Custom Private Tours in New Zealand

We enjoyed everything in New Zealand and Monika did a great job tailoring the itinerary for what we wanted to do. The only thing we would change next time it to spend only one night and/or skip Christchurch. It was just another city with not much to offer us for what we liked to do. The beach was nice, a little far from the center city, but the area near the beach was basically closed down. The hotel we had was nice, but had homeless people right outside the door. Can't really help that, I understand. We loved all the other cities/towns we went too and had amazing sights! The Milford Sound boat was spectacular.

Hotel Reviews

Millennium Hotel Queenstown

queesntown

Great location and very nice room. Spent three nights here and it was a good spot for our daily treks. Plenty to do around Queenstown and a short ride to Arrowtown.

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Shakespeare B&B

Te Anau

Large room and the owners were great. Nice breakfast and plenty of space to hang out. Very near the lake and the town.

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Milford Sound Overnight Cruise - Real NZ Milford Mariner

The boat was terrific! The state room was small, but we had our own bathroom. This was simply an amazing experience. We took pictures but this was the type of scenery where pictures don't do it justice. You have to experience Milford Sound.

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Oakridge Resort

Wanaka

Great place with terrific restaurant, although it was not open every day. The pool and spa area was great.

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About 1.5 miles from the lake and main area.

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Lake Tekapo Holiday Homes - various properties

Lake Tekapo

This was a rental house and in a great location other than there was no lake view but it was in a wooded area about 150 feet from the lake. Had washer and dryer which we used to freshen up before the rest of our tip.

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Christchurch City Hotel

Christchurch

Newer place and the room was great.

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Location

Location was great and in the center city, however, there are homeless people here and there and some were outside the hotel Not the hotel's fault.

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PurePod Greta Valley (Greystone)

Doesn't get better than this! Very private. Great star gazing.

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The White Morph - Heritage Collection

Kaikoura

We had a ocean front room which made all the difference.

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Carnmore Chateau Marlborough

Blenheim

Good place and location. Nice restaurant and bar area.

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Activity Reviews

Milford Sound Overnight Cruise (Real NZ)

Milford Sound

This is a must to do. The scenery is breathtaking and pictures don't do it justice. The ship is very cool and the captain was able to pull the ship within a few feet of soaring cliffs and waterfalls. We could feel the mist from the falls. The kayak trip from the boat was really fun and you get the chance to swim off the back of the ship....mighty cold water, but worth it. Food was good and star gazing was terrific!

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Mou Waho Island by Water taxi - self guided

Wānaka

To be honest, we didn't think this was going to be anything we wanted to do; however, it was spectacular! The boat captain, Hannah, was very knowledgeable and Mou Waho Island was way better than expected. The short hike to the top is steep in some areas, but well worth the views. Try to find the unmarked trail near the lookout area to get to the other side of the island for breathtaking views and quiet.

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Marlborough Icons Wine Tour

New Zealand

We expected to see more than two wineries and didn't know this tour included a boat ride featuring see food. The two wineries we visited were terrific and the boat ride was really nice, so it turned out to be a great first day of our trip. Met some nice people and ate fresh mussels and salmon. We ended up visiting two other wineries the next day before headed south. It's important to note that we love NZ wines so the start of our trip in this area was perfect.

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Monika and KIMKIM:
Thank you for helping to make our trip to Aotearoa an amazing experience. Your arrangements were flawless and made our busy schedule flow easily. I enjoyed the Great Barrier Island backpack trip, the Aotea Trek, arranged by Mike. The scenic drives around the country were a pleasure, especially Rotorua to New Plymouth and Oamaru to Queenstown. The Transalpine Rail trip and hike were a highlight. The backpack trip up the Caples and Greenstone Rivers was fantastic. And I really enjoyed the Doubtful Sound Cruise, kayaking and diving into the Doubtful Sound from our ship, the Navigator. I also enjoyed the time we spent on Kapiti Island, birdwatching, hiking and learning more about the Maori culture and New Zealand's conservation efforts. I would love to come back and slow the pace a bit.

We have just returned from an extended tour of New Zealand, which we planned with the help of KimKim's New Zealand specialists, Monika and Michelle. Our trip involved two couples traveling together over thirty days, and travel to Great Barrier Island, North and South Islands, Kapiti Island and Doubtful Sound via internal airline flights, ferry, train, bus, shuttles and rental cars. Along the way we stayed in thirteen different cities and towns. Our vacation also included two multi-day backpacking (tramping) trips that we arranged ourselves and incorporated into the KimKim itinerary. In short, our vacation had many moving parts.

Happily, there was not a single hitch/glitch at any point. Every hotel was expecting us, every shuttle driver was on time. Our accommodations were clean and comfortable and located conveniently to venues, restaurants, etc. Monika's and Michelle's recommendations were all very helpful and tracked with the kind of experiences were all were looking for.

We have used KimKim services before, have recommended KimKim to our friends, and will certainly use KimKim again where we choose to do our own planning (as opposed to tour groups).