"Trip in Western Australia"

Katie answered all my questions for my trip in WA. She was very kind and helpful!!

"Appreciation Message"

Thanks Katie...
The information was really helpful...
The response was prompt and friendly...
I appreciate it...

"Great until something goes wrong"

Our experience with Backpackerdeals started off well. We previously booked two excursions in New Zealand through them, and everything went smoothly. The booking process is clear, and you receive a voucher with the terms and conditions. This gave us confidence when we booked a helicopter flight at Mt. Cook. Unfortunately, that confidence didn’t last.

The issues began when the flight was canceled due to bad weather, which is, of course, understandable. We received a call 20 minutes before the scheduled time informing us that it wouldn’t go ahead, but we could reschedule for the next day. After rearranging our tight travel itinerary, we received another call a few hours later saying the flight was overbooked and asking if we could reschedule for the following week. This wasn’t possible due to our travel plans.

We then requested the full refund promised on our voucher, but this turned out to be far from straightforward. Instead of a refund, we were offered a credit, which is completely impractical if you’re from the Netherlands and unlikely to return to New Zealand within a year. After repeatedly explaining why a credit wasn’t an option, we were told that their policy had changed and that refunds were no longer possible. It took numerous calls, emails, and even pointing out that their actions were against New Zealand’s consumer law (which guarantees full refunds for cancellations) to finally receive our money
minus 5% administration fee—nearly two months later.

Summary: Backpackerdeals is a fine company as long as everything goes according to plan. However, when something goes wrong, like a cancellation, their customer service falls short. They could significantly improve by:

- Automatically processing refunds when an activity is canceled through no fault of the customer.

- Improving customer service to resolve issues promptly and without unnecessary hassle.

- Ensuring clear and fair communication about policies that comply with local consumer laws.

Unfortunately, this experience has significantly undermined our trust in Backpackerdeals.

"Excellent advice and feedback from…"

Excellent advice and feedback from Jessie - I had lots of questions that were answered quickly especially as I am based in U.K.
Following booking there were detailed instructions.

"Listen to custom's feedback and good experience"

Made a booking via the website, then I found a different trip which is more suitable for the family.

I was told their refund polily is to only return credits instead of refund the money. Then I have left my feedback to the team that this needs to be more clear at the time booking, not after. Joshua called me straight after and cancelled my original booking and used my credit from the original booking to book my alternative trips and refunded the remaining money to me. Much appreciated your help and listen to customer's feedback.

"Excellent booking service experience …"

Booked overnight cruise for Doubtful Sound, New Zealand.
Excellent online service, daytime in UK, communicating with Jessaye on her overnight shift the other side of the world. Efficient, professional, helpful with decision making and she helped find a great offer!

"I will highly recommend Backpacker…"

I will highly recommend Backpacker deals! Jessye was so helpful to organize a trip for our group. Thank you so much for all your work!

"Helpful and Supportive Staff "

So helpful and supportive with finding the right activity for me, with amazing recommendations and knowledge about the events. I found Jay and Jessye very helpful and would recommend to anyone!! They were also very supportive in finding the best deals for me :)

"Katie - Great Support "

Katie made the booking so easy! She could give me hidden details and took her time to look into my requests. Just amazing - she was so patient and made me feel so comfortable with my booking. THANK YOU, Katie!

"Easily upgraded a Dolphin Encounter Booking"

I booked a Dolphin Encounter in Kaikoura, New Zealand as a spectator.
After some consideration I decided that I wanted to upgrade my booking to be able to swim with the dolphins, and as a result I contacted Backpacker Deals enquiring if it was possible to upgrade my booking or if I needed to cancel it and re-book.
As it was the middle of the night in New Zealand, I didn't expect a quick response, but I did receive an email telling me that my enquiry had been passed to another member of the team.
The next day, (UK time), I received an email from Kylie, (no not that one - Kylie C), informing that there was a possibility to upgrade, with the details of the extra cost, along with a request to authorise the payment being taken from the Debit Card that I'd used for the original booking.
I immediately replied giving my authorisation and later that evening I received a confirmation email stating that the upgrade had been carried out.
I'm very impressed with the ease of upgrading my booking, but more so with the speed that it was carried out considering the time difference as well as Kylie's friendly nature in her emails.
Well done Kylie and Backpacker Deals.