New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Our trip to the North and South Islands was a trip of a lifetime, thanks to Shelley! Our itinerary was perfectly planned and paced. Our first week was organized around the Milford Track Guided Walk with Ultimate Hikes, and we traveled up the South Island before concluding our trip sightseeing in Rotorua and Auckland on the North Island. Our itinerary was the most detailed we've seen, replete with suggested activities, descriptions of our accommodations (including the owners' names-very helpful), and information about Air New Zealand baggage limits. The travel and activity vouchers made our trip a snap, and our accommodations were expertly hand-picked. Shelley was wonderful to work with. She was responsive, detailed, and quick to answer our numerous questions.

We would definitely recommend Shelley and would enjoy working with her again!

Robert and Mara

I had the most unforgetable & amazing journey! I couldn't imagine not using First Light Travel. The itinerary was very detailed, day in and day out. The itinerary also decribed what the places where known for, & gives you suggestions on things to do & places to go. It tell you the exact times & is very precise with everything else. I was impressed. There was absolutley no stress on my vaca..and thats very rare!!! Everything that was booked exceeded out standards!! We were 2 very happy customers! I would def use First Light Travel Again if I head back that way, and or highly recommend them. Chrissy Sun, was also exceptional. She was informative, got right back to me, answered all my questions, & chatted with me to see what fit my interests!!

Thannks Again for Everything! We had a blast!! 

Shannon Kelly & Gino Dipietro - USA

Love your work Shelly!!

We get amazing feedback, and rightly so - our team works hard to create the perfect adventure for those about to travel ‘Downunder’. 

But this is cool, look what Shelly got in the post today. 

Thanks Charles and Brenna, we are stoked you had a blast in New Zealand (and Brenna said yes)

Nice Job Verity!!

Amazing! 19 days of pure excitement & exhilaration! Everyday was a new adventure with great accommodations & activities. Custom made itinerary organized perfectly based on our specific interests. "Hobbit" fever was free & we totally got wrapped up in it! First Light Travel is the perfect first impression of this fantastic country. We did not want to leave!

Every inquiry was replied to promptly and accurately despite the massive geographically distance between us. We became very confident in our decision to use a NZ based agency opposed to a local representative. The intimate knowledge of their own "backyard" gave us a travel experience beyond compare; certainly not one a local travel agent could arrange or we could put together ourselves.

Tomas Handfield & Leslie Peterson - Canada

A few images from our Fantastic Honeymoon in NZ superbly organised by Brent 10 years ago. Great to see First Light Travel has gone from strength to Strength. Keep it up.

Chris and Ciara

Hi Shelley, We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the most wonderful amazing holiday in New Zealand.

All our accommodation was excellent and the most wonderful congenial hosts at Blue Thistle Cottages were unbelievable. We found every New Zealander we met to be so friendly - in fact on arriving in Christchurch we asked the lady at the Colombo Street Apartments to recommend somewhere we could go for dinner and she suggested the Speight Pub a few blocks away. Whilst walking there we got drenched in a downpour, on arrival the Maitre dried our shoes by the big open fire, prepared a wonderful meal then got one of his staff to drive us home as it was still raining!!!!! How is that for hospitality! We only had one rainy day and that was our last day in Dunedin - other than that perfect sunny days.

The helicopter flight and landing blew us away, as did the Eco Tour at Wanaka (where Chris the guide had a relic thigh bone of a Moa that he had found), the Jet Boat and Rainforest tour of the Dart River fabulous, the Onsen Hot Pools in Queenstown so beautiful and relaxing, the Glow Worm caves at Te Anau amazing and we all loved the trip to Milford and the Cruise - especially David who wanted to see avalanches, snow, high mountains - he saw the lot!

We were amazed at the "value for money" of our trip and will definitely be recommending you to our friends. The scenery for the whole of the South Island just so beautiful .. originally from out west I have been used to flat brown sheep paddocks with dirty brown sheep .. In New Zealand lush green paddocks with lovely white sheep!

Many Many thanks for a wonderful wonderful holiday,
hugs,

Val and David

I would like to mention here..my husband and I travelled with u guys for 2 wks in oct.. and I must say that Suzie did such a wonderful job of putting together our schedule.. everything was so well thought of and taken care of ...right down to the smallest detail. (The only thing that didnt happen as mentioned in our detailed daily schedule was the rain..the rain Gods didnt happen to be on our side on couple of days.) Thanks to Suzie we never had trouble with anything on any day. She chose the best possible hotels/motels/lodges to suit our budget. We also did various different activities which allowed us to experience different aspects of this awesomely beautiful and extremely friendly country.. She was more than helpful and very patient while we made changes in our itineary.

In short... if u r reading this and trying to make up ur mind to book with first light or not... I can only say... close ur eyes and go ahead... and i am sure u wont regret it..

Once again, thank u Suzie for making this a holiday that we will remember for years to come... and God willing... if we do come back to do the things we missed ( there is just so much one can do in 2 wks in a country that has so much to offer!! ) we will think of u for sure...

Preeti Jobalia

Shelley did a tremendous job, tailored our itinerary to fit our interests and booked the most beautiful B&B's and hotels for us to stay. The two weeks we spent in New Zealand exploring both islands will forever burn brightly in our memories! We enjoyed everything! Each activity was unique and the type of things we wanted to do. Not too many, not too busy, absolutely perfect!

Thank you Shelley and First Light Travel!

Charles Hough and Brenna Hill

We, my wife and I had a very good time in New Zealand. You provided very natural routes and places to visit. Our driver and guide was very well informed and took care of our every need. We will recommend you to all our friends in the USA. Our experience of NZ was unique and happy. NZ is a country blessed with mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, plants and trees. 

Thank you First Light

Sumi & Suresh Shah , USA

Hi Shelley,

Good to hear from you , I hope you and all the family are well.
I have completed the feedback form and if you are feeling interested a selection of photos are below! I had such a wonderful time and I hope these give some idea of how much I saw.
Thank you again for all your help, especially when changes were made, it is very much appreciated and really allowed me to enjoy my travels.

Cheers,
Lee