Glacier Explorers — Attraction in South Island

First, I want to say that we have traveled extensively and I have never given a tour company a bad review. I usually do my research which is why I felt strongly about posting this review. We were booked with Glacier Explorers for a 3:30 tour on April 9th. We were told to show up at 3:00, which we did. We were then told that we needed to wait until 3:20 for a bus. We boarded the bus at 3:20 and then things went awry. A tour guide came on board and said that she was going to give the safety briefing while we waited for the other passengers to board. She went on to say that we would be hiking down a steep,slippery gravel path, single file and would need to climb into rubber rafts. She stated that the tour company was not responsible for any injuries while hiking or boating. While the tour guide was talking, several 80 plus year old travelers started boarding the bus. At 3:40 we were still in the parking lot waiting for people. After the safety briefing or lack of for the late travelers, my husband and I talked and decided that we did not feel safe hiking and boarding boats with the passengers on the bus. We left the bus and went immediately to the Glacial Explorer Counter and told them that we did not feel safe on the tour. We have done a lot of white water rafting and we know it only takes one person to flip an entire boat. Additionally, I am less than 100 pounds and was concerned one of the elderly people would fall on to me trying to go down the slippery hill. I told them that I would talk to the hotel about a refund.

My husband and I were staying at The Hermitage, so we went back to our room, changed into hiking clothes and looked about a hiking trail to the glaciers. We drove ourselves to the Blue Lake trailhead and there we ran into the tour bus that we had left. We witnessed the Glacial Explorer tour group in action and confirmed that our decision to leave the tour was a good one! This was a good 30 minutes after we had left the tour bus. (the ride to the park was 5 minutes) The tour group had just gotten there and gotten everyone off the bus. One poor guide was wrangling all of the elderly people, while the other guide was standing on a rock lecturing the rest of the group. We also found other people who had been on the bus just walking around the park. They were clearly over the tour as well! We hiked the trails and observed the group finally getting in their boats. The entire boat tour was probably 20 minutes as stated by another reviewer. The glaciers are really not that exciting. The lake is green and not blue as pictured. This is not the small boat and private adventure pictured. We have had multiple correspondences with Claire Norton and Pancho Saucedo expressing our dissatisfaction with our experience and they have refused to give us a refund. Other reviewers have pointed out similar issues. You have been warned, if you book with this company...

Warning!

Itinerary discretion.

Glacier view is only 45-50 minutes at most. On the flyer, its stated 2:30 hours. What it didn’t state is, +/-30mins bus ride to, and +/-30mins bus ride back. 1mile hike +/-30 mins in, and 1 mile hike +/-30 mins out. Actual boat ride to see the glacier is 45-50 mins max.

The worst part is, the guide told me if for any reason I’m not satisfied, I can get a refund. Which I then told the office, and was told no refunds, because I was told there will be a hike.

This is a scam at best.

The service and attitude is what made the experience worse.

If the guide would have explained it properly in the beginning, there would not have been any misunderstanding.

I wouldn’t pay $165 for a 3km hike. I was told a 2.5 hours glacier tour! This is not a truthful advertisement. I’ve travelled to many places and have never seen an excursion that either includes travel time, or was not truthful about their tour. The attitude and service is less than welcoming, basically telling that you either take it or leave it. When you are on the tour, they tell you can get a refund if you are not satisfied, just to keep you quiet. When you get back to the office, they just shut you off. You have no choice because the tour has ended and the money in their pocket.

Be smart and use your credit card, do not give cash. If anything happens, you can file for a claim with the credit card company. That’s my true advice to all...

A great but wet and windy experience…and grateful to have had the opportunity to learn more about the mighty Tasman glacier and see it up close from the lake. Initially our trip was postponed due to poor weather conditions. Fortunately we had some flexibility with our travel plans and were able to go 2 days later. The tour began with a 10 min bus ride to the Tasman lake during which a guide gave a briefing session and some of the highlights of the national park. This was followed by a short 20 min walk to the lake which may prove to be challenging for the very young, elderly or mobility challenged participants. Once we arrived at the shoreline we were provided with safety instructions and then divided into smaller groups of 8. Our guide and boat driver Kate provided great insight about the shrinking Tasman glacier as she skilfully navigated the boat around the lake in what was very windy conditions. Even though we brought our wet weather gear we still got wet/ for those considering going on the glacier boat ride do pack in full wet weather gear if you don’t want to get cold and wet. Due to the time of the year the lake was a chalky white from all the churning rock flour. I hoped we might see the ice calving but sadly it was not to be. But we did see a few icebergs of various sizes scattered across the lake. Overall it was a...