Down Under Endeavours

My husband, son and I just got back from a 3 week trip to New Zealand. It was the most amazing trip, thanks to Laura, Annie and the Down Under team. Every detail was taken care of and was thought out perfectly — from lodging to logistics to attractions. If you are thinking of making a trip to NZ, do not hesitate to call DUE. They are so knowledgeable about the area that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to have duplicated the impressive itinerary they made for us. Thank you, truly the trip of a lifetime!

Wonderful experience working with Candice and Maloo. Our trip was an amazing adventure in New Zealand. It was perfectly designed for us to see as many places as we could in 18 days yet still have down time to enjoy the beauty. Highly recommend the unique personal touch we experienced with Down Under Endeavors.

Shannon helped to curate the most perfect 10 day trip to Australia for my husband and I. All accommodations, excursions and transportation were in place and exceeded expectations. We are so grateful for this incredible service and the trip that created a lifetime of memories.

Laura pieced together a NZ itinerary that was the PERFECT fit for us. Thanks to her, the traveling and excursions were stress free. We can’t wait to plan our next trip with Down Under Endeavours. Cheers!

We worked with Vanessa from Down Under Endeavors to plan our honeymoon to Australia in January 2022. We were drawn to DUE because they specialize in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, and had great reviews. We’re so glad to add another positive review.

From the first conversation, Down Under Endeavors were incredibly easy to work with, listened to our priorities and goals for the trip, and made suggestions to make our trip even better. They also were incredibly responsive and flexible to our budget, and scaled up the things that were important to us, and scaled back the things that weren’t.

They were also very clear and pragmatic from the outset about what was included or not each day of the trip. Before finding DUE, we were working with another tour company that was not communicative in this way and kept trying to upsell us, which we found very frustrating. Down Under Endeavors was upfront about what meals and services were and were not included, which helped us understand what else we need to factor into our trip planning.

The trip itself was AMAZING and went off without a hitch. There was one minor issue with tickets for going out to the Great Barrier Reef (vendor issue, not DUE), but they responded immediately and very quickly resolved it.

Highlights include: the best guided tour we’ve ever been on at Kangaroo Island (a must see!), a guided scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef (we aren’t certified, and DUE worked to find us a boat that could accommodate), and a wonderful, romantic boat ride on the Sydney Harbour.

I cannot speak highly enough of my family’s experience with Laura from Down Under Endeavors and our recent trip to Australia and New Zealand! Laura was so great to work with - giving us a couple of different itinerary options after we’d talked through things. She was spot-on with her recommendations! We took our 3 kids (ages 11,8 and 3) and she provided really great excursions and ideas that were very family friendly. Our 2.5 week trip was action-packed, but I felt like we got to see so much in the different areas we visited. Thank you, Laura and Down Under Endeavors for helping us to plan the trip of a lifetime!!

Down Under Endeavours arranged a fantastic trip to New Zealand, Australia and Fiji for us. Vanessa and Audra listened to what we wanted in our journey and provided an itinerary which exceeded our expectations. We will never forget this trip which include a heli-hike on the Franz Josef glacier, a ride on the Ghan, hiking over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and touring Hobbiton (see photos). The hotels they arranged for us were wonderful, cozy and very near the sites we visited.

There were a few snags during our trip including New Zealand Rail canceling our journey on the Tranzalpine Train. For each snag Down Under Endeavours did a marvelous job of providing a timely solution which allowed to continue enjoying our journey.

My wife, Ann, and I were so impressed by Down Under Endeavours that we plan on using them for a trip to Asia. It was a pleasure working with everyone at Down Under Endeavours. Without reservation we can recommend Down Under Endeavours.

After lots of research to find the right travel agency to help plan our honeymoon to Australia, we chose Down Under Endeavors based on the positive reviews and the fact that they are US-based but employ Australian natives. We are so glad we did!

This was our first time using a travel agency and as someone who is detail oriented and tries to get maximum value from what we spend on our trips, I was a bit nervous that we would end up paying more and not get additional value from a recommendations perspective above what we could research on google. But I was really happy with the value we got from our experience working with DUE.

Vanessa was so great to work with. She was super communicative, patient, and willing to iterate on the itinerary with us until we got everything we wanted. I’m sure we were not her easiest clients to work with and she did such a great job! Everything she recommended was a hit, and I appreciated that she shared why she thought we would enjoy something based on her own experience and what we told her our interests were.

I recommend DUE and Vanessa to anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time to plan their own trip to Australia or just wants help from people who know Australia really well. Thanks DUE!

My wife and I had an incredible experience for our honeymoon thanks to Corinne and her team at Down Under Endeavours. When Covid interrupted original plans, they rescheduled everything and planned us an entirely new trip to a new destination at no-charge and with no hassle. They made the process and trip so easy for us, we would have been at a loss without their coordination of testing, flights, transfers, and booking all lodging and excursions for us.

We started working with Laura at DUE in 2020 to plan an epic Anniversary trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2021. The world had different plans, and our trip was pushed to 2022, DUE managed everything seamlessly. Though Laura was our primary POC, I know that it takes an entire team (both in the US and AUS/NZ) to plan such a wonderful trip. This was our first time working with a travel agent, and we couldn't be more pleased from start to finish. Our 2 weeks in AUS and NZ was truly the trip of a lifetime, and Laura and DUE made it all possible.

Shannon was able to create an itinerary for my trip to Australia and included everything I asked for along with things I didn't know were options. Everything was well curated, planned, and communicated. Communication was timely and the whole trip was very well planned and timed. Would highly recommend.

My mom and I took a trip to South Africa and Mozambique. Laura T. with Down Under Endeavors planned an AMAZING safari and beach vacation for us. Everything from start to finish was top notch. I can’t wait to use Laura again and recommend her to friends and family.

Down Under was so great to work with! Over the course of 2+ years (we had to postpone once due to COVID travel restrictions and then due to a health issue in our group), Shannon helped us create an amazing itinerary for our 2-week trip to Australia. She found us great hotels and, most importantly, signed up our group of 7 (ranging in ages from 8 to 80+) with some amazing private tour operators along the Outback / Uluru regions and along the Great Barrier Reef. She was patient throughout the process and never batted an eye over the main adjustments and changes we had to make. Once we were in Australia, we had a local DUE contact who was there to help take care of any issues that might come up. We would highly recommend DUE and would not hesitate to utilize their services again!

My husband and I went to Moore and Bora Bora thanks to working with Laura at Down Under Endeavours. This trip was a dream honeymoon leaving us with the complaint of not wanting to return home. Laura helped us create a customized itinerary by using her own knowledge and experience from visiting the same Tahitian islands we visited. I recommend DUE and Laura to anyone looking for an amazing getaway to Tahiti.

Down Under Endeavours is AMAZING. After 3 long years planning this trip due to COVID delays, my family and I had the most wonderful experience. Laura was great about adjusting the trip to our travel needs, budget, timing, etc and the actual experience was even better than we could have ever imagined. I can't wait to plan my next trip with them.

I had never been to Australia or New Zealand and wanted to take a trip to see some sights AND play a lot of golf in both countries. I did some looking around online to see if there were any travel companies that had connections with local golf courses and landed on Down Under Endeavors.
If you're interested in playing a variety of TOP golf courses in these countries, I'd highly recommended working with DUE.

In Sydney, I was able to play The Lakes and New South Wales Golf Club.
In Melbourne, I played Victoria Golf Club, Kingston Heath, and Royal Melbourne's West Course.
In New Zealand, I played Kauri Cliffs. I had a tee time at Cape Kidnappers too, but it got rained out (just means I'll have to come back soon to play)

All the Australian courses are technically top private clubs, but if you keep a handicap and get a letter of introduction the travel agency will be able to get you a tee time. As an American this concept was a little strange to me, but I just emailed a representative at my local golf association and they were able to get me a template letter of introduction rather quickly. For reference, I keep a handicap with the Southern California Golf Association and did it through them.

The courses are definitely pricey for an international player, but they're definitely worth it for a once in a lifetime trip.

The trip overall was excellent. My agent, Vanessa, was able to strike a good balance of golf, outdoor/nature activities, and getting to know the cities I was staying in. Having all accommodations taken care of made sure I could just focus on enjoying my trip. While I was in Australia, having direct contact with a travel representative through Whatsapp (Sue) was really important since she was very responsive and helpful. For the couple of times when activities needed to be switched around, she handled everything so I didn't have to worry (e.g., changing my Sydney bike tour to another day because my flight was a little late, making sure I could still attend the Penguin Parade in Melbourne when my flight/baggage were delayed).

The overall planning experience was pretty smooth as well. I thought the travel agent was very responsive and helpful from initial contact through final payment. I felt pretty confident that I was getting to choose from the best activities and experiences in each city, and as I was nearing a final itinerary I was able to make small changes here and there and have them accommodated.

I think for most Americans, a trip this far away from home doesn't happen very often, so you might as well make the most of it. And if you love golf, you can experience some of the most iconic courses while exploring all the food and activities the local cities have to offer.

Worked with Shannon for our honeymoon to Fiji and New Zealand. It was an unforgettable adventure. Wonderful experience from beginning to end and highly recommend this company!

Our April 2023 trip to New Zealand and Australia was a long time coming. Finally we decided to use a travel agency rather than trying to schedule everything ourselves. Our referral from a friend to DUE proved to make this a very special trip! Vanessa zigzagged amiably with us as we worked out the itinerary: a 26 day journey from Chicago-Auckland-Queenstown-Melbourne-Uluru-Cairns-Sydney-Auckland-Chicago. Overall the accommodations, limo service to-from airports to hotels, flight schedule, and excursions worked out very well. We were amazed that with 10 flights there was only one hiccup, caused by the airline. While we normally do our own travel planning we wouldn’t hesitate to use DUE again should the destination warrant a travel agent. Highly recommend!

My husband and I had an amazing honeymoon in New Zealand and Fiji booked with Shannon and her team. Shannon was awesome and suggested amazing activities based on our interests, booked all tours, flights, transportation, and lodging. She was also very responsive and helpful when we had questions or issues. It was so nice to have the help and to not to have to worry about planning the details of the honeymoon after investing so much time and energy into wedding planning. Would 10/10 recommend.

My wife and I had the perfect honeymoon trip to Fiji and New Zealand thanks to Down Under Endeavors. Shannon was an incredible resource for helping us figure out exactly what we wanted to do within our budget. And everything was booked ahead of time with no hassle for us! We stayed at the most picturesque resort in Fiji then spent time traveling across both islands in New Zealand. We would definitely recommend using Down Under Endeavors for any trip to the South Pacific!