Australia Local culture Trips

There were so many highlights. I particularly appreciated our tour guide and his knowledge. He had so many suggestions for our free time that enhanced our trip. You can’t see all of Australia and New Zealand in three weeks. Collette did a very nice job of exposing us to these Countries. I refer to this as a sampler platter and it was a great selection of sites, history, culture and scenery.

Generous amount of included meals. Lots of included excursions. Plenty of free time. Great tour for the money. Tour manager was the best we've ever had and we've had some really good ones. I highly recommend it.

Pete Ragland, tour guide, saw to every detail for our group. He was the absolute BEST! I loved all of my excursions! The Great Barrier Reef and the camel ride in the Outback were my favorites. I wish dinner had been earlier or later at our Mt. Cook stay and the planetarium could have been an option that night. Otherwise, perfect tour experience!

It was not a luxury trip but by no means were we roughing it. The price initially looked a bit expensive but everything was comfortable, the tour manager really was there every minute of the day to ensure things went as planned, even personal situations such as lost luggage benefitted from his attention, even when just helping people call the right numbers and plan accordingly. It really was a good value and much easier than trying to figure it all out, on our own. Favorite Memorable Experience: When we went on the boat out to the fjord, it was an unusually sunny, clear and not-so-cold Winter day (it was impressed upon us how rare this really is). At one point, the boat will get so close to a waterfall that anyone on the bow would get soaked (it's slow to happen - there is plenty of time to dodge it). We were so giddy with the nice weather, the sunshine on our faces, quite a few of us were dodging in-and-out of the water, laughing like kids running through the "sprinkler" still encased in our Winter duds, pure joy on our faces. To top it off, we suddenly saw a full rainbow in that mist, larger and closer than any of us had ever seen. It's moments like that that can't be planned but wouldn't have taken place without the plans before it.

My wife and I have been on several trips with the Trafalgar group (AAT Kings / Insight / Trafalgar). We have not had a bad experience yet. The travel directors were like personal concierges to us. Our travel directors, Tony and Marty, were fantastic people. Funny, professional and helpful. Bus drivers were excellent, optional experiences were great. We look forward to going on future tours with the Trafalgar group.

Very comprehensive itinerary, all hotels are centrally located, specialty meals were very good to excellent. Animal encounters were great, including the penguins, koalas, Tasmanian devil and kangaroos. Landscape is breathtaking. Great Maori cultural encounter. New Zealand is pristine!