The "Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer" Tour Arvostelua 73

Great tour leaders and drivers! Very comprehensive tour.

I would describe this as a "world-class" tour. The guides and drivers were amazing. The organization and logistics
were impressive. The South Island is vast, beautiful, interesting, and often spectacular. We can definitely recommend the "Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer" Tour.

This trip is outstanding, excellent tour guides and knowledgeable bus drivers,hotels topclass, have toured by road and cruiseship 5 times before but this was outstanding,thoroughly recommend to all.

The tour was well organised and had so many varied excursions and experiences which is great. There was an abundance of food and many options at the buffets. The guides were great and the commentary was informative and interesting. I would highly recommend it.

Absolutely fabulous tour. I have done many organised tours both in Australia and overseas as a solo traveller and this was up there with the best. Faultless experience (except for 1 weather event cancellation) where everything just went like clockwork.
The scenery, itinerary, accommodation, trains, excursions & the extra bonus stops for our good timekeeping were outstanding.
The whole tour was made that extra special by our incredible tour guides Lauren & McGill and our very capable (and entertaining) coach driver Wayne. Many thanks!

I had already been to many of the places on this itinerary, however this tour exposed me to many places & experiences that I had never seen or done before. The trains, boats, planes & helicopter rides were the bonus of this trip for me.
I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone.

This was easily one of the best tours we've ever been on, and it definitely had the best tour guide. Train and boat excursions, a visit with Sir Edmund Hillary's grandson, excellent hotels, good food, sufficient "on our own" time, and unexpected surprises all made for a South Island experience that would be pretty hard to beat.

Fantastic! Everything was managed very professionally with special attention to all the details. Our guides provided clarity and instructions immediately before we needed them so there was very little to remember or be concerned about. It made the complete journey very relaxed for the pace of everyone, energetic or chill types alike.
While touring to a significant location it was often two or three short stops with clever stories and background to enrich the entire journey even on seemingly unglamorous sections. It really made transitions and people come alive.
I loved traversing the island back and forth to get a sense of the style and vibe of each area. One day was huge nature, the next very cosmopolitan. We definitely were allowed to add things like a side trip to wineries on our own which I didn’t expect. It really made it feel like MY journey.
Thanks to Lauren, McGill and Wayne I had the trip of a lifetime! 100% worth any money time or effort on my part. True professionals and expertly skilled. WTG!

The guides, Mike and Trevor, were so helpful and lots of fun. Driver Steve was exceptionally good, and had a great sense of humour. Only downside was that some of our trains were cancelled, and they were our main reason for being on the tour. However, we understand that this was due to unforeseen circumstances and could not be avoided. Great time was had by all.

This was our first tour, usually we hire a car and set our own itinerary so we had no idea what to expect.
The whole experience was amazing from the moment we met our guides the day before the tour started.
Our 3 guides and 2 bus drivers were friendly, knowledgeable and they, and the entire tour were extremely well organised, nothing was too much trouble. We were on the 'red bus' with Lauren as our main guide and Steve as our driver. Both were amazing. NZ's south island is so picturesque. There were many highlights on our journey but the pinnacle was our 2 night stay at Mt Cook aided by unbelievably great weather.

The South Island of New Zealand is absolutely gorgeous! I am so glad to have seen it. However, if you have chronic pain this is not your best option. I didn’t know I would have problems sitting for extended periods of time, the swaying of the old train carriages, the back roads certainly took their toll on my back and neck.
Practically every night was a buffet, which sounds great if there are lots of choices (like at Mt Cook 10/10) but mostly it was 4 meat/fish with a couple of vegetable dishes. I would have preferred to not have half the dinners included and being able to go and taste what NZ had to offer locally, the packed lunches were very average, and I hope y’all like relish because it’s in every roll.
As I said, I’m glad I got to see it all, but living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks wasn’t my idea of fun so it’s back to cruising for me!

We enjoyed being able to sit back and relax while our guides Jane and Ted plus driver Noel, took care of everything. They went above and beyond to ensure the trip was thoroughly enjoyable and we were all assisted where necessary and safe.
Passengers inadvertently left possessions behind - shirts in dryer, vital medicines, I-pads and special chargers in hotels. The guides and driver easily organised the lost items to be returned with no fuss.
This was a great experience, hotels and tour activities the best!

My husband and I enjoyed our tour immensely. It was so well organised. We were given the opportunity to see the most beautiful scenery, have varied activities and experiences and thanks to our informative guides learn so much about New Zealand. We highly recommend this trip,

The tour was very well organised, a few hiccups but that is to be expected with any tour.
Dennis, Geoff, Kevin and Chris were all helpful and informative. The scenery was stunning, weather perfect. Certainly recommend this tour.

The tour is well organised. The tour guides and coach drivers provided excellent information and support. We found it very relaxing to be able to enjoy the spectacular scenery from a variety of modes of transportation. We had not previously been on a large group tour but the group didn't feel so large as the guides managed to make it feel like a very personalised experience.

New Zealand is a fabulous country ,the scenery of course the people, but also the ideology and the community commitment to that ideology.
The amazing guides and drivers also made the journey
unforgettable .
I highly recommend this tour group.

We were pleasantly surprised at how well-organised this trip was. The guide team were knowledgeable, personable and well-prepared. Changes to the schedule which were enforced by the weather were notified as soon as possible, and alternative arrangements had been put in place before notification. Sarah at the back office quickly provided notice of refunds due to alternatives. The itinerary was amazing, food and accommodation was first class and the rest of it was provided by the magnificent scenery of the South Island. Special mention to the bus-driver, Steve, who handled everything thrown at him by the weather and the travelling public.

This Tour was highly professional and very well organised. It really could not have been better in catering for the different levels of physical fitness. Lauren and Trevor were the best Tour guides, and I really cannot praise them highly enough for the thoughtfulness, expert knowledge and the way they handled every situation.

The tour was so well organised, the hotels great, coach comfortable and the tour guides and driver were fantastic. We were able to see much of the beautiful South Island with some cultural and historical information and experiences.
I highly recommend the tour.

It’s a cliché for a reason: The best thing about travel is the people you meet. And, with the Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer Rail & Coach Tour, it begins when you book the trip. The emails from Kirsty Parry to help us plan were personable, funny and engaging. She was extremely helpful and it felt like we had a friend in New Zealand before our plane ever took off.

It continued when we met our driver and trip hosts. Not only were they engaging and friendly, they created an atmosphere that encouraged the tour group to become friendly. We did. Some of those acquaintances have gone on to become friends.

Collectively, we experienced the best of what New Zealand has to offer. From sea level along both the west and east coasts to the dizzying heights of Mount Cook. From sheep stations to city centers. It was a buffet of sights, sounds and experiences we would never have been able to create on our own.

And the trains. ‘All aboard’ is right. As we moved around the South Island, I don’t think we left a track untraveled. Our excursions and private trips meshed well with travel along Kiwi Rail.

Even after our tour ended, Kirsty was able to help us plan our travel, by train, to Auckland. We felt supported and encouraged each step of the way.

We came into the trip with no expectations, so everything was beyond what we could have imagined. Yes, we would book with the Pounamu Tourism Group again. Who knows, we just might!

The tour guides and driver were well informed, friendly, entertaining and helpful. Any minor issues were dealt with swiftly & proficiently.
The tour covered a lot of ground in a comparatively short timespan - it was good to come away with a real sense of the South Island.