As we only arrived in NZ the day before the rail trip we found The views magnificent . A real insight of what we had to come. The disappointment was when we arrived at the Strand there was no booking for us and the train was full. This was quite stressful and did mar the start of the day. It resulted in us sitting in the cafe car with no commentary . It seems that La Vacanza Travel had not had confirmation from great northern to say we had seats and this should have been followed up .
I you like to ride trains, this would be an enjoyable trip. For me, ran out of sandwiches 4 hours into 11 hour journey, nothing real spectacular on the scenery and an hour late. As I said if you’re looking for a relaxing trip on a train, this is for you. Too long and uninteresting to me.
Travelled from Auckland to Wellington. When booking as a couple ask for two seat configuration much better than sharing four seat configuration. Commentary was good. Long trip but enjoyable. Beware large taxi driver with white hair and long white beard at Wellington Train Station, make sure meter is on.
The train was on time, very comfortable and the views were awesome once we got away from Auckland. Simone was a fantastic guide that talked us through all the highlights of the scenery, the amenities on the train and safety instructions. It was a long ride but very relaxing and scenic, a great, stress free way to get to Wellington from Auckland.
We had a blast! Once you get out of the Auckland area the beauty of the country opens up. So worth it. Even though the trip is 11 hours it didn’t feel that way. Was able to take some amazing photos.