour was well organized and each day's activities and schedules were provided verbally and in writing ahead of time. There were many memorable experiences, but probably most memorable were the experiences at the Aboriginal cultural centers. We had a situation where we somehow neglected to bring enough of an absolutely mandatory medication. A suggestion for the Collette Company is that it prepare for its tour managers in all large cities in any country where there are tours a list of physicians who can be called upon not only for medical emergencies, but a list of physicians for helping provide written prescriptions. Trying to contact the physician back home proved fruitless, as he had no idea how to provide a prescription to a pharmacy in country. In our case, after quite a bit of chasing around to resolve our issue, a local pharmacist was able to outline what needed to happen (visit a nearby medical center to be seen by a physician who could write a prescription which could be filled by a pharmacy). We did as suggested and obtained the required medication. NOTE: The receptionist at the medical center had certainly dealt with this situation in prior times, as she prepared not only the paperwork needed for the issue at hand, but also the paperwork for submission to our insurance back home.

05/26/2019

Service

Yes I would recommend Collette and would book another tour with them. This tour gave us time to explore on our own and see a lot with the tour guides. Miggi was outstanding! Even when you could tell she was not feeling well she was there leading us through our tour. I would have given 5 stars but the flight schedule I felt could have been more direct to Australia.
Tour

There was not one memorable moment, there were several. Loved Queens Town, New Zealand .

05/25/2019

Service

The whole tour was well organized, did not have to wonder what was going to happen, we were informed well in advance of everything! Will and have told many others that this is a company that can be trusted, to handle all the details ( small and large ). Will travel with them again!
Tour

I felt safe and informed at all times!

05/19/2019

Service

I don't know if I would travel with them again or not. Went to Australia/New Zealand/Fiji. Leaving had to fly Det-Houston-LA-NZ-Aus (when Australia was our first destination). Returning from Fiji-LA (10 hr layover)-DC-Det. No reason to have a third city in USA. Just added a lot more travel time to agenda. Tour was okay. Not impressed with Christchurch. Seemed like a lot of dinner cruises. Food overall good. I feel tour guide should always give us a phone number where they can be reached in emergency. Ours did not. Motels mostly quite nice. We opted or the optional 3 nights in Fiji. No tour guide, only one tour mentioned. I have traveled with a number of other agencies. I think I would opt to travel with one of them before I travel with Collette again.
Tour

Did not quite meet my expectations

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Air and Product Design Team's in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

05/19/2019

Everything was wonderful. Hotels, food and great tours.

Service

Every was great!!!!! Tours, Hotels tops. Great Food.
Tour

We got to see so many great area there isn't one I could say was any better then another.

05/17/2019

Trip review

Service

Our guide, Stacey for Australia and New Zealand was great. Every need was addressed and any problems resolved. Fiji was a disappointment. The resort was too new and had issues. The beach was not a beach but packed dirt. We were not able to walk anywhere therefore we were stuck at the resort. The restaurant selection was not good, during the day it was a bar and grill for your choice. Spa wasn't ready, no retail stores open and the last day was a very long day since we checked out at 11am and didn't leave until 6pm. The Sleeping Giant Tour on our last day was great, our tour guide was very informative. I would recommend Collette because overall it was a great trip.
Tour

Having dinner in Christchurch New Zealand with a local family.

04/11/2019

Great trip!!

Service

They hired the best tour guide for our group!! She was amazing!!! She never left anyone behind. She was cute and funny
Tour

My favorite memory was going on the trip with my husband!!

04/11/2019

Service

I left a lengthy comment via an email to customer service and a survey provided by our tour manager. Is there a miscommunication. I never received acknowledgement for either comment. I do not want to waste my time anymore.
Tour

See above. Do not wish to waste any extra time.

Thank you for contacting us again regarding your tour to the South Pacific. According to our notes, we replied to your email on March 19 thanking you for the feedback and left our Customer Service number if you wished to discuss further.

Collette Support

04/07/2019

The accommodations, tours, and food were all wonderful.

Service

Our guide, Vic Martin, was wonderful, and the tour really gave us an opportunity to feel as though we had really experienced these countries.
Tour

Very thorough and the opportunity to experience local culture was wonderful.

04/07/2019

Australia/NewZealand first rate. Fiji, not so much.

Service

Main tour was fantastic. Added Fiji tour was not as good. Please don't connect with other tour if service is not equal.
Tour

Holding a koala!!!! Gorgeous scenery on South Island of NZ

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Product Design Team in order to enhance the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

04/07/2019

Service

My first experience with Collette was wonderful. The hotels were very nice & the sights we saw were amazing.
Tour

On the North Island I enjoyed Rotorua and its amazing geothermal landscape.

04/07/2019

Service

Collette did an excellent job with providing the group with information and they handled helping me schedule a different flight home when it was necessary. I do have one complaint however. I informed Collette that I would need gluten free food on any flights that served meals. The Delta flights that we flew had the information but the Virgin Australia, New Zealand Air, and Fiji Air flights claimed that they had no record of it so eating for me on those flights was a problem because they don’t carry extra GF meals onboard.
Tour

The itinerary was fantastic and included as many experiences as possible without neglecting the groups’ need for free time. Cruising Milford Sound was an awe-inspiring highlight of the trip.

04/06/2019

Great tour

Service

This was one of the best tours we have taken. Our tour manager was top notch in spite of numerous medical emergencies. She was very well organized and professional along with being amiable and just a pleasure to be with. We have two more tours planned with Collette and would be happy to have her again. The driver in New Zealand was very informative and courteous and made the bus trips very enjoyable.
Tour

The tour really was great. If I had anything to wish was better it would be less free time. I’m not much of a shopper but I understand others are so it was ok. I would rather have more excursion type time.

03/29/2019

Vacation of a life time!!!

Service

I would whole heartedly recommend Collette for your travel needs and desires!! I truly believe I received the experience that I couldn't have created on my own if I were planning a trip of this nature. All I needed to do, besides pay, was to pack my bag and go. All details, down to dinner times were taken care of; transportation to airports, hotels, bag delivery, help through customs, best places to shop, dine, and visit are all thought out ahead of time. Our tour leader was so well versed on the local culture, I felt like there wasn't anything we could ask that he didn't know.
Tour

The best part of the trip was the Great Barrier Reef. The snorkeling was amazing!!!

03/28/2019

Service

Great tour guide, excellent bus drivers.
Tour

Seeing Milford Sound, NZ on a clear sunny day was probably the top experience, though many were great.

03/28/2019

Service

Hotels and meals were excellent. Assistance on the phone pre-trip was so-so. I feel that if I had 1 agent who knew me and my desires, he/she could have aided me more easily. One agent kept having to put me on hold to get correct details and/or advice. Also, my return route home was needlessly circuitous causing me 30hrs of travel as opposed to the 18-20 as enjoyed by others
Tour

Great places just long inbetween rides. Would have enjoyed a few more stops to stretch or sightsee

03/28/2019

Service

We had a wonderful time and were shown many of the sites.
Tour

had a great time, the tour manger and the bus drivers were extremely negligible.

03/21/2019

Service

This was a well organized trip. Our tour guide, Toni, was wonderful. The hotel accommodations and transfer service was excellent!
Tour

The optional foodie tour in Sydney was the best! The optional plane ride from Milford Sound was spectacular!

03/21/2019

Service

It was an excellent value & I enjoyed my trip
Tour

The trip was a great value & I enjoyed everything

03/18/2019

Best Tour Guide EVER!!!

Service

A family emergency caused us to have a "stand-in" tour guide, but it was our lucky day. Peter Camara was the BEST, hands down!
Tour

Some hotels lacked amenities and much needed drawer space.

03/17/2019

Service

Well organized. Excellent local Guides. Awesome tour manager. Great hotels.
Tour

Variety of venues and events. Wildlife. Milford Sound was exceptional.

03/17/2019

Fun and worth the money

Service

We received a good value for our money and had a great travel quide.
Tour

Bungee jumping, Sidney bridge climb, Shotover jet boats, great,hotels, great food

03/14/2019

Service

Had problems with our group airline flights from New Zealand and Fiji.
Tour

Milford Sound Day trip in New Zealand

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. We do not have any notes on file regarding your group having flight issues from Queenstown to Fiji. If you can provide us with more information, our air department can review it to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

03/14/2019

Service

Yes, had beautiful tours/lovely accomodations/great food!
Tour

I thought the whole experience was excellent. Only drawback for me was the long plane ride, but that was to be expected, coming from Michigan and going way to Australia/New Zealand!

03/07/2019

My group enjoyed all the tours, food and every aspect of the trip .

Service

Managing all my payments tours and handling all aspects of the-trip prior to leaving
Tour

We loved the sheep sheering and the Great Barrier Reethe cruises and the gondola ride meet and greet meeting with the Aboridgenies.

03/07/2019

Service

It was a wonderful tour and everything went better than expected.
Tour

Difficult to determine the favorite.

02/06/2019

Our guide was the greatest.....Our bus drivers were great also very knowled

Service

Excellent on all areas...cities, activities and all around great time
Tour

It's hard to pick one...All had their great experience s.

02/02/2019

Service

Overall the trip was sensational! However, I thought the flights could have been fewer - more direct flight to & from Kansas City. Our tour guide was the best! The hotels were fine except for us in a triple room - rooms too small!!
Tour

Wonderful memories! Loved all the cities! Enjoyed dinner with host family, all the wildlife experiences, the Jetski ride, but my favorite was queenstown!

02/02/2019

Service

Customer service needs overhauled. I paid the extra amount for first class. When documents were sent I only had first class from California to New Zealand. Same for my return. $10,400 for two flights. I cancelled and scheduled my own air for $5,000 from Kansas Cory to Sydney. Collette never reimbursed me for the air I did not use. Saved $5,400 and got more air travel than Colette was giving me for $10,400. Need I say this was not good advertisement for your company.
Tour

Fiji was great. Should have had more days there.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. We're sorry to hear our Air Reservations Team could not find an acceptable international schedule for your tour. The refund for your unused air ($10,105.00) was credited back to your Visa card on September 28th, 2018.

Collette Support

01/20/2019

Last time with Collette

Service

The trip was ok, but nothing extraordinary. Collette did a terrible job on flight arrangements. After asking for seat preferences, almost every seat they had assigned was a middle seat, not the aisle seat requested. I made some changes with the airlines directly, but it cost me an extra $338. It took over 2.5 hours to get boarding passes in BOS, because Collette screwed up the bookings. (not just us but everyone traveling with Seacoast Science) Similarly, we had an issue from Fiji to the US. The Fiji Airlines rep at the hotel stated 'Oh, Collettet, they are the worst. The food service at the resort in Fiji was terrible - they simply didn't care.That being said, out tour director in Aus and NZ was excellent.
Tour

Travel was very poor. Collette screwed up with the airlines. Didn't have flight information until a day or two before the trip started. Seat assignments were not even close to what was requested. Cost an extra $338 to fix. Waited about 2.5 hours in BOS to get boarding passed - Collette errors with the airline. Likewise problems leaving Fiji. Resort staff (in particular restaurant) in Fiji resort was terrible. This should have been a great trip - oh-well, never again with Collette.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to discuss your feedback.

Collette Support

01/19/2019

Great trip the scenery was breathtaking & the accomdations 1st class

Service

The overall accommodations were first rate & the tour mgr was very professional & friendly The sites visited were amazing especially learning how to throw a boomerang
Tour

The Great Barrier Reef and The Lords of Ring tour in Queentown NZ

01/18/2019

Service

Minimize plane changeovers and layovers. Travel itinerary was poorly planned. Plane changeovers and excessive layovers could have been minimized. Verify flight arrangements with airline. Have Collette representative available at all departures to resolve booking issues. Flight arrangements were not verified by Collette prior to departure. United Airlines could not find our booking, taking well over an hour to resolve at check in. A similar issue occurred with Fiji Airline on the return trip. No Collette representative was present to resolve. Update Fiji extension description. There was no “expansive sandy beach with clear ocean water” anywhere close to our hotel. Instead, the beach was muddy silt and water murky. Fiji hotel restaurant staff was inattentive and unwilling to help. We had to go out of our way, and ask several times, for water and coffee to be served. Meal orders were lost or forgotten.
Tour

What we expected was a small group tour with emphasis on the natural history aspects of the areas visited. Instead, it was a large group with itinerary no different than tours offered at significantly lower cost.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. Your feedback will be reviewed by our internal department managers so that the overall touring experience can be improved upon.

Collette Support

01/04/2019

Service

when ever there was sudden change in the schedule or cancelation of a tour etc or guide was able to rearrange schedules or what ever needed to be done to keep everyone on track.
Tour

every thing went well as planned

12/21/2018

Good professional travel company

Service

Good tour manager and guides with local knowledge and hotels in central locations.Well organized and interesting excursions.Plenty of room on coaches good polite drivers and even when coach broke down due to flat tire problem was quickly resolved without much delay to onward journey.
Tour

Lots of different places and countries visited and all of them good.The jet boat ride on the shotover river in queenstown New Zealand was a great experience.

12/18/2018

Great time but time in each country needs to be altered

Service

I really liked our tour director she was wonderful and extremely helpful. I think that the tour itself should be rearranged. Too much time was spent in New Zealand with so much less to do. Australia was wonderful. I wish we could have spent more time there. Possibly going to Melbourne and Bisbane. There was so much more to see and we just weren’t there long enough to do everything I would have liked to. New Zealand was pretty but just not much to do.
Tour

The allocation of dates in New Zealand needs to be reduced. Loved climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was an additional cost but it was my favorite part of the vacation.

Thank you for traveling with Collette to the South Pacific. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Product Development Team so that the necessary itinerary changes can be made.

Collette Support

12/17/2018

Fun, informative, relaxing, beautiful scenery.

Service

The tour was well organized, we had a wonderful tour leader. She really did some extra things to make us feel special, like at Hartly's crock farm arranging for a private time with a koala for our group. The pace of trip was great and the food was terrific.
Tour

Amazing countryside, mountains and people. Really enjoyed dinner at a home of a local couple.

11/01/2018

Help with rescheduling flight

Service

We missed a connecting flight and Collette was very helpful with rescheduling.
Tour

Really enjoyed the tour. We saw a lot of interesting things.

11/01/2018

Australia New Zealand trip

Service

The trip was good. Some unexpected glitches, mostly air travel related.Tour guide excellent, lots of early departures and long bus rides not the best. Being on the bus for long rides should be explored.
Tour

The trip and the tours were very good. The tour leader was excellent. The air travel was long and uncomfortable. Long bus rides during the trip to different locations must be discussed, too much down time. Three of the four hotels were excellent, one in Christchurch just average, should be looked into.

10/28/2018

Trip to Australia and New Zealand

Service

Well planned trip, excellent tour manager, no glitches except trip to Milford Sound was cancelled due to snow and closed road. Tour manager did everything to make this up by taking us to the Glow Worm cave. All good.
Tour

Home visit in Christchurch. The whole trip was will done.

08/09/2018

Service

Our tour guide, Stacey was wonderful! She was knowledgeable and friendly,and took care of any potential issues so quickly that we weren't even affected. My one complaint would be the booking of plane tickets. It was already long flights, then adding on long layovers at each place made it worse. Also, our tour packet from Collette was inaccurate in regards to included meals. So, it looked like we weren't supposed to get meals that we really were.
Tour

This was a wonderful trip! Perfect if you just want a taste of the two countries. The Sydney Opera House and Milford Sound were the highlights, for me. It was much more relaxed than other tours I've been on, with lots of time to explore on your own. We went during their winter season, so it was cooler, but not as crowded.

05/10/2018

The Trip of a Lifetime!

Service

Everything was planned down to the most minute detail. The tour guide(s) were outstanding. They knew so much and we learned so many things we wouldn't have had we taken this trip on our own.
Tour

We toured Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji on the Southeast Pacific Tour. My favorite stop was the Lord of the Rings Tour in New Zealand. Stunningly beautiful scenery that was breathtakingly spectacular!

04/12/2018

Trip of a lifetime - try Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji

Service

Everything about the trip was perfect! The amount of time in each city was excellent. Collette’s helpfulness through the numerous airports was much appreciated. The 2 drivers on the days on motor coaches (Sydney & to Milford Sound) were courteous & well informed. Our Tour Manager (Caryn) went above & beyond to make sure all details were handled & we knew what to expect in each city. She had maps available & offered varied suggestions on places to eat, shop, and see. The travel information received before the trip was very helpful.
Tour

The size of the group was perfect (22) - weather couldn’t have been any better - our Tour Manager (Caryn) was so nice and helpful. New Zealand was the best - air flight back from Milford Sound was awesome. Off- road trip around Queenstown offered amazing sights. We even chose to tandem paraglide off Coronet Peak - words can’t describe that fabulous experience!!

04/08/2018

Bad information and bad service

Service

Initial customer service was poor. Incorrect information, mistakes, hard to reach. Insufficient hours of operation were inconvenient especially outside of the eastern time zone.
Tour

Having dinner with a local family was a nice touch.

Thank you for your feedback. Your comments have been forwarded to the Client Care Center. They will use your feedback to improve the pre-tour booking process.

Collette Support

04/07/2018

Service

Everything was top notch. No worries over transfers and luggage. Accommodates we all great. Outr tour manager Kim was informative, entertaining and helpful. The weather was a bit in cooperative but we trucked on anyway.
Tour

Yes, everything was taken care of. The hotel were great and tours were varied and fun.

03/17/2018

enjoyable

Service

needed whispers since couldnt hear guides too big a group drinks should be included in provided meals brochure said lord of rings tour offered was not gondola thru rain forest was not offered
Tour

loved new zealand especially queenstown beautiful city clean, interesting and beautiful

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback on your tour to the South Pacific. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to you to discuss your comments.

Collette Support

01/25/2018

Service

Travel guide was excellent. You could improve in having a person at Sydney airport to guide your travelers for flight connection to Cairns. The flight to Cairns was at the other airport and you needed a shuttle. It was very confusing, especially after a 15.5 hr flight and going thru customs. If you are going to Sydney for New Years Eve, spend to money to have a hotel close, so elderly people can see fireworks. Other than that, it was a wonderful trip!
Tour

Snorkling over the Great Barrier Reef, New Years Eve fireworks, visiting a farm in New Zealand, dinner with a local, Steamboat ride and all meals were excellent, except lunch on excursion to barrier reef & 4 wheeling in river. Queenstown is breath taking!

11/30/2017

Great food and lodging

Service

Too many people on tour(lot's of time wasted getting on and off buses and airplanes) and will choose a tour company next with fewer participants.
Tour

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11/30/2017

Very professional

Service

We are not experienced travelers, so I don't have a lot of experiences to compare to. Our trip was well organized and all the prearranging, (airlines, visas, bus connections), were done without a hitch. Collette provides a limo service, witch is nice, ours was a 1/2 hour late, witch started off our trip a little nervous, but we made the plane on time, just in time, (don't think it was our drivers fault, not sure they gave him enough time to get to our house). Our tour guide was great, very personable, and competent.
Tour

Cairns I liked Cairns,Hartleys Croc Farm was good, Green Island was bad, very over crowded, diving was terrible, you can only dive where they tell you and that's crowded, and nothing to see. They should include the "Outer Barrier reef" (a $155.00 PP option) as standard, in my opinion. Sydney Beautiful city- Our Hotel was close to Darling Harbor. Enjoyed all of Sydney. New Zealand All of it is great - But really got blow away by Queenstown, it snowed twice while we were there, which made the mountains and the lake around there unbelievable. My favorite place!!

11/26/2017

Amazing tour

Service

The tour was well organized, included what we wanted to see as well as experiences we couldn't have planned on our own. The tour manager, ***, was very personable and made every effort to accommodate personal preferences. The tour guides were knowledgeable and entertaining.
Tour

See previous note regarding why we chose

11/25/2017

Service

There were too many people on the tour (41). The tour started later in the morning each day at 10:00. Most tours start earlier in the day. On free days we arranged for activities on our own with little help from the tour manager. Our most memorable days were those that we did on our own. For example, we booked a trip to a village up the coast from Queenstown and enjoyed a boat trip to see penguins, sea lions, dolphins, and amazing geology. That trip should have been included in the itinerary. This trip had too much free time, not enough learning presented by the guides, and too many people on the tour.
Tour

Optional tours were the best times so if someone did not buy optional tours, they would not have had many memorable events.

11/04/2017

Wow and double Wow - New Zealand is so beautiful and trip was amazing!

Service

This was our 5th trip with Collette and as in the past, it was excellent. The tour Manager was excellent. His name is Jim and he really helped everyone enjoy the adventure of the trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Tour

The trip was well planned, many wonderful tours and the the tour manager was excellent. Jim in Australia and New Zealand

10/30/2017

Wonderful trip, great guide!

Service

I enjoyed all of the activities that we did on the tour. Our tour director was great! My. Ingest complaint would have to do with the airfare. I found it very annoying to not have seat assignments ahead of the trip and what made it worse was the emails fro Collette telling me to check in online, but not being able to do so.
Tour

I really enjoyed our trip to Milford Sound. The weather was perfect, the scenery was fabulous and we were able to fly back to Queenstown to take in the beautiful scenery from above! The Jetboat ride was great fun! Visiting with a local family in Christchurch add for a very pleasant evening.

10/30/2017

Service

Our guide, Jim, was helpful, well organized and knowledgeable, making the trip a great experience.
Tour

The Maori cultural center was excellent.

10/30/2017

Always Go with Collette

Service

Collette came through again for me. On this my 8th tour, I had the best time ever. The tour manager, Jim was the best. He helped us with everything we were going to encounter. From the extra excursions to what was included it was an awesome time. If anyone wants to go "down under" Collette is the tour company to use.
Tour

The fiord cruise, jet boat ride and gondola ride in Queenstown were highlights. Actually the whole tour was a 5 star.

04/21/2017

Service

the office people were great our tour guide was great she did the best she could with some of the problems that occured
Tour

Dinner with the family in New Zealand was wonderful some of the boat or ship rides to see the beautiful falls antarctic experience New Zealand jeep ride

04/20/2017

AWESOME TRIP! A must for your bucket list.

Service

The hotel location and services were key for me and they were excellent. Also, we were on 3 airline flights as a group and it couldn't have been easier or more organized. Loved the trip and already have recommended it to others.
Tour

The great barrier reef was my favorite.

03/19/2017

It was a wonderful experience!

Service

The trip was great. Everything was well planned. All I had to do was to relax and enjoy the trip.
Tour

There were so many memorable experiences. The great barrier reef, the Sydney Opera House and both of New Zealand's north and south islands were spectacular.

03/11/2017

great tour and especially a great tour guide. Optional choices were excelle...

Service

great tour and especially a great tour guide. Optional choices were excellent. The best part to us was the south island of New Zealand.
Tour

The native cultural experiences in Australia and New Zealand.

11/20/2016

Great Trip

Service

We had a phenomenal tour manager. Collette listens and is very helpful.
Tour

We saw some amazing things and had some wonderful experiences. Our day long trip to the Great Barrier Reef was a highlight. We were able to enjoy a home cooked meal with a host family in Christchurch.

11/17/2016

Great trip.

Service

Excellent tour guide, good itinerary, nice travel buss and drivers.

05/05/2016

Service

This was a wonderful experience until the last day in Figi where we were put out of our rooms at 11:00 am and had to wait in the lobby for seven hours without any food or drink provided. This soured our opinion of the trip as it stated in the trip book we had extended use of the room until our airport departure at 6:00 pm. Page 20. Will never do an extension again as the new tour manager allowed this to happen! First real problem we have had with Collette after all our tours!

04/27/2016

Service

Excellent
Tour

The tour was all that it was designed to be. Memorable experiences include: the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, (meeting with and having dinner with a couple we met 5 years ago in Italy, who live in Sydney), the Gardens at Christchurch and dinner with a local family, Queensland NZ and of course Fiji (boat ride to an outer island).

04/23/2016

We missed nothing!

Service

Best trip ever. I didn't have to worry about a thing. Our guide Gillian was so very awesome and went out of her way to make sure everyone had everything they need and wanted.
Tour

We saw so many wonderful things. Went snorkeling for my first time on the Great Barrier Reef at 85 years old with my daughter. Hugged a koala, kissed a kangaroo, took a hot air balloon ride, walk atop the glaciers, and helped make roof for a grass top hut. The scenery was breathtaking and I made many excellent new travel buddies.

04/22/2016

Service

I really loved my recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. Everything went well. I couldn't justify the 8 hour lay-over in LAX on my way back home. I was disappointed in having to sit around. I do have a friend that works for United Airways that helped get me home in a timely fashion (6 hours earlier than planned by Collette). I went on a trip to Greece with Collette a few years ago and had to sit in Newark for many hours, again, on my way home. I can see a few hours, but 8 or 12 hours is entirely uncalled for.

04/21/2016

Great tour

Service

You told me everything I needed to know for a safe and enjoyable trip. When I asked questions, they were answered promptly and, it turns out, correctly. We enjoyed being pampered on the tour.

04/21/2016

Service

Have been on 2 Collette tours and they were both great.

04/21/2016

Awesome

Service

A trip of a lifetime! Breathtaking and great tour guide!
Tour

Great tour! Fantastic views and the waterfalls where spectacular

03/12/2016

Very Pleased With Collette!

Service

The customer service agents are the greatest. There are plenty of updates and reminders by mail. The tour manager was thorough and very friendly.
Tour

We felt like we really saw Sydney and New Zealand. There is no way we could have arranged this vacation by ourselves.