Lydia Ford

Lydia was an extraordinary help in planning and implementing my trip every step of the way! I highly recommend her, New Zealand Fine Tours, and kimkim! It was a trip I wanted to do my whole life and didn't get around to it now. Every part of the tour was gorgeous, beginning with the journey into Hobbiton and the LOR sets were incredible. The Maori tours and shows were incredible. Mt Cook was especially beautiful, transcendent in a word. Took my breath away. Then on to Queenstown for stunning boat rides on the Lake and a dinner across the lake on one of the nights. Finally, the trip out to the West Coast of the South Island was yet another gem. All along the way my trip was planned step by step, the transportation was prompt with enjoyable and well informed tour guides, and the accommodations were clean and comfortable. The trip included some meals which were very good and memorable. Thank you Lydia and all the folks at NZFTs and kimkim.

KimKim did an excellent job planning our 1-month NZ trip. Lydia organized our days with a variety of activities, such as biking, hiking and tours. When we had questions or concerns about our agenda Lydia was very prompt with responses and resolutions. The trip was well planned and we won’t hesitate to use KimKim in the future. We LOVED our trip, thank you!

We really enjoyed our 17-day trip to New Zealand. If we have one regret it is that we packed our itinerary so full that we rarely got time to relax and just enjoy being there. While we were there (I'm told it's typical of the late summer period) there were road works on almost every route we travelled, so published driving times were always optimistic, which added to the pressure. Though we enjoyed many wonderful experiences, it would be hard to beat the cruise on Medford Sound. We almost missed this altogether, as our itinerary included flights to and from there from Queenstown which we cancelled at the last minute due to weather conditions. Our wonderful travel specialist, Lydia, managed to reschedule the itinerary for that day and the next so that we could drive there to enjoy the cruise the following day. The heavy rain that prevented our flights turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it resulted in the walls of Medford Sound being covered in waterfalls during our visit which made for a special day. Our favorite meal, was a lunchtime barbeque at the Walter Peak Farm accessed by a steamship cruise on Lake Wakatipu. Our favorite hotel room, the Te Waonui Forest Retreat in Franz Josef. All our guides were friendly and knowledgable, and all the arrangments went without a hitch. Now we're back home, we just need to take a break to breathe...

Lydia and her team at New Zealand Self Drive Tours were fantastic! They were quick to respond when there was a minor issue at one of the wine cellars and the issue was resolved immediately. And this was on Christmas eve!! The app was extremely helpful throughout our drive. Just one suggestion for the folks at the New Zealand Fine Touring-- The Milford Fly Cruise Fly website is inaccurate about the pick up times from the hotels in Queensland for the 10 am trip. Please let them know that people will be picked up at 8:45 am and not 10 am as stated in the app and on the website.
Thanks again, Lydia & team for a memorable NZ vacation.

Hotel Review

QT Wellington

Wellington

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Auckland City & Waitakere Ranges

Auckland

Murray and Erin are excellent guides!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloudy Bay - Bookable Experience

Blenheim

A beautiful winery and a great tasting experience. The lunch at Jack's Raw bar was just great.