Creating immersive experiences right here in our backyard

Wicked Wanders is a boutique tour operator specialising in providing personalised history and tasting tours of the greater Tauranga area.

Tours

Wicked Wanders Trips & Tours

Russell Christian is the owner/operator of Wicked Wanders Tours. He has lived and worked in Tauranga for ten years and is passionate about the history and culture New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty region has to offer.

About Wicked Wanders

“Wicked” A New Zealand colloquialism meaning ‘Amazing’, ‘Fantastic’ or ‘Astonishing’.

Established in 2015 Wicked Wanders is a boutique tour operator specialising in providing personalised history and tasting tours of the greater Tauranga area. We are a Silver rated Qualmark sustainable tourism awarded business, which is an assurance from Tourism New Zealand that we offer quality tours and deliver a quality visitor experience.

Experience the Bay of Plenty and surrounding areas with informative tours that take in a little bit of everything the Bay of Plenty has to offer. Choose from a customised day trip, a visit to the Hobbiton movie set, the steaming geysers and mud pools of Rotorua or a walk through some of our stunning native forests. Wicked Wanders can recommend and tailor an experience to met your interests, expectations, level of fitness or itinerary. If you are joining us from a cruise ship we guarantee we will have you back in plenty of time to board your ship.

Reviews

Our Happy Customers

  • star rating  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

    johntalbot4
    December 11, 2022

    star rating  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

    Pamela H
    November 29, 2022

    star rating  Easy to book, quick confirmation, showed up on time as planned, good service. Very happy overall. Thank you.

    Anita H
    February 8, 2023
  • star rating  our group of ten people toured the area of tauranga when we stopped there on a recent cruise. the tour guide, carol, gave clear instructions where to meet, and... read more

    fbokma
    November 17, 2017

    star rating  We are delighted that we booked this tour instead of one of the cruise ship tours. Russell was well informed and interesting, and his knowledge of the... read more

    T2287SGkevinb
    January 25, 2023

    star rating  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.

    merlin076
    March 24, 2023
  • star rating  Our tour guide, Russell, picked us up at the dock as soon as we arrived. We drove to Hobbiton and had a delightful time visiting the movie set followed... read more

    Joanne G
    January 17, 2023

    star rating  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

    Toni W
    January 16, 2016

    star rating  This was a terrific way to see Tauranga and the surrounding area. Russell was extremely knowledgeable and lots of fun too. All the stops were great and so was the... read more

    emB5262RV
    February 21, 2020
  • star rating  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

    _davidandjoanmay
    February 24, 2017

    star rating  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

    AnnArborMHT
    January 22, 2023

    star rating  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

    rpoli12
    February 26, 2023
  • star rating  This was a really enjoyable and informative experience! Russell's encyclopedic knowledge and engaging personality made it a relaxed and interesting trip.

    T6728BIjuliank
    April 21, 2022

    star rating  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

    446jennifer
    March 24, 2021

    star rating  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

    Sharyn C
    January 7, 2023
  • star rating  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

    Nancy C
    March 25, 2019

    star rating  We were very lucky to be the only ones on this trip that day, our guide was excellent new what he was talking about and answered any questions we had... read more

    Ggaiau
    March 8, 2020

    star rating  Small bus was lovely. Very informative and flexible. Enjoyed by all of us including the teenagers. Need ot be able to walk on uneven ground but we are not particularly... read more

    lyndalS9302EU
    January 9, 2023
  • star rating  We were on a cruise that unexpectedly visited Tauranga for 2 days. The fist day we did a hop on & hop off bus tour around Tauranga. The second... read more

    MargotK621
    March 14, 2020

    star rating  When cruising it is easy to book excursions directly from the ship. We have found these can be very expensive and very impersonal. You have 50 on the coach and... read more

    Barbara N
    March 24, 2019

    star rating  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

    miles_semple
    February 6, 2016
  • star rating  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

    Passport65378954698
    May 19, 2023

    star rating  Great city tour with a visit to a honey farm, kiwi farm with great tasting kiwi ice cream and a avocado farm.

    Walt G
    January 28, 2019

    star rating  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

    gnbfhb
    February 3, 2019
  • star rating  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

    tunebug
    February 27, 2016

    star rating  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

    Jk K
    December 28, 2022

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

    DebbieMcKinley
    October 26, 2022
  • star rating  Russell Picks you up from where the cruise ship docks. He is very knowledgeable and makes the whole experience very interesting. We were lucky enough to be the only two... read more

    Dolly502014
    March 5, 2020

    star rating  What a great time. I was up from Christchurch at a conference in Tauranga with some time to kill and decided to do this tour. Russell was a great guide... read more

    H1719OFandreww
    October 2, 2022

    star rating  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

    sueaussie
    May 9, 2019