Australia & New Zealand Tours for Seniors

Zicasso’s trip planner did an excellent job. Communication and the quality of the experiences were everything we'd expected and more, especially in New Zealand. The accommodations were first rate; the highlight was the lodge in Queenstown. The guides and drivers were professional and knowledgeable, especially those in Queenstown and Auckland. We loved the dedicated website for reference, as well as the detailed booklet and maps for both countries. 

For future itineraries, I would add another day in Queenstown and a full day in Christchurch. If days were limited, I would recommend one less day in Auckland and/or skipping the drive/train from Franz Josef. 

The only complication was the day we spent 10 hours going to and coming from Milford Sound.  I recommend doing Milford Sound by plane/helicopter from Queenstown, which would also permit seeing the glaciers/southern alps from the air. The only things we missed were the zoo in Auckland and the Blue Mountain day tour in Sydney. Next trip!

I really thought the Zicasso travel partner was fabulous and so thorough and easy to use. I would rate it the best travel app. It had my itinerary down to the minute detail, info on how to contact various people if there were any questions, and was so easy to navigate.  I would rate my trip to Australia my favorite so far. I recently went to Japan through a different travel agent and was able to compare the difference. Our travel team was so much better! 

My husband and I went to Australia to drop off my daughter, who was doing an exchange study in Sydney. We started in Melbourne and had a full-day tour to Phillip Island, with a moonlit animal sanctuary and penguins. I would recommend the penguins. I saw thousands of penguins. What an experience! I did not like the sanctuary part. Tickets were sold out for the koala petting and there were not very many animals to see. I have heard there are other sanctuaries/zoos in other parts of Australia that are much better.  

The Melbourne food tour was fantastic! Our tour guide did a wonderful job of explaining Melbourne's history with the food. We flew to Cairns, to Port Douglas, and had two excursions: a boat ride with snorkeling in the Great Reef Barrier and a Daintree safari.  The full-day cruise with snorkeling was wonderful, with so much food! The Daintree tour was a bit long and could have been condensed into half the time. I probably would not recommend that tour. 

Finally, we went to Sydney to drop off my daughter. We did the bridge walk, which was fantastic. Each person was so well protected and the safety checks were top-notch! 

Our trip went without any problems and our drivers were well-coordinated and on schedule. I would use this company for future trips to Australia. I plan to visit New Zealand and would use them again.

We absolutely loved so much of our trip! My kids’ (ages 11 and eight) favorite activities were luging in Rotorua, NZ, and the sunset camel ride in Uluru, AU, while my husband and I were enchanted by Hobbiton and enjoyed exploring a glowworm cave with the owner's father! We all loved Tasmania.

There were a few hiccups. However, we were very happy with all the support the Zicasso travel company's team provided in real time to help us get back on track. 

The overall trip was fantastic. My husband and I appreciated having the team support our adventures, both the highs and the lows. The team members were detailed-oriented. This trip exceeded our expectations and we’re incredibly grateful for their expertise in curating such memorable experiences.

Zicasso’s travel company did a phenomenal job with stays, tours, and activities. In particular, we loved our room at our hotel in Tasmania, our villa on Waiheke Island in NZ, and our room at our hotel in Melbourne. Our itinerary was well thought out and exposed us to exactly what we'd hope to see in Australia and New Zealand.

Overall, my recent trip to New Zealand, organized by this travel agency, had some truly unforgettable highlights. The agent's hotel picks were consistently great, perfectly suiting my preferences.

Most Enjoyable/Memorable Parts: The most memorable parts of the journey included an incredible experience seeing the Akaroa dolphins, delightful vineyard stays, and a breathtaking helicopter tour that showcased the stunning landscapes. Touring the incredibly beautiful country was a constant joy. Even though we had to reschedule, Milford Sound was absolutely spectacular. Paroa Bay and Lindis were lovely places to stay, and their staff were incredibly attentive. The hotel and our stay in Christchurch were wonderful surprises; we wished we had spent another night there and one less night in Queenstown. All of our drivers were great, and we had the best time with them, especially our drivers in Christchurch – I would highly recommend keeping that company for future bookings.

Areas for Improvement / Things I Noticed: Compared to other agents I've used with Zicasso, there was a noticeable lack of personalized touches. Usually, there would be a welcome letter or a fun gesture upon arrival, and little notes at different locations highlighting the travel agent's favorite spots or things not to miss.

A significant point of friction was the communication, or rather, the lack thereof. There was no WhatsApp group for the group to communicate once we arrived in the country. There was a complete lack of proactive communication from the ground team; I only heard from them if I reached out with a problem. Typically, there's a "welcome to the country, here's our WhatsApp chat in case you need anything" message, with the team constantly monitoring it.

I also found myself having to check in for flights and activities myself. This has always been confirmed and taken care of by the agent in my previous experiences, with updates provided via WhatsApp or email.

The mandatory app download was also problematic. The app itself wasn't great as it didn't allow for back-and-forth messaging and lacked quick-link calling, forcing me to copy and paste numbers when I needed to contact the tour operator. It was also frustrating that I couldn't add my own bookings or places I wanted to check out, meaning I constantly had to switch between apps.

Finally, there was a booking discrepancy in Christchurch. After I specifically asked to confirm the correct number of people, and the team assured me the correct number was confirmed, the penguin tour operator stated only three people were booked. I had to instruct them to contact the booking agent directly to sort it out.

Things We Would Have Avoided: Staying in Queenstown was a bit of a disappointment as it felt overly touristy. Even though the hotel had a shuttle, its location was quite far from everything, making it inconvenient.

Despite these points, the trip provided many fantastic experiences and showcased the agent's ability to select excellent accommodations and plan exciting activities.

Zicasso once again provided us with an amazing team to handle every detail of our "bucket-list" trip.

This adventure had a lot of moving parts and our travel agent performed like a Swiss watchmaker! Eight flights, with pick-ups and drop-offs that were on time, every time, even our 3am departure to the airport in Cairns.

We had scuba-diving excursions on both coasts of Australia, a helicopter tour and landing on the Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand, trips into the rainforest at both destinations, incredible boutique hotels, and interesting tours that made our itinerary a lifetime memory. 

If there was a six-star rating, our travel agent should get it. Highly recommended. Pre-trip communication was excellent as the trip was a year in the planning. We had not one issue during the 21-day trip. I can't stress that enough; not one issue. It was an absolutely amazing trip. Thank you, Zicasso team!