New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

We were connected with Chrissy 5 years ago when we traveled to New Zealand. This time, we visited Australia and were thrilled to be connected with Chrissy again! She did just as exceptional a job as the first time. Our interests were taken to heart and she really helped us make the most of our time in Australia. It's quite large, compared to New Zealand, so we had to really pick and choose for our two week trip. We didn't see it all (not even close), but the sample we got gave us enough memories to last a lifetime! We visited Sydney and took a wine tour into the Hunter Valley. We went to Port Douglas and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. We explored Melbourne and enjoyed a 4-day guided lodge walk along the Great Ocean Walk. An exceptional vacation from start to finish. Loved traveling independently, but knowing we had an expert to rely on should anything come up.

Zen & Adam Godfrey - USA

Everything about our New Zealand vacation, starting from our decision to use First Light Travel, was just perfect. We went back and forth with Shelley several times to create the perfect itinerary for us, which includes lots of activities as well as several days or parts of days for us to discover our own adventures. This was the perfect way to go, because all along the way we met the most friendly people who recommended other activities, sights, and places to check out. New Zealand is by far the most beautiful, friendly, welcoming, and activity-filled place I've ever traveled.

My husband was initially reluctant about not planning our own trip, but as soon as he realized that he could still be as involved in the planning as he wished, he realized how amazing it would be to have all our reservations made and paid for up front. And from the moment we left home, everything was easy and taken care of, and we could just relax and enjoy being on vacation.

We fell completely in love with everything about New Zealand, and can't wait to go back (and of course to have First Light Travel plan everything!).

Alex Suchman and Alexander Trempe - USA

Kia Ora! It was such a lovely honeymoon trip to NZ for both of us. We depart from Indonesia to Auckland on the first day and spent 1/2 days in Auckland to explore the city before started the journey to the south in the next day. We rented a car in Auckland and drove south to Waitomo to watch spectacular scenes during glow worm cave tour and had a warm dinner nearby the place. The next day it was time to drive to Rotorua for another adventure. And the next day, and the next until the 8th days full of exciting tour and activity until we flew back home from Wellington. We had a great time in New Zealand thanks to the fabulous activity and accommodation recommendation from First light travel. The travel agent was very kind (thank you, Michelle!) and super helpful. I would like to recommend anyone going to New Zealand to use First Light travel service if you want to have a pleasant and smooth vacation without any fuss along the way.

Ivan Vincent & Lisa Sutikno - South Korea

Kasey & Christine,

 We just wanted to thank you both so much for everything you did for us in planning and coordinating our honeymoon trip.  The responsiveness and communication of working with you made our experience so nice and easy.  Everything was perfect, and the fact that every detail was accounted for and coordinated made our experience perfect.

 Our trip was amazing as we absolutely loved both Fiji and New Zealand.  Going into the trip we said it was a once in a lifetime trip for us, but after traveling we will definitely plan to be back to both in the future.  Our itinerary was the perfect mix of relaxation in Fiji, and activities in New Zealand.  We loved everything we did and would recommend the same itinerary to other couples looking to do a trip.  We highly recommend Tokoriki and Hulbert House for accommodations for people in the future.  Both places were amazing, and the hospitality of the people made us feel at home and very comfortable.

 Thank you very much, and we hope to work with you again in the future! 

 Paul Shamoian & Elizabeth Sulser - USA

Discovering New Zealand with First Light Travel was exciting and colourful and great value. The planning and booking process by Deb Evans our travel consultantwas so complete and accurate that we had no need to call the agency at any time throughout our trip we only spent our time enjoying it.

Bernardo Karapen & Celina Wainer - Argentina

Shelley Kirk, our consultant from First Light Travel did an amazing job organizing our 6.5 week trip to New Zealand. We found First Light Travel on the internet and were extremely happy about the product they prepared for us. Shelley solicited lots of information from us and then organized a brilliant trip. We saw more of New Zealand than many Kiwi and had many wonderful experiences. Each day was a new adventure. Everything went off like clockwork and we met other travelers who had experienced lots of hitches. Shelley found us great accommodation, consistently, and there was good variety. When a scheduled outing was cancelled by the provider, Shelley was on top of it and quickly arranged a similar outing in a different city. When we ourselves had to cancel an outing, again Shelley was responsive and took care of it. One of our accommodation hosts commented to us that she liked working with Shelley because of her high level of organization, sending a reminder email the day before a guest was arriving. With the detail provided by First Light Travel, our Lonely Planet guide to New Zealand was superfluous,not needed and of zero help. Thanks so much to Shelley and First Light Travel for organizing a trip of a lifetime, which was a celebration of 50 years of marriage.

Walter and Janice Hambley - Canada
 

Shelly:

Thank you again for a wonderful trip.

I am pleased to provide a review of First Light Travel and their knowledgeable travel agent, Shelly Kirk. My wife and are experienced travelers and our expectations are extremely high. First Light Travel is a boutique travel agency that designs individualized itineraries for discerning travelers. After identification of our travel likes and dislikes a nearly thirty day New Zealand adventure/itinerary was specially prepared by Shelly Kirk (a New Zealand resident). When the travel packet arrived we were impressed with the abundant information as well as the detailed day-to-day specifics. Driving distances, recommended restaurants and special information for each day were detailed and easy to understand. Ms. Kirk designed a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime New Zealand trip as the accommodations, visual sights and specialized side trips were perfectly planned. Because of Shelly Kirk’s attention to detail we saw and experienced the best that New Zealand has to offer. Amazingly we did not experience a single negative experience during our trip. With highest accolades am pleased to recommend First Light Travel and their agent Shelly Kirk to future KIWI travelers. The personal touch and attention to detail is evident as during our trip Shelly Kirk arranged to meet us for lunch to insure our needs were being met. That personal encounter reveals the specialized treatment that one encounters with First Light Travel and Shelly Kirk. Please email me at [email protected] if you would like additional information.

Again, thank you for a wonderful trip.

Your New Friend.

Allen and Geraldine Varner - USA

Hi Jo!

It is Richard Tan. I would just like to thank you for organising such a wonderful and enjoyable trip. We really enjoyed ourselves very much. Both Heather whom we had as a guide in Wellington and Godfrey , who drove us to Martinborough and our guide there too were Super. They were simply fabulous. They were the best we had throughout our trip. Godfrey took care of us as though we were his family. Very professional.

Once again thanks a lot for showing us the best of your beautiful country, those places we had been to.

Have a great weekend.

Best regards

Richard Tan - Singapore

I had never used an agent before, but Shelley did a fantastic job getting to know us first via email and then via phone, then putting together a near-perfect itinerary for our 7-week New Zealand road trip adventure! Having our itinerary booked and paid for ahead of time made for a stress-free holiday once we were there. The pacing was just right too — a 3-4 hour drive between each location, then usually staying two or three nights at each accommodation.

Bruce & Carol Oppenheim - USA

Dear Jo,

We had a wonderful time in nz thanks to your terrific advice, help, and planning of such a good itinerary. The trip was great and we want to thank you for your work in making this such a memorable experience. We will definitely use you again if we return to nz and will tell all our travel friends about First Light Travel. Your attention to lodging, places of interest, and transportation, all made the the trip so much easier than if we had tried to do this on our own. All you promised was delivered and the ease of contacting you made planning so simple.

Thanks again for your invaluable help.

Henry & Janet Capillary - North Carolina USA