New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

 I had no idea what I wanted to do when I visited New Zealand but having found First Light Travel on line and the recommendations, it made our holiday so much easier and it was fantastic. I gave Dawn some idea of what I wanted and she came up with the perfect package. I shall never thank her enough! Incredible and will certainly recommend FLT to friends and family who want to go to NZ in the future. Also I shall certainly contact FLT again if and when I go again!

Margaret Orchard & Enid Bennett UK

Hello Kasey, Here are some pictures from the trip. I can not thank you enough the trip was amazing New Zealand is beyond anything we ever expected and you made so easy for us to do everything we wanted to do stress free and it was amazing. I took the liberty of leaving a very good review on Facebook as well as filling out the feedback form you sent. I will definitely send anyone I know that is planning a NZ trip your way. 

Thank You again so much!!

Audra Clark USA

OH Shelley -- what a wonderful country you have !!! We would want to move there if our family didn't live here. We had a spectacular time and you deserve so much of the credit. Everything was laid out so succinctly and as we have always done our own planning in the past, having it completed was a true delight.We are so glad we included the Barrier Reef, would have been a big mistake for us if we had not.The trip was everything we had hoped for. All the tour guides were very good and we enjoyed the smaller tours.

We did see your Auckland Christmas Parade! Thank you so much for everything. Friends heading your way will definitely be given your name as a resource.

Sincerely 

Clinton and Mary King USA

Hi First Light, We had a wonderful holiday, everything ran very smoothly largely due to your effort and expertise in putting our itinerary together for us. If anyone we know intend visiting New Zealand we won’t hesitate to recommend you to them. Apart from the spectacular scenery, the highlight of our holiday was the Lake Wanaka Island Nature Walk, and that was almost entirely due to our guide Chris. His unique character really makes the tour special. I have attached two pics taken on this island walk to show you how spectacular it is. 

Kind regards

Tonia Benn & Kurt Werner - Australia

Hi Kasey,

First of all I would like to thank you a lot for preparing us such a great holiday for us in Australia. It was the best self-drive trip we ever experienced , the place was amazing, the accommodation especially the country side - In Philips Island, Malacoota, JarvisBay was fabulous. We really enjoyed ourselves and brought us back close after a long time we guys dint meet. The car by hertz was perfect for us fro the long distance and comfortable too, and the skydiving experience was such a adrenaline rush!!! 

Totally well planned vacation by you kasey , thanks again!!

Santhana Mohan Nagesperam - Malaysia

First Light Travel truly enabled us to have a vacation of a lifetime in New Zealand! My husband & I were able to experience so much & made memories that will remain some of our favorites. Whether is was bungy jumping from Kawarau Bridge, kayaking Doubtful sound, trekking on Franz Josef glacier, or black water canyoneering/glow worm cave exploring, we felt alive, safe, & well cared for! 

Our coordinator, Jo, was so helpful in organizing our trip. We greatly appreciated the personal insight into New Zealand & the company's native feedback. Thank you First Light Travel for making all of our New Zealand dreams come true! 

Rachelle Grant, USA

Kia Ora

We are so glad that we booked our holiday with First Light Travel. Thank you Dawn for preparing such a lovely itinerary and perfectly organising our trip on such short notice. It was a lovely self-drive tour and we highly enjoyed each day as it unfolded. A few highlights include the Waitomo caves, Te Puia and Hobbiton, and the kids loved every bit of the guided two hour mountain biking in Whakarewarewa. Thank you Dawn and First Light Travel – highly recommended! 

Asesh, Monash & Nikhil Sharan - Australia

Dear Jo,

I wanted to send you a little something to treat yourself with for doing everything you did for me. You planned me the most incredible trip. You made all of my dreams come true and far exceeded my expectations. My ‘Soul Searching’ Holiday to New Zealand was the best 4 weeks of my life. There is no way that I would have been able to do any of it without you.

I truly enjoyed working with you while planning the trip and our keeping in touch while I was on the trip. I hope that you feel rewarded regularly and take pride in what you do because you are damn good at it. I haven’t met you in person but what I do know of you is truly wonderful. I will never be able to express how grateful I am towards you.

I wish you greatness and happiness in every passing day. I hope life is good to you as you have been to me.

Thank You Jo!

Please keep being you and doing whet you do.

Best Wishes Always

Christine Turner - USA

Loved working with Amelia! Even though it was Christmas when we decided to look into a trip for mid January, Amelia gave amazingly prompt responses and suggestions. The "canned" itinerary that you send at first inquiry gave us a great jumping off point to plan our own fly/drive vacation! It really gave us a good idea of travel times and suggested stops. Then Amelia helped us find appropriate and lovely accommodations for our needs. For example, we wanted to have a washer/dryer in our room every 3rd or 4th day so we didn't have to pack so much. She lined it up perfectly. She also suggested activities that we had not considered in each city and booked those that we wanted to try. They ended up being our favorite parts of the trip! She also warned of long drive times (Which we still did, and she was right - it was long). Amelia also booked things like lunches after a kayaking trip which ended up being a life saver as we only had minutes to eat before heading into another activity. Every hotel and activity was booked just as she indicated; we had no problems with reservation glitches at all. We also appreciated the list of things to see in each city on our daily itinerary, as we could pick our favorites and hope we didn't miss too much that we wish we had seen. 

Amelia at First Light Travel was extremely professional and efficient. 

Thanks for a great trip!

Dee, Mark and Madeline Dehart (USA)

First Light Travel, in particular Shelley Kirk, gets our five-star rating and strongest recommendation for anyone planning to vacation in New Zealand and/or Australia.

We are frequent travelers, prefer independent over group tours, and rarely work with a travel agent or agency. But knowing little about the lay of the land in Australia and New Zealand we decided to "try" working with an agent while planning our first, month-long visit. After Internet searching and reviewing the New Zealand Tourism site we sent a request for proposal to 4 agencies, including First Light Travel. We roughly described our schedule, interests, preferences, and budget and waited to hear back.

We received just 3 proposals, with one agency saying our budget was too small for them to even entertain. Shelley Kirk was the first to respond, provided the best proposal on every front (quality, cost, variety, etc.), and most importantly, she was willing to work with us on every facet of our trip. Shelley was able to put together an independent travel itinerary with the perfect balance of pre-planned activities and free time for us to get the absolute most out of our travel at our desired pace and price. In the face of changes and suggestions she was unfailingly open-minded, flexible and fun to work with!

It is rare to have the experience where everything on a holiday goes as planned; something always seems to go awry along the way. But honestly this vacation went off without a hitch: no surprises, no failures, and no problems with any aspect (flights, cars, transport, lodging, activities, etc., etc.) of our bookings. Our travel pack from Shelley included all the details and was an easy reference for each day of our holiday. While I can't credit Shelley with the weather (or can I???), even that was perfect during our stay!

If you're looking for someone to plan your dream vacation in Australia or New Zealand (or perhaps anywhere!) you should contact Shelley Kirk. A proposal costs you nothing and you may be as pleasantly surprised (thrilled) as we were at how well they meet or exceed your expectations.

We would be delighted to serve as a reference for Shelley Kirk and First Light Travel. Please feel free to message me if you have questions or would like additional information about our holiday plans. Best regards to Shelley and all the staff at First Light Travel. 

CJ and David Lambert
 

 Bethesda, MD USA