Our guides were so sweet, amazing and fun. The tour itself was with a small group of people, 8 total. The tour was perfect and I wish we would have booked all our excursions with them!
Our guides were so sweet, amazing and fun. The tour itself was with a small group of people, 8 total. The tour was perfect and I wish we would have booked all our excursions with them!
Kia ora from Auckland and thank you so much for taking the time to give us your feedback. We always limit our small group tours to max 15 guests (with larger private groups also catered for on request), so our manuhiri (guests) get the chance to get to know our guides and experience a service that is perfectly tailored to their needs. Many of our tours are available as Auckland Shore Excursions from cruise ships. We are so glad to hear that we could make your day with us special and memorable!
Ka kite ano (see you again soon)! Ceillhe & Neill Sperath
Don't go with any other tour for a day trip. Why? I had 1 true day in Auckland to make the most of my education about New Zealand, following my having hiked the Milford Track on the South Island, over Christmas 2016. I had read the reviews on the TIME website, after googling them a month or two earlier. I was won over by the National Geographic Award of Excellence, and then by Ceillhe (she of Maori and Irish descent, pronounced K-lee), and her friendly emails reassuring me, I chose the Auckland Maori Full Day Luxury Tour, and it was worth MORE than every penny. Everything one OUGHT to know and OUGHT to see, including special exhibitions at The Auckland Museum for a taste of The Maori Portraits (more to be seen at The Auckland Art Gallery), was on the agenda. We left the downtown and went to the Waitakere Range Park, looked back at the City, examined flora and fauna, learned about Maori culture, swung over to Piha beach along the Wild West Coast and saw Lion's Rock, where a scene from "The Piano" was filmed. We even had a tailgate tasting of various NZ foods, drinks, candies, honeys, etc. at the beach! We also had a relaxing proper big lunch in Devonport right across from the water, we got to see the Parnell rose gardens... Plus, when coming back into the City, she brought us past and explained the entire waterfront development and all its sections, so I knew I could go back there efficiently. I could go on and on about that incredible day. But the best thing was that there were only 4 of us -- a family of 3 and me. Intimate, informative, and totally flexible! Ceillhe, herself, was our guide and driver, and she co-owns the company. She had been in management consulting before, and is BRILLIANT as far as conveying what one should know, in a manner that brought everyone into the conversation, and caused them to CARE about the Maori way of life, traditions, manner. Especially at The Museum, where she could speak to the Maori culture from personal experience, as we looked into the Maori house structure and at the longest canoe anyone has ever seen, and the MAP of where Maori arrived to NZ from and when. I took so many photos including videos of her speaking Maori, loving the sound of the language, and those are my true treasures. Ceillhe is lovely, the Tour was brilliant, and I can't recommend this Tour and this tour company enough! I am truly grateful. PS. I wanted to tip Ceillhe when she dropped me at my hotel downtown after, but I was so thrown and thrilled by her taking me in for a traditional Maori Head-Nose 'kiss' of breath that I totally forgot. What a brilliant parting, to give me a taste of that tradition. I hope this Review more than makes up for it.
We were delighted to see your thorough and amazing review on your experience with us, so thank you so much for taking the time to write it! Your lovely feedback is our greatest reward and this is why we love what we do. Every single member of our team at TIME Unlimited Tours is passionate about what we show and teach you on our tours and we are incredibly happy that you could see the difference to other ‘regular’ tours. Glad you also liked the Kiwi snacks, aren’t they too good not to share?
All the best to you,
Ceillhe & Neill Sperath
We booked a tour of Waitomo Glow Worm Caves and Hobbiton. Lauren picked us up from our hotel in Auckland right on time. She was very gracious and informative. We had a great day learning about the areas we visited and traveled through. Excellent lunch in between tours. Really, really enjoyed our day with Lauren she was so easy to talk with and get to know. We will definitely use them again on our next trip to Auckland. And Lauren got us all addicted to Pineapple Lumps!!
Thank you for your kind comment regarding our Hobbiton & Waitomo Tour! Your satisfaction always is our number one priority, which is why being on TIME goes without saying! It’s so great to hear that we could share our passion of this country and its foods with you. We are already looking forward to seeing you again on one of our tours in the future!
All the best, Neill Sperath
We had a full day family tour out to Coromandel with Romy. Hot water beach and Cathedral Cove-It was the BEST tour experience ever! He picked us up in a new clean van complete with drinks and snacks, brought new Zealand foods for us to try, even a honey tasting.
He was very flexible with dropping off the rental car, running late, feeding teenagers every few hours etc...Romy is a geologist as well as an expert on all things NZ- wish he would have had him with us for the whole trip!
A big thank you to you for leaving us this great review. We are so glad you enjoyed your time in the Coromandel with Romy! We take great pride in our beautiful range of Mercedes vehicles as well as our exceptional guides. We like to take best care of our guest during their time with us, so you don’t lack anything you need. Thanks again!
Ceillhe & Neill Sperath
A lovely day with black sand beaches, waterfalls and lots of coastline. Lunch was in Devonport, overlooking the bay, with excellent food and company.
Thank you so much for letting us know that you enjoyed your tour! We strive to deliver premium service on every tour to all our manuhiri (guests) and we were delighted to see that obviously you liked it so much.
Ceillhe & Neill Sperath
Great tour with very knowledgeable guides. Sofia and Linda made the tour so much fun. The sights we were shown were very interesting. I would have liked more time at the museum but all in all in was a worthwhile trip which I would take again.
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. We pick the sights for all our tours including our Auckland Maori Tours very carefully. As there is so much to see here in Auckland the time in the museum can only be limited so we can make sure you do not miss out on all the other amazing sights. However, we are always equipped with a degree of flexibility, so do not hesitate letting our guides know what your personal wishes are and we will do our best to integrate them in our plan. Of course on a small group tour there are others to consider but we do very much also offer an extensive range of Private Tours, including Private Auckland Maori Tours.
Thanks again, Ceillhe Sperath