What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Great full-day tour!

  hazelrabbit,,Jan 7, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Enjoyed this all-day trip that included 8 locations, half which consisted of 45-60 minute stops/walks and half which were a literal 5-10 minute stop to see the location, hear about its historical significance and take a few photos, and then get back on the van to the next spot. 3 highlights included walking amongst the Castle Hill limestone boulders, a sacred site in Maori legend, the Devil’s Punchbowl, which is a 400-step climb to a beautiful waterfall. (There is a bridge to cross before the steps and allows for great views and photo opps.) We made it up about 100 steps and returned to the village to grab beverages and see the cheeky Kea birds. The third highlight – the transalpine train ride – is the final leg of the tour. We were very excited to experience the ride and views, but keep in mind it’s a slow-moving train. While it allows for good sightseeing (there is also one car that has open viewing for picture-taking), at that point we had been sightseeing and van riding for about 7 hours, and the slow-moving train made me nod off a couple times. Other good points were the small group number and the guide who was knowledgeable and respectful of the country’s history. For the price of the tour, one low point was the box lunch, which was half a sandwich, chips, and a dry scone and dry brownie, although eating lunch on the beach was great. Would do the trip again.

  

  

  

  

• Wonderful and beautiful day!!

  Jill P,,Jan 7, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Joseph was a great guide! We loved all of the stops along the way. The scenery was beautiful and we learned a lot about New Zealand. It was nice to have some active stops where we got to walk around. Great energy and caring from our guide

• Awesome Experience

  Nagendra V,,Dec 30, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Excellent experience; a soft-spoken, knowledgeable guide. Comfortable coach and unforgettable return journey on the transAlpine Train.

• Arthur’s Pass and Back

  Ges W,,Dec 29, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Fantastic experience with an incredibly knowledgeable and friendly guide. The jet boating is a must!

• Half Great, Half Disappointing

  Charlotte M,,Dec 28, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  3.00

  I really loved parts of this tour, but was fairly disappointed by others. The good: Castle Hill was a stunning hike through large rock formations - I wish we had more time there because I could’ve spent hours, but the hour we got was long enough to eat and walk around for a bit at least. The Devil’s Punchbowl hike on Arthur’s Pass was great. Loooots of stairs, but we made it with time to spare to pop into the cafe during our 75-minute stop on the pass. The TransAlpine ride was beautiful and peaceful. I would take that train again any day. The disappointing: We didn’t stop at either lake on the itinerary, or even have them pointed out that I can recall. I had been looking forward to those photo opportunities so that was unfortunate. The jet boat stop was overly long. For groups that don’t want to ride the jet boats, there was a lot of milling around, though feeding and petting the sheep was fun. I think it would make a lot more sense if there were separate bookings of this day trip that included the jet boat rides with a longer stop, and ones that just made a quick stop to see the river and sheep and then had time to stop at the other viewpoints along the way. Our tour guide, Zach, was unfortunately not good. He stated right from the time we got in the van that he wouldn’t be giving commentary as we drove, and he stayed true to that. It felt like a personal choice for him not to talk though, as every other tour we’ve had in NZ has been extremely lively with lots of information throughout the drives. All day he made it seem like a job he wasn’t enjoying. There was a lot of confusion when it came to getting on the train as well. He didn’t have our tickets or tell us where to pick them up, so we ended up sitting in someone else’s seat when we first boarded and had to seek out the train crew to figure out where we were supposed to go. Thankfully they were very helpful and helped us find our seats, but I think since the train tickets are part of this tour that it should’ve been a much easier and clearer process. Overall, the things we did do on the tour were really great, and in fact my husband said it might have been his favorite day in NZ for all of the time we got to spend in the mountains. But as a whole and in comparison to other tours we’ve taken, it was disappointing for everything we didn’t get out of it. Having a guide with more motivation to make it fun and informative would’ve helped a ton, but you can’t go wrong with the sites you’ll see.

• Surprise Mountain Tour

  Wayne,,Dec 26, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  4.00

  1. Bus up to Arthurs Pass; Alpine Express return to ChCh 2. Chance for ab fab Jetboat Experience 3. Informative & entertaining commentary

• The weather the day we went was perfect. A wonderful time was had by all. A relaxing train trip back topped off the day.

  joannemC3715SP,,Dec 23, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  From pick up to drop off the whole day was well organised. The tour guide was friendly, funny and knowledgeable. The views were magnificent.

• Great train journey

  Vipin R,,Dec 20, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Great experince in one of the best train travels I have done , the cafe on board serves as a bonus , large clear windows help one to see all the beauty without any obstruction

• Well worth the trip

  Tiarni P,,Dec 14, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Joseph our guide was fantastic. Informative, funny, friendly and accommodating to all guests. Scenery was beautiful

• Wonderful tour!

  Ronald S,,Dec 11, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Very knowledgeable guide. Great tour! It was a long day but saw some fantastic scenery. I truly recommend it!

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