New Zealand South Island Itineraries & Tours

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.

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.

This was a great trip. We enjoyed many of the activities, especially the Māori experiences, the garden tours, the glowworm cave, the first wine tour on Waiheke Island, the kiwi hatchery, and Arthur’s Pass. The guides were excellent. All were courteous, prompt, and knowledgeable, and showed a high degree of enthusiasm. The reasons we give this travel company four instead of five stars is due to the poor hotel room we had in Queenstown, the slow response from the company concerning the hotel room, and the fact that they gave us no help in choosing restaurants or making reservations. One change I would have made in the itinerary would be to have just one wine-tasting day instead of two. The other activities were wonderful… fine choices.

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!

Thank you Zicasso, thank you to the team who organized this super discovery journey on the South Island. Top organization, exchanges, documentation, advice, and responsiveness. Our agent's kindness and availability convinced us to go with you in the preparation of our two-week stay, self-drive holiday. Thank you again and I wish you all the best for the future.

Zicasso's travel consultant was wonderful to work with. She listened very closely to our trip desires and met every one of them. She was very responsive before and during the vacation. She was accommodating with changes and worked with us on every step to make it a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I would highly recommend her and this tour company for future trip arrangements.

Australia and New Zealand were great. I would definitely spend more time in the rural areas vs the cities. However, Queenstown was awesome and we tend to enjoy the outdoors more than city life.

Thank you for a terrific trip!