Testimonials for New Zealand tours & holidays

We've enjoyed every part of the trip so much that it's hard to pick out a singular one! What we realised after was the serendipitous nature of a scenic trip to NZ when not all plans can always come to fruition, but that also gave us a lot of freedom in deciding what we want to do with our time and I think that's what strikes a chord with us - and that's all thanks to the convenience provided by you in helping us book our accommodations and car rental, and adjusting to our budget! Experience-wise, some memorable ones would include our bungy jump in Queenstown, hike up Roy's Peak for the sunrise, and exploration of Wilson Creek Chasm by the side of Haast Pass. As you can tell, the more adrenaline-pumping the experiences are, the more memorable they are for us, haha!
Nil!

The part we liked the most was the general organization of our trip and the whole country as a whole. The distribution of the number of nights (1 or 2), for the two nights in the same establishment, the possibility of doing our laundry was much appreciated. The most pleasant motels were the Kimi Ora Eco Resort in Kaiteriteri (the prettiest and most pleasant in all respects), then Le Claremont, Martinborough, The White Morph in Kaikoura, Hotel Hermitage Mount Cook, and Lakefront Lodge in Te Anau. Only one was less appreciated, apart from its location, because of the smallness of the rooms: the Bella Vista Napier. Our helicopter flight to the Tasman Glacier delighted us all. We all liked the nature outings except the visit to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch (too much zoo). The duration of the journeys was correct. The choice of reservation times (especially in Milford Sound) has often allowed us to avoid the crowd (relative to the period). The escorts were always welcoming and efficient. Not a single false note.
Congratulations for the organization of our unforgettable trip and for the speed of reimbursement of activities not carried out due to a day of heavy rain and wind in Kaikoura.

Goodness, where to start - it was all fabulous! We were blown away by the South Island and the snow-covered mountains. We could not be happier with the trip and its organisation - everything went like clockwork, from the moment our transit driver (Brent) met us at the Christchurch Airport, to the TransAlpine train, the car hire, Milford Sound experience etc. The list just goes on and on. Queenstown was a highlight - Carol and Ken loved the Shotover Jetboat ride and we all enjoyed the gondola and the luge rides. The accommodation was everything we could have asked for. On the North island, the two highlights for us were the Hobbiton tour and the Tree Canopy Ziplining, which we all found challenging, but so much fun.
The four of us had an amazing holiday - we were always happy with the location of the accommodation, and the accommodation itself was mostly very high quality. We cannot thank Emily-Rose and her team enough and will recommend your company to everyone we meet! Well done team on giving us some wonderful memories!

It is unanimous with our group that the South Island was our pick over all . Milford Sound was magnificent with the most perfect weather. In general all our travels in the south were filled with spectacular scenery .Our guide Bella at Glacier Valley Tours was so friendly and knowledgeable. Our stay at Queenstown was most enjoyable. Our accommodation at 858 George St Motel Dunedin is the pick of all our accommodations the staff and management were most welcoming and friendly .
We have shared a hassle free 28 days in your beautiful country , Our experiences and interactions with hospitality staff & the general public have been second to none . In closing we wish to acknowledge Louise Barrett for her endless efforts to accommodate our requests , and special thanks to all staff that assisted in Louise’s absence . Thank You Peter Sharon Micheal & Linda

The best place that we stayed was at Te Anau, High Leys Lodge. It was beautiful. The hosts Sarah and a John were fantastic hosts, the view was amazing. All amenities were top class. It was a great place to sit back and enjoy the serenity and beautiful views and home. It was in a great location to venture to Milford sound cruise, travel and explore the many walks, rivers and mountain views. Just a short drive to town and great eateries. Franz Joseph glacier and the helicopter flight to the Fox and Franz Joseph glacier was amazing. We topped off our day with a quad Bike trail ride. This was great and very safe for us all. Six pensioners having fun. Queenstown was also terrific with the views and luge from the mountain top, the steamboat to the farm experience and BBQ. I recommend this. We also had a great time on the Shot Over river jet boat. One member of our group even ventured to do the bungy swing.
New Zealand is a beautiful country, with very friendly, helpful people. We only wish we had organised more time in this amazing place. I have recommendedthe fine tours group to many of my friends already

We had a wonderful holiday that exceeded our expectations in every way. It was far more luxurious that we had anticipated and the variety of experiences was terrific. Our accommodation in Dunedin was amazing, as was our luxury tour of Milford Sound. (there were 6 staff and only 7 guests on board). The App with our itinerary and suggested activities was brilliant and we referred to it every day.
I don't know how we found Russell. I think I was researching NZ and clicked on a link somewhere. We are experienced travelers and usually research and book everything ourselves, but Russell made lots of interesting suggestions, and we felt confident to let somebody else arrange our holiday. (Having said that, a little voice in the back of my head hoped it wasn't all a scam, and I did actually make contact with 3 of our accommodation houses to confirm they held bookings in our names before making the major payment. I also tried to make contact with the 3 travel agency organisations that seem to exist in NZ to confirm Fine Tours was a member. Frustratingly, the only one that got back to me was the one organisation you are not a member of. Whilst we didn't book many extra activities with Fine Tours because we felt they were too weather-dependent, the inclusion in the itinerary right from the beginning made us excited about our upcoming holiday and definitely influenced our decision to book with Fine Tours. We had wonderful weather and did go cycling, quad bike riding, ziplining, and enjoyed many of the "adult playground" activities on offer in Queenstown (Lyn even went paragliding). We only booked these activities 24-48 hours ahead. I don't know if we could have booked these through Fine Tours at such short notice. Maybe that is something that could be included in your App. Also, the flexibility to be able to make our own accommodation arrangements in Franz Josef and Queenstown reinforced that it was not a mistake to use a travel agent to book the majority of our holiday. Overall, our experience with Russell and Fine Tours was 11 out of 10. We are off to Austria and Italy later this year, and at times, I wish I could find a "Russell" to plan that trip too.

As first time visitors to the South Island of NZ we needed guidance on our self drive tour. We don’t like to rush or drive too far in one day, so Georgia our travel consultant helped us create a route and places to stay that enabled us to sight see, bush walk, go boating, and discover the amazing natural and cultural wonders of the South Island. The accommodation booked for us exceeded our expectations. We visited and spent days at Christchurch, Lake Tepako, Aoraki - Mt Cook, Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Wanaka, The West Coast Glaciers, and finished our trip on the Scenic Railroad from Greymouth to Christchurch. We saw the starry sky, glaciers up close, walked in ancient forests, ate beautiful meals, stayed in lovely hotels. It has been an unforgettable trip.
We enjoyed everything and felt that as an organisation you tailor a very well thought out and comprehensive approach to caring for your travelling customers. From personal driver pick ups to well chosen hotels, cultural orientation, a personalised App, to easy accessibility for advice or assistance, NZ Self Drive Tours is an amazing company, and Georgia as our consultant was great. Thank you. NZ South Island is such a good tourist - traveller destination. You have so much to share and as Kiwis you do it beautifully. So gracious and friendly. Thank you so much. Bruce and Madeleine

There were so many different things but our utmost favourite was our helicopter flight to Franz Josef and Cook glaciers, it was exhilarating and thrilling all at once. An adventure we will certainly will not forget. The pilot and staff of Helicopter Line were incredible. While we did a self drive tour it enabled us to stop and enjoy the scenery. The scenery blew our minds, around every bend (and there were a lot of bends) there was something spectacular to see. Every place we stayed had its own piece of excellence. We ate some of the best food from snapper burgers in Tairua to the best eye fillet in Queenstown at Botswana Butchery, and we delighted in the food selection at Riverside Markets in Christchurch. Milford Sound was also a highlight, it was majestic. The geothermal wonderland and our gondola ride in Queenstown were all experiences that made our vacation so very memorable.
The drive was made easy with everything within the app, directions, messaging, it was incredibly easy to use. From finding out about weather warnings and road closures to our itinerary all in one easy app. To Fine Tour Group, thank you once again for our wonderful New Zealand holiday experience.

Walking around Auckland near the Fable Hotel and the waterfront. Great vibe, good food everywhere, and clean. The Fable Hotel is great. Hobbiton. Fun guided tour. Probably even better if you are a fan of Lord of the Rings, but still entertaining even though we aren't fans. Doubtful Sound was magnificent especially because it was pouring rain, bring out literally hundreds of waterfalls. Boat ride was calm, food was good, and the guest cabins were nicer than expected. Queenstown has everything. Boating, fishing, hiking, off road, helicopters, scenic flights, Gondola, skiing.... we want to go back and spend like week there. The drive from Queenstown to Franz-Joseph is fabulous, in an out of this world way. The trans-alpine train with dining is a fun experience with great scenery. The support via app from the team at Fine Tours. This was invaluable really. So helpful, and responsive. We felt like they had our back all the way through the vacation.
We had a lot of rain from a cyclone that passed by. The rain cancelled some of our events and even the Ferry from Wellington to Picton. Christina and her team were always marvelously responsive via the app, and by phone. They stayed a step ahead of us, offering suggestions for places to stay, rebooking us for the ferry, and just arranging for changes to our schedule. We will definitely use them again should we return.

Our trip was great, everything was fantastic. Most memorable was the helicopter at Mt Cook and landing on the snow.
Kayla was a dream to deal with, responsive, answered all our questions and rearranged to our needs.