New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

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 Chrissy,

We loved this trip! Being frequent travelers, it was the best we have had!

Everything was perfect: The timing in each place, The hotels (highlight to Rotorua ) and the Tours.

The country is fabulous with the nature, the people, etc... We would like to thank you Chrissy for all of it, without to know us (only by mail) you understood exactly our profile! Of course we'll recommend you to our friends at the first opportunity.

Next time: Fiji Islands

Once again, many thanks!

Very kind regards!

Ana & Paulo Pedroso - Portugal

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)

Hi Shelley, 

Now we are home. Long journey to be remembered! Once again, BIG THANK YOU! We filled out the survey form and will definitely recommend First Light to anyone willing to go to NZ. We were lucky with the weather except for one day when we had to cancel the horse rides. Great that all the other activities took place. Specially the helicopter flight and picnic at the peak! Fantastic!!! 

All the best,

Nikolay and Raisa Roslyakov

Jo,

We just wanted to drop you a note to thank you again. Our experience at the Watermark Studio Apartment was a highlight of our holiday in New Zealand. The floors were beautiful, the bed was comfortable, and the matching lounge chairs were great for relaxing reading while drinking some Waiheke wine from Man O’ War vineyards. The wall of glass has such a great ocean and coastline view that we were glad we kept our day of island adventure short. Every so often we would stop, glance at the picturesque scene, and savor the experience. It was such a wonderful place to relax in such a gorgeous country. While it may seem funny to some, another highlight was the breakfast. Thanks for the fresh kiwi!

Not sure if you are interested in our pictures, but here are just a few. Amy took the one of the wooden bench with an iPhone. It tops all the photos I took with my fancy Canon SLR! It’s going on our wall along with many others.

Warm regards,

Blaine and Amy Kelley - USA

"The Hot Air Balloon ride over Queenstown with champagne breakfast was a first time for both of us, and the views were stunning!"

Ken & Anne - USA

Hi Chrissy,

I am not much of a writer. All I can say that the views are fantastic and North and South islands are very different but both very beautiful . We enjoyed the trip very much.

Eleonora & Vladislav Aizenstadt (Canada)

Hi Kasey,

 We were totally satisfied with our experience working with you and First Light. Planning the trip was easy. You offered great suggestions and were flexible in helping us tailor the trip to our interests and schedule. Bookings were smooth, and whenever we showed up at a new hotel or event, everything went just as planned, without a hitch. 

Overall, we could not have been happier with our visit to New Zealand and the superb service you and First Light provided in making it such a positive experience. Thank you, and feel free to use my comments any way you choose. 

Sincerely,

Bill and Donna Miles - Annapolis, Maryland, USA

I cannot thank Suzie Thorpe and First Light Travel enough for designing such a lovely self drive vacation for us! Suzie was extremely prompt in responding to our inquiry, quickly provided a great itinerary, and suggested wonderful activities that really allowed us to experience so much of the country. She suggested locations and activities that we most likely wouldn't have found on our own. These experiences, such as the Tasman Glacier and kayaking in Milford Sound, made for many great memories. I am so glad we found First Light Travel and were able to benefit from their extensive knowledge of New Zealand!

Susan Moriarty & Kathleen Siemionko (USA)

The level of adventure for our age (61 and 62) was just tailormade. We absolutely loved to go on bushwalks with local guides to the most prestine areas, which were nearly impossible to find on our own. The fear of getting lost in these National Parks would stop us of even trying to go there. The selection of cruises and boat trips was also something we wouldn't have found by ourselves. The overwhelming choice on the internet is confusing. The choice of accomodation in Kinara Country Homestay and 124 on Brunswick are good examples of top choices.

Thanks Chrissy

Bob & Gabriella Trijbetz (Australia)