Home > Compare Tour & Adventure Operators > AAT Kings vs APT
AAT Kings vs APT
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of AAT Kings and APT.The Low Down
AAT Kings have partnered with Global Journeys since our inception, and as a result we have an in-depth understanding of all their trips, through both Australia and New Zealand. Our team have journeyed with them on 9 tours through New Zealand, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. That close relationship also means we can deliver fantastic savings throughout the year. AAT King's core multi-day coach tours cater mainly for those over 55+, whilst their short breaks in the Northern Territory tend to attract a more diverse range of ages. All coaches are first class, and AAT Kings pride themselves on their tour guides - many of which have been with them for decades!
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
Stats
No. of Trips
75
No. of Departures
3,431
Avg. Trip Length
9 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$559
Accommodation
3.5 - 4 Star
Budget
Affordable & Premium
Trip Styles Coach ToursShort BreaksCity Breaks
No. of Trips
432
No. of Departures
2,741
Avg. Trip Length
15 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$819
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
Choosing AAT Kings for your Australia or New Zealand holiday guarantees you’ll benefit from the insider secrets, off-the-beaten-path destinations and authentic interactions with local characters that only 100 years of experience can provide. With over a hundred years’ experience in sharing Australia with our guests, AAT Kings holds exclusive access to some truly unique locations, secret trails and roads less travelled that add so much value to the overall travel experience.
At AAT Kings, our on-road staff are best in class. Our Travel Directors, Driver Guides and Drivers are hand-picked for their passion, experience, and enthusiasm for the spectacular countries we live in. There is truly no one better to share with you the best destinations across Australia and New Zealand. We have been perfecting our itineraries and products for over 100 years, so the benefits gained from travelling with us are unrivalled. With over 150 expertly crafted holiday itineraries to choose from, we offer something for everyone.
APT is an Australian family-owned company whose essence began in Melbourne in the 1920s. More than 90 years on, APT offers life-enriching trips to every continent, and through the company’s vast industry experience, meticulous planning and unquestionable passion it's earned a place among the world’s most well-regarded travel companies.
From boutique river cruising to small-group 4WD adventures; traditional coach touring with a decadent twist; epic rail journeys to small-ship expeditions; classic ocean cruising to safaris of discovery by both land and air – there’s little APT are unwilling to consider in pursuit of creating the finest holiday experience for its valued guests.
Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
Recent Reviews
4.5
I had a wonderful time travelling with a lovely bunch of people on this AAT Kings tour of the South Island of New Zealand. Most of the accommodation was wonderful and the included dinners were great. Our tour director and driver were fantastic. The only drawbacks were that the front page showing the itinerary with scenic stops was misleading as it ...read more was showing that Mt Cook was a sightseeing stop which never happened as whoever drew the route to Mt Cook was incorrect and would have had to get there from Omarama. Also we were only given 30 minutes to walk there and back to see Franz Joseph Glacier. I did not enjoy the train journey and when embarking we did not get time to look at the station. Overall it was a great tour but more time for the essential sightseeing stops would have been great. I also enjoyed the extra optional tours on offer such as The Glenorchy Lord of the rings tour and the Kiwi Bird Park.
My Tasmania Icons bus trip was just excellent. Visited places on my bucket list, plus more. Guide Carolyn Tipper has so much local knowledge as she lives in the state! Met some very nice travelling friends and plan to catch up in the future. Climate was great, humans can' t control that, Carolyn said March was a good time to visit, agree. Accommodation ...read more was beautiful, clean & well presented. Staff working at reception, restaurants very helpful & friendly.
Loved the NZ experience. This Marvel tour includes lengthy periods of coach travel that I found more difficult than I expected. You are not provided with a detailed itinerary. Our stop at Arrowtown was for 30 minutes, 10 of those queued for the toilet. I had made a couple of bookings (one non transferable ) in Queenstown. The day before we were told ...read more of change of schedule. So free time is at their discretion. Other free time works around their optional experiences. Excellent driver with intelligent commentary. Tour director was hard to understand at times and talked to much about herself. We were given a one bed room in Auckland despite all other nights were twin ( as per booking ). Consider the additional costs of the optional recommended gratuity that you are reminded about.
Enjoyed the trip. The planning with Georgie was easy. Our travel director and driver were excellent - the commentary gave so much detail about the history of Tasmania and the trip allowed enough time to explore the places we stopped in. I always felt very safe with our driver at the wheel even over the steepest, winding roads. My only complaint was ...read more that not enough spaces were allowed on the night animal spotting tour so most of us missed out.
Maisie from Global Journeys made this trip possible in a very short time as I couldn't finalise things with the Operator quickly. This tour is great if you want a quick glance at all top spots of South island so that you can plan an extensive trip later to spots you liked.
Very pleased with Hannah's service from wo to go organising the trip. The coach tour with AAT Kings was very enjoyable and value for money. The Tour Director and Driver were amazing and so helpful and knowledgeable. Accommodation was excellent although we were a bit disappointed in Launceston as the service wasn't quite up to Hobart's standard. Highlights ...read more of the trip were: Russell Falls, Strahan and Gordon River Cruise, Cradle Mountain, cable car at Cataract Gorge, lunch at Joseph Chromy winery, Bicheno, views at Freycinet National Park and of course the Cruise and lunch at Wineglass Bay and Port Arthur. There were too many highlights to mention as Tassie has so much beautiful scenery and photo opportunities.
4.7
APT booked a very good hotel in Adelaide - The Mayfair & The Novotel in Barossa were excellent as was the Glamping tent in Flinders Ranges at Wilpena Pound. Dinner at the restaurant in the camp was mostly tasty but a bit hit & miss at times, although when you consider how remote it is they did an excellent job with the variety of food presented. Staff ...read more there were friendly at all times. The scenery was beautiful. Our Guide & Driver Kym was wonderful, so careful with all driving, always looked after us all & was very knowledgeable, friendly & patient. A definite asset to APT in every way.
There were some guests (only 10 of in total so heaps of room on the coach) that did not enjoy the grazing plate meals but we thought they were fine. The food itself was very good, the wine tastings were well organised, the dinner at Seppeltsfield was great (beautiful grounds & buildings). St Hugo’s lunch was also a highlight but I think the dinner at Mt Lofty was too much food, still good but perhaps slightly pretentious. Very expensive wine, over $70 for 2 standard glasses of red wine (public holiday loading & c/c charges). The cooking class at Maggie Beers was very interesting & we enjoyed our time there, perhaps again too much food after eating the meals cooked in the demo. The drive through Brachina Gorge was amazing! Lunch in Parachilna was a standout too.
All in all the whole 7 days were filled with very interesting activities, different places to see, food was of a good standard & the group got along very well. Highly recommend the whole trip to anyone interested in seeing those parts of SA, but remember there is quite a bit of coach travel involved so not for everyone.
There were some guests (only 10 of in total so heaps of room on the coach) that did not enjoy the grazing plate meals but we thought they were fine. The food itself was very good, the wine tastings were well organised, the dinner at Seppeltsfield was great (beautiful grounds & buildings). St Hugo’s lunch was also a highlight but I think the dinner at Mt Lofty was too much food, still good but perhaps slightly pretentious. Very expensive wine, over $70 for 2 standard glasses of red wine (public holiday loading & c/c charges). The cooking class at Maggie Beers was very interesting & we enjoyed our time there, perhaps again too much food after eating the meals cooked in the demo. The drive through Brachina Gorge was amazing! Lunch in Parachilna was a standout too.
All in all the whole 7 days were filled with very interesting activities, different places to see, food was of a good standard & the group got along very well. Highly recommend the whole trip to anyone interested in seeing those parts of SA, but remember there is quite a bit of coach travel involved so not for everyone.
Bucket list trip ticked off! Luxury river cruise met all expectations. 0 Marie , NSW, Australia, Mar 2024
We had a perfect trip on APT luxury river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest then on to Prague. From the flight with Singapore airlines, the luxurious accommodation on board the AmaVenita, the delicious food at every meal, the caring service and staff, the meticulous transfers, the amazing signature tours and knowledgeable guides…. And much more, made ...read more this memorable and most enjoyable holiday. Thanks to Global for coordinating our trip as well. Look forward to planning the next one!
We loved our holiday from start to finish. Our tour Guide (Saul ) and Bus driver (Andrew ) were excellent and went above and beyond to keep us happy, informed and entertained throughout our trip. Most of the hotels were lovely and of a high standard and the meals provided were more than satisfactory. I loved nearly all of the included tours and only ...read more once did we make a bad choice - not that anything was wrong with the tour itself, it just didn't suit us - my error in choice only. I would definitely recommend APT and would travel with them again in the future. Global journeys were great at organising all this for us and I would definitely use them again to help me plan a holiday.
Georgie and the team at Global Journeys once again delivered on everything we asked of them during the booking of our New Zealand adventure. We cannot thank them enough for answering all our silly questions and ensuring that we had the best time possible. We will always choose Global Journeys as our travel agent for tours.
Would definitely book again through Global Journeys. The river cruise was good but not quite what we thought it would be. Most day trips were only 2 - 3 hours in length. Fellow passengers were enjoyable company and the entertainment, Tori & Dave, were excellent. Maybe we are too young to be going on river cruises!!
The cruise itself was excellent, but wish that we had been informed that it was the rainy season. At least 3 day tours were spoiled by constant rain. The fellow travellers were great company, mostly from Australia, like us. The cabins were a little small. Had we known that you could upsize, we would have done so, but we were not told beforehand. The ...read more food was excellent, staff excellent and cruise director excellent.
The main drawback was the lengthy flight home. We left Wednesday 8th November 11 am, endured 3 lengthy unpleasant flights with Singapore Airlines to arrive in Sydney 10th November 10 am. We had upgraded to Premium economy, but there was very little difference between this and Economy. The Singapore staff were unpleasant and at times very rude. The plane was old and in need of repair/upgrade. The seats were uncomfortable and worn. There was water leakage from above on occasion. The food was not good quality. On the middle trip home of 13 hours, Joy fell asleep and missed 2 meals. When she awoke and asked for a cup of tea, having not drunk anything in 10 hours, she was told NO!!!!!!!!! When Joy later got up to go to toilet, she was told to sit down, even though 2 other people were lined up at toilet. On 2 of the flights we were in the same seats, which were opposite a large double cupboard, which was constantly being opened and slammed shut by the staff as they shuffled paraphernalia backwards and forwards with constant noise and disturbance. We would never travel with Singapore Airlines again.
APT tour was excellent. Overall rating on Tour was excellent. Overall rating on flights was TERRIBLE.
The main drawback was the lengthy flight home. We left Wednesday 8th November 11 am, endured 3 lengthy unpleasant flights with Singapore Airlines to arrive in Sydney 10th November 10 am. We had upgraded to Premium economy, but there was very little difference between this and Economy. The Singapore staff were unpleasant and at times very rude. The plane was old and in need of repair/upgrade. The seats were uncomfortable and worn. There was water leakage from above on occasion. The food was not good quality. On the middle trip home of 13 hours, Joy fell asleep and missed 2 meals. When she awoke and asked for a cup of tea, having not drunk anything in 10 hours, she was told NO!!!!!!!!! When Joy later got up to go to toilet, she was told to sit down, even though 2 other people were lined up at toilet. On 2 of the flights we were in the same seats, which were opposite a large double cupboard, which was constantly being opened and slammed shut by the staff as they shuffled paraphernalia backwards and forwards with constant noise and disturbance. We would never travel with Singapore Airlines again.
APT tour was excellent. Overall rating on Tour was excellent. Overall rating on flights was TERRIBLE.
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