New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Our vacation experience could not have been better. Dawn developed an itinerary for us which suited all of our needs and was perfect for us and the children. She carefully spaced things out so we had enough time to get places and to our activities. Having never been to New Zealand before, I was not sure what was in store for us - but it all worked perfectly.

Thanks again to Dawn and First Light Travel for an amazing vacation. We had great family time and we will have our memories forever.

Skaufel Family Australia

One of the hallmarks of a great vacation is having an emergency telephone contact number you never have to use. When everything goes as planned or when inconveniences arise and solutions and suggestions are provided at the first level of contact you know that you have chosen the right people to deal with. This was the case with our experience with First Light Travel.

Not only did they provide excellent choices for our agreed upon itinerary, but all of the operators they selected were clearly doing jobs they loved. I have always held that the friendliest people in world lived in Ireland, I was wrong. The people of New Zealand are friendlier than the people of Ireland ( a high standard to surpass) and the most welcoming and helpful of those are connected to First Light. I have the highest admiration for the company and will use their services again and wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone traveling where they operate.

Eric Schreuder USA

Our experience with First Light Travel and especially Kasey Yee was as good as I could ever imagine when booking an overseas tour. If everyone is as responsive to questions and concerns as Kasey was, the team at FirstLight gets 5 stars. This was our first time to New Zealand, and with the help of First Light this was one of the best vacations we have ever had. I would use them again, and would highly recommend them to friends who may travel to NZ.

Don & Nancy Drozd - USA

Hi Jo,

We had a fantastic time in New Zealand! Now that we've been settling back into our new home, we've been reminiscing, looking at photos/videos, and wishing we were back! Thanks so much for all your help in the planning process! You were an incredible consultant - super patient, knowledgable, and wonderful to work with. We're already recommending you guys to family and friends if/when they come to New Zealand!

We just filled out the feedback form, so that is all set. It wouldn't let me attach a photo, so I'm sending a couple from our trip right here!

Cheers!

Katie Woo & John Coster - USA

Our bucket list is nearly empty and needs to be rewritten!! What a fantastic trip we had through New Zealand and even a few days in Sydney Australia all organized for us by the amazing Shelley at First Light Travel Ltd. We were a little wary of trying to arrange our trip from Canada but fortunately followed up on a recommendation to try First Light. They were excellent. No "over-selling" of tours or locations as we worked through five adjustments to our trip until we were happy the itinerary was just right for us. Then the actual trip turned out to be even better than we hoped. Accommodations were right on with a mix of B&Bs and hotels that fitted in with the locations.The number days for our stays was just right and we never felt too rushed. Obviously First Light does a good job of vetting their recommendations too as we were greeted by friendly, helpful people at every turn. Brilliant vacation!!

James and Alexandra Allen - Canada

Shelley

Thank you so very much for helping us plan such a wonderful, memorable vacation. We love New Zealand and every one of the excursions you planned was such a pleasure. So many of our friends now want to go to New Zealand! I completed the feedback form and will post on Facebook.

Thank you again. You are a first class professional!

Robin Harris - USA

See Below Robins Feedback....

Testimonial: We have planned a trip to New Zealand for about 30
years so we had very high expectations. Our vacation exceeded our expectations thanks to First Light Travel and Shelley Kirk. We were able to see all the top sights on our list and had a great blend of scheduled excursions and free trip to explore this beautiful country. Shelley was very attentive to our wishes and added activities that truly expanded our horizons. Our coupon book and itinerary was so well organized and so easy to use, it made the trip worry-free. I would highly recommend First Light Travel to anyone looking for an unforgettable travel experience.

Hi Amelia.

We had a really wonderful holiday in your beautiful New Zealand. Although too short! We enjoyed all the places that we stayed at. The itinerary worked out really well and though there was a lot of driving we really got to see the country. The kayaking at Abel Tasman was certainly a high point. We were there on a particularly beautiful day. Wonderful guide as well. You certainly put a good trip together.

Best road trip ever!!!

Thank you again.

Best regards.

Mark and Laurel Panther, Canada

Hi Chrissy 

Yep, had a good time, everything went fine, even got to experience a major earthquake!!

You did an excellent job and really attempted to give us a full and varied holiday experience All of the basic recommendations and trip plans were great. The organization of the itenerary and booked voucher system was flawless with no issues from any of the bookings.

Steve Anderson - USA

The reality was better than the dream...... I do not even know where to begin. I have dreamed about this trip for 15 years. I had all these ideas in my head but when it finally came time to start planning I had not a clue what to do. And then I found Shelley and First Light Travel. I have no idea how she did it with the information I gave her from my emails but she was DEAD ON!!!!! Shelley planned THE PERFECT vacation. And she warned me in the beginning that we weren't going long enough, and what I learned in NZ is that most other countries have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more vacation time than us Americans do. But what Shelley did with the limited amount of time we gave her (two weeks) was amazing. And PERFECT. There is not one single thing (other than our lack of time) that we would change. Seriously. I do not know how Shelley, without ever meeting me, or knowing me at all, could have put that itinerary together so perfectly for us. We loved every single thing we did and every single thing we saw. There was not one moment that we did not look around and be in awe of the beauty. Not one single moment. We WILL be back to NZ and we will never go back without booking through First Light Travel. Specifically Shelley.

Thank you Shelley, for your help in all this. You made a 40 year old ladies 15 year old dream come true. And because of you, the reality was better than the dream.

Kristine Rolf - USA

In November, my wife and I celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary traveling through New Zealand. Having done some extensive online research, we decided to have First Light Travel plan and book our trip. Marrying Marianne 46 years ago was certainly the best decision I ever made. Choosing First light Travel might be the second best!

Our First Light Travel agent, Amelia Riwai, was sensational! Every aspect of our two-week itinerary was nothing short of First Class. We stayed in some beautiful hotels and several lovely bed & breakfasts. We particularly enjoy the B&Bs because they give us a chance to meet and share time and experiences with our hosts - and the places that Amelia chose for us are owned by very friendly, talented and gracious people who thoroughly enriched our Kiwi experience. And then, there were the tours and excursions! 

We are very active seniors and so many of the things we chose to do involve some physical activity. From the thrilling Huka Falls Jet Boats to the exhilarating Franz Josef Glacier Heli Hike to the wondrous Glow Worm Caves and the scenic Doubtful Sound cruise, we have memories to last a lifetime -- and so much to talk about this holiday season.

Dick & Marianne Spagna - USA