Monika Vinsova

Monika was extremely helpful in ensuring we had a wide-ranging, fantastic experience on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Whether it was horseback riding, hiking, and overnight cruises through the Fiordland; movie studio tours, and winery excursions, and whale watching; and everything in between, we were always paired with tour providers and accommodations that were clearly high quality and dedicated to providing meaningful and memorable experiences. In the infrequent times where there were any logistical hiccups, Monika was immediately responsive to get us back on track. All told, our three weeks were absolutely memorable and magical.

We enjoyed a fabulous three weeks in New Zealand thanks to Monika's guidance and efforts to develop an itinerary that met all of our requests.

It began in Queensland and a memorable flight and cruise to Milford Sound., definitely a "not-to-be-missed"! It continued through small towns - Clyde, Lake Tekapo, Kaikoura, Taupo, Raglan, Coromandel - and cities - Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland - and included a variety of activities - cycling, a cultural food tour, surfing, hiking, sailing. Unfortunately, due to weather, our kayaking and stargazing were cancelled.

For us, the highlights were the Milford Sound flight and cruise, bike ride in Clyde, Hulbert House B&B in Queensland, Hapuku Lodge accomodations and dinners, surfing with Green Wave Raglan Surf School, and the Koru Lodge in Raglan.

Thank you Monika.

John & Wendy

Hotel Reviews

Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses

Kaikoura

Luxurious, comfortable, lots of amenities and activities.

Authenticity & Character

The tree houses are very authentic

Location

Nice hiking, biking and beach opportunities nearby

Staff

Couldn't be more helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Great Ponsonby ArtHotel

Auckland

Located in a wonderful neighborhood with good access (walking or bus) to the center city, great staff, and wonderful breakfasts.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ranginui B&B

Lake Tekapo

The B&B host is warm and welcoming, and a great advisor for activities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A nice quiet neighborhood not too far to walk to town

Staff

The host is very friendly and welcoming

Cleanliness & Comfort

Belle Vue Boutique Lodge

Taupo

Comfortable, great views of the lake, beautiful home.

Authenticity & Character

The owners have done a wonderful job restoring the lodge, and they take great pride in it.

Location

While outside the center city, the lodge is located in a attractive neighborhood with nearby amenities.

Staff

Friendly and very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hulbert House

Queenstown

Wonderful staff, very comfortable accommodations, great location. And delicious breakfasts!

Authenticity & Character

Location

An easy 5-minute walk to the center of town, though not as easy a walk back (uphill).

Staff

Very friendly and accomodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The George

Christchurch

Great location and a very comfortable and clean hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

An easy walk to town center and across the street from a wonderful park

Staff

Very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bolton Hotel

Wellington

In the center of the City within easy walks of key spots. Very comfortable and clean.

Authenticity & Character

We were not surprised with the authenticity and character when we learned that The George is a related property to Hulbert House.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Lord Clyde

Very helpful and friendly staff, and a great location.

Authenticity & Character

An original building from the town's gold rush days

Location

Right in the center of Clyde within easy walk of restaurants, sites and activities.

Staff

Very helpful in guiding how to best enjoy Clyde.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Raglan

Raglan

The highlight was the Green Wave Raglan Surf School which caters to all ages and ability levels. They had us surfing (for a bit) and made it very fun and enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bing Lyons, our instructor, continued to encourage and instruct. He was so positive I thought I was an expert surfer.

Fly Cruise Fly – Queenstown to Milford Sound by scenic flight

Queenstown (NZ)

Flying over snow-capped mountains and glaciers with mountain peaks as far as you can see, landing on the sound, dolphin-escorted boat cruise, sailing up to waterfalls

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andy is a tremendous pilot

Transport

The flight gave us a great view of mountains, glaciers, the sound, and it was smooth. And the cruise was wonderful as well

Cultural Food Tour - Kai Bites

Christchurch

Very informative of the Maori history and culture with a delicious lunch of local foods.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The whole trip was amazing. It was so great having our cars, rooms and activities all booked in advance . Everyone we had contact with was exceptionally curtious, helpful and prompt.
We particularly enjoyed the Doubtful Sound excursion but all were very memorable.

Monica was great to work with. Initially some of her proposals did not match what we were looking for but once she understood the type of trip and activities we enjoy she was able to target everything we wanted. She was more than willing to make any changes we wanted and search for offerings that met what we wanted. We started the planning process quite early but by the time we finally got everything chosen some of the accommodations we wanted were already booked. So, most of our accommodations were great but a few were not quite as nice.
She was always available for a phone call and when we were in country she kept in contact and kept us informed of changes due to weather.
Overall I can’t imagine a better person to work with and wish she could plan all of our future trips to other countries. Hope we can find more agents like Monica!

Hotel Reviews

Accommodation arranged as part of your Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise - Southern Secret

Loved everything about the cruise ship. Crew bent over backwards to meet everyone’s needs but were not intrusive in any way. Food was so much more than expected!

Location

Staff

Olivers Lodge

Clyde

Absolutely loved the ambience. One of the outstanding parts of our trip!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lake Tekapo Holiday Homes

Lake Tekapo

Authenticity & Character

Plain room with no characters and the barest amenities. TV only worked with apps and being from the US our apps do not work on NZ

Location

Overlooked the parking lot

Staff

Only 1 staff at the front desk in a different location

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was clean but the furniture was lower than IKEA for comfort

Timber Trail Lodge

Ongarue

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bike the Wine Tour - Marlbourough

New Zealand

Fun day with a great guide, Innis. He was the perfect mix of knowledge and humble guide. Never hurried us and let us set the pace. It was really nice to have a private tour with scheduled tastings as the wineries were quite busy, especially after lunch and when to tour busses arrived, but we never had to wait and got individual attention from the servers. Bikes are a great way to do this.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bikes weren’t of the best quality but did okay

Funyak Safari

Queenstown (NZ)

The views were outstanding and we had a very peaceful and enjoyable experience with a calm and fun guide.

Monika was so helpful in planning our NZ honeymoon! She really paid attention to what activities would be more/less important to us while keeping our budget in mind. Everything we did was absolutely wonderful - we couldn't have planned a better trip. We're so grateful for such an amazing trip!

Monika worked with us to tailor our trip exactly how we wanted! She was very patient and went through several iterations with us. We especially appreciated her help finding lodging - all the places we stayed were really cute and we never would have found them ourselves.

This was a last minute trip during the end of the high season. Monika was great in collaborating on the type of trip we wanted, responsive to changes and available whenever we needed something. She made it happen despite the time crunch! The quality of the tours was excellent - smaller groups, professional and well informed. Great overall experience!

Hotel Reviews

Lake Tekapo Holiday Homes

Lake Tekapo

Great - a little far to walk to town.

Bella Vista Motel Wanaka

Wanaka

Distinction Te Anau Hotel And Villas

Te Anau

Nice but a little dated.

Heritage Queenstown

Queenstown

It was fine a bit of a walk to town, not a lot of character, regular sized hotel room.

Activity Reviews

The Crater Experience - stargazing Tekapo

Lake Tekapo

I'm a big supporter of dark sky initiatives, unfortunately due to the 1:30am booking we were booked on the previous (incorrect) night and had some issues rebooking it, although with Monika's help we ultimately did. Very late time, so not sure I would do it again unless an earlier time was available; made it harder to enjoy and tired the next day. Alternative is to find a dark sky in the area yourself.

Mou Waho Island self guided

New Zealand

Very nice mini-trip and hike.

Mt Cook half day Heli Hike

New Zealand

Hike and tour itself and guide were great, however we waiting over 2 hours until our flight was ready, which we were not expecting.

Te Anau Glowworm Caves

Te Anau

Very interesting. There was a child crying which wasn't great, not sure why they allow young kids. Guide very knowledgable.

Walk the famous Milford track and cruise on Milford Sound

New Zealand

Guide was great, it's a long day. Recommend if you can not driving a long way to your next destination. We booked this late so had to drive to Queenstown at the end of the day, due to no availability in town (Te Anau).

White Rafting Kawarau River

Queenstown (NZ)

Water was to low so this was cancelled.

Bike the wineries

Queenstown (NZ)

This was a lot of fun. Outfitter great. Recommend doing most of the biking first!

Onsen Hot Pools

Queenstown (NZ)

Nice if you want to soak in a hottub outside of town, nice view, but not something I would do again.

Funyak Safari

Queenstown (NZ)

I would have given this 5 stars, one of the best days of the trip, loved the scenery and the rafting. However while the guides were really good, the Jetboat operator was driving dangerously close to large objects (rock walls, bridge stantions, etc.) that if we had hit one people could have been badly hurt or killed. I have been operating power boats for a long time and was shocked that he was putting our lives in danger for a few "thrills." Not okay. He also got my daughter very wet on a very cold and windy day without warning. Not great. The picnic was A+.

Fabulous 2 week trip to New Zealand! Monika was so easy to work with as we planned the perfect vacation!

Hotel Reviews

Ramada Suites Queenstown

Queenstown

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Art Deco Masonic Hotel

Napier

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Olivers Lodge

Clyde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Godley Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Grange Boutique B & B and Motel

Christchurch

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Anchorage Resort

Taupo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castaway Resort Karioitahi Beach Auckland

Waiuku

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Bike the wineries

Queenstown (NZ)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monika,

We cannot thank you enough for the attention to detail and expertise of your trip planning. It payed off and we were treated with the trip of a lifetime. I can't think of a single complaint.

NZ is a fabulous place! Your itinerary was well balanced with plenty of activity, but with plenty of time to catch our breath and take it all in.
The accommodations were OUT OF THIS WORLD! the QT hotel in Queenstown blew us away both in quality of the rooms/views, but most of all... it had the best breakfast buffet we have ever experienced. It was a buffet fit for royalty with a window looking out on a majestic vista. The RIMU lodge and the Maruia river retreat both offered some of the best hospitality we have ever experienced. The drive to the Korimako Purepod alone was an unforgettable experience, and the stay was the relaxing pause we needed. We got the authentic NZ experience of waiting for a flock of sheep to cross a dirt road.

the activities were also all A+
The jetboat trip up the Dart river was AWESOME, would highly recommend.
The water-taxi/hike was beautiful and swimming in Tasman Bay was stunning.
The weather canceled our plans to Milford Sound so we will just have to plan another trip with you!

We cant thank you enough
Best regards,
Tim & Kerstin