Tuatara Tours NZ Limited — Local services in Christchurch

I have done 3 unforgettable cycle tours with Tuatara Tours (Otago Rail Trail, November 2020, Queenstown Cycle Trail mid January 2021, West Coast Wilderness Trail early April 2021) as well as the 5 day Abel Tasman Walk late January 2021. Tuatara Tours is an amazing Christchurch owned and based company with a dedicated, friendly and extremely professional team from management and tour organization to the knowledgeable, skilled and very helpful guides. The whole team does the maximum to ensure guests have an exceptional experience in some of New Zealand's most beautiful regions. Thanks very much Tuatara, I'll be back and highly recommend others discover our magnificent country with you.

Thanks Tuatara for another two incredible cycle tours: Alps2Ocean in December 2021 and the Tasman Great Taste and Golden Bay Explorer which I have just completed. As always , the organization was excellent and accommodation, food and support top class. We cycled through beautiful countryside and along the magnificent coast and learnt a lot about the areas we went through. The guides were always professional, helpful and supportive ensuring we all had a great time. I have learnt a lot about New Zealand and had fantastic times thanks to my Tuatara cycling tours. I totally recommend Tuatara Tours to anyone wanting to discover more of our...

If you want any kind of luxury don’t book on the Affinity boat through Tuatara Tours. We received paperwork describing the conditions but they were completely different to what we imagined. We had boiled cabbage or some other over cooked vegetable with our meat every night and no fish at all. My vegetarian friend got over cooked rissoles each night . We had to shower in the toilet with a hose and share with men although it’s advertised as separate facilities. There is no space in the cabins so don’t take luggage if you can avoid it. We tried to pursue our complaint to Tuatara Tours with whom we booked but just found them defensive and ignored us after offering $250 credit to use with them ....as if . I suggest they be completely honest about what is being offered as we both felt entirely mislead from the information they provided. For $350 a night we could have stayed in a lodge with a decent shower and bed. It was so disappointing as we had waited a long time for this trip and thought being on the boat would have been so enjoyable . Hamish made us feel our expectations were too high but there was no value for money. We felt there was no acknowledgement of...

Overall I had a very disappointing experience with Tuatara.

The good: the guide Cat was amazing, incredible human being. The food was amazing and the scenery was as beautiful as I expected.

The bad: The group consisted of all ebikes except for me on a regular bike. This Did. Not. Work. The pace was set for the ebikes, which meant I missed breaks and didn't have the opportunity to stop and enjoy the scenery. The difference in pace also caused some tension in the group which made for an uncomfortable 4 days.

I had been worried about my fitness level to complete the ride prior to booking and had been in contact with the office. They reassured me with information that turned out to be false.

The ugly: I spent time writing in detail about my experience on the feedback form, including some details I have left out here. I had been expecting an email or phone call follow up given what I had written. I didn't hear from them at all until 3 weeks after the trip, when they sent me an invoice for some additional charges that had never been discussed or agreed.

The trip overall was disappointing, and the response afterwards has...