Testimonials for New Zealand tours & holidays

We have returned to Australia after a really enjoyable 3 weeks in the South Island. We have previously written to say thank you for the work Katie and Iwan had put into creating a good itinerary. Each of the stops was in an excellent location, with good accommodation and the driving between was interesting. The changes we requested, even whilst we were travelling, were handled excellently and made the trip easier. We do recommend using the Christchurch airport Novotel if the departure flight is early in the day. We have recommended you for organising personal touring in New Zealand.

Angela, thank you for your professionalism and interest in our tour. Nothing was too much effort for you to chase up for us and you were unfailingly prompt in replying to all our queries and questions, no matter how trivial. The accommodation booked, the car rental, the add ons recommended and the easy to use app made the trip just so wonderful. Your effort to provide us with a fabulous 20 days in the gorgeous South Island are very much appreciated.

Was a great itinerary for me. Loved each location, hotels were safe and clean. Lots of useful information was provided in the app. Would not have changed a thing other than maybe having a car for the day in Christchurch so I could have seen more of the city.

Tia discussed our accommodation and touring preferences and produced an itinerary that suited them very well indeed. Any queries we had en route were answered swiftly so that we felt reassured every step of the way.

Kayla was amazing. All hotels tours and rental car was perfect. We’re telling all our friends. Thank you Stewart

Excellent service all round, big thanks to Sabina for doing all she did to achieve that.

Our 3-week itinerary traveling NZ’s South Island struck the perfect balance of scheduled and unscheduled activities. We had a lot of freedom to choose what we did most days, but the experiences we pre-booked were all really wonderful. Our Travel Specialist Emily got a feel for “our style” and helped guide our decisions and also offered plenty of additional options. The trip had us moving every few days, which gave us the opportunity to get to know and appreciate each stop, with time to explore and relax, too, along the way. Our favorite pre-booked activities were the dinner cruise on the TSS Earnslaw in Queenstown and the overnight boat trip on The Navigator in Doubtful Sound. We took some really challenging and memorable hikes almost everywhere, and enjoyed a couple of fun (also challenging) bike rides along the lakes in Wanaka and Queenstown. The overnight accommodations were all fantastically located (a 1-to 10-minute walk to local villages, shops, restaurants, etc, in every case) and we were pleased by how spacious and well-equipped they all were. All the beds were comfortable! And almost perfect weather was a bonus (especially in the gorgeous, pristine Doubtful Sound fiord—we were so lucky!) Transfers, drive times, rental car—all great. The one time we needed support, Emily was in immediate contact, and we resolved the issue in question easily. We absolutely loved this amazing trip and we will happily recommend NZ Self-Drive Tours to anyone planning a trip to this magnificent place. We hope to make it back again someday!

Hi Ang - hope you are well. Martin and I want to say a huge and heartfelt thank you for the wonderful and memorable trip you planned and organized for us. We are home now and remembering all our wonderful moments along the way. Everything went so smoothly with no hiccups at all from the side trips to airport and rail station transfers to accommodation bookings. All the accommodation was wonderful - clean and the staff were very friendly and welcoming, and no issues with checking in. We especially loved Hokitika - what a great view from our room !! The sunset was spectacular over the ocean, Hotel St Clair in Dunedin - again another great view, and to hear the waves crashing was lovely, Curio Bay - wow! This was special - right on the beach and the Hector Dolphins came to play in the waves - beautiful, Stewart Island - very quiet and comfortable, Clearbrook Motel in Wanaka - great position and loved the room with another beautiful view. The 2 train trips were very good - loved the Scenic Plus carriage - certainly worth the extra money for the space and amazing food!! Both times we had a table to ourselves, which was a luxury!! I think the highlights for us were Stewart Island, Doubtful Sound - that overnight cruise is just beautiful - waking up in the morning to that beautiful scenery and such quiet was so wonderful, and Curio Bay and of course beautiful Wanaka - what a very pretty town you live in!!. and Mt Cook - so pleased we spent a few days here - the weather was incredible and seeing Mt Cook with no cloud was amazing!! Another good thing was the perfect amount of driving each day, which meant we could stop at the many scenic points and little towns along the way and not be pushed for time, so thanks for that. The weather was just fantastic all 3 weeks - only 3 days of rain the whole time we were in New Zealand - not so good for the locals but great for tourists!! Every day was wonderful with beautiful scenery around every corner!! Thanks again for everything you did for us to make it so easy to travel and enjoy every moment. Big thanks to Real NZ - they have a wonderful team of people and are so good at what they do - very well organized but no fuss and just go about their jobs quietly and efficiently, and so knowledgeable about their particular area. All the drivers we had were lovely, friendly, and very helpful,l and always early for the pick-ups. Thanks again, and take car,e and we wish you all the best in your future. Martin and Nerelie Lester-Smith Woodend, Victoria, Australia

Due to some problems with cycle and weather, we had amazing support from Emily but also the team who assisted us with having to change our travel plans and cancel and rebook accommodation and experiences. We could not fault anything that was advised or sorted and Emily was so helpful and efficient and always available and such a pleasant young lady. We appreciated everything that was sorted for our holiday. We certainly would recommend friends and family to your company. Thank you, we were truly grateful as it was a stressful time with a cyclone at the beginning of our trip.

We always felt Neisha had our backs and was determined to deliver us an amazing experience, which she did! Any queries or issues were quickly dealt with, the additional recommendations were just perfect for us and our holiday was just the best. We can't thank her and the rest of the team enough.