Active Adventures Reviews 602

I've done two trips with Active now - their Rimu in New Zealand and the Tour du Mont Blanc in Europe. Both were wonderful. The Active guides are knowledgeable, friendly and genuinely enjoy what they do. They deal with unforeseen circumstances calmly and always have a Plan B (and C and D) just in case. I'm now saving up for a third trip with Active...

This was my first trip to New Zealand, and my second with Active Adventures (I had previously traveled with them to Peru in October 2017). As a frequent solo traveler, I am always looking for a great adventure where I can meet other like minded travelers from around the globe. But I also always want to ensure my safety. With Active Adventures, on both occasions I felt that they went above and beyond to provide this experience! Their tour guides are all extremely knowledgeable, friendly, outgoing, flexible, and willing to work with people of all abilities. The groups have been small compared to other companies that host similar types of adventures, ensuring a more catered experience. The food and accommodations have been above and beyond my expectations. The booking, pre-trip and post-trip communications with their headquarters have all been way above par. In addition, as a solo traveler, there is no forced single room supplement. I even plan on booking a third trip with Active Adventures in 2019! I would recommend this company to anyone looking for a trusted tour company for their next adventure :)

Very knowledgeable guides including local guides. Guides are very flexible to meet individual needs, wishes. Active means active, Food and accommodations iare always great.

Active Adventures is now my go to for outdoor adventures! Having recently completed a 19 day trek to Mt Everest Base Camp with Active, I can vouch that the professionalism, experience, knowledge, and attention to detail are amazing! The energetic, friendly guides made the entire trip a wonderful experience and left me free to enjoy the sights, experiences and company. At no point was I disappointed and I will definitely use Active again in the future. I witnessed the level of service that other clients received from different companies on the same trek and it does not compare with Active!

Our Active Adventures trip to New Zealand North Island exceeded expectation! The hiking was spectacular and definitely challenging enough for seasoned hikers.The variety in the itinerary meant everyday held another adventure. Our guides were organized and knowledgeable and also tons of fun. Will definitely travel with Active Adventures again :)

This tour was one of the best vacations of our life! We spend two weeks on the South Island of New Zealand. My husband and I are seasoned travelers and generally dislike tours. We have chosen to take an organized tour when it was necessary due to logistics, or significant language barriers—so we are picky about tour companies! We were impressed with Active adventures from the moment we signed up. The communication in the planning phase was consistent and clear. They answered all questions we had. Our trip profile data form (we filled this out on line) was simple and helped us understand the nature of the trip and allowed us to enter our physical abilities. They even helped us secure extra hotel days before and after the trip. Once the trip began, it was organized and run efficiently. The leaders were fun, approachable, and planned and organized activities so that everything ran smoothly. They did an absolutely superb job. They took weather changes and the group dynamics into considerations and made necessary adjustements on the fly, interacted with the group to keep us informed and generally made the trip go extremely smooth. Nothing phased our leaders, not weather mishaps, tunnel closures, and sideways rain! They always had a plan and executed it perfectly. They fed us fantastically and they had dinner prepared for breakfast lunch and dinner. They were pleasant and interacted with us easily and became part of our group. They resolved minor disturbances with ease and met everyone’s needs. I honestly was so impressed with the company, the trip and the guides. The activities were all fun, selected approparitely and matched the descriptions in the trip overview. This was a tremendous experience and I would highly recommend this trip and this company for anyone who is Active! Ruby and Nick were highly seasoned fantastic guides!

Active Adventures is a wonderful company to take an active tour with. They went out of their way to ensure that we had an exceptional time on our Himalayan hiking trip around Mt. Everest in Nepal. Everyone that we dealt with from beginning to end was super and the information provided was excellent. The daily itinerary was well thought out and the accommodations were very comfortable considering our remote locations. The meals were all excellent and menus provided a lot of variety to choose from. The guides were exceptional and health and safety were top priorities for this high altitude mountain hiking trip. The Active Adventures tour was very well planned with the goal to make sure that we really did have the 'trip of a lifetime'. I highly recommend this Adventure company!

My Kauri trip on the north island of New Zealand was far beyond my expectations. I don’t normally travel with groups but I joined this one because I wanted to get outside the cities and see some of the more remote spots on the island, I made the right decision! We saw some of the most beautiful spots I’ve seen anywhere in the world. We combined moderate and challenging hikes as well as mixing in activities like mountain biking, kayaking and tubing through a cave full of glow worms. There was plenty of time on the bus rides between locations to hear fascinating talks from our guides about the history, culture, geology and botany of the regions we passed through. The guides were not only knowledgeable and patient, they also were ready to offer options at any point, and they served up some awesome food. The accommodations were rustic yet very nice, and mostly in very scenic spots. The other guests were fascinating people with a wealth of different experiences to share. I would not hesitate to recommend this or any other trip with Active Adventures. Worth every penny and then some!

I’ve travelled with four companies since I retired. Active Adventures is the absolute tops. The groups are always small (12 or less) and have the most knowledgeable and personable guides. Their trips always include inviting off the beaten track adventures. I’ve been on four of their trips and am planning on a few more.

The Active Adventures Kiwi Trip provides a comprehensive two-week exploration throughout New Zealand's South Island. My wife and I are in our mid-60s and wanted a vacation that would provide outdoor opportunities for modest exercise and exposure to all the breath-taking South Island geography. The Kiwi Tour satisfied those requirements perfectly. Active Adventures staff provide an excellent web site with planning information and are easy to communicate with from the U.S. My wife and I wanted to "front load" the Kiwi Trip with five days in Australia, and Active Adventures assisted us with a travel agent who facilitated our airline reservations needed to get from Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand. Active Adventures provides recommended packing lists, maps, and other planning information that helped us properly prepare for the various planned daily activities. Throughout the two-week Trip, we enjoyed the services of two dedicated tour guides who led us, coached us, cooked for us, amused us, and encouraged us. They drove us around the Island in a modern, comfortable bus, ensuring we had lots of time to take pictures and explore interesting sites. While the Kiwi Tour is structured to visit certain sites and keep to a timely schedule, the tour guides are experienced and flexible enough to orchestrate agenda changes when weather or other circumstances dictate, all the while keeping us occupied and engaged. The Kiwi Trip depends on different lodging locations around the Island, and we were consistently pleased with the comfort and suitability of our lodging throughout the two weeks. The hiking excursions were varied, challenging and interesting -- we thoroughly enjoyed seeing and experiencing all of the outdoor wonders New Zealand has to offer. I highly recommend the Active Adventures company and, if you're my age, the Kiwi Trip excursion!

We had a wonderful vacation (in October, 2018) with Active Adventures to New Zealand's South Island (Explorer Kiwi tour)! The staff, from start to finish, was very easy to work with and helped us plan every step of the way. We were traveling with another couple and we able book flights to travel together, also with help from the Active Adventures staff. It was just the right amount of activity each day, tailored to our needs if necessary. The small group experience with two additional couples was excellent. Our tour guides, Maddi and Jackie, went above and beyond what we could have expected! We were well informed from day to day on the activities, times to eat, times to meet and what to wear. Meals and acommodations were also wonderful! We simply can't say enough good things about our trip and we've already shared the information with many friends. Thank you, Active Adventures Team!! We hope to travel with you again in the future!

Active Adventures is superlative in terms of a well-balanced itinerary between trekking, biking, spa and cultural activities for their Jaguar trip to Peru. They provided a professional and informative website (#hours hiking/day, elevation gain/descent, weather, packing list, plus pictures of our charming local hotels--not 50 TV channels, but great views). The food they provided in local restaurants, an authentic jungle eco-lodge and camping (including a birthday cake on the trail) was marvelous. Gustavo our guide retrieved my late baggage the day after arrival at 4:00am, feted my daughter and son-in-law with flowers and chocolates on their anniversary, took him to the clinic then hospital with severe food poisoning, then provided a helpful arm on the descent of the last two days of trekking. Plus he arranged for next day laundry service. i have traveled over 50 countries and used a half dozen tour operators, but Active Adventures easily outperformed all of them.

There is no better way to see New Zealand than with Active Adventures. We had a marvelous time, from the activities, to the guides, to the sight and sounds of New Zealand, all were combined to make our experience a lifetime of memories. The staff and guides were friendly, helpful and accommodating. If you like a little adventure, this is the way to go!

Easy to book. Very helpful and informative before the trip. Fantastic epic tours that help you experience the real country. The tour is well organised but what makes it super great are their tour guides. Just excellent in every way. I can’t recommend Active Adventures highly enough. Get it booked ... it seems expensive at first but it is worth every penny!

Active Adventures does everything very well from the beginning when you start to look at trip options to the end of the epic adventure .
The New Zealand South Island trip was full of wonderful hiking, biking and kayaking, outstanding scenery, and good food too! They really take care of you !

Well organized with well trained guides. Small groups so little waiting time for stragglers. The Tour de Mont Blanc however is not for occasional hikers as the fitness level required is higher than indicated. Lots of up and down! However, spectacular views make up for all the hard work.

In October, my husband and i participated in Active Adventures Kauri Tour of the North Island of New Zealand and the Tui Tour of the South Island. The four guides Liana and Maddi on the Kauri tour and Caitlin and Tess on the Tui tour) who led our tours were knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. As an inexperienced hiker, Liana and Maddi helped me learn to use my equipment and supported me when I felt challenged. They were so encouraging. I can't say enough positive things about our guides.
Our accommodations were also of high quality. We stayed at the Copthorne Resort on the beach, the Creel Lodge along the Tongariro River, the Paradise Resort on a hill overlooking Poor Knight Islands; all were situated in beautiful locations, were very clean and nicely furnished. Lots of hot water and very comfortable beds. Every place we stayed was wonderful.
Many of our meals were cooked by Maddi or Tessa and Caitlin and were delicious and nutritious. When we at in a restaurant, the food was amazing. We ate lamb, beautiful tender steaks and fish. Lunches were picnics and were never just plain old sandwiches. We had meat pie and a variety of hearty salads. Desserts were yummy. The guides made sure they knew our preferences and catered to them. We were very well fed.
The activities on the Kauri and Tui tours were diverse to say the least. We were physically active from three to six hours a day, usually six. We snorkeled at the Poor Knight Islands, sea kayaked at Milford Sound and rode mountain bikes along lakes. The hiking gave us a sampling of three of the Great Walks of New Zealand. We hiked on Cape Brett and went on many shorter hikes. We rode "sleds" down sand dunes at the Bay of the Islands. The Siberian Valley hike was very memorable. We did not see all of New Zealand, but we saw much of it very intimately which was the whole point of choosing an Active Tour. We also saw lots of birds and the diverse plant life of New Zealand up close and personal! All the activities are planned to be accessible to a variety of fitness levels and the guides were very supportive.
Active Adventures does a magnificent job of showcasing New Zealand. They choose the best guides, feed you the best quality food and you stay in the best accommodations. Everything is organized to give their clients the best experience of their lives.

Active Adventures was such a great company on the Annapurna Base Camp Trek in 2017, that I returned the following year to complete the Mustang Trek into the Tibetian region of Nepal with the same company. I highly recommend Active. The trekker gets 150% of what you pay for. The guides treat you like family, referring to the group as "Team." Both years, I felt totally immersed into the culture of Nepal and Tibet. You can't go wrong.

When you want the peace of mind that everything will be in place and double checked to insure a great experience, Active Adventures would be a "no-brainer" choice in my estimation. Having experienced this company, their extremely knowledgeable guides, their quick response to any questions or needs prior to, or during the hikes, there was never a hesitation or excuse. Their follow-up is right on spot also. Professional, affable and accessible is what you get should you decide to pack up and head out to explore with Active Adventures.

I've done 2 trips with Active: New Zealand Winter Rimu and Himalaya Mustang. Both were among the top vacations of my life. What I love about Active is that the experiences are so unique and out of the way, infused with local flavors and culture. The "active" parts of the trips are challenging, but doable. Guides have been outstanding, especially in their knowledge of the specific areas. Trips are not designed for luxury, but for an authentic outdoor experience of the region. That is a big plus in my opinion. Group size is small (less than 10 on each of my trips). I highly recommend the Mustang trip. It is strenuous, but was a life changing experience for me.