Grand Pacific ToursReviews 

Sad to say, we were very disappointed by our recent GPT 'Ultimate' tour. Many of the aspects of a 'business class' tour were met, but some fell well short. And the company throughout seemed focussed on preserving their profit, not delivering what we paid for.

A 20 person bus sounds good, lots of room, but hard seats with no adjustment and no cushions on several 400km days made it hard going. Our driver offered a flow of commentary and a verbal timetable, but refused to write it down. There was no-one else from the company.

Bay of Islands is a lovely place to visit, but not when a cruise ship is in town. Accommodation was average, but more than 1 km from the ferry, and no shuttle or taxi to be had. We intended to do the dinner cruise, but not available. Too much walking, and the bus driver went fishing.

A storm in Wellington delayed our tour by a day, and the company offered no substitute activities, just a glass of wine. Our loss, their profit.

The ferry to Picton was delayed and we missed the connection with the train. We got a refund, and a bad meal in Kaikoura at our expense. Sorry about that. On to Christchurch.

The train to Arthur's pass was cancelled due to maintenance works. Did no-one know that was coming? Another two long days in the bus.

Yes, there were good bits and yes, we had some back luck but I can't help feeling the company made a serious error of judgment in constructing this tour and were totally unprepared or unwilling to respond generously when things went wrong.

Either way, we won't go with them again and we'd advise others to think carefully.

My wife and I have just returned from the 19 day signature showcase New Zealand escorted tour, it was a holiday of a lifetime which exceeded our expectations. We liked the concept of the 32 seater coach, our first holiday of this type with one row of double seats and the other row of single seats. The coach was spacious and some of the people on the tour who have done similar holidays said the coach was the best they have been on. The coach captain, Rod Harris, gave a great commentary throughout and kept us to time. The tour leader, Tony O'Brien, worked well with Rod to ensure we all had an excellent holiday. The seat rotation policy worked well. We had thought we would be subjected to a Sunday Roast type meal every night, this only happened on two nights, the food and hotel quality was of a high standard. As it was our first coach holiday we had several questions for the Grand Pacific Operations Team, they were always very quick to respond. We can't compare against the experience provided by the other coach companies who we saw from time to time, we can compare the coach / party size, we were glad we were on this 32 seater coach. Overall we covered 4148 km, I was certainly glad I wasn't driving, if I had been I wouldn't have known what I was looking at and missed the insight from Rod.

I was able to take two tours consecutively. The Coach Captain on the South Island Tour was incredibly knowledgeable, caring and solicitous of all her passengers. The North Island Coach Captain didn’t come close. Both tours were comprehensive in terms of what we visited and I have no complaint with what was included. However, too many 6 a.m. wake up calls and not enough free time made for long days and late evening meals. For the first time in my life, I got swollen feet and ankles. A doctor who was on our first tour said it was from sitting on the bus so much. Consequently, all my time not touring was spent with my feet up on my bed. Quite frankly, I probably didn’t have the energy to do much else because both tours were too exhausting. I will never do a bus tour again.

The Grand Pacific Ultimate Tour is simply luxurious. From the business class coach, to the luxurious hotels that also provided delicious meals. Linda, our driver, made our trip wonderful with her vast amount of knowledge of NZ's south island. Passenger comfort, organisation, and our safety was above our expectations. I highly recommend travelling with this company.

Airport transport policy is inflexible and rigid. Profit > comfort for this company :(

Just thought i would write to commend Nick (guide), Lindsey (Coach driver north island) and Kenny (Coach driver south island) on their professionalism, knowledge and commitment to your company. I have been on many coaching holidays but this is by far the best despite being involved in some extremely adverse weather conditions. They kept us safe ahead of Cyclone Gabriel giving us an on the spot plan B alternative that was laso interesting viewing. The very useful gratis package given at the beginning of the tour consisting of a wash bag, guide folder (with relevant maps) and an holdall were not only robust (and can be used on other holidays) but also very useful! And that is just the start of the holiday. the hotels chosen were of high quality, the coach was always kept clean and tidy and the seat allocation rota was a fabulous idea to ensure all get to sit at the front seats.
there were pleanty of comfort breaks at little quirky towns that were interesting to walk around even if you didnt need to use the facilities.
It was understood that the distance between locations was quite some miles which necesitated early rising we realised it was well worth this for the scenery and culture we were shown. The food was on the whole really good and the one thing that i really did appreciate was not being herded into the obligatory commisioned 'jewelry store, carpet warehouse, a leather factory etc'.
Outstanding holiday - would highly recommend it to anyone!
Carrie from Colchester UK