Unexplored Kiwi Bliss: Off the Beaten Track North Island Tour

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.

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.

We enjoyed our trip to the wine country and the North Island of New Zealand. Exploring new areas every two to three days worked well for us, as did the every-other-day experiences. 

For the most part, the hotels weren't quite up to par with what we normally visit, but I should've verified the quality before agreeing to them. 

Our Zicasso agent’s team was attentive and communicated well with us. They put a lot of work into making the trip what we requested.

I really want to thank the travel specialist from Zicasso's travel agency for such amazing planning. My vacation in New Zealand was great, everything flowed flawlessly, and all the activities she suggested were really fun and varied. I got to see some incredible, breathtaking scenery.

All the tour guides were amazing and very knowledgeable, but special mention to the guide for the glowworm tour; he was incredible! The Māori experience was one of my favorite activities as I was able to really get a grasp of the culture, their music, energy, and food. And last, but definitely not least, the guide from the food tour really made my birthday very special! I am looking forward to coming back soon.

I am very pleased to have worked with Zicasso’s travel agent and her company. I wanted to travel to Australia and New Zealand, and our agent’s suggestions on what and where to go and see were great. Where does one begin in planning for the trip and all the logistics to make it happen? I depended on your group and found the results exceeded my expectations. The trip flowed well and the experiences were great. Thank you for making the trip about seeing and experiencing rather than worrying about the logistics!  

There were many positive experiences, but the little details, like choosing the right rental car for the NZ roads and having a great limo service, made the difference. What was the highlight?  I wish I could distill it to one or two. I would rate Milford Sound and the Great Barrier Reef highly, but it was the overall experience that stood out. My personal thanks and those of my travel mates.

In planning our trip to Australia and New Zealand, the representative for this travel company listened to our desires and incorporated them into an itinerary that met our needs. All of the tours, guides, transfers, and drivers were very good. Most of the tours were small group, which we prefer, although a couple of tours were as large as 24. The guides on all of our walking tours were incredibly informative. We learned so much.

We have traveled with our companion on nine trips through Zicasso. This is the first time we have felt that the partner travel company did not take all of our circumstances into account. We clearly stated we were older travelers. However, changes to our accommodations after the initial proposal had us walking 20 minutes to town in one place and uphill on the return. Staying in apartment-style lodgings, we were a mile from the nearest store to get breakfast supplies. Another of our hotels had an incredible number of stairs. When we expressed our disappointment in one of these to our agent by email, we got no response. Our planner was on holiday and no one else seemed to be checking her emails.

The recommendations for suggested activities on our free days were also generic and frequently were for activities that required a car to reach. It seems this company plans a lot of self-driving trips and the fact we were not driving was not reflected in our suggestions.