South Pacific Travel Agents & Reviews

Zicasso’s tour company did a wonderful job of scheduling activities we enjoy. All of the guides were very prompt in picking us up, quite knowledgeable, and fun to talk to. The accommodations were very nice and conveniently located to various points of interest. The travel rep we dealt with did a great job setting up our flights and providing us with links to documents we had to complete prior to entry into NZ.

We had an escorted tour to New Zealand with a big tour company, but wanted to add on a few days at the end without the tour company. So I contacted Zicasso, who we have used for African safaris. They set us up with our trip planners. From half a world away, I could have booked the three hotels and rental car myself, but I wanted the expertise and back-up of somebody right there in New Zealand in case of problems. And I am glad we did. Our agent was always available by phone or email to answer questions. We picked up the rental car at Queenstown airport, then had two nights at Mount Cook Village, with spectacular vistas of the Southern Alps, then two nights at Wānaka, another of the scenic spots of the South Island. We met our agent at the tour office on our way out of town. Then, the last night was in Queenstown.

The trouble started the next afternoon while waiting for our flight home from Queenstown airport. All flights were canceled that afternoon due to heavy wind shear. They booked us for the next day. Hundreds of people were scrambling to get hotel rooms, like we were. We just could not find anything on our own and were thinking we would have to sleep in the bushes, since the airport closed at night. But then I called our agent and, within a few minutes, she had us booked in one of the last available rooms in Queenstown. This is what I meant by “back-up in case of problems.” I am very glad we went with Zicasso’s tour company and will use them if we go back to New Zealand.

We’ve recently returned from a custom trip to Australia and New Zealand, developed meticulously with the regional expertise and thoughtful planning of Zicasso's travel agency. Every detail, from outstanding and well-placed lodging in our bucket-list locales to partnering with local, conscientious, and professional transport and guide companies, made for a stress-free travel experience. This allowed us to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery and travel experiences. A key to this happy match was the owner's insightful inquiries and listening skills to draw out our wishes and interests. We would highly, highly, recommend our travel company to other appreciative travelers to New Zealand and Australia; we only wish there was a counterpart travel agency like this one to help us travel well in other parts of the world.

My wife and I have traveled through most of the United States and Asia, a bit of Europe, and many other places. Traveling is our love and addiction. We often put together trips ourselves, but for Australia/New Zealand, we needed an expert in the area to help us.

We started by first looking at some tour companies (our cousins used one to go to the same destination.), but none had some of the things we wanted and my wife needed a few accommodations. We found four firms online that specialized in this area and drew our interest. We emailed, asking for quotes. Two called and we spoke to the agents, outlining our requests. Our agent responded to my query on Zicasso and my wife let her know (via email and then on the phone) what we needed. She listened and provided a quote with the items and times we had requested, at a reasonable price. So she was our top pick and we began to work together to cull the best items for the trip. We never paid a fee until we were ready to book the tour.

My wife and I worked with our agent and she was amazing. We got the cities we wanted, in the order we wanted, and with a few special accommodations. For example, with my wife's recent knee surgery and my impending knee replacement, we couldn't climb the 300 steps at the Sydney Opera House, so she booked us an accessible tour. Mostly, my wife wanted tours that started at 10am or later. She did have to give in to early times in a few instances because they were not avoidable. We even had a specific order to the cities we visited because we wanted to end the trip in Auckland, New Zealand, where we planned to meet a friend we hadn't seen in more than 30 years.

Suffice it to say that we exchanged tons (hundreds? :-)) of emails with our agent from May through the end of the trip in October. My wife even emailed her at least three or four times while on the 19-day trip and always got an immediate response (if the timing was right with the 15- to 17-hour difference). As a former assistant travel editor for a major daily newspaper, my wife may be more particular than most people and harder to please. Our agent was patient, detailed, and offered stellar service.

PS: The travel app was incredible. It provided every detail at our fingertips for the entire trip, along with reminders.

Our Zicasso agent was amazing! From the beginning to the very end, she helped me plan the perfect honeymoon, whether it was finding where to go, finding the flights, and finding the best activities. She has experience and knows what she is talking about, so when she makes a recommendation, 9/10 you should listen. She recommended great restaurants and activities, and was able to provide transfers wherever I needed to go. My wife and I felt safe and comfortable when traveling the streets of Mo’orea and Tahiti.

Overall, our travel agency was great and our agent was amazing to work with. We missed our first flight and she helped me find a new one. I highly recommend working with them for any travel experience. You will not regret it! I will definitely be planning my next adventure with her.

Our Zicasso travel agent and his company mapped out a great trip to New Zealand and Australia for us. Frankly, it exceeded our high expectations. We told our agent when we wanted to go, what we wanted to see and do, and how much we had budgeted. He got it all done – flights, hotels, ground transportation, and activities – and for less than our budget.

We had only one hiccup on the trip itself, involving a flight mix-up, and that was resolved quickly. Everything else, and it was a four-week trip, went off without a hitch. The accommodations were an eclectic mix of boutique hotels, resort stays, and downtown hotels, but all were four- or five-star. The activities ranged from train rides to cruises to wine-tasting tours to visits to world heritage sites. In short, the trip of a lifetime.

We planned a 30-day trip to Australia in September 2024. Overall, most everything was excellent. We felt Zicasso’s travel agent really listened to what we wanted and made excellent suggestions during the planning process. We had a couple of small issues which were quickly resolved. We used a travel app, which was an excellent reference for trip details, even offline. There was a bug that showed an old version of the itinerary in one view, so we had to be careful to use the right view.

The choice and location of hotels was excellent. The hotels were nice and always in an area with restaurants, shops, and things to see. Breakfast was always included, which was important as our tours often started early.

The transportation was well coordinated, both flights and ground transportation. We were picked up and dropped off on time. The flights were at reasonable times, but with a block of downtime before or after the flight, which was important for doing laundry.

The tours (some small groups and some private) were well chosen. Knowing what we know now, we might have skipped a few tours.

The thing we did not like was that our visit to Melbourne was in the middle of the footie grand final. We should have been told of this conflict so we could have avoided it. (It was like being in Miami during Super Bowl weekend.)

New Zealand and its people were spectacular, as was our trip. We felt well taken care of by Zicasso’s travel agent. He was very responsive to inquiries before and during the trip. Kudos to him for his counsel prior to the trip, advising us to spend time exploring areas like The Catlins. Overall, our expectations were exceeded.