We chose to do a 5 hour trip through Bay of Islands Tours when our cruise boat arrived in the Bay of Islands. Chloe, our guide for the trip, took such great care of us. She’s so knowledgeable about the local area, we had a really great time. The teenagers too had a great day! The glow worm caves were a must see.
Great communication right from the first time we emailed. The organisation on the day was great. The small group was so much better to see the local area compared to a large cruise ship group. Thanks Chloe, it was such a pleasure dealing with you.
We did the shore excursion with Bay Of Islands Tours while on a cruise. The 5 hour shore excursion was absolutely fantastic! Our guide Chloe was fun, full of local knowledge and attentive! All the sights were fantastic and it was a great way to start our holiday, we hope the rest of the country is as good as this excursion was! What an introduction into Nz. Glow worm caves were the highlight ! A must do if your looking for a local and professional company for a great day out!
We saw wonderful waterfalls, tremendous trees and gorgeous glow worms!! Our guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour so interesting.
Jill, our guide for the day, greeted us warmly and announced we were part of her family for the day. And she meant it. In addition, she was a fantastic guide; knowledgeable, a good and willing listener, and a good driver -- for those of us not used to driving on "the other side" of the road.
In addition the tour was wonderful. I probably would vote for the glowworm caves as the highlight.The history of the country highlights were very interesting and informative.
This was our 1st visit to New Zealand. We were warned the people were extraordinarily friendly and the countryside was eye catching, True on both counts. Just take a look at Rainbow Falls.
Beware the coffee if you stop at the chocolate factory. Not what I was used too.
Chloe,owner of company was a great driver and a nice person but not a very good tour guide
We felt that we were on a bus trip and not a tour .while we drove from place to place she was quiet or turned on radio music .
People had to ask questions and pry information from her
She showed no enthusiasm
We booked this tour because we did not want a large impersonal cruise bus tour
This turned out to be a drive around the island with a few photo stops and lunch at 11am
Not a personal day.left feeling negative
about this tour!!!
Hi Caryn,
I am quite surprised and saddened to see this review you have posted about your day with me on the 10th November. So I would firstly like to apologise that the day did not meet your expectations and you didn't find me interesting or enthusiastic. As the owner of this business I put my heart 100% into everything I do on the day and take these reviews and comments very seriously. I have absolutely taken note of all your points of disappointment in your review and will ensure I do everything to ensure I don't have another passenger left feeling the way that you did.
In response to a few of your notes above, I was quite disappointed that you choose to sit up the front of the small van and speak loudly on your cellphone for the majority of the trip. This is very distracting when trying to do commentary and disruptive for the rest of the group on board. I made apologies to the rest of the passengers for your behaviour and choose to continue talking over you so no one would miss out on the information I was commentating.
I felt I went over and above to assist you with everything possible, I even missed out on lunch as I called all your other tours and places of accommodation across NZ to confirm them for you as per your request.
We stopped at all the attractions listed on the tour you booked online - The beautiful Glow worm Caves, Puketi Forest, Makana Chocolate Factory, Kauri Workshop, Haruru Waterfalls and the Waitangi Look Out, so again I sincerely apologise that these did not meet you expectations.
I put the radio on for the last 15 minutes out of the 5.5 hour trip as we were back tracking the same road I had just done detailed commentary on, as the music can create a nice ambiance for people to relax and enjoy our beautiful scenery. Im sorry you did not enjoy this.
I humbly received gratitudes from each other passenger on this day which left me feeling confident that everyone had enjoyed themselves so I was surprised to see this review the very next day as you didn't express of these concerns to me throughout the trip.
I would kindly suggest a private tour would be better suited to your tour style as the guide can then give you their full attention on the day and make unscheduled stops on request.
I truely and sincerely hope you enjoyed your time in NZ and wish you safe travels where ever your travels may take you in the future.
Kindest regards,
Chloe
