March 29, 2005
Free city tours in the land of the Kiwi
The no-charge introductions to New Zealand's larger cities give tourism operators the opportunity to show off their services.From Free city tours in the land of the KiwiNew ZEALAND, where backpackers first strapped on bungees, rolled around in inflated Zorbs (which are like human-size hamster balls) and hopped on their own budget bus lines, has another idea: free city tours.
Funded by local tourism operators who want to show off their services, the service has begun in Auckland and Christchurch and is expected to start in Sydney, Australia, in the next few months.
Guides from Stray Travel (www.straytravel.co.nz) provide information about the city's history and culture and point out key sites and activities. So while budget-stretching backpackers get a free city orientation, they also are exposed to local tourist services. Stray Travel offers its tours in other parts of New Zealand.
*Snorts*
Free is the only way I would ever take ANYTHING from Stray. My hop-on/hop-off bus experience with them in NZ was hellish, to say the least, and terribly dissapointing due to missed activities, Christchurch strandings and an offensive bus driver.
That said...go on the free tour. Why not? If you want to get a strong overview of the top attractions in a city, this is a good way to do it. Then, afterwards, you can return to the places you want to check out a litte more closely and not waste your time searching for the ones you don't.
Posted by Court | #
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