Kiwiana Panorama

Too expensive for this accommodations

The trip of New Zealand was incredible. No 2 secs of scenery was the same, my trip manager Bryce Steel and Bus driver Dean (Weeman) were amazing. There knowledge of their home country astounded me each day. Both their personalities made the trip more enjoyable! If we missed out on a free time activity they thought together and decided what we’d choose to do! These guys are a great team together, I’d go on a trip around New Zealand with them again!!!

The trip was so amazing, it was full of inclusions which I loved and the free time add ons were just as good! Our trip manager, Rae, was an absolute gem and made me feel so comfortable and so easy to talk too! Masso, the bus driver was really fun and outgoing!

Contiki was fun but out trip manager wasn't the best, more concerned about getting drunk in a bar every night then she was showing us around the town or advising us of things we could do e.g. hikes etc. Felt like we only really saw her when she needed to collect money from us or if we did go out for a drink. We purposely booked in for an adventure contiki not for a party experience one.

(1) Trip Managers (we had two) were good. Trip Driver was excellent and super helpful. (2) However, for the first 9 days the trip was over crowded as there was 51 on the bus, which made being in the bus highly unpleasant. (3) Next, there was far too much emphasis on drinking, partying, and hooking up - from my observations of the other travellers, this is highly irresponsible as many of them were clearly alcoholics. (4) Additionally, there were activities we were forced to do (e.g. watch people do bungee jumping at the bungee HQ or do the Ogo), which are scheduled to be before the activities that I wanted to do (e.g. visit the brewery and visiting the kiwi sanctuary). (5) Furthermore, the quality of the accomodation varied greatly from good (Jucy Snooze in Queenstown, BreakFree in Christchurch) to alright (Abel Tasman Mercure in Wellington, Lake Ohau Lodge, Kings Hotel in Ohakune, Lakeland Resort in Taupo) to awful (The Village Inn in Te Anau, which had windows that would not close properly and despite reporting it was not fixed; Rain Forest Retreat in Franz Josef, which had a leaky toilet plus mould and despite reporting it was not fixed; Sudima Hotel, which had a leak in the roof and despite reporting it was not fixed but a bucket was place to catch the gross water coming through the roof). (6) Despite mentioning that the trip was part of a special occasion (honeymoon), there was no acknowledgement of it or anything special done. In fact, we were made to feel like we were antisocial because we did not want to go to the "optional" dinners with the group. (7) The music pumped through the audio system was ridiculously loud for no good reason other than to make people deaf. (8) Included breakfasts were pretty much as expected, but the dinners were disappointing especially in Franz Josef (frozen vegetables and store bought frozen cheesecake). I did a Contiki in 2006 and I decided after that trip that I would never do Contiki again. It was only after a friend of mine asked me about it a few years ago and I told her she should not do it. She and her husband went despite my recommendation and said that it wasn't that bad because of the hotel accommodations and a fairly chill crowd. That is why, in 2018 I looked up Contiki and decided to try the Kiwiana Panorama and convinced my husband to do it (he was very hesitant about it). My reasons for travelling are about seeing the places and wildlife and experiencing the culture and food, not doing stupidly overpriced thril-seeking activities and drinking/partying, which are cheaper to do at home. I found this NZ trip to be a great disappointment. NZ is a beautiful country, but Contiki just focuses on cheap (well, expensive) thrills, drinking and hooking up. After the trip, I am firmly of the opinion of never recommending Contiki to anyone. Contiki would not be able to pay me enough to go on any of its trips ever again.

While the Trip Managers (we had two) were helpful and the Trip Driver was excellent, the tour itself was a disappointment. The South Island portion was overcrowded (51 people) and the available activities were geared towards thrill-seeking. I was hoping for more nature tours, nature walks and hiking opportunities in the South Island rather than throwing myself off a bridge. The North Island portion spent surprisingly little time in the major urban centres, despite being great places to explore. I would have easily traded time in Rotorua or Okahane for an additional day in Wellington or Auckland. I had to race around the cities in order to see as much as possible during my short time there, while being bored terribly in Rotorua after about six hours as the novelty of sulphur springs wore off. The quality of the hotels varied greatly from good (BreakFree on Cashel, Jucy Snooze) to alright (Abel Tasman Mercure, Lake Ohau Lodge, Lakeland Resort, Kings Hotel) to awful (Rain Forest Retreat, The Village Inn, Sudima Hotel). Rain Forest Retreat had a massive mold problem in the toilet, the roof of the Sudima Hotel block we were in sprung a massive leak which they did not fix and the Village Inn refused to fix a broken window in the room after alerted. They really should be removed off the itinerary of future tours. The structure of the tour itself was also odd and made things feel a bit disjointed as people joined and departed continuously. I understand that if they did not do this, then they would need more staff and buses, but it makes for unpleasant transitory travel periods. Overall, I will be recommending to my friends and family to try a different provider for a tour in New Zealand.

Fun trip manager and excellent mates

Itinerary was great, but only if you participated in optional activities in every place. otherwise some towns you were left alone as there were not many alternatives. Queenstown for 4 days detached from the tour and contiki lifestyle a bit too. I would stagger it a little more. Chuck in little group inclusions, or spend 2 nights at wanaka and then 3 days at queenstown or something.

This was the perfect option of all the New Zealand trips, in my opinion, since you see most of the north and south islands, and the cost is really generous for the amount you get to see.

A great way to see the country.

This trip was amazing! I've traveled with other tour groups before, but this was my first Contiki trip and I had high expectations. The tour group was bigger than I thought it would be, but it wasn't unmanageable. It took a while to learn everyone's name, but that didn't stop anyone from being approachable and friendly. The only hard part socially was the fact that groups of people left and joined throughout my 2 weeks. I understand why the trip is designed that way, but it was a bit weird (only for a day or two!) joining after a group of 40 people had already been together for a week. Overall, I really can't complain about anything!! My guide was awesome, my driver was a riot, and the people on my tour were such a great time.

Amazing trip! The crew was super fun, thanks to our tour manager Lucy and driver Weeman. They truly showed us a true kiwi spirit! We had an amazing group, everyone was super friendly and nice. The unplanned change in our itinerary due to the severe weather conditions went very smooth, with great accommodation (one of the best we had), great food options and stunning views! Although, I wish we had more time in the North Island and explored it a bit more. Adding Wai-O-Tapu park in Rotorua to the list of additional activities would be a big plus but we went there anyway and it was honestly the highlight of the trip for me. I'm already planning my next trip to New Zealand! <3

Easy to book through website

The trip had everything I wanted to see and to have a whole experience

Both our trip manager and driver were amazing people who really made the trip incredible.

Trip manager was great, majority of the activities were great other than the bike ride that was unexpectedly 20kms and very rocky conditions, wouldn’t have done that if I knew also the funyaks is overrated for that price

Activities in New Zealand took me out of my comfort zone, the landscapes and rivers were astounding and there were many places that stayed in my mind even after I left.

Even tho the Waiho bridge went out, we didnt have to worry about a thing and still had great accommodations and alot of fun. Josh is amazing. 6+ stars

During the trip you get to see all the New Zealand highlights in just 16 days! The drives are unreal (lots of picture stops along the way!), accomodations are great, and loads of fun activities. Overall amazing to experience it with an awesome bunch of people and an amazing local trip manager and driver!