Creating immersive experiences right here in our backyard

  Our experience with Wicked wanders was EXCELLENT. Carol was an excellent guide showing us Tauranga. great value for money and we saw so much, Had a great... read more lunch at a farm on top of the hills over looking Tauranga. Fish and chips lunch was cheap and was ordered before so we just needed to drive there and pick it up. Well organised. Wood train blocked our way but Carol knew another way to get through. Very informative lovely person and great driver. Great overall. Was a great adventure in Tauranga.

  What a wealth of information Russell was. We learnt so much about New Zealand history and especially liked the avocado and kiwi fruit tasting. Would highly recommend this tour.

  Small group tour with Russell being very responsive in replies in enquires. Great, smooth and not rushed in timing which were good. A secret local lunch hideout (you will need... read more to join this tour to know this secret which serves fantastic food).
He went to the extend of getting red kiwi fruits for visual experimental which was a bonus.
Thanks Russell!

  We were looking for an affordable excursion getting off the cruise ship. We found Wicked Wanders which offered a four hour tour provided by Carol and was very affordable.... read more We went to the Manuka Honey attraction, a kiwi orchard, stopped at a local place and got take out fish and chips. Carol took us to a scenic place overlooking the water for us to eat our lunch. These are just the highlights, there were other places we went as well. Carol is a wonderful tour guide, extremely knowledgeable about her country. When the time for our tour was up and there were still other things we wanted to see, she asked if we wanted to continue on or go back to the ship. We ended up with a 5+ hour tour which was absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend this tour.

  The views was so amazing & our guide who was with us was very informative about the many locations we went to! Such a beautiful trip & highly recommend

  On a recent New Zealand cruise we visited a number of ports. Tauranga is a stunning place and our memories will be all the more special because of this... read more excellent shore excursion. Carol from Wicked Wanders was there to meet us when we disembarked with a very warm welcome. There were 8 of us on the tour and the van was very roomy and comfortable. The tour was diverse in that we saw the popular beaches of the area, visited a Manuka Honey farm, a kiwi orchard and an avocado farm but all in a very relaxed and informative way. Both my husband and I could not recommend this shore excursion highly enough.

  If you arrive by cruise ship with no plans for Tauranga, check out Russell Christian's Wicked Wanders tours. He's on the Pier (when his small group, mini van... read more tours have room) where you can talk to him regarding his offerings. We wanted to get out of the city without going all the way (1 hour +) to Rotorua and his 4Hr Tauranga tour was perfect. Great mixture of city/landscapes/farms/food tastings and an odd ball visit to unique toilets! Russell was a perfect guide - we didn't get the "canned" history speech to sleep by, but a lively discussion mixing a bit of everything about the area and country. Appreciated his willingness to answer all questions and recommendations. His price was considerably less than the cruise ship for a very similar tour and we were a small group, not a bus load of 40! Highly recommended and I would book ASAP - we were very lucky he had openings.

  Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed our day out. The tour guide picked us up from our accommodation and took us back the end of the day. The tour... read more guide was very informative and we learnt a lot about redoubts, kiwifruit and avocados. We enjoyed our fish and chip lunch at Maketu. Would recommend this tour to others.

  Could not find a tour that suited us with the cruise line, so found Wicked Wanders online. really enjoyed the small group, the well thought out tour, the super tour... read more guide, Carol, and the Fush and Chups!!, and talk about service, Carol returned my Jacket to Australia after I left it on the bus

  I enjoyed this tour quite a bit. Russel was very well informed and professional. The stop at the Elms was great. The history of Tauranga was very informative and the... read more grounds were stunning. The stop at the kiwifruit farm was also good and informative. Other stops to here history and to look at the view were great. My only negative about this tour was the ship docked mid morning which meant the tour had a late start and there was no lunch break and we were very hungry by he time we got back at 3pm. The stop at the farm we got to try some kiwifruit and avocado but it's not enough. We were provided with a bottle not water which was appreciated but I think some amendments could be helpful when the tour has a late start. Overall this was a great tour and would definitely recommend it.

  The Kiwi farm was fascinating and our Kiwi sample tastings along with Ripe NZ Avocados and NZ cooking oils dipped in bread were a treat. Russell was most interesting in... read more his history and culture of NZ along the way. We enjoyed perfect stops to embrace the views, ocean, rose garden and shady green ancient Monmouth Redoubt. Russell is a good driver and clearly embraces a keen knowledge for all questions.

  excelent attention to detail, small group of 10 Water bottles placed on each seat. Mobility an issue & a step for entering & exit the minibus, just there... read more not to be asked for & on our orchard visit he had a seat for me in the shade. Russell it is the little things that count the most, best trip ever,,
Thanks
Recomend any time.

  We had an amazing day with Russell who showed us the beauty of Bay of Plenty. We stopped in Mount Maunganui where Russell told us the history of New Zealand... read more and specifically about Bay of Plenty. After a nice drive down to Hobbitland we were able to explore the fascinating set from the Hobbit movies.
Russell also took us to one of New Zealand beautiful waterfalls after the tour at Hobbitland.
The BIGGEST plus was definitely the orca Russell spotted near the beach in Mount Maunganui. For us who’s never seen an orca before, this was an experience of it’s own! I highly recommend Russell if you wanna have a tour with great experience.

  I took a private tour of the Karangahake Gorge, Minden outlook and the Owhanga Falls, with lunch and a little train ride. I really got the feeling that there is... read more not much to do or see in this area - and that the guide was hard-pressed to take up the day showing us around. Scenery was pleasant, it was a nice sunny day, lunch was unremarkable; food average, service terrible. (I can't even remember where we ate; that's how blah it was). Owner/guide was engaging and fun - so it wasn't a bad experience. Just not over-the-top exciting, or something that I can recommend as a "must do"!

  Having booked a small group tour of Tauranga on-line were we really didn't know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised when Carol took us on a relaxing and very... read more informative highlights tour. Carol is passionate and professional and we were so glad we didn't decide to be part of the "cattle class" on one of the larger tour coaches.
We highly recommend this tour to anyone stopping off in Tauranga. Thanks Carol for providing one of the highlights of our New Zealand cruise.

  Carol from Wicked Wanda Tours was waiting for us as stated just outside the gates to the port. She gave us a cheerful welcome and said as soon as we... read more had everybody we would be on our way. Once every body arrived we set of to see the sights of Tauranga accompanied with her expert commentary. She said she liked showing and telling people a little bit of the area she calls home and I might add she was very good at it. At our visit to the Bee Farm she told us all about how a working hive operates and the jobs of all the different types of bees. Her wealth of knowledge was unbelievable. All to quickly we had seen all that was planned and she stopped at the port side shopping centre as well as at the port so that those that wanted to could stroll around shopping and still get back in time for "All Aboard".
A job well done.
Thank You Carol All 4 of us in our group had a good time and I never heard any unhappy words from the other travellers.

  had a ball,Carol the driver operator had a idea of where we wanted to go but was very accommodating & suggested changes to the original ittinary that we had asked... read more for, her knowlage of the local area was excellent .can highly recommend this company to anyone visiting this area .

  Very worthwhile tour for cruise passengers. Carol is very informative and friendly. Had a lovely time and still had time for a walk round.

  I HIGHLY recommend to do this tour. You don’t have to rent a car, you just sit back, relax and enjoy your ride! This is also cheaper than renting a... read more car.

Russel was the best guide ever. So kind and service minded. We even got to see orcas on our way home, thanks to Russell’s great eyesight.

Thank you so much!

  All the trip was fantastic couldn’t fault it. Love Russell he was tops with everything would recommend this tour to anyone who wants a relaxing and interesting tour on Tauranga.... read more Thank you kindly
Natalie and Mark.

  We were on the Queen Victoria and we absolutely loved this tour! So happy our daughter booked it and happy we didn’t book with the cruise company such a better... read more experience very personal!
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about the culture and have a great personalized tour! Our guide was wonderful! Love from the USA !

  Had a fantastic tour in Tauranga, Russell was superb on the tour and I would recommend this tour over the excursions offered by the cruise lines. He takes you to... read more genuinely interesting places where you have time to absorb the stunning scenery.

  This was a veryinformative tour. Our guide was wonderful! We found out a lot about Tauranga and it's surroundings!

  This is a wonderful tour of Tauranga in a small coach with a local guide. Russell was exceptional. He took us to all the best places and told us so... read more many interesting things. I highly recommend this tour. So easy to find him, right outside the gate at the ship dock. Kiwi fruit trip was the best!!

  We had beautiful weather. This is a must to be able to experience the best views. Our guide was good and informative. Downside for anyone unable to walk unaided, not... read more for wheelchair, steps quite steep. Pushchair can manage,
money we'll spent.
PS: I have both knees reconstructed but able to get around the hilly terrain.

  Four of us got off the cruise ship at Tauranga and started looking for a small van tour for several hours. We found Carol of Wicked Wanders right at the... read more wharf and signed up with two more women from our ship. What a wonderful, fun, informative time we had for the next four hours! Carol was fun and full of great information which made our tour special. We loved the fresh fish and chips she picked up and then drove us to the perfect picnic spot to enjoy. Be sure to check our Wicked Wanders when in Tauranga!!

  Russell responded quickly after purchasing our tickets. Meeting off wharf was easy. Vehicle is well suited to the tour.
Best of all it was a great informative tour - highlight... read more was the visit to kiwi fruit farm.
Lovely day - definitely recommend this tour run by enthusiastic owner operator.

  This was a really enjoyable and informative experience! Russell's encyclopedic knowledge and engaging personality made it a relaxed and interesting trip.

  Cruising New Zealand on Celebrity and booked the trip with Wicked Wanders on line before we arrived - though you could book on the day.. Meet and greet well organised... read more in Tauranga and an excellent tour led by Carol In a small van. Really enjoyed the visit to the Manuka Honey factory and the kiwi farm - great guides in both. Rain held off and saw a good range of the area round Tauranga - felt we learnt a lot. Really good tour and very fairly priced.

  We were on a cruise ship and wanted a low key tour that didn't go too far or for too long. Wicked wanders tours was the perfect choice. Carol was... read more prompt, professional, and pleasant. Her pride of her lovely hometown was evident in the great information she provided along the way. She made several photo stops. The highlight for us were stops to see how manuka honey was made and how kiwis grew. Interesting...
We enjoyed seeing lovely tauranga with a local expert. Thanks, Carol.