Marvelous Highlights Tour of New Zealand’s South Island

Zicasso’s travel specialist responded to emails and questions promptly.

We had a great trip! All the logistics and connections were spot-on. If I had it to plan again, I would incorporate fewer long drives and possibly take one or two short flights. We had three days of actual driving five-plus hours, which turned into six to seven hours with stops.

Highlights included the Christchurch tour, the Around the Basin bike tour in Queenstown, the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, biking around Lake Tekapō, as well as Kaikōura, and the glowworm caves in Te Anau. The TranzAlpine train was enjoyable. However, the mountain scenery encountered was not as dramatic as that seen in the more southern areas.

Unfortunately, our helicopter ride to the glaciers in Franz Josef was rained out. Our days in Queenstown were muted with fog, so both the gondola dinner experience, as well as the dinner cruise on Lake Wakatipu, were somewhat compromised. Both activities involved large buffets, with mediocre food and lots of tourists.

We enjoyed the Fiordland jet-boat ride and the biking back option. I felt the portion on the water was a bit light on the 360 turns and heavy on the nature focus. The Dark Sky experience was a disappointment, as wind conditions only allowed our group to go to the crater, not the observatory. Add to that a very bright, near-full moon and the conditions were not ideal for viewing.

After that late-night experience, the next day we drove to Lake Tekapō (with stops, six to seven hours). Between the time in the car and a developing hip issue that could compromise the required hiking, we decided not to drive one-and-a-half hours the next morning to Mount Cook for the Tasman Glacier tour.

Kaikōura is an attractive, quiet coastal town that was a nice final stop on our itinerary. We rented bikes and traversed the Peninsula Trail, including the seal colony.

All of our accommodations were in line with the parameters that we gave Zicasso’s travel specialist regarding location, ratings, and features. We especially enjoyed our hotel in Christchurch, our hotel in Te Anau, and our inn in Kaikōura. The motel in Lake Tekapō was the most dated property; however, the location was fabulous.

Again, we had a wonderful trip and I have already recommended this travel company to our friends, who are booked later this year.

The travel arrangements, activities, and accommodations were all excellent; we couldn't be happier.

My husband and I were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with a bucket-list trip to Australia and New Zealand. Every aspect of the trip was planned meticulously and every hotel, tour, and transport was seamless in its execution. Zicasso’s travel specialist was superb in every detail and was always available when I had a question. I recommend the travel specialist and the travel company highly.

Excellent trip—the planning was flawless and Zicasso’s travel specialist was a pleasure to work with. She remained available to us during our entire trip and anytime I had a question, she responded immediately.

In short, Zicasso’s travel company did a great job with our trip, start to finish. I gave the travel agent some parameters, e.g., some adventure, some chill, stay in nice places, don’t move too many times, etc. Having not been to New Zealand, and specifically the South Island, I had no idea what to plan, travel distances, or places to stay, and the travel company put together a great trip. Anyone planning a self-drive to the South Island would be wise to use this travel company and our travel agent for planning. I couldn’t be happier!