New Zealand Wine Tours

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.