6Jour/5Nuits Southern Heritage

Extremely well put together by Leisure Tours. It's not a group tour but a set of linked experiences. All the connections went like clockwork, and they chose me good hotels in excellent locations. The taxi pick ups certainly made life easier. It's a long first day on a coach but with excellent commentary, well planned stops and stunning scenery. Milford Sound is another long day on a coach but the Real NZ guide was brilliant and the scenery leading to Milford Sound was stunning. Boat trip well organised with good cold packed lunch. I had a lovely sunny day off in Queenstown and my hotel was off the main drag with a beautiful walk into town round the lake.. Another morning on a coach to Dunedin but you get the afternoon there and I visited the Chinese garden - amazing history. The Otago peninsula tour the following day was great. A good contrast between the castle and wildlife cruise. The last morning tour round Dunedin was really well done. Quite a long coach drive back to Christchurch.

At the time of my booking, there was a review here that encouraged me.:-) I cared about the freely selectable start date just before Christmas and that I didn't have to worry about anything. The transfers have meshed well. I was picked up and passed on at the times indicated. On the first two days, the trip was made with buses tailored to tourists. On the fourth and last day I took a regular bus. Here I was sitting in the front of a “Golden Seat”. The two accommodations were functional and each centrally located in the village. The first two days were packed with various highlights, including Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook and Milford Sound. On the third day you could breathe once before heading to Dunedin on the fourth day. Once there, a tour of the city’s highlights was seamlessly followed by a local guide. On the fifth day there was an organized tour with a visit to the beautiful Larnach Castle. Then we took a boat trip to the tip of the Otago Peninsula where we could spot albatrosses and seals, among other things. Very cool! On the last day we went along the Pacific back to Christchurch. If you are looking for a flexible start date, don’t want to worry about the organization and can live with the fact that the composition of the tour group varies daily, this tour is in good hands.

It is a great set of activities that are highlights of each region or city. Of course time is too short for accomplishing all the activities that you may have in mind. You will need to explore those activities on your days with “free time”.

This tour was exactly what I wanted because it will go all the way to Dunedin but hesitant at first because there's no review. I did take the risk to book it without knowing how it would be. I never expected that this tour is not a continuous (means 1 transport, got a guide etc) one unlike any other tours I went with in other countries. Exactly on our first day, an accident happened in the road wherein we need to pass by to reach one of our destinations so we can't proceed. I never thought that NZ tourism is this efficient to find ways of solving situations like this (ie rerouting, changing activities) when necessary. Thanks to our provider Leisure Tours & Lizzy for constantly communicating with us & checking on us. I would highly recommend this tour esp when you want to go all the way to Dunedin which again what I wanted. Those who will take this tour, maybe you can explore Dunedin more as to me the half day city tour provided is not enough. Thanks again to Lizzy for the constant checks.