New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

We appreciate all that First Light Travel did to make our trip to New Zealand such a fantastic experience. Everything was planned out perfectly and we enjoyed every minute of it. The accommodations in each town were wonderful and the excursions, tours, and tastings were all delightful and exactly what we expected. Having our own drivers also allowed us to really enjoy the scenery and to not have to worry about getting from point A to point B across both the South and North islands. First Light Travel was there for us from the very beginning as we started planning the trip, until we returned home, and was very responsive and helpful every time we reached out to them.

Many thanks to the team at First Light Travel for making our self-drive New Zealand South Island vacation so special. From the planning to on-the-scene modifications, we could not be happier with their services. Special shout out to Meli for matching our requests for hotels and excursions flawlessly. Every detail was expertly planned and executed. If you prefer a self-drive vacation, as do we, First Light Travel is at the top of the travel industry. Highly recommended!

Highly recommend booking through First Light Travel for New Zealand. Our family of three had an absolute ball thanks to the wonderful staff. Shout out to Tatyana for organising an amazing North Island itinerary and Meli for prompt on-the-ground assistance. We will definitely be booking again through First Light.

From our very first phone call from Heidi, we knew we were in safe hands! She customised the 'Full Monty' South to North Experience trip to include places we wanted to visit. Nothing was too much trouble and our personalised itinerary which was perfectly paced for our adventure around New Zealand. Once booked, Guest Services took over and we received a comprehensive daily plan including accommodation, visits, driving distances and tips to enhance our journey. Everyone was aware of our arrival, and it was reassuring that someone local was just a phone call away should we need them. We have no hesitation in recommending First Light Travel to anyone wanting to spend time in this wonderful country. Kia Ora atu Heidi and all the team in Guest Services.
 

I have no hesitation in recommending First Light Travel as a well organisation who have an exceptional team working for their clients benefit. Everything is organised for you - just rocked up on the day and enjoy the adventure. We loved the sheer beauty of the South Island. It was everywhere and helped by the brilliant weather we had. I would definitely book with First Light again. Thanks team for all you've done for us.

So happy with the service provided by First Light Travel, from the ease of planning and putting together our itinerary, accommodation and activities, through to the peace of mind having the team on hand should something go wrong. Having all of the details in our daily schedules, including reminders to call tour operators, driving times and accommodation check in and check out times ensured that everything worked like clockwork. Some of our activity favorites were the Tasman Glacier Lake cruise, and the Franz Josef twin glacier helicopter flight. I highly recommend First Light Travel.

This holiday trip was an intention of my wife and I for many years. First Light helped and nudged us to pull it off in a spectacular way! I would not have been able to plan such a logistically intense but absolute adventurous six weeks! The staff assisting us were extremely knowledgeable of the New Zealand highlights and it showed in the itinerary throughout the trip. We enjoyed every aspect of the trip and often reflect back on the uniqueness of what we experienced! We both loved the mountain biking, sea kayaking, hiking and sightseeing. The activities that we booked through you were fantastic. One in particular was out of Rotorua, kayaking across a lake where we enjoyed natural hot springs and a dinner, then a sunset paddle back stopping at a glow worm cave along the way and finally viewing the Southern Cross stars!

Working with First Light Travel was a delight. From the very first contact, we felt like we were going to be taken good care of! Our trip planner listened closely to what we were interested in doing and came up with a fantastic itinerary that took us across both the North and South Islands for some amazing experiences. We loved Tiritiri Matangi island and it was an excellent first activity to get to know the native birds we'd be seeing throughout our trip. Then, when a big storm disrupted travel across the country, First Light worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to get us back on track amidst huge disruptions with flights, rental cars, and accommodations. We were so thankful for their support and had a wonderful holiday in New Zealand.

I’m not even sure where to start! I like organized and my husband likes spontaneity. This was the perfect balance. We knew where we were going and staying with the ability to stop along the way if something caught our attention. We loved that everything was booked and paid for in advance and all we had to do was give our name. So smooth and seamless. We loved the self-guided wine/cycling tour in Queenstown. I would highly recommend First Light! The willingness to work with us to plan the perfect trip with our interests and budget in mind was so appreciated!

It was a pleasure working with First Light Travel. They designed a trip for the 4 of us (2 couples) for our 31 day adventure of the North & South Islands. Everything went off without any issues. All of our excursions, hotels, rental cars, flights and airport transfers were all fantastic. Never had a single issue which is unusual these days. A few of the activities we loved inlcuded the Sky Tower, Hobbiton, Te Puia, Redwoods Treewalk, Te Papa Museum, Abel Tasman Sailing Adventure, Milford Sound Day Tour and Skyline Gondola & Luge.