Traveller Reviews
After every trip we ask our guests to fill out our survey, and part of that survey includes an option to post an online review. It’s critical for us to get this feedback so that we can constantly find improvements. We’ve been doing this long enough now to know that multi-day, guided trips are full of subtle intricacies, and it’s the focus on these small details that makes the difference between a good trip and a life changing experience. Anyway, there’s no point in us carrying on about how wonderful our trips are, the best people to listen to are our travellers themselves.
Please let us know if you’d like us to put you directly in touch with one of our past guests. We have a long list of people who would be delighted to share their experiences with you if you’re thinking of coming on a New Zealand Walking Tour.
“Awesome Beauty
For our first trip to New Zealand it was an incredible experience of awesome beauty. From the plane window on our flight from Auckland to Queenstown, we saw incredible mountains and lakes that were just a hint of what was to come. The Remarkables by Queenstown are just that and more! Throughout our trip there were so many gorgeous mountains, lakes, rivers and forests that are now forever captured in our minds and the many photographs that will let us relive this adventure over and over again.”
Sandra Bessieres (California, USA) April 2018, Beautiful South“New Friends
As you know New Zealand is truly an amazing place. Incredible scenery, friendly folks, and good food. What was most memorable was our trip leaders Holly Adams and Ken Dixon. Within a few days of our trip, they went from trip leaders to good friends. Holly is an amazing cook and was always ready to answer questions with a smile. She is clearly quite proud of New Zealand, such that her trail talks were from conviction and not merely marketing. Ken is also very knowledgeable. He spoke in great detail about New Zealand culture, flora and fauna. He has an incredibly easy laugh which made the trip great fun! I suspect that we would have enjoyed ourselves on any trip that these two folk led.”
Jeff Price (Michigan, USA) Feb 2018, Pristine New Zealand“Pristine New Zealand was Fabulous
This trip had it all: a sampling of both the North and South Islands, knowledgeable and fun guides, beautiful and varied scenery, challenging hikes, exceptional accommodations, delicious food and wine, and the joy of seeing this awesome country through the eyes of enthusiastic Kiwi’s, Ken and Holly.”
Sue Harrison (Michigan, USA) Feb 2018, Pristine New Zealand“Beautiful New Zealand
Great to be able to enjoy beautiful New Zealand from day one on the trip. With our fantastic guides looking after all our food, lodgings and transport, all we had to do was soak in the ever changing beauty each day!”
Suellen Sedl (Queensland, Australia) Jan 2018, Pristine New Zealand“Pristine New Zealand January 2018
The guides were first class, they made the trip interesting and fun with their knowledge, good humour and talents. We always felt safe in transport, comfortable in our accommodations and the home-cooked meals were excellent – often better than the restaurants. It was great fun.”
Joe & Diana Horler (Alberta, Canada) Jan 2018, Pristine New Zealand“Pristine New Zealand Walking Tour
This trip was beyond fabulous. Dan and Kelsey were the perfect guides for us! They adapted the walks for us given we are a little older and live in a very flat state. All hotels were awesome! If I had to change anything, it would be the trip to Waiheke Island (although I liked the ferry ride) and the the geothermal wonderland (crowded with cruise excursion passengers). I loved all the tracks, Milford Sound, the Maori cultural centre (could have spent more time seeing the Maori culture), and Glenorchy. This was an amazing experience and enticed me to visit New Zealand again!”
Jane Lacher (Michigan, USA) Jan 2018, Pristine New Zealand“Beautiful New Zealand
New Zealand is beautiful. The trip was amazing. Couldn’t ask for better food and accommodations. Our guides were terrific! I Would sign up again without hesitation.”
Kathy Oliver (Virginia, USA) Dec 2017, Elegant South“Trip of a lifetime.
This trip was over and above what I expected. The food, the scenery and our guides (Amanda and Holly) made it even more special. They even detoured the trip so I could do the bungee jump. Amazing highlight of my trip.”
Jeff Smith (Tennessee, USA) Dec 2017, Elegant South“One Fantastic Trip
From the first meeting with our two superb guides, Tess and Clair, until our final goodbye we were treated to the finest trip possible. The walks were well planed and spaced with other interesting activities including boat trips into areas we would not have been able to see otherwise. Accommodations were the best each area had to offer. Food was great with fantastic picnic lunches in the wild and the highlight, a Christmas dinner cooked for us at Camp Glenorchy.”
James Costello (Washington, USA) Dec 2017, Beautiful South“One Great Adventure!
This trip was fantastic and our guides, Claire and Tess, were beyond fantastic. Not only was the itinerary great, but because we were a small group, our guides were completely flexible and able to make adjustments to meet our individual interests. For instance, since we really aren’t big wine drinkers, we skipped some wine tasting and added an extra hike for me and a couple of other sights of interest to us both. Claire and Tess were extremely knowledgeable about the natural history of New Zealand and answered our many questions about culture, history, politics, and just about anything else. Most of all, Claire and Tess were professional, great fun, and amazing cooks, fixing us a wonderful typical Kiwi Christmas dinner as well as great picnic lunches in beautiful surroundings. The overall schedule was perfect as we generally had some down time on our own in the late afternoon before another delicious meal. This trip offers some of the best known tourist attractions but in a personalized, relaxed way. We have been raving to friends and family ever since we got back to the U.S. This was just a fabulous experience. Thank you for offering this new walking tour!”
Jeanne Costello (Washington, USA) Dec 2017, Beautiful South“Best time yet
This is our third trip to New Zealand, the first two with Active Adventures. The South Island of New Zealand is so incredibly beautiful that you would probably have to be trying to have a bad experience. What really made the trip stand out for us was the excellence of our guides. Amanda and Tory were knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly, just the perfect travel companions!”
Paula Larkin Hutton (California, USA) Dec 2017, Elegant South“Elegant South
Amanda and Clara did an awesome job as our tour guides. Everyone’s needs were met. Even though this was the inaugural tour, they made it seem like they had done this trip many times over. Amanda did a superb job of driving us all over. Clara kept us well supplied with healthy snacks on the bus. Meals were superb. Wine with practically every meal was quite welcome. They even got the weather to cooperate (most of the time). They were extremely knowledgeable about New Zealand and the particular areas we visited. Although I was the oldest and slowest member of the group, they never made me feel that way. They were so encouraging! Lodging arrangements were quite superb – no complaints there at all. In fact, I can’t come up with any complaint. It was a great experience all around and one I would recommend to anybody.”
Elaine Robak (California, USA) Nov 2017, Elegant South“Put this tour on your bucket list!
Oh, where does one begin to start describing the amazing trip I experienced? Do I start with the knowledgeable, lovely tour guides or the awesome landscapes we traveled together or the delicious New Zealand foods and wines we tasted? Absolutely everything about this tour from the informative website that prepared us for the tour till we hugged our tour guides goodbye was perfect!! Our intimate group size allowed us to have extra attention lavished upon us at every possible opportunity. Amanda and Clara were a perfect team seeing to our every need and then some. Amanda knew what type of special coffee beverage we liked in the morning and she had it ready for us when we arrived at the breakfast table. They both are great at making a tour group blend into one “fun family of new friends” on an adventure. Speaking of adventures, even though we knew what was planned for the day’s activities there was always several additional surprises awaiting us like a picnic on the beach at sunset with a blanket covered with yummy treats and always a new wine to experience or a midnight walk in the dark to look for glow worms. When someone asks me what I liked best about this tour I honestly have to say that every single minute was great. The New Zealand landscape is unlike any other place in the world. Our tour guides schooled us about all the wonderful plants, animals, birds and other wonders of nature that the we saw on our daily hikes. Oh yes, the hikes! This tour offered a variety of hiking trails that had spectacular views the the land, sea, mountains and wildlife. I could go on and on but you just have to go there to enjoy the beautiful country for yourself. I highly recommend this wonderful tour of the South of New Zealand because New Zealand Walking Tours knows how make you feel like a VIP! Thank you one and all.”
Nancy Crawford (California, United States) - Elegant South trip, November 2017“Elegant South - Amazing!
The trip thoroughly exceeded my expectations. Clara and Amanda were simply awesome guides. I cannot say enough positive things about my experience.”
David Schmitt (Illinois, United States), Elegant South trip, November 2017
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