4 dage / 3 nætter Wellington til Auckland Tour

This was advertised as 4-day touring from Wellington to Auckland. There are descriptions, but not in detail, you only get your play-by-play itinerary two weeks before depart, when we have arranged everything around the tour. Many things vaguely described on the original itinerary were not included. I thought we get to view a little bit of Wellington, and a little bit along the way. They actually threw you in a bus, equivalent to greyhound, from Wellington to Rotorua 7:45am departure, 6:30pm arrival), then they instructed you to walk to your own hotel and check in. That was your first day, nothing else! I was extremely disappointed. The second day, they only scheduled one activity: to tour a native Māori village, which took less than two hours. Nothing else. We really wanted to see the famous geothermal park and geyser, and Skyline Park, which are not included at all (although the description of the tour leads you to believe that they are part of the tour). I had to frantically reach out to the contact person to rearrange the Māori village tour time, and spend more than $400 to arrange visiting those places by myself. The third day we were sent to be with a local Tour company, which I could have booked with much cheaper fee from either Rotorua or Auckland. The tour included two tourist spots then drove to Auckland, dropped off at a hotel. The fourth day morning we were picked up by another local Auckland city tour bus until noon. That was the conclusion of the tour! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? It cost the three of us close to $3000USD to book this trip. It is totally not worth it and I want a refund. I have booked many tours with Viator, and we have always been happy with the tours that we booked. This is a total disappointment and disaster! Again, I want a refund!

It's an interesting concept with lots of different drivers; guides and two different hotels, but us it all went very smoothly. Well organised. Please note! It's three and half days and three nights

Nice tour to do north island. Māori Village, Hobbiton and Waitomo caves was the highlight of this tour. City tour in Auckland can be improved to cover more places like visit to the museum etc.

Overall experience was fine. The provided hotels could have been better. Hotel in Rotorua is old, and feels like it. Tour in Auckland is the hop on hop off bus - that should be mentioned in the overall description.

The first route is by regular bus an experience on the roads seeing Lake Taurus. Precise with all withdrawals beautiful hotel in rotorua where in the afternoon I went to mud bathing and bathing in hells gate

The first day was basically a bus ride from Wellington to Rotorua. Two bathroom stops and a "lunch stop" at a truck stop with nothing but fried foods in a heated display cabinet to eat. Not really a "tour" at all so I consider that day a bit "oversold" on what it actually ended up being. The rest of the trip was great. The guided tours for the Maori village, Maori cultural event, Glow Worm Caves, Hobbiton and the city tour of Auckland that were set up with local providers were on time and the guides from all the local tour companies were excellent. The hotels were well located in central areas (the hotel in Rotorua, Princess Gates, was old and dated, with a tight room that didn't darken enough to block out lights from outside and the bed wasn't very comfortable, but it was quaint and conveniently located). The taxi's to pick us up as needed were also timely. I initially thought the whole thing was a single tour (same guide, same people the whole time) so just understand that you are getting transportation from Wellington, and a bunch of tours and hotels lined up just for you with transportation as needed and it's not really a single "4 day tour". The detailed itinerary provided a few days beforehand was very clear and easy to understand and follow.

I had read some unflattering reports of the beginning of this trip because it used an Intercity Coach from Wellington to Rotorua. However, I have to say that this was an enjoyable part of the journey and a way of appreciating the scenery. This was enhanced by our driver Martin. To my untrained Scot’s ear sounded very much like Russell Crowe, although his jokes were (probably) better. Having used the Northern Explorer to travel from Auckland to Wellington the previous day, I would say that the bus journey offered a better experience. In Rotorua we had the pleasure of Herms and Bunty driving us to the various locations. Not being a Lord of the Rings geek, Hobbiton was never on my to do list. We are so glad that we visited the site. It should be noted that walking around the set is about 1.5km. This proved a little challenging as my wife who has MS, but all the guides were there to support her, and we did manage it. The simple sight seeing tour of Auckland on the last day with Margaret was an easy end to the flying visit of the North Island. The key point that this was an ideal introduction to the North Island. So much so that we are determined to return to New Zealand. We found the people friendlier and more polite than our encounters with Australians. One of the drivers said that New Zealanders and also better looking. I cannot comment as I don’t have enough evidence. If we require a tour company on our next visit then I would have no hesitation in using Leisure Tours.

All of the logistics were smooth and 4 days were exactly as described! Note that the trip from Wellington to Rotorua is long and on a public bus. Upgraded seats are reserved, and trip is smooth - just no tour included on that part. Every reservation was made, every driver on time. Easy logistics and good hotel accommodations.

This is not a guided tour, it is an organized tour with an itinerary - it was nice and well-planned. This means that all travel is planned with cabs, coach busses, some tours, and a nicely described itinerary to follow for each day. There was a fair amount of down time, but it was a nice trip that covered a lot of things and was easy to follow. If you are ok with a little thinking on your part, this tour is a good value.

Overall the trip & experience was very good except inter city coach ride from Wellington to Rotorua. I was expecting the ride will be in the private coach. Everything was on time and hotels at Rotorua & in Auckland were good. Staffs were courteous and helpful. Hobbiton movie set tour, Waitomo cave, and Auckland city tour was memorable too!