All Reviews
Relaxing Journeys

I initially was a bit hesitant in not using a local Australian travel agent, but after all my dealings with Relaxing Journeys and their rep Toni, I can now say that after the trip is over I can’t praise the organising of it highly enough. Toni was extremely easy to deal with about a few changes to the initial itinerary as listed on the website. One thing to keep in mind when doing a driving holiday is that even though the trip should take “x” hours per day it was not unusual in our case to add 3 hours to this for the sightseeing and meals. I would also suggest that you have at least a two night stay in one place per week of travel to allow a bit of r&r. And don’t forget that it is supposed to be a holiday so no need to get up at the crack of dawn and hit the road.

Tour was very good and we enjoyed the included activities. Distances were quite reasonable and total driving time reasonable except day one where we scored large amounts of roadwork. All the B&Bs were good with great breakfasts and excellent informative hosts. Not sure about the Kruse. The commentary was great but GPS one of worst I have used and maps out of date with it not knowing where we were on several occasions including twice on SH1. Often reverted to Google Maps on phone.

The location is fantastic and the Milford Mariner is an excellent way to see it. The team went out of their way to make the tour memorable. An excellent choice of buffet dishes for the evening meal. Our itinerary did not make it clear what time we needed to be at the wharf and where to park which resulted in us wasting about 4 hours. The tour checks in at 4pm and you can drive your car to the actual wharf at 4pm and park in the allocated bus bays.

Loved the tour. Would recommend it. Everything was taken care of with no worries for us. Only complaint would be the audio system on the coach. The driver was hard to understand. Also would like to see shades that pull down from the top of the window to block the sun in the early morning and late afternoon or if that’s not possible some window tinting at the top. Not crazy about the three buffets. The food was excellent in the hotels with the exception of the Distinction in Dunedin. The hotel itself in Dunedin was superior but the food did not live up to the rest of the hotel. The tours were all handled very well. We felt very welcome in the country. Again, we loved the tour and would highly recommend it.

Every thing went according to plan. All cars, motels and activities were as requested smooth no hassle.

Marie did an excellent job with her suggestions and planning for our trip to New Zealand. The accommodations were very good and the route was excellent. We arrived in Auckland and for three weeks we traveled down to Queenstown experiencing the culture, wine, and beauty New Zealand had to offer. The Kruze GPS was a wonderful tool that was very informative and enjoyable with the Maori history. We had one glitch with the GPS freezing but Kruze was very prompt with helping us correct the problem. Depending on what time of year you are going you might want to forgo Mt. Cook because the weather is very “iffy”. The trip was everything we expected and I would highly recommend using Relaxing Journeys to plan your trip to New Zealand!

I found the 5-day north island tour very good. Although alot was packed in, I got a very good overview of the best bits and I will definitely be back to see more. The activities you can do are excellent. I found the Maori Cultural evening excellent and a must for any traveller. Mani was very helpful and even added on my trip to Hobbiton with a couple days notice. I would highly recommend this self-drive tour as you see alot of the fantastic scenery and the option of Kruse GPS was helpful as gave good local history to areas you drive through. Thank you for all your work into making my trip such a fantastic one that has left me wanting to return and discover more that New Zealand has to offer.

It was wonderful, you have a beautiful country. The Kruze navigation system taught us so much as we drove.

The cruise was amazing. Only downside we had bad weather which made us feel quite ill. The cruise team were brilliant though. Relaxing Journeys were very helpful and kept us informed about our trip – thank you Mani. We did have a mix up with the accommodation, that the cruise team sorted. I thought I’d said that we would need a queen and a twin room, we both had queens. Anyway it wasn’t a problem as the cruise team rearranged rooms for us.

We had a great time touring your country. The people are very friendly and happy. We highly recommend the Ultimate Tour with Grand Pacific. Paul was our coach driver, and he did an excellent job. The coach was very nice, and with only 20 people in the group it created a more relaxing atmosphere for the various daily activities. Toni, thanks for all your help.

The entire trip was wonderful and flawless. We purposely planned a leisurely trip and it was worth it. The accommodations (Bed & Breakfasts) were great. One of the best parts of the trip was meeting many wonderful people from New Zealand as well as from all over the world. We thoroughly enjoyed the New Zealand trip and highly recommend Relaxing Journeys. Good job, Toni!

The boat crew and amenities were very good.