RealNZ Te Anau Visitor Centre — Attraction in Fiordland Community

I recently booked a trip to the Glowworm Caves with RealNZ in Te Anau. Unfortunately, I need to say that I have been really disappointed by the whole experience. I was told many lies during the booking process at the RealNZ visitors center in order to book a trip.

It was raining a lot that day (05.02.2023) and when we arrived we asked the sales agent at the counter if there are any activities that we could do despite the rain. She told us that the Glowworm Tour is a great experience even during a rainy day and that she has two free spots on the next tour. We told her that we have already been to many caves around the world and also have already seen glowworms many times. But she told us that this tour is special since we would be experiencing the glowworms while being on a small boat and that this 'boat ride in the cave would be around 25-35 minutes long'. To prove that she even showed us a map of the cave and pointed out that it is a 'big cave' and that the ride itself is really long. Since it was raining a lot that boat ride sounded like a nice little thing to do.

But our boat tour already ended after a few minutes and the guides confirmed that is normally never longer than 10 minutes.

You can imagine that we have been a little confused after the ride since we have been told something completely different when we booked the tour. I went back the next morning to kindly ask the sales agent about it. She was really rude and told me that she meant the boat ride on the lake and that the cave itself is 'super small' and therefore a boat trip in the cave could also just be 5 min long and this time she showed me that same map of the cave to show me how tiny the cave is. I told her that I would have never booked the tour if I would have known the truth since $198 are too much for just a 5 minutes boat ride. Her response was just that it is a whole package including the scenic boat ride on the lake and that she will let the guides on the island know that I have been disappointed by their tour and then ended the conversation with me and just blamed it on the guides.

We have lived on an island and the beauty of the ferry ride off/on this island is comparable to the ride between the islands and sounds on the way between Wellington and Picton, so a ride on a little lake in the rain and without vision is nothing I would have paid money for. We have already seen many amazing caves around the world and experienced all kind of glowworms around the world. We really just booked the tour for the 'long' boat ride in the cave. If I would have known that the boat ride itself is just a few minutes and not as we were told 25-35 minutes, we would have never booked the trip and paid $198 for a 5 minutes experience.

I would like to point out that I was not disappointed by the crew. I am really disappointed with the selling process and all the lies that I have been told in order to push me to book a trip and her behavior afterwards.

I have never been fouled more by a trip company and really hoped that this sales agent was an exception. I contacted Real NZ via email over 4 weeks ago but haven't received a response. So I assume that this isn't just the bad behavior of a single sales person but rather RealNZ normal procedure to trick it's customers into...

I had booked a tour to see doubtful sounds with this company, after having a pleasant experience last year doing Milford sounds and told to book doubtful sounds as it is much better!

Oh how boring and dissapointing this was. The staff (I can't call them guides as they really don't know what they're talking about) are un informed and didn't know what they're talking about. I overheard the captain of the boat telling the staff member that info shared was incorrect. The 2 American "guides" really need to be up to scratch on the knowledge they pass out. It almost feels like some staff are there to do the tour for themselves.

Thr captain and staff fail in there duty of care. When we had approached the open waters, I could tell it was going to be rough as the water was very choppy. Staff failed to inform guests to hold on, take a seat or even slow down upon approach.

The coaches are poorly maintained, I understand the gravel road is a little bumpy (which is fine) as it's a given to hear rattles a squeaks. But the suspension components aren't looked after at all, seems like your lower controls arms/ball joints are completely shot. As you can almost hear metal on metal bouncing on the control arm.

The doubtful sounds tour was boring and un eventful in its own. It was literally a boat ride for 3 hours around some islands, that's it. Only exciting thing was seeing some sea lions, which "guides" pointed out when we could already see them in front of us.

Overall, underwhelming experience and wouldn't recommend to anyone. A complete waste of our day and $350 per person. If you do decide to book this trip, be sure to pack your own food. As the food isn't very good.

Would love to hear the reply of realNZ...

What to Expect From Milford Sound Cruise and Coach:

First off, banish any illusion of the “luxury coach” you were promised, with its rotated seats and panoramic overhead windows as showcased in the glossy intro photo. That’s a fantasy reserved for those who still believe in fairy tales.

Regarding the advice to check in 30 minutes early, do yourself a favor and ignore it unless you’re auditioning for the role of the lone fool. No one shows up at that time—not even the driver, who apparently operates on a time zone of his own, fashionably late by 20 minutes. So, there you stand, wasting a precious 50 minutes of your life, a testament to your blind obedience to rules.

And should you seek the slightest assistance from the bus driver to locate the correct bus, prepare yourself for a dose of public humiliation instead. The mix-up, triggered by a lack of clear instructions and a ticket that cryptically lists the driver’s name along with a mysterious number—which, spoiler alert, turns out to be the bus number nobody thought to inform you about—will not earn you sympathy but scorn.

In conclusion, this journey promises to be an enlightening experience in the art of managing expectations versus reality, teaching you the hard truth that sometimes, the only luxury you’re getting is the lesson learned the hard way. And remember, this adventure comes at your...