Sandpiper34 Posted February 5, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 5, 2013 I have been researching tours in Tauranga for our upcoming cruise in Nov. 2013. So far I have Cruise Tauranga and Jim Archer, both have very good reviews in cc and tripadvisor. I will like to hear from people that have use this tours. Thank you, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MargoK Posted February 5, 2013 #2 Share Posted February 5, 2013 You may like to read this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1771306 Although the opening poster is not happy, you will find this is a 'one off' and I have heard nothing but good reports. I haven't personally used his services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joetop2467 Posted February 6, 2013 #3 Share Posted February 6, 2013 We had a fabulous tour with Simon of Cruise Tauranga a week and a half ago while on the Celebrity Solstice. I highly recommend him. He is a former teacher and it shows. We saw so much and learned so much. He took time to point out plants along the path on the way to Okere Falls and throughout the tour. He pointed out things like the back of the silver fern and why it is called that. He also added this type of information at Kiwi360 about the growing of these amazing plants. In addition to TePuia we also stopped in town at a park with thermal areas right by houses and a hospital. It was a fabulous tour and we highly recommend him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare villauk Posted February 6, 2013 #4 Share Posted February 6, 2013 We had a fabulous tour with Simon of Cruise Tauranga a week and a half ago while on the Celebrity Solstice. I highly recommend him. He is a former teacher and it shows. We saw so much and learned so much. He took time to point out plants along the path on the way to Okere Falls and throughout the tour. He pointed out things like the back of the silver fern and why it is called that. He also added this type of information at Kiwi360 about the growing of these amazing plants. In addition to TePuia we also stopped in town at a park with thermal areas right by houses and a hospital. It was a fabulous tour and we highly recommend him. Agree, we used Cruise Tauranga and thoroughly enjoyed our tour. I've posted the link to my review which contains a detailed listing (including photos) of our itinerary ;). http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=36742072# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandpiper34 Posted February 7, 2013 Author #5 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Margok, joetop2467 and villauk: Many thanks for your recommendations. villauk - Beautiful pictures thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Syd Posted February 9, 2013 #6 Share Posted February 9, 2013 We arrived home two weeks ago. We did our tour with Jim Archer. He was great. He has a lot of local knowledge and he did not rush us, but kept us moving. He gave us a choice for lunch and we could do what we wanted to do. He told us so much. The tours and places they go are pretty much the same. I can highly recommend Jim. He does the tours himself and was great with the kids. Good luck, but book Jim, you will not be sorry. Jules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain48 Posted February 24, 2013 #7 Share Posted February 24, 2013 We have recently completed a Diamond Princess cruise from Sydney to Auckland and one of the highlights was our trip to Rotorua with Cruise Tauranga. We were really impressed with the knowledge that Michele (Simon's wife, who conducted our tour) had of the history of the area and also of wider New Zealand, and her knowledge of NZ flora and fauna was great. All of the tour was interesting and we felt that we got a lot more done in the day, than if we had hired a car and toured on our own. Which was our original intention. So we would strongly recommend Cruise Tauranga to anyone visiting Tauranga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl of VA Posted February 27, 2013 #8 Share Posted February 27, 2013 On Feb. 18th, we used Carlton Tours and they were GREAT. We had two vans. Drivers were Tim (he and his wife Jody bought the company from his father) and Les (not too sure about his name). They were prompt, drove us through the city sites,, yellow eyed penguin reserve, royal albatross rockery, had lunch at a great cafe on a lake with a paddle boat that was docked. Went by lots of areas that used geothermal heat, saw the public baths, lawn bowling games., Kiwi 360 where they grow kiwi and into the gift shop (loved the golden kiwi juice), Maori cultural center, saw the geyser erupting and so much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarians Posted February 27, 2013 #9 Share Posted February 27, 2013 On Feb. 18th, we used Carlton Tours and they were GREAT. We had two vans. Drivers were Tim (he and his wife Jody bought the company from his father) and Les (not too sure about his name). They were prompt, drove us through the city sites,, yellow eyed penguin reserve, royal albatross rockery, had lunch at a great cafe on a lake with a paddle boat that was docked. Went by lots of areas that used geothermal heat, saw the public baths, lawn bowling games., Kiwi 360 where they grow kiwi and into the gift shop (loved the golden kiwi juice), Maori cultural center, saw the geyser erupting and so much more. Kia ora, Fairy Springs in Rotorua is a good place to see various native birds and undertakes breeding programmes for birds such as the Kiwi but I wasn't aware that we had yellow eyed penguins or royal albatross this far inland. Are you sure you saw them in Rotorua during your visit from Tauranga? Aquarians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl of VA Posted February 27, 2013 #10 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Kia ora,Fairy Springs in Rotorua is a good place to see various native birds and undertakes breeding programmes for birds such as the Kiwi but I wasn't aware that we had yellow eyed penguins or royal albatross this far inland. Are you sure you saw them in Rotorua during your visit from Tauranga? Aquarians You are correct :0 Got my ports mixed up. Saw the animals in Dunedin. In Tauranga we did the Kiwi 360, went to the Maori Cultural Center, saw the geyser and mud pools, drove around town, saw lawn bowling, bathhouses, geothermal heating. Just got home last night and I think my brain is tired and on overload. Thanks for kindly pointing out my mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_kelowna Posted March 17, 2013 #11 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I would like to add my vote to the Jim Archer supporters. We went on a tour at Tauranga with Jim a couple of weeks ago and it was brilliant. He was a wonderful tour guide and highly recommend him. You will not be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted March 19, 2013 #12 Share Posted March 19, 2013 We had two different tours with Jim Archer in Taurangua and both were excellent. We did a back to back cruise, hence the two tours. One went to Rotorua and the other tour he specially designed to show us several of the towns south of the port. Each town was unique and gave us a great taste of the North Island and whetted our appetite to go back and see more of New Zealand. We also did a tour of Auckland with Jim which was excellent as well. Very comfortable van, easy to hear as he uses a microphone and very knowledgeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suncityga Posted March 29, 2013 #13 Share Posted March 29, 2013 We did their Classic Rotorua Tour Wai-O-Tapu and had a great time. We had 4 couples in our group and our first stop was the Lady Knox Geyser (this geyser erupts every morning at 10:15 with the help of a soap mixture). We then went to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland... an absolutely beautiful place. We have been fortunate to have visited Yellowstone and the Geyser fields in Iceland...and Wai-O-Tapu was amazing. We then visited Okere Falls and then went to Hamurana Springs Park... we really enjoyed this park with a beautiful clear spring with lots a wildlife and a long walk through the 'baby redwood forest' (only one hundred years old). After Hamurana Springs, we visited Kiwi 360 and then headed back to the pier with a sightseeing drive around some of the beaches in the area. Our driver/guide was very knowledgable and informative. Working with Simon via email prior to the tour was easy to do and it help us to 'customize' our tour. We would highly recommend Simon and Cruise Tauranga (Learning Journeys). :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anandaindonesia Posted March 31, 2013 #14 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Just off the Solstice earlier this month. We joined Simon of Learning Journeys/Cruise Tauranga fir Classic Rotorua Tour. Very knowledgable. Efficient timing. Enjoyable experience. Book online. His tour fills up fast. Enjoy your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BandK Posted May 25, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 25, 2013 We can highly recommend using Terry Kelliher of Custom Day Tours NZ (http://www.customdaytours.co.nz ) for a private tour operator in the Tauranga area. We were on the ms Oosterdam in March, and had emailed Jim Archer to arrange a tour. As he was fully booked, I asked him for the name of a reliable tour operator he could vouch for, and we couldn't have been more pleased to have made arrangements with Terry. He was quick to reply to all inquiries and details of the tour he could offer us, and even rescheduled the date booked when our cruise ship adjusted the order of the ports, despite it being Easter Sunday. We had a very small group , just 3 of us in a most comfortable vehicle, and he was very flexible with the order of the day, and couldn't have been more knowledgable about all local sights, customs, history, agriculture and so on.... just a wonderful guide to expand our knowledge of all things New Zealand! We did a comprehensive tour of Tauranga, including Rotorua and its geothermal activities, Maori cultural centre, lakes areas, redwood forest, kiwi plantation and so on. I believe he and his wife do many other tour itineraries as well, but we thoroughly enjoyed our day spent with this particular tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish guinness Posted January 5, 2014 #16 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Just off the Solstice earlier this month. We joined Simon of Learning Journeys/Cruise Tauranga fir Classic Rotorua Tour. Very knowledgable. Efficient timing. Enjoyable experience. Book online. His tour fills up fast. Enjoy your cruise. We took this tour with Simon Dec 24th and would have to agree will all said above, a very enjoyable experience, would recommend this tour to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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