Kimkim Trip Reviews for New Zealand

Wasn’t expecting to love this but it was a treat! Guides were so enthusiastic and scenery truly stunning.

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Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs.

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs. We thought we had a lake view room and had to asked for a different room from the one initially assigned

This was the best hotel on our trip. Very specious and comfortable

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs.

We learned this Weta Workshop was not the same as the one in Wellngton. We heard from others the the one in Wellington was better than the one in Auckland

Ken is a treat! He proved to be knowledgeable, friendly and personable. I appreciated his jokes and insights of the area. I hope to go back one day and I hope I can catch another cruise with him.

This was a must do and worth the hour and change to do it. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history and the items in the museum. It’s worth spending a whole day there but you will certainly get the highlights with additional insights.

Eric was great! He knew a lot about the wildlife and history of the area. He also has great driving skills and was more than capable at pointing out hard to spot wildlife as we went along.

It you’re a rugby fan it’s fantastic. If you’re not a rugby fan, it’s worth doing to get an understanding of how important the game is to New Zealanders. The history and cultural context outlined in the tour was very good.

Intercontinental Hotel was great. We enjoyed snorkeling in their lagoon area and loved their restaurant service, which included a traditional Polynesian dance show one breakfast.

If we could do it over again, we would stay at the Hilton Moorea over the Manava Resort. Manava was nice, but our room air conditioning was not great and had a musty smell. However, the dinners and amenities (paddleboarding, kayaking, snorkeling) were nice. Our outrigger boat tour landed on a day that was rainy and windy, so it wasn't super pleasant, but it was just bad luck with the weather. However, the dolphin excursion at Moorea Dolphin Center was amazing.

The dolphin expert at the Center was really knowledgable and made it a fun experience. It was incredible to observe the dolphins in the water firsthand.

We weren't quite prepared to have this boat tour on a day of pouring rain and wind. We were cold and uncomfortable for the day, but our guide was pretty entertaining.

Our tour guide, Vatea, was amazing. He was so friendly, knowledgable, and had a great singing voice alongside his ukelele! The food was quite good and the lunch on the Motu had a nice setup with picnic tables in the water and fish swimming right by your feet as you ate. Snorkeling at the designated coral garden was incredible. And an unexpected bonus, Vatea stopped by the channel to the ocean and we saw many dolphins swimming nearby.

Hip, chic and accommodating. Excellent location, cool bar and good restaurant. Service was impeccable.

Highlight of our 2 weeks in South Island.

Very big and busy. Felt corporate and full of groups. Nice rooms and a good breakfast but not much character or charm.

You're really on the very edge of the Daintree and you don't see much with the snorkeling.

It was very long and a bit cheesy.

It's well organized with a very friendly staff but it's HIGH so be prepared.

I liked that this was a privately owned company although there were a lot of people on board.

This hotel is beautifully situated on the waterfront, a short distance from downtown Auckland. The hotel was clean, modern, inviting, and accommodating - it was the perfect first stop on our honeymoon. The room was well appointed with a soaking tub and modern amenities. When we told Megan Lee at the front desk that it was our honeymoon, she sent a bottle of bubbly and a dessert to our room, along with a beautiful note, to welcome us and congratulate us on our celebration. We greatly appreciated this gesture and is indicative of how the hotel really pays attention to its guests needs (and even small comments!) to a great degree. Wonderful experience overall and we would definitely return without hesitation.

The hotel itself is fine if slightly dated, and perhaps less "high end" than we had hoped. The snacks in the room were a welcome addition, and were refilled with regularity. The room was clean and comfortable, and had a very nice view. The beds were pretty comfortable as well. The hotel is somewhat lacking in amenities, but perhaps you could chalk it up to being the winter season and not being able to take advantage of what appeared to be additional things to do on the grounds during the summer months. The restaurant, in both of our views, was serviceable for breakfast but unfortunately terrible for dinner. The price for dinner wasn't inexpensive and was definitely the wrong move. Overall, the hotel is comfortable and nice enough but avoid the restaurant!

It was so cool to see the inner workings of the steam ship before going out to the deck to enjoy the view and a glass of wine. The food at dinner was incredible too! Really enjoyed the farm show exhibition with the sheep and the herding dog—very cleverly done.

This was a bucket list experience that will be so special to me forever. The staff on board the boat were so great, friendly and knowledgeable and made the schedule and options really easy to understand. Heading out in the boats the first night from the cove where we docked, and seeing a pod of bottlenose dolphins swim right under our kayaks was something I'll never forget (they let us stay out a bit longer to enjoy that rare experience)! The food was also really good and I enjoyed the insightful commentary on the wildlife and the terrain of the Sound. 10/10 would recommend to anyone!

I've been wanting to see the glowworms for years, and this tour did not disappoint (especially because Australia and New Zealand are the only places you can see these!) — after we took a comfortable ferry across the lake, we arrived on the island and split into smaller groups. My group was first to go inside the caves, which are lit up for the first section so you can see how they were formed by the water that's still rushing through. Walking on the metal gangplanks over the water and through the different pockets of the cave and the waterfalls (one coming straight down through a hole in the "ceiling" was incredibly cool and unique. At the top, our guide helped us into the little boat and then turned off all the lights so our eyes could adjust, and pulled the boat along a rope through the cave silently so we could take in the glowworms in the pitch black, floating on the water. She did a great job turning the boat around at different points so everyone could get directly underneath them for a better look. Be aware the they're not as bright in person as they are in the photos but that didn't make me marvel at it any less — such a cool phenomenon to witness. After, we walked on a nature path back to the welcome center for a drink and a presentation, and then took a look around the exhibits to learn more about the glowworms and the natural landscape on the island. After that, we headed back on the boat across the lake to Te Anau.

Extraordinary experience with amazing views and excellent food! Must be in good shape for the uphill hike to the accomodation.

Our fave hotel of our 14 day trip. Beautiful hotel, unbeatable views and excellent, friendly, helpful staff!

wow, just wow! Flying over the snow capped mountain was unbelievably beautiful! Ben was a great heli pilot. Very calming for our first ever heli trip!

One of the best experiences of our lives. The heli views were incredible and the boat ride through Milford Sound was beautiful with lots of waterfalls and amazing views. Ben was an incredible heli pilot for first time heli passengers.

Everyone at this hotel was very friendly and accommodating. The bed was very comfortable, the room was spacious with a desk, drawers to unpack in, a closet with room safe, and a shower/tub combo. The air conditioner kept the room itself fresh, even though the Rotorua sulfur smell did pervade the hotel. Breakfast lacked variety for a long stay (I got the impression people were surprised that we were staying for five nights) and the dinner we had at the hotel restaurant was disappointing quality for the price.

Our stay at the Bolton was very comfortable! The bed was cozy and there was plenty of room to spread out and for both of us to work from the room. We appreciated that on our work day we could each separately reach the bathroom without interrupting the other's work. We found it a bit odd that there were no drawers to unpack in, nor a room safe, but there was a spacious closet with a small set of shelves. Breakfast offered more variety, with eggs cooked to order and fresh fruit. By this point in the trip I had realized that New Zealand milk wasn't sitting well with me, and I was able to request soy milk as an alternative from the staff each morning.

I wish we'd had more time here to properly enjoy this gorgeous room and space! We had a lounge area that faced the window with a fabulous view of Mt. Cook. We had the room at the end of the hallway, so we also had a view across to the mountains on the other side of the room through some smaller windows as well. The room was well thought out with a padded bench seat immediately inside the door for putting on/taking off shoes so that you could keep your room clean. The included buffet dinner had plenty of delicious choices. Unfortunately, we got an early start before breakfast the following morning so we didn't get to sample the breakfast buffet as well. We will be back on our next trip to try to stargaze without clouds again!

We had only planned to stay here one night before our flight, and it would've been perfect for that. As it turned out, we ended up spending six nights here as we recovered from COVID, and while it wasn't glamorous, it worked pretty well for that too. Having separate beds worked well while we tried (in vain) not to get each other sick. We appreciated having the courtyard view outside our room, and were grateful that despite the proximity to the airport there was no noise of planes flying overhead. We partook of the included breakfast on our first morning only, and appreciated that they let me bring a full plate back to my sick husband in the room. I also made use of the guest coin-op laundry facilities (soap was free, they made change for us at the front desk.) There was a screen tracking all of the departures so you knew if your flight was delayed/cancelled. A shuttle bus was available to drive you to the airport, but it was only a 10-20 minute walk across the street. In addition to breakfast service there was also a restaurant on-site and room service available, but they seemed pricey for what they offered. On one of our work days I had to work from the lounge while my husband worked from the room. With headphones I was able to block out most of the ambient noise and lounge music, but it wasn't an ideal place to work. I didn't investigate whether there were outlets to plug in at in the outdoor courtyard spaces.

This was the highlight of the trip! I'm so glad that the weather worked out and allowed for our trip to fly. I'm glad we had the afternoon free to allow for the flexibility to go later in the day when our morning flight time didn't quite have the weather clearance yet. Flying in a helicopter provided such a close-up view of the incredible scenery, I'm definitely going to consider adding helicopter flights to future trip itineraries :)

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, so we weren't able to take advantage of the telescope at the observatory. We did enjoy learning how to navigate with the Southern Cross, which we saw several times throughout our trip. One thing you should know is that the observatory was not free admission. To gain entry to the exhibits was one price, and then the planetarium shows were a bit extra. Unfortunately, the cable car didn't run very late on Good Friday, so we weren't able to use it to get back up the hill for our evening at the observatory. We did use it earlier in the day to explore the botanical gardens though.

We loved that no photos were allowed so that we had to just be in the moment and enjoy this special place. Even though the recent rains/floods raised the water levels in the cave and cut back on the number of visible glow worms, we still found the experience of floating under their starry sky absolutely magical. We also enjoyed exploring the cave before we got to the worm section, including learning how the early explorers had ventured into the cave with ropes before the stairs were carved out.

So much fun! We enjoyed the sheep show, the farm tour, and the gift shop. The sheep dog trial was a bit brief.

I particularly enjoyed the stations that we visited at the beginning of the evening, learning about different aspects of Maori culture. Though I am terrible at throwing poi, it was fun to learn. I appreciate how immersive the experience was, as this helped us truly feel like family by the end of the night. I also enjoyed learning about the games that children play, and watching the men learn the haka. The performance was beautiful - everyone was so talented! Dinner was delicious! It was interesting learning where all of the various tourists were from. My aunt mentioned that when she'd visited NZ in the past she'd attended a dinner like this and they'd had everyone sing their national anthems. I much preferred the version done at our dinner, where the hosts sang a song by a famous artist from each country. It made it easier for everyone to join in the fun.

I loved every bit of this incredible experience! It was so much fun, and the guides took such good care of us. I'll need to do some wet suit yoga to prepare myself for my next canyoning outing, as the flexibility required for climbing in the wet suit was the most challenging part. My only suggestion is that, while it was a nice touch to give us a warm beverage at the end of the trip, they should've provided lids for the cups before we got in the van for the ride back!

We explored the botanical gardens, which were a beautiful downhill walk from the top of the cable car all the way back to the Bolton Hotel. We also were chocolatiers for the day at the Wellington Chocolate Factory on Eva Street, where we got to make three of our own custom chocolate bars and enjoy a cup of their hot chocolate. I appreciated that they were thoughtful in accommodating non-dairy guests with oat milk hot chocolate. It was fun learning all about the chocolate making process from bean all the way to wrapping in fancy painted papers.

We explored the botanical gardens and walked around Lake Wakatipu a bit, enjoying the beautiful scenery. We enjoyed a soak at the Onsen hot tub spa at night, which was a lovely, relaxing treat. They had a nice selection of tasty bites and drinks that were included with our tub time. We had very yummy burgers at Miss Lucy's at the top of the Jucy Snooze hostel. We had very overrated, disappointing burgers at Fergburger. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait in too long a line for them because we waited until 9pm instead of going when the crowds stretch halfway down the block.

We enjoyed wandering around Kirau Park and the free thermal features there. The big geyser at Te Puia was certainly more impressive, but if you're on a budget, you can definitely get a sense for the steaming waters and bubbling mud for free at Kirau - and you can soak your feet in the hot water if you are so inclined. Te Puia was special because of the artisans at work who were happy to talk to you about their studies, and because of the kiwi bird enclosure on the property. I'm glad we did both! We went for a hike along the Okere Falls Track, driving to the Okere Falls Scenic Reserve Parking lot and following the Kaituna River upstream to the Tutea and Trout Pool Falls. We patiently waited for a rafting trip to come down Tutea falls, and while we weren't able to see a raft we did see several kayaks take the intense plunge down the falls. For the walk back, we took the ridge trail which had beautiful scenic views at the top, but was more exposed to the sun than the river trail we'd started on. Recommend sunscreen and bug spray if you also decide to take both trails.

What a treat to have a private tour just for the two of us! We weren't expecting that, but it made our experience at this incredible museum extra special. I appreciated that our guide asked what aspects of the museum we were most interested in seeing, and then she personalized the tour accordingly. You could easily spend all day and then some exploring everything in this collection! I most enjoyed the natural sciences section as well as the unique, large fiber arts installations made from everyday materials like tarps, road signs, ropes, and truck tie-down lashings. I also enjoyed learning about the beautiful modern carved marae and that the Maori concept of genealogy includes the type of work you do. The carved figures that attempt to represent us all through all the various sorts of work portrayed were very interesting.

Air New Zealand was a fantastic airline to fly with. On every flight they gave us hard candies at the end of the flight to help relieve the pressure on our ears. On our international flights we were well fed (they even poured NZ wine for free at dinner!) and reasonably comfortable, even in economy. The flight attendants were much friendlier than their US counterparts: when there wasn't overhead space above our bulkhead seats, at first we put our bags up a few rows behind us. As we neared landing, we worried about the delay this would cause, so we asked a flight attendant if there was any room in the overheads in front of us. Not only did they find room, but they took our bags from us and put them up, and then brought them back to us upon landing! Even the difference in baggage handling was striking - in NZ our bag was carefully machine loaded onto the ramp. Once we landed in LAX and had to recheck our bag for our final domestic flight it was unceremoniously tossed upside down onto the belt, making us worry whether our bottles of NZ wine and duty free Aussie rum were going to survive the final leg - fortunately they did! The only problem with departing with New Zealand is that we never wanted to leave and can't wait to return!!

This was a lovely day -- being on a private tour allowed our guide to tailor the day to what we expressed interest in, which he did very well. He was friendly and accommodating, making us glad to spend time with him. The one difficulty was the tour was booked on Easter, which meant that some wineries weren't open and some weren't serving wine unless you also ordered a meal. This meant that those that were open (particularly the location where we ate lunch) were more crowded than usual, since the demand for wine tasting didn't exactly go down just because it was a holiday. This would have been helpful to know when planning out our overall itinerary -- we could have easily done this a different day.

It felt a bit more scripted and didn't feel quite as special as our first wine tour, but that's also the difference between being on a private tour and a group tour. The wineries we visited were all quite nice. Lunch and some of the tasting/buying experiences felt a bit rushed, and even in that context we got back later than expected. The quality of lunch was good and we particularly appreciated the restaurant's flexibility re: accommodating the request for a dairy-free meal on the fly. The guides were both friendly and did their best to give points of interest to keep us entertained, but it's tough to find things that are interesting and/or novel to an entire group.

The gondola ride obviously provided a beautiful view, and the view from the restaurant was equally spectacular. The food was pretty good (not great), and there was certainly plenty of it with plenty of choices. You won't leave hungry. Overall, though, it's hard to do food on a buffet of a quality that justifies the price they charged. Overall we felt that we were paying for the view rather than the meal.

Chelsea was supposed to book a private tour but said the tour company never got back to her. We booked a tour on line in about a 1/2 hour of research.

A must do experience.

After the Doubtful Sound excersion we were booked to stay again in the Te Anau Lodge. The next day we would have to drive 2+ hours to Queenstown to begin our journey home. We realized this made no sense. So after we were dropped off after the cruise we drove straight to Queenstown and booked a hotel in Queenstown. We had to pay for double bookings. This should have been planned by Chelsea.

Nice restaurant!

Great food at motel restaurant :-)

I visited Nelson Lakes National Park, where I went on a beautiful hike and encountered some unique wildlife, like flightless birds and stunning purple mushrooms. The park's scenery was breathtaking, and I really enjoyed my time there.

I did a nice out-and-back trail and found some more amazing birds, plants, and mushrooms.

About a two-hour drive to Kaikoura, the rental car company provided a GPS unit but the car had CarPlay so I just used Google Maps from my phone and you are able to get directions. I had coverage for the whole trip. Kaikoura was an interesting town.

I hiked various walking tracks in and around Kaikoura, taking in the stunning landscapes and coastal views.

I was supposed to go on a Kaikoura Whale Watching Tour with a small group, but due to rough seas, it was canceled. Instead, I went on a different tour and saw hundreds of dolphins, even capturing some amazing photos and videos of them flipping and playing in the water.

I took a break during my drive to Christchurch and did a 4-5 mile hike at a nature preserve along a river. I discovered and reported about 170 new species of plants, animals, and fungi. In Christchurch, I went for runs along the Avon River and visited the Arboretum.

I went to Mount Cook but never got to see it due to rainy weather. However, I completed all six trail recommended by Sabina. I enjoyed the trails and the local restaurants.

I did a bungee jump at the bridge for my adventure day, I recommend paying for the photos and videos as they came out really well. I also took a gondola ride and participated in a fun activity similar to bobsledding. Although I didn't try the vertical wind tunnel skydiving simulation, I had an overall positive experience.

I arrived at Te Anau and hiked a part of the Kepler Track on my own, discovering many fly agaric mushrooms and beautiful forests carpeted in thick green moss. I also crossed several swinging bridges during the hike.

For this hike, they take you above the alpine in a small helicopter and drop you off at a hut where you hike to the top of the mountain. At the end of the hike, you get lunch and hike down to the treeline and got to see more plants and moss. Made some permanent friends on this part of the trip, and loved being a part of the group.

I joined a group and hiked the Milford Track. We also took a two-hour boat trip from the fjord to the Tasman Sea, enjoying the green scenery and waterfalls along the way.

I did 3 different hikes here, beautiful forest with thick moss. It was an incredible place for photos. There were many swinging bridges that were amazing. Very safe, and cool to see. Great trails for running too! The guide was very nice and we kept the same pace which was nice. We finished the hike quickly and then went to the bird sanctuary.

This day I explored Wanaka and hiked several trails, including Roy's Peak track, Diamond Lake and Rocky Mountain, Mount Iron track, and the Outlet track. I enjoyed the beautiful views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

I went on a Lake Wānaka Cruise and Island Nature Walk, where I saw the rare Buff Weka, a flightless bird found only on one island in New Zealand. I also enjoyed hiking in Wanaka, where I encountered several other interesting birds and took in the stunning landscapes.

I visited Franz Josef Glacier, but unfortunately, it was foggy and I couldn't see the glacier clearly. However, I hiked several trails in the area, such as the Douglass Walk, Franz Josef Glacier Walk, Link One Backtrack, and more.

I explored Paparoa National Park and its famous Pancake Rocks. Although the ocean surges were not as impressive as I had hoped, I still enjoyed observing the unique rock formations and taking in the beautiful coastal scenery.

The guide Steve Wilson, was there right on the time holding a sign with my name to take me to the airport very nice guy.