New Zealand Tours in 2025

My wife and I had the trip of a lifetime to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand, thanks to Zicasso’s travel agent.

We had never explored this part of the world, but she laid out many options up front and was always available for questions. She quickly honed in on our priorities and helped us build an itinerary that checked all our boxes. She was always available for our questions as we were preparing to begin our trip. The travel app (used to hold our itinerary and all needed documents) was so easy to use and kept all of our trip documents so organized and accessible. Since we had a four-week itinerary, that became extremely important.

Our agent also helped us manage rebooking part of our itinerary when my wife was unexpectedly hospitalized. She also helped with refunds for tours we were unable to take and gathered information for our trip insurance claims after we returned home.

I highly recommend this travel company!

Working with Zicasso's travel agent and his team was a pleasure from beginning to end. I shared my interests and what I wanted to include in the itinerary. My agent helped me choose options that delivered on my expectations and we created the trip of a lifetime for my family.

Communication was clear and consistent. Questions were always answered professionally and promptly. Having an expert handle the logistics required to travel between the North and South Islands lifted so much weight off my shoulders – planes, private transfers, trains, ferries, seven hotels, and tours every day. The team was available 24/7 and when one tour was canceled due to weather, they quickly arranged for a replacement activity within an hour.

The hotels chosen for us exceeded all expectations. They were beautifully designed and clean, with helpful staff, great amenities, wonderful hot breakfasts, and convenient locations within walking distance to attractions and restaurants. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but we were always in a hotel with a self-laundry service at the times we needed it most.

All the private transfers, whether short rides from the airport to hotel or long rides to the next town, were in spacious and clean vehicles with wonderful drivers.

I would not hesitate to recommend this company to others and would definitely use them to plan another trip.

Overall, we had a great time on our six-plus-week trip. Zicasso's travel agent put together a great itinerary. Except for a few glitches, the trip went very smoothly.

A couple of minor complaints:

Although our Auckland hotel was nice and the staff were excellent, the room was very small, it was too far from the pier (two miles), and the breakfasts were too cumbersome. We had to schedule them and the menu never deviated.

I was confused by the multiple layers of companies I dealt with. First, Zicasso, then the travel agency. So far OK, but then I was supposed to deal with two different individuals at another partner. The Australia contact seemed to be a bit more on top of things than the New Zealand agent. At one point, when our tour guide was a no show, one of the partners told me I had to file an insurance claim. What?!? I called my travel agent and he gave me the correct answer.

Along those same lines, I thought I would hear from either of our agents at some point during the trip, perhaps at the beginning. Instead, I got handed off to their partner, whom I had never dealt with. It was rather confusing and impersonal considering the cost of the trip. Three layers of agents seemed excessive.

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.

Great trip! Zicasso's travel planner was responsive to our needs and put together an enjoyable trip. It was organized, with all documents in order and no surprises!

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.