Explore Group Bay of Islands — Attraction in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

I booked a tour in January for $160, with the expectation of seeing dolphins, but unfortunately, no sea mammals were sighted that day. At the time of booking in the Paihia office, I was informed that if no sightings occurred, I would receive a "go again" voucher. However, when I contacted the company to inquire about using the voucher, I was told that it could only be redeemed 30 minutes before the boat departs. This policy was never communicated to me at the time of booking (which to me equals false advertisement). My impression is that these vouchers are designed so it is not possible to redeem them for most of the customers.

As I have to drive three hours to Paihia, it is highly frustrating to find myself in a position where I may not even be able to use the voucher when getting there. Additionally, the person I spoke with on the phone was unprofessional and told me that she would not advise coming to Paihia just for a free tour, implying that I didn’t have the right to use the voucher.

This experience has been extremely disappointing, and the level of service provided did not meet my expectations, especially considering the amount I paid. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this company.

Update: I was initially offered a tour for the weekend of the 15th/16th. However, a few days later, I received a call informing me that all tours for that weekend had been canceled. I am uncertain about the validity of this cancellation, as it seems unusual. The lack of further clarification or alternative options has left me disappointed with the overall communication and...

Booked a tour on Bookme which was apparently cancelled two days after I had booked it but Explore Group representatives didn't notify me of this despite having my contact details as they just 'didn't have any time'. Just goes on to show how much they value their customers' time. I only found out because the day prior to the tour I went into their office to confirm my pick up location (I was meant to wait outside my accommodation at 8am and wanted to ensure they knew where I was staying) and that's when I was told that the tour wasn't really happening. They didn't really even seem bothered to let other customers who had also booked the tour know so they're probably going to wait outside their accommodations at 8am in the morning for a full day tour which got cancelled ages ago. When Explore is advertising a tour under their name on a third party website, it's their responsibility to let customers know if the tour is cancelled.

The representative offered me another tour with a discounted price which was a very good deal and competitively priced (hence the extra star) but after the lack of responsibility from the manager at Explore Bay of Islands, I didn't want to deal with them again and wouldn't recommend others to deal with them either purely because of absolute...

These guys are a class act and do a splendid job. We went on two tours with them the first being Discover the Bay. Glen our skipper was outstanding in his expertise taking us around the Bay and its manay attraction. His commentary was educational and interesting too. Lunch was excellent and our vegetarian dietary needs were well taken care of. We opted to stay longer and take a later ferry back at no extra cost (the competition tried to sneak in an extra 30 bucks from the advertised prices which we rejected!) from Urupukapaka Island or Otehei Bay and did some hiking to beautiful view points. Second tour two days later to Cape Reinga was equally fantastic with Paul our driver and tour leader who was not only competent and great at what he does but also caring about all his passengers. Ride along 90 Mile beach and the Sand Dunes was brilliant. Cape Reinga was the icing on the cake for its immense natural beauty and the overwhelming sense of being in a sacred place. Had a fabulous lunch under the trees on the beautiful beach below which was all ready and waiting for us courtesy of two lovely ladies. The ladies in the office at Explore too were fantastic - cheerful and helpful. Explore charges as advertised and gave us two fantastic and memorable tours. Thank You for...