New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

We booked a two week trip using First Light Travel with Michelle as our travel specialist. The experience exceeded our expectations.
The hotels and activities she booked for us were just perfect. We did a self drive from Queenstown to Marahau with a weekend on Waiheke Island. The sites were breathtaking and the excursions Michelle planned were just what we were looking for.

Michelle listened to what we wanted and planned an itinerary to a T. This was the second time we had First Light plan out travel and we will definitely have them book all our trips to New Zealand. Thanks so much Michelle for being so responsive to our questions and to your great suggestions.

Barbara & Tim O'Rourke, USA

Our experience with First Light Travel, especially Kasey, was great. We had a wish list and a three week time frame and she provided us with most of what ewe asked for. The hotels we all lovely. The transportation, for the most part was safe, convenient and enjoyable.
New Zealand is full of beautiful places and lovely people. We were greeted with warm welcomes and sincere pleasure that we had come to visit. There were so many more places that we would love to visit and we will recommend First Light to all who are interested.

Susan & Arthur Krohn, USA

We started working with First Light Travel back in spring of 2020. Due to the pandemic we were finally able to take our trip in 2023. The agents there always kept in touch and were very helpful, even when I kept adding items to the itinerary and adding more days. Once we arrived they were able to help with the minor snags that seem to come up in any travel and always went above and beyond! If we ever get the chance to go back, they will be my first phone call!

Tom & Jane Cross, USA

We had a relaxing, enjoyable and beautiful trip to NZ in Dec2022, thanks to First Light Travel. We were meeting some of our other family members from Sydney in NZ, hence we wanted a flexible trip and First light did an excellent job by optimizing our time table .This was our first self drive trip and we were worried if we could manage but Danielle put our mind at ease with her patience and valuable suggestions/ advice . Thank you for a memorable holiday!!

Lin Lee & Weng Fat, Malaysia

Our trip was outstanding. All the hotels accommodations were great for the 3 of us and their locations were close to everything so we could walk and not have to use our car. Thanks again for helping rebook us on the earlier ferry crossing, it actually worked out good because it gave us time to explore Picton and get a short hike done before boarding the train. You & your team put together a wonderful package for us and the support was outstanding.

We will have good memories of our trip together. Love New Zealand.

John, Cindy & Sean Corrigan, USA

My husband and I had a truly memorable vacation. We don't travel much and had no idea what to expect. Natalie made sure our bookings were all set and she had our itinerary planned out beatifully. We did a self drive tour of Aotearoa and managed to travel through North and South Islands. There was a moment we needed to reach out to her and she immediately available to help us out!

If I booked this myself I wouldn't know one accommodation to another. The places we stayed were comfortable and met our budget. We even had a few places that exceeded our expectatons. Thank you!

Linda & Sonny Santiago, USA

Hello Natalie and everyone else who helped put together our trip over the last 3 years. 

Despite having 3 activities canceled our trip was wonderful! The lodgings were in great locations and very nice. We ended up having perfect weather the entire trip. Car rental went smoothly and it wasn't too hard driving on the left.  Loved the windy roads. The entire country was beautiful.  The north island reminded us of home with the green and the cows.  We come from a dairy state.  The south island reminded us of our west but with less towns and people.  

Thank you again for all your help making our bucket list trip a success.  Also both of our races went well.  Jay finished in just over 15 hrs. I tell everyone to use First Light Travel!

Diane and Jay, USA

Kudos to Marcella and Nicole for bringing to life a once in a lifetime adventure that was seamless. From the minute we landed to our final moments in arguably one of the most beautiful countries on the planet, our adventures on both islands were planned to perfection. The trip was well paced, giving us plenty of time to enjoy each location without feeling rushed. Most of our accommodations were local gems. Various guided tours were booked with wonderful vendors. We loved every minute of our time in NZ. Hoping to make it back again one day. I highly recommend First Light Tours. Hands down one of the easiest trips I've ever taken.

Amisha Chhipwadia & Sengkham Wu, USA

I started planning our trip to NZ over 12 months ago with First light travel. I had a rough idea what we wanted to do and shared this with FLT, they offered advice on what else to see and do given our preferences. The final itinerary provided a mix of camper van and car/motels was perfect for us. The mix of experiences was also perfect with glow worm caves; whale watching; hot springs and boat trips. The scenery all over was stunning and the mix in the itinerary provided enough fast paced activity and free time to relax and explore each venue.

Despite having several staff members leave the continuity with our booking meant it felt seamless and any queries were answered quickly and efficiently. This was no more evident than during the poor weather we experienced during our trip. A cyclone hit North island and we caught the tail end of this. We have several experiences cancelled but FLT we’re onto this and helped us re-book replacements further into our trip.

I would have no hesitation in recommending FLT and will use them in future. A special mention must go to Nicole Kuek for all her help and support and for making our trip so special.

David & Stella Rogers and Gordon & Patricia Dale, UK

Michelle Srzich from First Light Travel was recommended to us from a friend who used her services back in 2018. We are so glad we listened and contacted Michelle. She handled all the details of a 26 day trek across both South and North Islands of New Zealand. We had five star accommodations that were exquisite to stay in. And when our airline canceled our return flight home, First Light was right there to send a driver back to the airport and secure us a hotel stay for two more nights in Auckland. Wonderful service, great advice on do's and don'ts, and huge support during a difficult exit! We will definitely use First Light again and highly recommend them to others. Really made our vacation worry free!

Jodi and Philip Guillemette, USA