Active Adventures

Just returned from a Tui trip last month and it was AWESOME! Our fantastic guides, James and Maya, took care of everything to make our trip comfortable, safe, and tasty (Maya's pavlova was delicious!). They encouraged this 59 year old novice hiker up and down the mountains, and were so much fun to be around. We really enjoyed talking with these two and hearing about life in NZ. When our camera didn't work, James stepped in and took a bunch of excellent pictures for us which he promptly shared.With Active Adventures, it's all of the fine details that make them an exemplary company to deal with: from the friendly office staff who provide thorough preparation information, travel assistance, helpful advice about anything and everything I asked, to the trip itself with great guides who took us through the week with every detail taken care of, and, of course, the most amazing scenery. New Zealand is truly one of the most beautiful places we have been. Getting to know and enjoy our fellow Tui adventurers, Alexander and Erica from Italy and Jennie from Alaska, made the trip even better.Note: if you haven't done a lot of hiking (like me), read their advice on getting ready for the trip! I should have done more hiking and some mountain biking to prepare.

My first experience with Active began with an Everest Base Camp trek in 2017. The experience was favorable enough for me to book two adventures with them for March and April of 2023. All aspects of Active’s performance was unfavorable. Perhaps the reason was a merger with Austin Adventures, but here is a summary of negative experiences (with many left out):*I was initially offered two $500 credit, one for each trip, during a sale. When the invoice was finally prepared they claimed it could be used for just one of the treks.*Due to the merger they were having difficulties with the travel wallet. I called seeking help. The man that answered denied any system problems and suggested that I get some help from some younger people in the household. Later that evening I talked to another rep who confessed that there were serious system problems going on and encouraged me to keep trying.*After confirming my trips and hounding me for final payment, they called me a day before Christmas to ask me if I could start the first trek a day early. I said no, but they did otherwise and forced me to change a lot of plans that had already been inked. In my discussions with the representative he called me a Fool three times for not buying travel insurance to cover me from such things. Active blamed the host country, Bhutan, (a fictional holiday) and airlines for the change. The reality I learned was Active combining two tours into a larger group.*My son who joined me on the first Trek did not have his promised airport transfer nor did I upon arriving at the Kathmandu Airport.*Our initial hotel reservation was botched. Another guest on the Trek was assigned to our room.*Our otherwise experience guide had no Bhutan experience and unfortunately kept us in the dark on important details.*Because of the merged trips the backend of the Bhutan trip was also changed which impacted our plans between trips. I had to scramble for weekend hotel accommodations in Kathmandu.*The next trek, Annapurna Base Camp, resulted in many more unpleasantries. Though I had paid,as did my brother in law who joined me for a single supplement, the three males on the trip, were required to share tight accommodations when there was no shortage of rooms in the tea houses. After the two other men were evacuated due to illness, I was forced to share a room with the two female guides.*One of the guides was on the trek to learn the Annapurna Trek. Up front she made it clear she was there only to experience the trek like a guest. Even when there was an emergency situation (which caused the evacuation of two) she refused to take charge.*A Tea House served us spoiled food that caused illness in everyone except the local guide and porters and the non working guide. By the way the non working guide was always first to grab the limited menus at the Tea Houses.*The lead Trek leader did not manage our time well. For instance, on layering or removing layering stops, she frequently picked a spot that was not accommodating. Worse when rain was imminent I stopped to put on my rain gear. She made the entire party stop to wait for me. When everyone was slightly wet she stopped again for everyone to put on rain gear.*After the two other men left I was the only one of my gender on the trek. At breaks I would indicate that I would catch up. She was obsessed with herding us like cattle. I really do not like to state to other adults that I need to pee.*On the evaluations I stated that senior management should correspond with me. I ultimately received an e mail. It was not apologetic, but I was thanked for my honesty.I must say that the local Nepal guide was exceptional as were all the porters. I learned that they are generally not captive to Active and serve as sub contractors. My two take always: Try to go direct for Bhutan and Nepal guide services. Make sure you are not dealing with a broker or middleman for the activity. My second take away is that if you had a favorable experience with Active A in the past it will not be repeated.

My Rimu trip of December, 2015 exceeded all of my expectations. New Zealand is truly a magical place to visit and seeing and experiencing it with Active Adventures made it a trip of a lifetime for me. Our guides (and driver and cook) Vanessa and Tess were part parent and part coach who saw to every detail, pushing me to accomplish every aspect of the trip in great humor. Coming from someone who loves and lives for the outdoors, I can't say enough great things about Active Adventures.

I had a Fantastic time on my Active Adventure New Zealand trip! Perfect way to travel as a single women I thought.. Everything was organized and I felt at ease knowing I was taken care of...I feel as though I was able to see all the best sights in New Zealand and LOVED the hiking that we did every day.. Our guides Dave and Amanda were amazing guides and I had a wonderful group of other people to travel with as well.. I would definitely consider booking another trip like this again... Only a few small things I would change.. Definitely more time hiking, less time eating! Although that was fun as well...Aloha from Kauai

I want to take a minute to rave about my experiences with Active Adventures. It's been a few years since I traveled with them. I went to New Zealand on their tours of the South and North islands and the following year I traveled to Patagonia. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful, and the guides are amazing, especially our bilingula guide Cynthia in South America. We went on some unforgettable hikes and adventures. Most of my traveling companions were great people. The food was good and the staff did everything to accommodate our needs. I was happy with the places we stayed - not fancy but just what we needed. As a single traveler, I appreciated that they did not charge a single supplement but found me roommates. I look forward to returning to both New Zealand and South America and hope to travel with Active again. I have recommended them to friends and would encourage anyone wanting to get outdoors in the areas where they travel to sign up now!

I had an amazing trip in New Zealand with AA years ago. I enjoyed it so much that I signed up and paid for the Tour de Mont Blanc trip for 2020, then unfortunately Covid happened and I had to postpone my trip to July, 2023. Just when I thought everything was finally in order, I got a surprising call from AA that my trip had been cancelled. They asked me to switch dates. I had to scramble and search for flights on the new days. After 4 hours of stress, I managed change my flights but unfortunately the new routes would be 20+ hours more airtime and via 2 more stops in cities that I don't want to go to. At first, AA was courteous enough to say they'd offer some goodwill credit in case I need to rebook a return flight. After I updated them that I was able to get alternative flight, although much longer and inconvenient flights with no extra costs, they became very unreasonable. I asked them if they could redirect their goodwill credit to cover my hotel costs as my previous plan to stay with my friend in Paris are no longer good, given the change of dates. Sam from AA sent me an extremely long and nasty email. I do not know what happened to this company. The people who took care of my case are definitely not friendly, to say the least. I'll still go ahead with my trip as I have paid for everything. But I would warn folks about the impact of cancelled trips as the current experience I have with AA has left very bad taste in my mouth.

I just finished a tour of the New Zealand South Island. It was absolutely fabulous. There was something awesome everyday from rain forests, to mountains, and to water in many forms. The two guides we had took care of everything.

We spent our honeymoon in October 2008 traveling through New Zealand on an Active Adventures guided tour. It was an amazing trip! We had a small group and three awesome and experienced guides. The photos from the trip are beautiful! There were so many great experiences that my husband and I still talk about and joke about. For instance, our kayak experience was a hoot! It was calm as could be in the lagoon, and then coming across to get to land we hit a headwind and we paddled and paddled like mad and were getting nowhere together. It was so hilarious we could not stop laughing! We are an active couple, and a social couple and this tour was magnificent. The guides were beyond incredible. They made the trip even better with their fun personalities, positive spirit and wonderful knowledge! A shout out and big thank you to Ken, Tim and Zoe, from Nadine & Bob!

Kiwis & Aussies, note the new US style tipping policy, for the Everest Base Camp trek at least. The Active website says ‘We recommend USD$20 per day, per guest, per guide.’ At the time we booked last year Active’s tipping guidance was ‘up to USD100 per guide’. We were a Kiwi couple on the 19 day EBC trip and tipping the guides at this new rate would have worked out at USD1520. Plus you also tip the porters in addition to this. There was general concern/stress in our group of Kiwis & Aussies, to tipping this much as it adds quite a bit extra to the trip cost which people had not anticipated. We (us as a couple) tipped our two guides USD500 between them + USD300 to our porter team, both more than Active’s old tipping guidance, and which we thought was pretty good. We otherwise had a great trip.

Our group rode Alps to Ocean last week with Elle and Caleb. We had a fantastic time, saw some amazing scenery and had a fun filled week. Elle and Caleb were full of information, well prepared, organised and fabulous cooks! Couldn’t have asked for a better experience.