Exploring New Zealand featuring the North & South Islands

12/07/2019

Service

Reliable helpful and trusted staff from day of enqueries to booking. Nothing is too much. Although not easy to get through via telephone, staff had always return calls and answered any worries or queries we had. Tour manager and driver were excellent and knowledgable. Mark Godin and Peter was extremely helpful with everyone and nothing was too much.
Tour

Rotorua and Maori Culture and Milford sound. Too short a time in Auckland as arrived at approx 13.30hrs. Beautiful weather but too tired to explore after welcome dinner. Had to leave the next morning. If we had realised would be happy to pay for extra 1 night accommodation and arrive day before. Would prefer meals spread out instead of breakfast lunch and dinner on the last 2 days.

12/07/2019

Service

friendly, helpful, and professional
Tour

Maori show and Milford Sound

06/07/2019

Service

Yes,, your tour covers a lot of stops which makes the trip less boring, like spending too long on the bus. But I think for the amount we paid. Your company could have added more meals. Simple. Another most of us noticed, is that you do not use local tour guide. Eddy never was good in organizing and attending to the needs of her group. But it would have been a disaster if we didn’t have Wayne, driver, who can drive and be able to tell us about his country. This we all find it strange. Something we don’t see with other tour companies. Another thing is about airfares. How can you charge $3,000 for people coming from certain states. Like for example Boston. We thought that it be be at least a better rate than if we booked our own flight. My friend Sumita booked hers for $1,200 round trip. How do you even justify charging so much. We did hear from some of the other people in the group that they paid $3,000 for their airfare. Many couldn’t believe it. They probably didn’t know better. Then I especifically booked this trip with Collette, thinking that we would be staying at a better hotel but No, we didn’t, the first 3 hotels were really not too inviting. They remodeled bedrooms but bathrooms were just too old. One more thing. We had to pay separate for a lot of the excursions. Like I said, with what you charge, you think some of those would have been included especially when we didn’t get to see the Franz Josef Glacier. We’ve been with tours that were a lot less expensive but we didn’t have to pay for Extra for a lot of side trips. Like when we went to Russia with Gate 1. Kishi Island was included in the itinerary only when weather permits. There was a storm so we missed it. The company though replaced it with something else which everyone enjoyed. They didn’t have to do it but they did. I’m sorry I was really disappointed.
Tour

I think I’ve said enough.

06/05/2019

Outstanding!

Service

Pricing was right. Documents were helpful. The tour manager (Eddye Davidson) was SUPER organized and attentive to all the passengers’ expectations. The tour driver guide, Wayne, was AMAZING! He was a wealth of information about New Zealand’s culture, history and people all the while he was keeping us safe on the road and handling our baggage! He was beyond “top notch” and very professional. The scenery was absolutely stunningly beautiful and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience on this tour
Tour

Professional, knowledgeable, friendly and fun!

04/03/2019

Service

Collette Guide knew what to do to keep us entertained. Local Bus Driver was very helpful with stories of the country.
Tour

Very comprehensive tour. Helicopter o the Glazier was great.

04/03/2019

Brilliant coach driver and tour manager. Itinerary excellent as was accommo

Service

Yes we would certainly buy from Collette again. In fact we already have a trip for 2020 booked. The coach driver and tour manager were excellent they went out of their way to make our trip an amazing experience. The itinerary was excellent. The accommodation was good. Brilliant all around.
Tour

The whole tour was memorable. The home stay was a highlight as it gave us a real insight into New Zealand our host was delightful. The Maori experiences you provided we’re amazing. In particular Rotorua. Napier was wonderful loved the architecture. The fjord lands and Franz Josef for the spectacular scenery

12/28/2018

Good All Round Service

Service

Usually use good quality hotels in central locations.
Tour

Good hotels in central locations utilising a comprehensive itinerary. Thoroughly enjoyed the optional excursion of the SS Earnslaw steamship to dinner in Queenstown.

12/27/2018

Fantastic

Service

The trip was probably our best to date. What made it outstanding was the every day information provided by the coach driver and the tour manager. The level of information provided by Wayne was outstanding. Eddy provided the everyday agenda and made the trip flow effortlessly. The number on the tour was perfect and allowed us to see so much.
Tour

Same response as previously entered.

12/05/2018

Service

A professional service provided at all times, we would be pleased to recommend to friends and will use the agency again in the future.
Tour

An exceptional tour made special by both the tour manager and the driver working well as an illuminating team, together with a diverse range of tourers who all got on well.

10/03/2018

Well worth the long trip from Eastern US!

Service

Comprehensive and thoughtful way to get to know New Zealand. Our tour director was extraordinarily knowledgeable, capable and well-organized. Accommodations were very good, and the itinerary was well planned with both events and free time. The night with a family and the visit to a sheep farm were wonderful changes from the usual (but still interesting) tourist venues.
Tour

Many high points. Interacting with a sheep farm family, and spending a whole afternoon and night with another farmer really made the trip special.

06/05/2018

Well organised holiday, just a few problems.

Service

It was organised well, especially Peter, the coach driver's knowledge & personal stories. On the 8 March, we were due to visit the Kauri museum but ended up at the Warkworth museum instead, which we found very interesting & you may wish to consider as a stop instead. We tried to book the flights on the Quantas website going out & coming back, 24 hrs beforehand but couldn't until we reached the airport. This made getting 2 seats together harder to get. This has been raised as a complaint but you have said the Quantas website was not operating fully that day & this is outside your control but this happened twice & caused us problems. We had to ensure we were at the airport earlier than we needed to be, on our return journey, so we could stand in a queue before the fight opened so we could get seats together because going out we were given separate seats initially when we checked in at the ticket machine. When we got to the check in desk, staff were luckily able to change them to 2 seats together. Also we did not have a taxi waiting for us at the airport upon our return. I tried to contact you 3 times but it just kept going to answering machine. I then contacted the taxi firm (Tristar) who said they sent a car the previous day for a flight arriving at 14.02 (23 March) when we actually arrived on 24 March at 12.40. All our intinary stated the latter. They said they needed to speak to you. Eventually I managed to speak to Geraldine at your end & a taxi eventually turned up at 2.30pm, not what you want after a 26 hr total flight time & started travelling back from NZ at 2.15am English time (3.15pm NZ time). As you can expect we were exhausted by then & just wanted to get back home. This was also raised as a complaint, which we were first just offered an apology but today this has been resolved after compensation was offered. Please note I left messages on your voicemail 28725 on 30 May & 2 June (option 2 followered by 1) without anyone returning my call. I had to phone back again today before I eventually spoke to you to sort this out.
Tour

Karen-Hangi dinner & learning about the Maoris. Loved Napier. John-Journey through Middle Earth tour. Would have liked the opportunity to visit the Hobbiton movie set from Matamata. We were only made aware of this when we were staying at the home visit as someone else stopping there (not from our group) said they had just come back from a dinner & visit there. That evening would have been our only chance of going there as we were just travelling through. I would just like to say I think you should change the Park hotel you use in Wellington. This was the only hotel where a buffet breakfast was not offered. On the last morning we stayed, we had to wait for our breakfast to be brought to us. After 30 mins, I chased this up saying we had to leave soon as we had a ferry to catch. I don't think this made any difference. It came just in time before we had to rush out to get the coach. I suggest you use an alternative hotel, one with a buffet breakfast going forward.

04/02/2018

Great way to see the most of New Zealand.

Service

Our driver Wayne was so much more than a bus driver. A New Zealand native, he kept up commentary that was informative and personable throughout the trip. Our guide Eddy was organized, and made sure we all knew what was coming up and what to expect. She went out of her way to take care of any issues that came up. The trip had many surprise stops, the hotels were better than I expected and the group dinners were great. I would use Collette again and recommend this tour for those who want to see the most of New Zealand.
Tour

Got a lot of bang for your buck. Many unexpected stops, and the personable stories from our driver and guide made the trip. I loved our time in Queensland, and also the Bay of Islands boat tour.

03/04/2018

Service

The tour of NZ and hotels were perfect and deserve 5 stars. .The internal flights arranged by Thos.Cook did not allow sufficient time between Terminals as a result we missed flight and had to rebook,we paid you so we did not have this sort of mess and were very disappointed. We did not realise that Thos Cook is now a USA company catering to USA customers first, we did not enjoy having an American aim information at USA customers in the main. However the Driver ,from NZ was FANTASTIC, and gave us a holiday of a lifetime and made up for other failings.
Tour

Poor internal flight arrangements. Tour manager great organiser, but too Americanna for UK customers.

02/14/2018

Go see New Zealand

Service

The original tour guide had an emergency and the replacement guide was just terrible. New Zealand itself was awesome but the guide was so terrible it took some of the joy out of the trip
Tour

I think Collette has some great writers explaining some of the extra trips. Some of them were not worth the effort

02/11/2018

Service

My husband and I are writing a letter and will forward it soon. Many things on the tour need improvement. This was our first Collette Tour and I was not impressed. Our tour director was very rude at times. Was not prepared for this tour. I know he was given this assignment 2 days prior to us arriving. $27,000.00 was a lot of money for a trip that was not up to par. We were thinking of doing your trip to Ireland and Scotland in September. Not sure about it now.
Tour

Poor organization by tour director. Some of the optional tours were a waste of time and money.

Hello Carmela, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate your feedback about the tour manager as well as the tour elements. We have passed this along to our team for review. They'll use your feedback to improve the tour for future guests. \n
\nIf you have any questions at all about the trip you're planning to take to Ireland and Scotland in September, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd be happy to talk through any questions you might have.

Collette Support

02/11/2018

Service

Our tour was very enjoyable but we had a last minute substitution of our tour director for unknown reasons. The substitute was an elderly man who did the best he could, but things seemed a bit disorganized at times. Sometimes bus departure times etc. were changed, creating some confusion.
Tour

We saw so many places that we could never have found on our own. Our bus driver, *******, was excellent and gave us very entertaining running commentary on the sights we saw. He remained cheerful even when passengers asked stupid questions that he had already answered!

02/11/2018

Service

Collette did a very good job with reservation and flight.
Tour

The country surpassed our expectations in beauty.

12/11/2017

The very best from Collette

Service

Excellent knowledge of what we wanted when asked for the best offer for New Zealand. Extremely helpful with all our questions and concerns before we went.
Tour

So many memorable places under the guidance of a terrific tour manager and driver. Loved Rotorua, Wellington, Queenstown, Milford sound and Mount Cook, the icing on the cake.

12/10/2017

Excellent tour, wonderful scenery with a great deal packed into the time.

Service

I have travelled with Collette several times. I feel their standards have dropped slightly in that some of the hotels were not as good as before. I cannot fault the content or the driver and tour manager who were both superb. I would certainly travel with Collette again and would recommend them to others.
Tour

The Glowworm caves at Te Anau were amazing.

Hello Helen! Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We have passed your insight about the hotels along to our team for review. We look forward to traveling with you again soon.

Collette Support

12/10/2017

Helpful service

Service

Always helpful and prompt in answering queries.
Tour

So many great experiences but Mount Cook without cloud was fantastic.

11/05/2017

Great trip to New Zealand

Service

The driver/guide, *****, was excellent. He knew history, flora and fauna, told Kiwi stories and family stories and was the only New Zealander we got to know. The manager is okay with most details but really doesn't know New Zealand. The home host visit with "***" should not be scheduled again. A tour of Hobbitown should be offered instead.
Tour

It was a tiring tour but needed to be because I wanted to see everything.

08/04/2017

Service

Tour guide & bus driver well informed, professional, caring: simply great!
Tour

everything met or exceeded our expectations. We loved the hotel buffet breakfasts, especially the cooked half tomatoes.

05/01/2017

NZ: a wonderful country but spoiled by the Tour Leader

Service

The TM (personal details removed by Feefo) was disorganized and gave unclear directions. Treated us like a bunch of school children. Passed around bags of sweets - a great way to transmit Norovirus. Did not hand out the tour survey because she "thought we would lose it". Hence, we could not recall details at the end when we were all tired and on our way home. If it hadn't been for (personal details removed by Feefo) the driver, it would have been a disaster. He was outstanding, professional, informative and entertaining. Too much time allowed for shopping.
Tour

Too many places were stops to break up the driving time. Small town NZ - not interesting. Trans Alpine train ride.

04/23/2017

Service

OurBus was excellent with all the facts , and information he gave us. totally friendly and concerted with our comforter, and i think he should be a tour ( excellent,in all ).
Tour

The excellent care of Driver and his acknowledge of all areas.

03/28/2017

Would highly recommend this New Zealand tour.

Service

It was extremely well organized. The hotels were very acceptable. The tour guide was excellent as well as the bus driver was extremely knowledgeable and interesting.
Tour

I loved Hobbit town, Queenston and Bay of Islands.

03/14/2017

the organization, the itinerary, the tour guide and the

Service

the organization,the ittinerary,the tour guide and the driver-N.Z.expert were the best i have ever met.
Tour

the night at OUR farm was the best night of thetour. two groups had awful and even dirty experiences and were too polite[stupid]to put it in the written critiqe.

03/13/2017

Excellent service by Collette

Service

Tour Director and Driver were knowledgeable, great.
Tour

Real professionals, kneww their stuff.

02/14/2017

will travel with Collette again

Service

flawless trip. Wonderful tour leader Kathy and bus driver Wayne.
Tour

Fast paced but lots of fun things to do. Great meals and activities. Even got to view Mt. Cook without fog or clouds.

02/12/2017

Exceeded our high expectations

Service

Excellent scenery, tour manager who made everything go smoothly, bus driver who was a font of information about New Zealand, friendly group of fellow travelers, great times!
Tour

See my previous comments above

02/12/2017

Very interesting to see New Zealand. Very comfortable coach, very good tour...

Service

Very interesting to see New Zealand. Very comfortable coach, very good tour manager, excellent driver who told us many things about New Zealand history, culture, and daily life. However this tour had three bad days! First full day- too long in the coach. Next, travel from Wellington to Christchurch- 13 hours travel on ferry and coach! Plus another long day of travel on the South Island. Despite the earthquake and road closure, I believe that with a little work by Collette at least the 13 hour travel day could have been fixed.. Also I would have preferred to have more included dinners on the tour ( with the appropriate increase).
Tour

Lots of highlights, but three long travel days detracted substantially, and Collette should have known better and made appropriate adjustments.

12/18/2016

Average service by Collette US

Service

No special needed, simple booking, courteous agents, emails prompt.
Tour

Enjoyed the Moira Event, Bay of Islands Cruise.

10/31/2016

It seemed we crossed back and forth from one coast to the other, so we seem...

Service

It seemed we crossed back and forth from one coast to the other, so we seemed to arrive late to a location and up and out first thing in the morning. We never had time to explore the location we stayed at. I also believe Collette should pay more attention to the health of the guest. From day one a single lady was very sick, who passed her sickness on to everyone in the group. Our tour became very unconvertable by the end of the first week. My wife and I spent quite a bit going to the doctors. The lady who brought the virus to the group should have been isolated and encouraged to seek medical help before infecting everyone. This alone changed my opinion of the tour. I'm sure Collette would say it's not their place to confront sick guests, but at the money I spent for this experience i should have rented a car and followed the bus to avoid getting sick. The idea of a group is to mingle and get to know the others. This was the worst thing we did insuring everyone got sick. We were put on antibotics, which helped, however; when we returned home we went to emergency care. They put us on a different antibiotic (stronger) and it still took two weeks to start feeling better. I felt bitter that one person ruined what should have been a wonderful experience. She knew she was sick, and she did nothing to prevent passing it on.
Tour

See above. I don't have a memorable experience. All the food provided was over cooked and cold. The beds were uncomfortable, and most rooms seemed small.

Hello James,
Thank you for your feedback. This will be helpful for our product and tour manager teams to improve the tours for future guests. We thank you for your business and hope to see you on a future tour.

Collette Support

10/30/2016

Excellent tour manager, bus driver and accommodations. I liked the small gr...

Service

Excellent tour manager, bus driver and accommodations. I liked the small group and our agenda each day...Any contact with Collette was positive.
Tour

Farm Stay Mt Cook Dunedin Milford Sound