New Zealand South Island Itinerary in One Week

Zicasso’s trip planner did an excellent job. Communication and the quality of the experiences were everything we'd expected and more, especially in New Zealand. The accommodations were first rate; the highlight was the lodge in Queenstown. The guides and drivers were professional and knowledgeable, especially those in Queenstown and Auckland. We loved the dedicated website for reference, as well as the detailed booklet and maps for both countries. 

For future itineraries, I would add another day in Queenstown and a full day in Christchurch. If days were limited, I would recommend one less day in Auckland and/or skipping the drive/train from Franz Josef. 

The only complication was the day we spent 10 hours going to and coming from Milford Sound.  I recommend doing Milford Sound by plane/helicopter from Queenstown, which would also permit seeing the glaciers/southern alps from the air. The only things we missed were the zoo in Auckland and the Blue Mountain day tour in Sydney. Next trip!

The itinerary was awesome! We had a few snafus with hotel reservations, but they were quickly resolved. The tours were perfect and all private, with excellent guides. The pace made good use of the time we had and maximized seeing the most locations in our time frame. The hotels were beautiful (especially the one in Queenstown, WOW!) and the rooms were perfect for our needs (kitchens and laundry). It was so great having everything pre-booked and guided, as it allowed us to relax and enjoy the trip and not worry about logistics. It was a trip of a lifetime.

I would highly recommend this Zicasso travel agency! When traveling so far away, it made such a difference to have everything coordinated by a professional. I have had many people ask how we managed to do so much with the time we had. Now, I don't think I can travel any other way.

Thanks to the amazing, perfectly planned Australia and New Zealand vacation itinerary provided by Zicasso's travel agency, and specifically the travel agent and her wonderful colleagues, this was the perfect vacation. We were well taken care of and flights were planned within the countries, with someone always greeting us at the next stop to move us through to our next adventure.  

We were always busy and saw the most wonderful things... a sunset dinner cruise on Sydney harbor, the march of the penguins at Phillip Island (she arranged for us to have a front-row seat!), snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, and touring the rainforest with an Aboriginal guide was very interesting! She arranged for many tours and activities, like a jet boat ride up the Dart River, a helicopter ride onto a glacier, and a TranzAlpine train ride in New Zealand. We also had a first-time-ever encounter with a pod of orca while on a boat tour in New Zealand. The whole trip was an unforgettable experience!

We wished we had taken the travel agent's advice and stayed longer. There was so much to see. We packed a lot into our four short weeks thanks to them. We highly recommend using them to plan your Australia and New Zealand itinerary.

Zicasso’s tour planner created an amazing trip for us. He was quick to respond with initial planning and tailored the trip to our personal interests, thus creating a true customized experience. His expertise, advice, and recommendations were invaluable. 

Our itinerary allowed us to see and do so much during our trip, including museums, galleries, Māori cultural experiences, a lake-side day spa, geothermal park, Hobbiton, Mount Cook, a harbor tour, Milford Sound, a scenic railway trip through the Southern Alps, hiking, and dining, etc. 

We enjoyed each of the selected accommodations.  

The New Zealand touring app was an amazing resource and contained perfect details for each excursion and accommodation check-ins. Questions that arose during the trip were always answered in a timely manner over the app. Essentially, the stress of planning a two-week, multicity road trip was eliminated and all the hours I would have spent planning this itinerary myself were avoided. I would highly recommend the company.

We just got back from a most enjoyable trip to New Zealand, planned by Zicasso's travel agent and her company. She understood what we were trying to cover during this trip and planned the excursions/activities, hotels, and transportation very well.

We started in Queensland and, after Milford Sound, worked our way north through Mount Cook, Christchurch, Rotorua, and Auckland. The company planned each day, with the travel times and activities woven well with appropriate meal times and rest breaks. The guides and pick-ups at each location were prompt and well-informed, and we always knew what to expect at each step of our trip.

We had a couple of issues, one with a day trip for wine tasting and another with the quality of one of the hotels, but our agent responded quickly with a solution.

It was a memorable trip; a fun, enjoyable, and educational introduction to New Zealand, and we would heartily recommend them to anyone planning a trip to New Zealand.