New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Danielle helped us plan our trip to New Zealand. She listened to what we were looking for, provided suggestions, adjusted the itinerary to be exactly as we want, and was available for any questions we had. Her recommendations were very good. The trip was hassel free. We enjoyed our vacation.

My wife sister-in-law and I spent nine days on a self-driving tour of the NZ South Island. The whole trip, accommodation and several excursions were organised by the first-rate people at First Light Travel. the magnificence of the experience was matched by the expertise and service of First Light.

Micala designed a very varied itinerary, involving a wide range of activities. Covered a brad range of activities and experiences that we would not normally have done. The visit to Hobbiton was fantastic, Whale watching, the Anzac exhibition at Te Papa, cable car and Luge a wide range of different activities.

Accommodation was mostly clean and comfortable and close to the CBD. enjoyed various activities such as the wine tour, to whale watching, The itinerary was evenly paced to to allow us to have an activity with time to do our own thing.

Wonderful trip to New Zealand

We’re just back (Dec 2023) from a trip that included a three week self-drive, mostly through New Zealand’s South Island, organized by First Light Travel. For many years, while travelling the world, we’ve wanted to explore New Zealand. And we couldn’t be more pleased with the results from First Light, especially Danielle, our travel advisor there. In fact, they exceeded our expectations! It was a perfect trip for we 70-year-olds to celebrate our 45th anniversary.

Danielle began our interaction by asking what we enjoy, activity-wise, and what type of accommodations we prefer. So, right out-of-the-gate, this was clearly going in the direction we wanted: a trip customized to our wishes, and not a cookie-cutter itinerary or a check-list of activities.

Danielle is a great listener, very patient, is easy to get ahold of, and a joy to work with. A draft plan was created from that first conference call (which was the response to our emailed contact point). We reviewed it, changed some of our wishes, partly from the great alternatives tabled for us to consider and the opportunity to do more specific research. We started our planning over a year in advance, so this allowed this itinerary to evolve over time and the subsequent calls we had.

The final itinerary was very detailed, including contact phone numbers and vouchers for each activity and hotel. Since many of the activities that we chose were weather-dependent, such as boat trips, a hot air balloon ride, and a helicopter trip, we needed to call and confirm beforehand. One of those numbers went to a recorded message indicating it was out of service. So I simply called First Light Travel’s emergency line and they took care of it for me in a matter of a few minutes.

We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our trip. The drive, the scenery and activities were wonderful. Yes, weather affected two of our excursions, but First Light tracked these and issued a refund for the missed ones within a week of the completion of our trip. And it was fun to run into another Canadian couple, at the Clay Cliffs, whose trip had also been arranged by Danielle.

I would highly recommend First Light Travel if you are interested in doing a trip around New Zealand. Rachael, Neelah and their colleagues listened carefully to our preferences during the planning stage, and organized a wonderful itinerary for us that included top class accommodations and excellent tours. They also responded quickly and professionally to address our questions before, during and after our trip.

First Light Travel made all the arrangements for our trip of a life time. The 26 day self drive itinerary was custom made to suit our interests and budget. Planning started several months ahead of our journey, communicating with Narissa to prepare a fulfilling itinerary. We started in Christchurch, working our way through the spectacular coast, mountains and lakes of the South Island. We took the ferry to Wellington and completed our North Island journey in Auckland as summer waned into autumn. The trip offered such variety in activities and excursions, the only thing we suggest is adding a few more days, as there is so much to see and do.

Rick and Eileen Bentley - Canada

Amelia,

This is just a little gift box for you and Sali that I put together for you both for all your patience and help during our trip to New Zealand. It’s a little bit from Southern California. The poppy flower is our state flower – please keep doing what you do as the world needs more people like you!

Eva Lawson & Lester Knox and Joseph, Kaiyo & Zenko Heinrichs – USA

Shelley at First Light Travel was awesome in putting together our South Island NZ itinerary. We are a family of four, with two teenage boys, aged 13 and 17, so wanted some adventure, whilst fitting in some relaxation and beautiful scenery. We already had an idea of what where we wanted to visit and some activities and Shelley was able to fine-tune out ideas for the better and made it an easy and seamless holiday. From the perfect accommodation for our family's needs (including kitchenettes in all motel rooms) to the hire car and pre-booked activities like rock climbing, cruises, gondola rides and zip lining. The choices are endless. The scenery is spectacular. I highly recommend Shelley and the team at First Light Travel, after a friend used them and recommended to me.

It saved us a lot of time and stress.

Narelle, Mark , Benjamin & Charles Aston - Australia

I highly recommend First Light. Deb made planning for my trip so simple even though I was travelling with a relatively big group, and with infants. She suggested appropriate activities and there were not many changes required from her first proposal. The trip was smooth, and the detailed itinerary certainly helped prepare us for any situation that occurred. Our trip was a delight, and the price paid was very reasonable.

Haikal Family Singapore

Melissa was really helpful and promptly responded to our questions and concerns. This was our first trip to New Zealand and we instantly fell in love with its beauty.

We'll surely be back :)

David, Jaden & Kiana Kowidjaja - Indonesia