I booked a guided tour, not just an Uber driver. Unfortunately, that’s how this trip often felt.
The first and last day really shouldn’t have counted as “tour days” given how little presence we had from the guide. On night one they made a brief appearance and then disappeared, and they didn’t show up at all for a farewell at the end. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the tour – apart from driving, they were fairly absent and seemed to be doing the bare minimum. I actually had more interaction and conversation with Uber drivers on short trips I organised myself.
I understand there are long driving days and responsibilities, but part of what we’re paying for is the hosting, guiding and group experience – not just someone to get us from A to B. I would have expected more engagement, presence, and effort in bringing the group together, especially for solo travellers.
In terms of the itinerary, there were not enough days in Rotorua, which is where most of the key activities are. I missed out on multiple optional extras I was really looking forward to and actually booked this tour specifically for. An extra night there would make a big difference, because it’s an activity hotspot and trying to fit everything into such a short window just isn’t realistic.
Hobbiton in particular was a major disappointment. It’s heavily marketed as a key part of this tour, but it books out well in advance. I believe this should be pre-booked by Topdeck as standard, with travellers given the option to opt out if they’re not interested – not left to chance. I wasn’t clearly informed by my travel agent that I needed to book it through the app, and the app itself was faulty for me, so I never had a fair chance to secure a spot. Missing out on something that was a primary reason I chose this tour was really disheartening and felt avoidable with better systems and communication.
Overall, the destinations were great, but the lack of guide presence and the way key activities (especially Hobbiton) were handled had a big impact on my experience.
