New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

I would highly recommend First Light Travel. From the outset, Jo Taylor was extremely helpful and attentive and I knew we'd be in safe hands. We had a very short time to pull an itinerary together for our 11 day tour of the South Island but Jo listened carefully to our needs and pulled together the most amazing trip we have ever had. We wanted to experience the spectacular scenery of New Zealand whilst also enjoying comfortable 4*+ accommodation and we were not disappointed. Everyday, we thought it couldn't get any better but the south island just kept exceeding our expectations. Milford Sound, The Milford Track and the Rob Roy Glacier Trek were all absolutely stunning and after a long day hiking, we'd always return to wonderful, comfortable, cozy accommodation with great people and great service. Thank you First Light Travel and Jo for a vacation we will never forget!

Sheryl & Troy Muniz Singapore

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

We traveled to the South Island of New Zealand with another couple and planned to stay 3 weeks to have a good look around. I started Googling what to see in NZ and came across First Light Travel, we didn’t look back. Kasey Yee was very professional and informative and came back promptly with an itinerary. We tweaked it a little until we were happy that our trip would be exceptional. Accommodation was very clean, centrally located and a great variation, from high quality hotels to a magnificent farm stay. Activities were very well thought through and even though we didn’t do anything extreme it suited ours needs. I thoroughly recommend First Light Travel …Kasey in particular, she took away all the stress of booking everything ourselves.

Kym Schwark & Helen Preston - Australia

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

First Light Travel helped me plan my sabbatical vacation to New Zealand. I didn't have time to research and plan my trip. I was on the internet trying figure out what I was going to do in New Zealand and happened upon their website by chance. We chatted and then we spoke on the phone. I told them what my husband and I like to do and they planned an itinerary for us and we made some tweaks to it. They were very responsive to all my questions and I'm glad I used them. We had an amazing vacation filled with great memories!

Victoria & Charly Baclig - USA

An experience of a lifetime. There is so much in the vastness of New Zealand and having Rhodri help us plan was he best decision we ever made. It was effortless, fun, and packed with activities. Would definitely do it again.

Kylie & Andrew Duby - USA

Jo at First Light Travel created a great itinerary tailored specifically to our expressed interests. All of the details required to coordinate transportation and scheduled activities meshed perfectly. All of our accommodations were top-notch. The hotels and B & B's typically included attractively-furnished rooms in scenic natural settings. All had extremely friendly and helpful hosts. All of our tours and guided hikes were with the best of the local tour companies and included knowledgeable guides and great local itineraries. We chose First Light Travel after reviewing about a half dozen different travel company itineraries because First Light Travel offered by far the best accommodations and combination of activities. We couldn't be happier with First Light Travel and would highly recommend them to anyone traveling to New Zealand.

Terry & Charlene Proeger - USA

Our trip was wonderful thanks to Chrissy at First Light Travel! She planned it all out based on what our interests were and we were able to do all of the things we had wanted to do, and see what we wanted to see. She had it all so planned out and organized for us. She answered all of our questions along the way and made changes to our itinerary as we talked to make sure we were well taken care of. Having it all pre-planned and paid made for a very stress-free vacation. We enjoyed it very much. Her “suggested activities” for each place we went to, were very helpful too.

Rod & Julie & Stacy Lehmann - USA

We loved First Light Travel from the first contact. Shelley was brilliant. All queries were answered promptly. Whilst in New Zealand we had to rearrange something and again Shelley dealt with it very efficiently. We would not hesitate to use first light travel again and have already recommend them to friends.

Robert and Glennis Holmes - United Kingdom