Kimkim Trip Reviews for New Zealand

Our Travel Pro, Monika, was very patient with us while we worked through the itinerary for our New Zealand trip. In fact it took us (not Monika) 3 months to finally settle on the detailed schedule. We just kept asking questions and Monika developed options for us to consider. In the end her original itinerary was close to what we chose; well we added a few excisions and some of the hotels and B&B's changed.

I will say all the options Monika provided were excellent. Monika was very responsive to reschedules (due to weather) and in fact moved an excursion up a day, to keep us on schedule and allow us to do a challenging hike the next day that got cancelled because of weather.

If I had one recommendation to the reader, 16-days is not enough; if you are driving. We saw many highlights and are already thinking of our next visit to New Zealand. Monika was very cognizant of the travel times and provided us guidance to minimize our hours on the road and provide useful, fun, entertaining, & amazing stops along the way.

Monika will be our go-to for our next New Zealand adventure. It was so helpful having a local (she is based in Queenstown) expert.

Thanks,
Tom T

Hotel Reviews

Kamana Lakehouse

Queenstown

Excellent location, great view of the lake. Great Staff

Authenticity & Character

It is called Lakehouse and it didn't disappoint with the Lake Views

Location

Staff

Came to get us when one of our excursion drivers showed up early!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The staff was responsive to a messy towel day

M Social

Auckland

Modern Hotel in the middle of everything! The first 2 days we just walked everywhere we needed to go.

Authenticity & Character

Modern and Modern

Location

Right on the waterfront

Staff

Helped with some tech issues and made recommendations

Cleanliness & Comfort

just great

Naumi Hotel Wellington

6141

Quirky mid-town hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Quirky, what more is there to say! In a really good way.

Location

Well except the parking, but we were RIGHT DOWN TOWN

Staff

Pointed us to a few interesting things to see.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great bed and linens

Beaufort House Akaroa

Akaroa

The hostess and host were excellent and this is an incredible B&B

Authenticity & Character

French town with this chateau feel

Location

Small town and this was a walk to the waterfront.

Staff

Excellent Omlete

Cleanliness & Comfort

These linens I really want to know where they get them, was unbelievable comfortable!

Activity Reviews

Redwoods treewalk by night

Rotorua

Just fun and interesting in the evening!

Starlight Gourmet Kayak Tour - Glowworm Caves

Rotorua

Really glowworms only exist in 3 locations in the world, our guide was excellent and we really enjoyed the adventure.

Zealandia - Night Tour

Wellington

Everyone should do this excursion because it tells you about how New Zealand is reintroducing native birds.

Fly Cruise Fly – Queenstown to Milford Sound BY PLANE

Queenstown (NZ)

Everyone has pictures of Milford, but you need to experience it yourself!

The trip was great! Is was our honeymoon and it will be unforgettable for both of us. Organization was great. Accommodations were great. Transportation was great and always on time. All tours were excellent and provided the experiences that we were looking for in all cities. Our planner Ruth did an amazing job!!!

Hotel Review

Garden Court Suites & Apartments

Queenstown

Great space. Amazing view from the balcony. Had a washer and dryer which was helpful for our trip. Very close to the city center.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Jet-Boat Adventure & Funyak River Safari

Queenstown (NZ)

Very very fun!! Must do if you go to Queenstown. They provide all equipment: wetsuit, jacket, boots, etc... Staff was great.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Evening Progressive Degustation Walk

Melbourne

Must do if you go to Melbourne. This city has so many great restaurants that was very difficult for us select which one to go. Luckly this tour helped us go to 3 great restaurants and taste lots of food in each one along with different wines. Great experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Best of Melbourne by Bike

Melbourne

Great way to see the city in a timely and fun fashion. Our tour guy Craig was excellent!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Outer Reef Mackay Coral Cay

Port Douglas

The tour was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. To be able to see the corals close was spectacular. We saw turtles, rays and lots of different fish. The staff is excellent. The full day is an awesome experience. The food was descent. They provide you with all equipment. Never felt safer.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Wildlife, Waterfalls and Wine

Sydney

Great tour. We were able to touch and being very close with Kolas. Took lots of pictures close with them. Also we were able to feed Wallabies and Kangaroos. Wine tasting was great. The lunch was great as well. The tour guide was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mossman Gorge Adventure Day

New Zealand

Guy was a great tour guide! You start with a river tour seeing lots wild life and then you ride the river which was very fun. The lunch was great!! Then the afternoon you go to the forest and can dive into the river which was also cool.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

John and I have completed our trip to New Zealand and had a wonderful experience thanks to Connie. We were greeted at every
stop with friendly ground transportation people allowing us to travel worry free. Our hotels were all impeccably clean and located within walking distances to city centers. The excursions she set up were wonderful including the wine tasting tour and TSS Earnslaw evening in Queenstown, and the boat ride on Milford Sound.
We would highly recommend a trip to New Zealand planned by Connie at KIMKIM.

Thank you Franck, of KimKim/Once in a Lifetime. The trip you planned for us to New Zealand exceeded our expectations. We kept saying, “thank you Franck”!! We loved the process of planning. You came up with a first idea plan and listened to how we wanted to personalize it to fit our dreams. We liked all of the accommodations upgraded to water/view front and we asked for something unique. It was nice having a few days in Auckland at MSocial to check out the bay and whale/dolphins excursion and acclimate to the 18 hour time difference. We loved the night time redwood tree walk and our morning stroll again in Rotorua. We had a breathtaking tour and wonderful chat with Jill Simpson, own of beautiful Akaroa Garden; then off to a fun and worthwhile dolphin cruise . Mount Cook Lakeside retreat on lake Pulaski was luxurious; great views, chef cooked meals and perfect location to explore the Mackenzie region. We had a private plane, The Grand Traverse to fly over the glacier and mountain areas of Mackenzie Aoraki National Park. Two of us made it to stargazing after a wonderful dinner in the dining hall, lead by lodge owner. Magnificent!!! Crazy, amazing place to stay (photos). We had an informative and fun backcountry tour as one of our adventures while there. We also got up close to an iceberg and glacier at Lake Tekapo, Next we drove to Clyde and stayed at a unique and authentic Oliver’s Lodge. The people are so welcoming there! Our favorite place was Milford Lodge staying at Cabot Lodge. Breidi met us with umbrella and she and husband Brad Alexander/owners made us feel so welcome. Such a luxuriously unique accommodations on the beautiful hills of their Lodge overlooking the Fiordland National Park and Lake Manapouri. Breathtakingly beautiful. Milford sound is a magical place. Jeff, of Trips and Tramps was our bus driver, part of our coach, cruise and walk tour. We snuck in a helicopter ride that he set up while we were there.

Thanks again Franck. It was a trip of a lifetime. You took care of every detail from pick up driver at every needed venue, rental car, and several amazing meals and awesome excursions. This was our second time using KimKim and you did not disappoint.

Franck was able to plan the perfect vacation for us. We took the quiz and everything he recommended was spot on! We had plenty of down time to choose our own adventures along the way. When our flight to the South Island was delayed, Monika messaged us and gave us options. Everyone was so helpful and we made memories that will last a lifetime!!! I will definitely book through KimKim again!!!

Uma is the best! Great planning, appropriate places and time scheduling, detailed, and very responsive. I could not ask for a better advisor. I would recommend kimkim and Uma to assist and advise on travel to New Zealand!

We absolutely loved the itinerary that Uma came up with based on our interview and our time available to explore both the North and South Islands. Uma’s recommendations for restaurants in all the locations we visited were spot on! Uma’s choices of hotels for us to stay at were just perfect! She really listened to my input and made excellent selections and all our hotel stays were very nice, comfortable and well-appointed. Uma was also super helpful and available to problem-solve when we ran into hiccups on the road and went above and beyond to support us on our journey. We will definitely be recommending Uma to our family and friends because she masterfully curated the trip of a lifetime for us and we are so grateful for her expertise and experience 🩵🩵🩵

Some of our favorite things from our trip were: our flight on Salt Air in Paihia to Cape Reinga and the Bay of Islands with our personable pilot, Mikhail. We had the best guide, Ben, at Hobbiton. Ben was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all the details of the making of The Lord of The Rings and Hobbit movies. Our driver, Greg Arnold, with Southern Discoveries, took us on an amazing drive to Milford Sound where we cruised and saw beautiful waterfalls, seals and gorgeous scenery before coming back to a helicopter ride over the mountain tops and lakes from Fiordland. National Park back to the lakes and mountains surrounding Queenstown. Greg and his team of drivers and pilots made sure everyone was taken care of and was having a good time and was super charming and fun! We loved every area we visited and are already planning our next trip🩵🩵

Hotel Reviews

The Rees Hotel

Queenstown

This was my favorite hotel from our trip because of the excellent room, view, bathroom set up (bathtub!!!) and the most comfortable bed. The restaurant was top notch and had laundry service which was convenient. We will look forward to our next stay here🩵

Authenticity & Character

The room design and furnishings were luxurious and comfortable.

Location

The lake view was stunning and I miss it so much already!

Staff

Very pleasant and helpful. Genuinely seemed like they all took there jobs seriously and didn’t with professionalism and friendliness.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room design and bed and pillows were perfect for us.

M Social

Auckland

Loved it, the breakfast buffet was nice, very comfy room, fabulous beds, great location, easy access in and out. The only down was the fitness area, which could have been more equipped.

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Waterfront Suites Bay of Islands

Paihia

The Waterfront Suites Bay of Islands was humongous, we were lucky enough to have our room upgraded, we wish we stayed even longer - the only down note was one of the stuff members wasn't the friendliest and didn't seem very flexible when we asked for an early check-in.

Heritage Christchurch

Christchurch

It didn't stand out to us and I would not recommend it. It is kinda hard to find, and didn't know where to park our car. We also found some difficulties to understand the receptionist. Beautiful but dated rooms, the bed was smaller compared to our other hotels we stayed at in New Zealand. Something we didn't understand is the bathroom of the lobby locked until 11 am, which makes it difficult for travelers that leave their room early to use it.

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cape Reinga Half Day Tour by Aeroplane

New Zealand

We loved this Aeroplane tour! We had a very informative guide. It could have been shorter with less stops to make it less tiring, though.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Te Pō Indigenous Experience

Rotorua

This activity was just amazing, we experience the best buffet ever, I literally tried everything and I wish I could eat more from there. The dances were just great and I felt the culture immersion.

Quality of Experience

Food

The buffet was top-notch.

Glow Worm Kayaking in Rotorua

Rotorua

We loved the Glow Worm Kayaking in Rotorua, the glow worm and the lake were simply amazing, and the stargazing was incredible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

the bus driver could have been friendlier and more on time.

Polynesian Spa - HIMALAYAN SALT POLISH & HERBAL OIL MASSAGE

Rotorua

The Polynesian Spa experience was fabulous. We had a salt scrub and massage, and I have to say that the service was professional and excellent. I would love to go back here!

Our 12-day trip to the North Island was fantastic and exceeded our expectations! Our trip was originally scheduled for Nov 2020 and because of Covid we had to defer. Franck helped re-plan the itinerary for March 2024. Highlights included a New Zealand food story tasting menu at Ahi in Auckland, the Wai Ariki Spa at Rotorua, Mt. Takawera crater walk, Waiotapu geothermal area, Tongariro National Park and Kapiti Island. The trip was perfectly customized to our preferences and everything worked very smoothly.

Our trip to NZ and Australia was fantastic. We enjoyed everything. Sabina did a great job of listening you our requests and fulfilling them.
Outstanding features of the trip included our overnight cruise on the Southern Secret in Doubtful Sound. The tour by Australia Nature Tours was also outstanding. Kangaroo Island staying at the Sea Dragon lodge was the highlight of the trip for me.
Our only wish was that we had more time in each location to explore.
Highly recommend KimKim Co.

Our first road trip in many years was an amazing 18 day journey through the north and south Islands of New Zealand. Our trip planner, Asko, spent several months working with us to plan an excellent itinerary that hit all of the things we wanted to experience in this amazing country, while giving us the flexibility to modify the activities and sights based on how much we felt like doing each day. We saw fjords with glaciers and snow capped mountains, waterfalls, hot springs and we hiked in forests. We stopped in all kinds of small towns and big cities. At every location we were able to experience something new, and the hotels and food were the best available, and often 5 star quality. There is a wonderful spirit in this country and we were able to meet and interact with many locals and fellow travelers. Thanks to Asko we have great memories of a special country. Thanks!

Hotel Reviews

Sofitel Queenstown

Queenstown

Every detail was of the highest international standard. A treasure!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fable Dunedin

Dunedin

An unusual hotel. Serious money was spent on quality materials and furnishings. However our room in the back. was very dark and difficult to get to because the elevator didn’t go there, so we had to carry our luggage up a flight of stairs. It looked as if two older buildings were combined to make the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms in back are dark and hard to get to.

Distinction Luxmore Hotel

Te Anau

This hotel was the only disappointment. While the room was relatively big and clean and everything worked, the pink plastic walls and yellow plastic everywhere showed that it was cheaply furnished long ago and in serious need of updating to the standards we found everywhere else. At best, a place to sleep right next door to the bus tour pickup point for the spectacular Milford Sound. On the plus side, the attached buffet restaurant had a top quality buffet breakfast and dinner.

Authenticity & Character

Redecorate and update the quality of the rooms.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything needs to be updated and redecorated.

Hermitage Hotel

Mount Cook Village

AMAZING HOTEL IN AN AMAZING PLACE!!!!

Authenticity & Character

WOW

Location

WOW

Staff

WOW

Cleanliness & Comfort

WOW

Fable Auckland

Auckland

Great hotel in the middle of downtown action. Close to shopping and the ferries. Parking is not close.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The only downside was a lack of parking, and it was a bit hard to park in front. We later learned that valet parking was an option, although it was not offered by the staff when we pulled up in our car.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sofitel Wellington

Wellington

Another nice hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Lake Taupo

Taupo

High end classy hotel with heated pool, sauna steam room and nice restaraunt.

Hotel Montreal

Christchurch

Nice hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Powderhorn Chateau

Ohakune

Nice older hotel made of pine logs. Unique country feel. Friendly staff. Indoor heated pool. Attached restaurant looks like a fun party place during ski Eason.

Pullman Rotorua

Rotorua

Another great high end hotel near all the things you can walk to see.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Amazing Milford Sound Day tour

Te Anau

WOW! A must see for anyone visiting the area.

Meet Yellow Eyed Penguins

Dunedin

Didn’t see any wild penguins, but the ones in the rehab facility were cute. Glad to support

The Te Pō Indigenous Experience

Rotorua

So glad to support the preservation of Māori culture. That said, the presentation had 2 parts, the first was an excellent explanation of the culture prior to contact with western culture. The musical portion however, seemed to be a mix of western music and Luau style entertainment, which I thought was designed to present what might entertain rather than educate. The buffet was good, and the geyser was a natural wonder.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Gourmet Food & Wine Tour

Auckland

The ferry ride was nice. We enjoyed visiting the wineries and chatting with the people who work there. The scenery was beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Food

Mostly snack size bites were not really lunch….

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vickie put an enormously epic trip together for us with nary a flaw. From the first minute to the last everything was timed exactly right and the events and accommodations were perfect. She was available to us on a moment’s notice and always went the extra yard to provide yet another thoughtful gesture. You can hear the smile in her voice with every message. She showed us why NZ is a special country and she did magic to provide reasons (excuses) to return. She will go down in history with our memories of the holiday. Thank you!!

Harriet was completely on target with both her recommendations and her alerts. We enjoyed every destination enormously and only wish we had more time to have fully enjoyed some of them. Harriet pointed out that our itinerary was aggressive (by our request), and it was! We wouldn't have changed it. Overnight on the Milford Sound was the highlight of a trip full of highlights. TSS Earnslaw in Queenstown was an unexpected pleasure. The Glow Worm tour with Steven at Real Rotorua was a personal favorite--informative and intimate in size. Napier, the Blenheim wineries, Aoraki Mt. Hood, Te Anau, Christchurch, Queenstown, Franz Josef...none disappointed! Car rental in Auckland was difficult, time-consuming, inefficient, frustrating. We were warned of long lines at that rental location, but it was not a well-run branch. All of our accommodations were exceptional or very good. We recommend Harriet and KimKim 100%.

Hotel Reviews

The Dome

Napier

The stay at The Dome in Napier was exceptionally fantastic. The location, service, and overall experience were top-notch. This hotel exceeded expectations and left a lasting positive impression.

Distinction Luxmore Hotel

Te Anau

The stay at Distinction Luxmore Hotel in Te Anau was decent overall. The accommodation was clean and comfortable, but the hotel was huge, very busy and full of tourists.

Te Waonui Forest Retreat

Franz Josef Westland

The stay was comfortable and enjoyable. The accommodation was clean, but nothing particularly exceptional stood out during our one-night stay.

Activity Reviews

Hobbiton Tour

New Zealand

I had low expectations of this. I expected it to be kitschy and silly. Instead, the gardens were beautiful, the guide was entertaining, and I enjoyed far more than I thought I would.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Real Rotorua - Nocturnal Adventure Glow-Worm Tour

Rotorua

My personal trip highlight. I was looking forward to seeing Glow-Worms, but the experience far exceeded even my high expectations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Napier & Hawke's Bay

Napier

Accommodation was mind-blowingly good. Napier locale is beautiful, art deco town rivals Miami Beach, Bluff Hill is beautiful--it would have been easy to spend more time here.

Quality of Experience

Kaikoura

Kaikoura

Kaikoura was a pit-stop for us, but along the drive we saw a HUGE dolphin pod feeding. Dolphins were swirling, breaching--it was quite amazing.

Quality of Experience

Historic Tram Dinner

Christchurch

Good food and fun. Touristy in the very best way.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Milford Mariner Overnight Cruise ex Milford

Milford Sound

THE TRIP HIGHLIGHT!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TSS Earnslaw Farm Tour & Dinner

Queenstown (NZ)

The sheep shearing, working dog exhibition, buffet dinner, gardens, transport by steamship were all unexpected and excellent.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Auckland Harbour Dinner Cruise

Auckland

Crew was personable but the food was awful.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Crew was friendly.

Transport

Under-whelming sail and views.

What an incredible New Zealand trip!! Liz actually listened carefully to my very particular interests, and crafted a trip that took it all in. My highlights: A custom private guided tour with Peter from Bush and Beach. Peter was especially chosen for me, as he is also a botanist and Arborist like myself. I had asked about going to the Coromandel Peninsula, so Liz hooked me up with John, the owner of Kiwi Dundee for a semi private tour emphasizing my study of Captain Cook. We got to visit a Māori Pa, (hill fortress) mentioned in Cook’s journals, as well as a great scenic overlook of Cook’s Bay. A trip to Sanctuary Mountain was good, but one of my best experiences was the overnight on Kapiti Island with its incredible bird life! A small group tour of Zealandia Preserve at night finally got me a wild Kiwi sighting. Oops, lol, I forgot to mention my private tour of a Kiwi hatchery which was awesome! Thank you Liz! Last but not least, was my private tour of the New Zealand Museum in Wellington, where my guide exceeded my expectations as she changed her standard tour to cater to my paleontology interests and Captain Cook exhibits there. All in all, a dream trip of a lifetime, well done!

Very Memorable Vacation

It was my first time using kimkim and I wasn't sure how it would work out -- I mean the concept is great --they have a system where you state what you want to do and hook you up with a local expert who designs a trip, then you give them a lot of money and (hope!) it works out.

you get a paper with your confirmation codes for the various things (car rentals, hotels, activities) but we never needed it. We just gave them our name and that was sufficient. The hotels he picked were really amazing (honestly, I would never have found most of those on my own and some of them were really amazing) and most of the activities (hikes, biking, kayaks, etc.) were really fun.

We did have to make a few 'game time changes' while we were in New Zealand in terms of some activities but It was easy to work with the tour groups to make those changes (we moved some times around while there and upgraded to e-bikes for one of the rides), folks in NZ are generally pretty chill....

My biggest advice is to really look at your itinerary and the distances and timing. In our case we sometimes had activities that were either sort of far from the hotel (1- 1.5 hours away) and sort of early (9:00AM start) which made for some really early mornings (again, we were able to move most of them around while there).

Liz was incredible! This was the first time we’ve worked with a travel agent and I think we will be using them for all big trips moving forward. Liz really listened to our needs and what we were hoping to see and do while in New Zealand. We had the most amazing trip, saw the best sites, and experienced as much as we possibly could. Liz helped make the trip go off without any issues. She even went above and beyond to help us out with transportation when our flight was delayed upon arrive. Liz also checked in with us a few times while we were in New Zealand to see if we needed anything! I hope we can work with Liz again because any other travel agent we work with will have some very big shoes to fill :)

Hotel Reviews

M Social

Auckland

We loved this hotel!! The breakfast was great, the staff was wonderful, and it was in the best location. We wished we could have put this hotel in our suitcase and brought it with us the entire trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right across the street from the boardwalk and tons of restaurants and shops

Staff

They were all so kind and willing to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pohue Pure Pod

Pohue

We loved this bnb type experience. It’s remote-ness made for the perfect middle stop on our trip to just spend time together and reconnect. Absolutely stunning views as well. We also ordered the breakfast and dinner package and that was the best decision!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel Rotorua Lakeside

Rotorua

This hotel was pretty old. I think we just had a bad room because they were hosting a large conference at the same time, so those attendees seemed to get the staffs attention and best rooms. The location was great, right by the lake and city center!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

I think the room could have been cleaner. Part of that is due to an older hotel, but some of the sheets and towels had stains on them and the floor wasn’t clean either. When we got room service it took a long time to get it and then the tray in the hallway wasn’t picked up for more than 24 hours.

Scenic Suites Queenstown

Queenstown

We were in the suites and it was a bit weird to open our door and have a random person in one door and then we were in the next. Didn’t love that, but would be great if you were with a group and got both rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nice and close to everything

Staff

Friendly and attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crowne Plaza Christchurch

Christchurch Central

Great location! It was a fancy place for us which was a treat

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very friendly!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Mt Tarawera Crater Walk Experience

Rotorua

The guides we had really made this experience. We have never done a hike like this, it was so unique, put us out of our comfort zone, and was a lot of fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fantastic

Transport

Welcome to Pohue Pure Pod

New Zealand

This is what I was most looking forward to on our trip and it didn’t disappoint

Quality of Experience

Full Day Famous Routeburn Trail

Queenstown (NZ)

This was a tough hike, but we loved it! We hiked the entire day, which was about 12-13 miles. The views were incredible

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide walked so fast that our group was separated frequently. Made me feel like I couldn’t totally enjoy the experience because I had to keep up. Thankfully the trail is very well marked and easy to follow. He was very knowledgeable though so it was interesting to learn about the area, plants, etc.

Transport

Auckland to Rotorua visiting Hobbiton with lunch

Auckland

Such a fun experience, even if you haven’t seen the lord of the rings movies (definitely helps to have seen the though)

Quality of Experience

Food

The buffet was so good!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I would like to thank Franck for helping us plan a magical trip to New Zealand! Going to NZ is like going back in time. The country is beautiful and so clean, the people genuinely friendly and the food and wine delicious. We absolutely loved the places where we stayed and overall the tours we took were great. We travelled from Auckland to Queenstown and in each place had wonderful experiences. Highlights included: wine touring on Waiheke Island, nighttime kayaking to see glowworms and exploring the Waimangu Volcanic Valley in Rotorua, boat tour to Apawapa blue pearl farm, whale watching in Kaikōura, staying in the remote and very private Scrubby Bay at Annadale, 2 different 4WD tours one with Micheal on “The Road to Mesopotamia and Christine on the Cass Valley Backcountry Tour, our fabulous stay at Azure in Queenstown and finally our private wine tour with Kate from BlackZNQ.
There were a couple of things that stopped me from giving this trip a 5 star. Franck, overall, did a wonderful job organizing the trip but we found his Travel Book somewhat confusing and sometimes lacking in detail. One situation in particular we ran into difficulty when flying from Rotoura to Blenheim. We did not have detailed flight information and when we showed up at airport we found our flight had been delayed and we were not on the flight we expected. If it wasn’t for the amazing Air New Zealand staff we would have lost a whole day of travel. As well, I was disappointed with our Marlborough wine tour. We were happy Franck had arranged a private guide but unfortunately the guide knew nothing about wine and the vineyards we visited for tastings gave little information about region or wines. I would recommend asking for an experienced guide with in-depth knowledge of wine and region and request to talk with the guide to plan the day. Luckily we had very knowledgeable guides for our other 2 wine tours but it still would have been helpful to discuss expectations before hand. We loved our trip to New Zealand and appreciated the service KimKim provides!

Hotel Reviews

Park Hyatt Auckland

1010

Location fantastic, rooms clean and beautiful with great amenities and breakfast fantastic!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Black Swan Lakeside Boutique Hotel

Rotorua

The Black Swan was lovely, clean and comfortable. We enjoyed wine and cheese by the pool and the breakfast was good. We also enjoyed our dinner in the restaurant. We were disappointed the morning we had to leave early when we understood breakfast was served from 7 and no one was there. Overall, we enjoyed our stay and would recommend this hotel.

The Marlborough Boutique Hotel and Vineyard

Marlborough

We loved this hotel! The property is spectacular and staying there feels like you have gone back in time. We loved our room, it was spacious, beautifully decorated and filled with extra goodies, the delicious breakfasts we had each morning and the creative canapés and cocktails we had each evening were memorable. The heated pool area was a favourite place to drink wine, swim and enjoy the summer weather at the end of our busy days. All the staff were friendly and helpful but want to give a special thank you to Chris for her outstanding service. We can’t wait to return!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses

Kaikoura

It was a pleasure to stay in this unique hotel. Loved everything about it. Only wish our stay was longer

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Annandale

Pigeon Bay

Wow, this place is exceptional! From the personalized thrilling cliff hugging drive to the secluded private bay with Caroline leading the way, to the beautiful, fully stocked home with floor to ceiling windows across the front, to the gourmet meals provided daily by the chef, this place exceeded all our expectations. The food was abundant and delicious, the hot tub spa provided a fabulous place to star gaze and soak sore muscles after climbing the cliffs on both sides of the bay. We loved our stay at Scrubby Bay, Annadale and can’t wait to plan our next visit.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Vicarage Geraldine

Geraldine

We enjoyed staying at the Vicarage, Geraldine. We stayed here one night on route to Queenstown and found it clean and comfortable and located right in heart of Geraldine.

Azur Lodge

Queenstown

This place is amazing. The staff were so professional, friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the delicious breakfasts and canapés with cocktails and appreciated the shuttle to and from the Azure. Thanks for the great stay!

Authenticity & Character

The private villa had amazing views of the mountains, was beautifully decorated with natural woods and neutral luxurious fabrics and colours.

Location

This was a secluded enclave of a number of private villas outside of Queenstown.

Staff

Everyone was friendly and helpful. Special thanks to Linda for the excellent restaurant recommendations!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lakestone Lodge

Lake Pukaki

The Lakestone Lodge is a great place to stay if wanting to explore Mount Cook but not stay in the village. The lodge had great service and the staff were friendly and helpful. The lodge is situated at one end of Lake Pukaki and looks up towards Mount Cook. We arrived late in afternoon on a gloomy day. Following a delicious dinner the weather had cleared so we climbed up the hill behind lodge. The panoramic view was spectacular but Mount Cook remained hidden. After sleeping in a clean, comfortable but smaller sized room with a private outdoor sitting area we awoke to a spectacular view of Mount Cook. It was a perfect sunny day without a cloud in the sky and this view was memorable. I will never forget the stunning blue of the lake and the distant snow peaked Mount Cook. Thank you for a wonderful stay.

Activity Reviews

Ahi Restaurant - 4 snacks and 4 courses

Auckland

The creative menu and variety of unique foods was memorable. We enjoyed meeting Christian one of the owners of restaurant and particularly appreciated when he realized one of our party was not eating much and brought her a lamb dinner which she loved! Thanks so much for the exciting journey through NZ foods.

Waiheke Wine tour exclusive

New Zealand

We loved the island, our guide and learning about the wine produced on this paradise!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Glowworm Paddle Board Tour

Rotorua

Such a memorable experience. Imagine paddling along in a tandem kayak with your husband on a star lit warm night. Then imagine gliding into small caves with glowing worms on the sides and ceiling. Magical!

National Hatchery

Rotorua

It was very educational to learn about the endangered kiwis and how NZ and volunteers are making a remarkable difference in their survival! Well done!

Whale Watch Kaikoura by boat

Kaikoura

The VIP Captain Cabin feature was well worth it! The spacious comfortable seating, the top level viewing deck and the friendly and knowledgeable staff made the experience of viewing the male sperm whales memorable!

Wow! New Zealand is BEAUTIFUL!

I am so glad we planned our honeymoon with Kimkim because I guarantee we would not have experienced as much as we did without it. Our itinerary was very well thought out by Carly, making sure that we did not drive too much on any particular day and getting to experience so many of New Zealand's beautiful towns. Each town had it's own unique attractions and the drives between them had stunning views!

Some of our favorite places/activities were the Mount Cook region, where you are surrounded by majestic mountains, and the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise. Waking up in the Doubtful Sound with dolphins swimming next to the ship was truly magical! Getting to learn more about the Maori culture everywhere we went was another highlight that I will remember forever.

Thank you for everything!!

Ruth was extremely helpful, mindful of local activities and our limitations. We had the best time.

Our trip included a portion supported by KimKim and 9 days organized through a different cycling company that we have travelled with previously. Overall, our trip was very good/excellent. Planning the trip with Ruth, in advance of leaving Canada was a very positive experience. Ruth was knowledgeable, flexible and understanding, very pleasant, responsive and helpful.

We were not as impressed with Southern World after arrival in New Zealand. We did not receive the package from them in our hotel room until the second day, although that might have been a hotel issue. Otherwise, all of the logistics worked according to plan, with one exception. All of the tour guides were very good and punctual.

Up until the point we left Canada, our itinerary included a sunset walk in the National Park at 7:-00 pm which was a minimum 1.5 hour drive from Taupo where we were staying (this was our first experience driving in NZ and thus it likely took us a little longer even than the predicted 1.5 hours). We were asked to call the day before (during business hours) to confirm the time of the sunset walk the following day. Unfortunately, although we were scheduled to arrive back from the rain forest the prior day by 4:00 pm, we did not get back to our hotel (where we had internet service) until 5:30 pm, so could not call; we were in areas with no service during the entire window provided to us to call to confirm. We had not noticed that the time in the booklet for this sunset walk had changed to 5:45 pm. However, even if we had noticed it, we would not have been able to make it in time for this rescheduled walk (and it would not really have been a sunset walk either!) - we did not arrive in Taupo until 12:30 pm, had lunch and took the cruise on Taupo Lake from 130 to 3:00 pm. We then had to go and check in to our hotel. So the earliest we could have left Taupo for the National Park would have been around 3:30 pm or so.

Even if we had seen the change, we had to drive to the park and would not have arrived prior to 5:00 pm at the earliest, but needed to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner, so this change in time could not have possibly worked for us.

We did not find the communication with Southern World very sympathetic to say the least. When we called the office, the timing was not acknowledged as being tight and we never received any sort of apology. I am not sure what the cost of this sunset walk was - we arrived at 6:45 pm, waited til 7:00 pm and contacted the office to learn it had been changed. Needless to say, we did not have the experience of the sunset walk in the national park and our only choice was to get back into the car and drive 1.5 hours back to Taupo. This was most unfortunate. The last communication on this matter that we had from Southern World was that the time had not changed - it was always 5:45 pm, which is categorically not correct.

On our final day in Queenstown, there was a pick up from our hotel which was not really necessary as he dropped us off a half block from our hotel! We arrived back at the end of the day from Doubtful Sound about 15 min early; we looked around for a taxi, as we didn't want him looking for us; we could not find one, so we just walked back to our hotel, which was our preference anyway - but we just thought you should know. We hoped that he had not arrived later looking for us - we did stay around for about 5 min.

Our only suggestion is that ground/local operators communicate via imessage/what's app as a rule of thumb since these are internet-based communication mechanisms. We had eSIM cards while in New Zealand and could do calls and messaging through What's App, messages through imessage, or via email - however, we did not have access to phone which was their default method for communicating. 

So, overall - a great experience doing the planning with Ruth; a generally good experience with all logistics on the ground in New Zealand, with one exception - which did colour our perspective a bit in regard to Southern World - not because it happened, but more the tone of the communications about the issue with their staff.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Whirinaki Forest Walk with Lunch

Rotorua

Excellent guide; punctual pick up; very knowledgeable Note that they did not ask about allergies and i could not eat the lunch as a result

Quality of Experience

Food

Ask about allergies

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daily Scenic Cruise

Taupō

Enjoyable, pleasant staff; just the right amount of time; comfortable boat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Famous Routeburn Trail

Queenstown (NZ)

Excellent guide; did this in torrential rain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise (ex Queenstown)

Queenstown (NZ)

Beautiful scenery, guide on bus very knowledgeable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Should plan to make a stop on the two hour drive

Working with Monika was a pleasant experience. She did a phenomenal job helping us plan our trip. Once we arrived in New Zealand we had a few changes to our itinerary due to weather and Monika was quick to respond and help us with our updates. We would highly recommend working with Monika if you are looking to travel to New Zealand.