Tim was an excellent guide and his intricate knowledge of all components of the trip was great. Trip went for a good amount of time and accommodation was overall amazing with the exception of the last night at the ski lodge. Highly recommend this trip.
Very good trip. Your guide Dylan was amazing
Loved everything except The Kiwi Experience place
Good service and good accomodation but as we could not pre book activities we missed out. If Topdeck could allow pre booking that would have fixed this issue.
The places were beautiful. but the trip overall was very rushed. On a number of occasions we would get to a destination late afternoon and then be on the road again midday the next day. There wasn’t enough time to explore and do things. We had four days in Queenstown which was nice but every other destination was rushed and there was no time to do anything. The itinerary also didn’t work and so we never had an idea or timeline of what was happening. The guide Bridgette was absolutely amazing! We hit gold with her she was insightful, funny, caring, and just such a great vibe. She was brilliant!
Accommodation in Queenstown stuffed up. I was in a room for an hour and got dragged out while they fixed it 2 hours later. At almost midnight I got put back in the same room.
I enjoyed the trip only because NZ itself is stunning and everyone should go visit. My tour group was also a really lovely bunch. But would I go again with Topdeck?
Absolutely not. Given my awful experience with the tour guide, the cost of the 7 day tour (it was almost $2.5k) and the poor accommodation choices (bunk beds in pen style hostels for some locations), I would recommend you spend your money elsewhere and go with another tour group. Alternatively, hire a car and drive around NZ yourself for the money we spent!
The tour itself was really well planned and for the days we couldn’t do what was on the itinerary the guides came up with fun things to do and see. I did feel like drinking was encouraged a lot on this tour by the director and myself and friend are not big drinkers. The places that we did get to see where amazing and the guide and director where incredibly knowledgeable.
I was a little disappointed with this trip. There was lots of driving to reach a destination and the bus wasn’t the best for this situation at points it felt like we were school children. The accomodation was more hostel like. The trip leader didn’t really help as such as we had to find our own way to activities and around Queenstown mainly. But the scenery was lovely and my camera got a great workout. I think I would have seen more and done more on my own planned trip with transportation and other activities.
New Zealand was beautiful, however I wouldn't travel again with Topdeck. The accommodation was beyond disappointing, just cheap and I felt like I was on a high school camp. I was unaware when I booked and was under the impression it was "hotel-style accommodation" and lodges but they were all hostels and the cheapest rooms. It wasn't for me. I was also disappointed by the lack of organisation by topdeck, most of the activities we were advised were happening never did, Glow Worm caves in Franz Josef....was nothing just a forest that our tour guide didn't take us on. All the activities in Queenstown weren't booked in advance and booked out by the time we got there, so badly organised and I travelled all that way for nothing.
Too much driving and less time to experience especially before we reached Qtown. Heli-hike didn’t go ahead due to weather and guide told us out of 44 times he has done this tour help-hike only went ahead 6 times. It shouldn’t have been promoted without this disclaimer that it is very rare Occassion it will go ahead. I paid extra premium on my travel insurance to cover for help-hike. If I was aware it rarely goes ahead I might have reconsidered buying this add-on.
Had the best time during my trip to NZ.
Amazing scenery! Awesome country
Had a great time on the Top Deck NZ South Island trip! As a solo traveller, the tour enabled me to taste a big chunk of the South Island in a short amount of time and travel with likeminded people. Our guide Guy was a great bloke! Always very friendly and helpful. Would have been good to have some more meals and activities included in the trip. Will definitely travel with Top Deck again in the future!
Fantastic locations and incredible scenery
The trip was amazing, everyone on the trip was friendly and had a love of adventure. It was easy to make new friends and explore the South Island of NZ. The scenery is some of the most remarkable and captivating I’ve ever seen. Would definitely recommend!
The price was perfectly reasonable for all that was included: food, accommodations, activities, etc.
Awkward to join a group that’s already been bonding for a month. But the trip was BEAUTIFUL seriously gorgeous. Perfect escape for a nature lover.
Fed tur sammen med en fantastisk gruppe af forskellige nationaliteter🇩🇰
The places we visited were spellbinding. The only thing I would change is the accommodation in Queenstown, where we stayed for four nights. The rooms were freezing cold and there was no Wi-Fi included.