Southern Wonders Reviews

This is our first bus tour experience. Most aspects of the tour were extremely satisfying. Our Tour Director and Driver were excellent, could not be faulted for their efforts, information and all the background work they did. They were very knowledgeable, relating stories of New Zealand, its people and their obvious love of country shone through. We ...read more were enthralled with all the scenery and diverse locations we were able to visit from the Itinerary. The optional tours offered were really good and gave a wide choice for the various people on board. We would certainly travel with Global Journeys in the future. Already thinking of taking maybe a river cruise, or another coach tour in Europe. We have enthused over the wonderful experience ever since we got back home.

I had a fabulous holiday with the New Zealand South Island tour booked via Global Journeys. The hotels were comfortable, the tour well paced and scenery was fantastic. I really enjoyed my trip.

This was our first experience on a coach tour so we didn't know what to expect. Alan the tour guide and coach driver were fantastic. Accommodation was a little disappointing in some places and the fact that the itinerary was reversed at the last minute was also disappointing. We would have preferred to have spent less time in the coach, although with ...read more the distances travelled there was no other way. Perhaps in future we would choose a tour where we had more free time and perhaps a smaller group as there were 48 in ours.

The tour was great, the hotels were up to standard apart from one hotel which didn't have enough heating especially when it was -8 degrees! Tour guide was very informative and always willing to help. Tour driver very good.

Allan (John) and I had a most wonderful holiday. We enjoyed the company of our follow tour companions, we loved the scenery, the accomodation was perfect and the meals plentiful and yummy. Our tour leader and bus driver were friendly and helpful. We have no complaints at all.

We had a great time, even though the earthquake disrupted the tour. We only have praise for our tour guide and driver (Bob and Nellie). They went out of their way to make our trip memorable. The tour itself was excellent, the hotels were clean and tidy. The meals came a bit too much with baked dinners every night though. The only downside we found was ...read more the people touring with us were a bit too old for us, most were retired or in their sixties. So we missed a bit of nightlife as most were in bed by 8 with their cups of tea. Nevertheless we would recommend the coach tour to everyone, if we went on our own we would of missed a lot of sights. We are now planning to go next year to see the North Island.

First and most important was the excellence of Ted, our tour guide, and Murray our driver. They have to be your very very best. I was extremely nervous as there have been some horrific bus accidents in South Africa. Right from the start I had the utmost confidence in Murray's driving - safe, slow when necessary and we even had some excellent commentary ...read more when Ted was on the TranzAlpine with some of our fellow travellers. Thank you so much Murray. As for Ted, what a mine of information he imparted to us. And his little anecdotes had us in stitches. Thank you so much Ted. Please make sure these 2 men hear how much we appreciate them and how delighted we are that we were lucky enough to be on their tour. The tour was well organised and all of us, I am sure, felt part of everything. Instructions were clear and to the point and fully understandable. The accommodation was very good. We will definitely recommend your company to any interested people. We had a lovely relaxing journey for which many thanks.

Overall the tour was fantastic, the Tour Director (Julieanne) was very knowledgeable, helpful, empathetic and professional. The bus driver (Paul) was very capable gentleman and personable. He has got to be the best driver I have ever seen, we all felt very safe with him at the helm. The way these two people shared the journey with us and their personal ...read more experiences was wonderful. Their pride in their country shone through. Above all they had a great sense of humour and did not take themselves too seriously. We intend to come back to NZ in the next two years and without question we will go with your company again because the service and hospitality was exceptional. I have renamed NZ - The Land of the Long White Buffet - the food and service on the tour was UNBELIEVABLY GOBB SMAKINGLY FANTASTIC. We feel that NZ is our second home the scenery and people are second to none. I have only two suggestions I would like to make to improve the tour. 1. The first day that we went Christchurch on the TranzAlpine and the trip in the afternoon was too much for the first day. Maybe stopping overnight in Greymouth will solve this problem or giving the Pancake Rocks a miss. 2. The middle seat up the back should be not used. We had a young girl of 13 years traveling with us and every time she was up the back she felt ill, so we were lucky enough to have 3 couples and we could swap with her so she could be down the front. Apart from these minor things the tour was great and I have recommended it to several people. Keep up the good work!

The coach tour was just magnificent and wonderful. I just couldn't believe how beautiful the country truly is. I enjoyed the helicopter flight to Fox Glacier and to stand on ice and snow for the first time was just awesome. Milford Sound was pure magic, even though it rained. The wildlife was amazing to see the penguins, seals, kea, and the royal albatross ...read more colony. The glowworms at Te Anau are amazing to see and the boat trip across Lake Te Anau just on sunset was stunning. The country was filled with beautiful flowers even though some are pests such as Broom and Gorse that made the country very picturesque with the colour yellow. One of my favourite photos is looking across Lake Tekapo towards Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman with the Luppins on the foreshore. The Tour Director was a true entertainer who kept everyone entertained with information pertaining to each district we travelled through. The bus driver was a very experienced and careful making everyone feel safe. If I plan to travel by bus again, I would like to travel with same Tour Director. I am planning to come back to explore the North Island of New Zealand February 2012. Thank you for helping me enjoy my time in New Zealand.