New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Dawn's expertise in knowing the best accommodations and events far surpassed what I could have learned in trying to plan our five-week drive through New Zealand. The itinerary was perfectly paced. Our accommodations were delightful- from unique B&B's to urban hotels. The trip was magical from beginning to end with no glitches! We loved working with Dawn. She began by learning our trip goals and budget and then provided us with the first draft itinerary.

Thank you, Dawn - you were amazing!

Connie & Alden Meyer - United States of America

Just sitting at the airport waiting for our flight home and thought I’d take the time to express my thanks for putting together such a wonderful package of great accommodations, (Appledore Lodge, Breakers Boutique, and Alexis Motel in Queenstown were our favorite) activities, (HeliHike on Franz Josef was terrific as well as all the kayaking) and the towns we traveled to or through. Everyone: guides, drivers, and hosts in NZ were super; their knowledge of the country and ease of sharing all they know was not only helpful but gave us an appreciation of this magical country. We were blessed with 18 sunny days and only 3 of rain, so the gods were with us.

Kevin and I will certainly recommend your agency to any of our friends traveling this way.

Sincerely,

Kevin and Linda Carroll – California USA

Our trip to New Zealand far exceeded our expectations. We knew the country would be beautiful but the reality was so much greater than our imagination. Because we spent a lot of time talking with Rhodri, our travel agent, about our interests and our style of traveling, we were able to see the country in exactly the way we enjoy. The choice of accommodations, activities and tours suggested by him were perfect and often involved things we never thought we would like quite so much. He was very open to our desire for free days to explore on our own and didn't try to sell us on additional tours. He was very responsive when needed while we were traveling as well. Because he is a New Zealander and knows his country, we felt we received the best advice possible regarding places to visit that also allowed us a very active and personal experience.

We loved everything that Rhodri planned with us, but our favorites were the tour of the Maori village in Rotorua, the biking and farm experience outside Queenstown, kayaking at Abel Tasman and Milford Sound and Okarito. The very best, however, was the boat cruise through Doubtful Sound.

Richard and Anita Aherne - United States of America

New Zealand is about as far from the East Coast of the United States as you can get, but worth all the time and expense to get there. We spent a month in February (midsummer in NZ, dead of winter in Massachusetts) and had a fabulous time, but felt we only scratched the surface. The scenery is out of this world, the lodgings are primo, and the food was almost universally excellent. First Light Travel worked with us to develop a plan that fit our interests almost perfectly. One of our best vacations ever (and Lisa and I have been traveling the world ever since getting married in 1973)!

Tom & Lisa Redburn - United States of America

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for helping to put together such a wonderful, wonderful trip!  You were so helpful, timely with your responses, and caring.  I’ll definitely recommend you to others who plan to travel to NZ.  (You’re so lucky to live there.  My husband and I are talking about moving J).

Kathy Royer - USA

Wow! What an amazing holiday we had driving across the North Island. It was a truly easy experience knowing that all our plans were booked far in advance and we still had time to add our own stops along the way. A big thank you to these guys, who planned this trip for us almost a year in advance. With so much to see and do, First Light Travel made it easy for our family!

Ashley, Bryan, Abigail and Emmett Grass

I can not recommend First Light Travel highly enough. They worked with us to create a wonderful vacation, excellent accommodation, and great tours. Whenever we wanted to make adaptations they were flexible. I only wish that they provided holidays all over the world as I would use them everywhere. If you are going to NZ look no further.

Heather & Paul Mullin – United Kingdom

We have very limited time for our trip and our consultant has amazing skills. She made a trip proposal that is perfectly met our request. I strongly recommend that if you planning to travel to New Zealand please don’t waste your time on your search engine and you just need to grab the right Travel planer from First Light Travel. That’s will solve all your problems and you will really enjoy your wonderful trip.

Nan Khaing and Naychi Ei - Singapore

Hi Sofie,

Our trip was fantastic! Thank you so much for putting together this amazing experience for us!

Kind regards,

Matt and Alison Smith family – United States of America

Thank you First Light! We have just returned from an amazing 27-day vacation in New Zealand and with Dawn’s help, it was a fantastic, once in a lifetime experience. Dawn worked closely with us, setting up our self-driving tour including our suggestions and offering many great ones of her own. The end result was the perfect itineray in which there were no issues whatsoever. Kudos to Dawn at First Light for the great job she did in creating our perfect holiday!

Debbie Thompson & Ron Forrester - Canada