New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

 

To make your New Zealand travel dreams come true you need the right team in your corner.

That’s where we come in! We’ve been helping travellers enjoy the very best of New Zealand since 2001 and have learned plenty of tricks which will help you have a hassle-free and super fun NZ self drive holiday.

 

Here’s what our guests have to say about First Light Travel.

We have over 1000 five star online reviews - We are the highest rated New Zealand based travel agent and we have been around for nearly a quarter century!

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Mike & Ruth John

5
canopy Tours
Canada

For us, as first time visitors to New Zealand, booking with First Light Travel took all the hassle out of organising the trip. Christine was great - she gave us a suggested itinerary and then adapted it as we researched places to visit. All our pick-ups, car hires etc went smoothly. When Milford Sound was closed because the road was washed out Christine booked us a trip to Doubtful Sound. Many of the people we met on our travels missed out because they were unable to change tours (as I'm sure we would have been unable to if we had booked our own tour. We loved New Zealand and will visit again.

Mike & Ruth John - Canada


Pamela & Michael Najdowski  

5
Bridge
USA

We were super pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Narissa and the staff at First Light Travel. Narissa had responded for my request for help in planning a 13-day first-time trip to New Zealand to include highlights in both the North and South Islands during high season when booking could be tight. In a matter of hours she came up with an excellent plan that managed to fit in all of our hopes. My husband and I were most impressed by the selection of providers of the special activities that they recommended. I think it would have been difficult to determine the best providers and tour guides for us on our own. The documents provided to us in advance and at our first hotel were stellar. We never had any questions or doubts about what we should be doing to take full advantage of what was arranged in advance and what we could do with our free time.

If we had been unsure that we had the full support of First Light Travel while in New Zealand, we soon learned that they had us fully covered. On the third day of the trip I left my phone, wallet, and travel vouchers at a small roadside rest area. Shortly after I called First Light and they had already communicated with a police office who took my now found items to our next travel stop on our itinerary. I am so glad that we made it in time to join the Spellbound Glowworm Cave Experience, which was a treasure in itself. We had no other difficulties or confusions on the rest of our well organized trip.

Pamela & Michael Najdowski   USA


Robert & Linda Marlow

5
Marlow
Huntsville Alabama USA

I did a lot of research before deciding on First Light Travel. I could not have made a better choice. First Light Travel responded to my initial inquiry right away and got the process started to plan our trip to New Zealand and Australia. She made the whole experience as easy as it could be. Emails and phone calls were always helpful and informative. Even with a couple of unexpected flight changes and other issues they had it all taken care of in no time. This was the vacation of a lifetime and First Light Travel made it all come true. I would definitely use First Light Travel again.

Robert & Linda Marlow  - Huntsville Alabama


Valerie & Jere Jackson

5
Island
United States of America

We give FirstLight the highest ratings possible. Our detailed itinerary was perfect & included driving times that were within 5-10 min of our planned schedule!! Our consultant  really listened to us & responded promptly to our questions & her suggestions were extremely helpful. First Light Travel made our trip a truly unforgettable, wonderful experience.

We strongly recommend First Light Travel.

Valerie & Jere Jackson  - United States of America


Marian & Robert Klein

5
Hiking in New Zealand
USA

First Light Travel and Deb Evans planned a perfect three week trip for my husband and me. She totally understood both our activity preferences and our level for hotels. We are hikers and it was a complex itinerary,we covered lots of area and activities. Her suggestions were awesome. It was one of the best trips we've taken. I feel we got great value for the cost. (picture is summit McKinnon Pass)

Marian & Robert Klein - USA


Thomas and Sinden Schoedel

5
Milford Track
USA

Hi Shelley,

Well, Sinden and I just got back from our long anticipated trip to your neck of the woods and I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know everything went without a hitch.  All of the transfers were flawless, and we had no delays or issues of any kind.  So kudos to you for setting everything up for us and it working so well!  We never could have done it ourselves.  Here’s a little feedback from our trip:

The Milford Track exceeded our highest expectations!  What an incredible experience, and we had great weather the whole time, including a downpour on the third day of the hike which gave us the grandest waterfalls all around!  I will definitely do it again, perhaps in three years as I’d like to bring my son when he graduates from college.  Only this time I would like to spend more time in NZ, perhaps touring some coastal towns and more of the north island.  But plenty of time to think about it.  The last day in Queenstown we did an unguided bike tour of the Gibbston Valley wineries just outside of Queenstown which was the perfect way for us to spend the day.  We started in the small town of Arrowtown, did some gift shopping, and then biked about 5 miles or so to the Valley, crossing the original bungee jumping bridge in the process.  It was a great day sampling some wonderful wines in a beautiful setting!

The night we spent in Auckland awaiting our flight to Tahiti, we went to the city center for dinner and stumbled across the Grill.  While we didn’t have reservations, they accommodated us after a 20 minute wait, which we spent getting a cocktail at their bar.  Hands down the best steak my wife or I have ever had.  If we ever are in Auckland again, we will definitely return there!  Highly recommended.  Pricey, but worth it in our opinions.

Bottom line – we will definitely be back to NZ!  Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Thanks again for everything!!

Sincerely

Thomas and Sinden Schoedel - USA


Maureen Hutson and John Chase

5
NZ Waterfalls
Hiking NZ
Pelorus River
Kayaking
Routeburn Flats
Canada

We put this trip together very quickly only two months before, thanks to Rhodri’s itinerary suggestions and the arrangements he was able to make for us.  We felt very lucky about this as we were aware we had left it very late.  Rhodri found us good flight connections and great accommodations throughout New Zealand that were beautiful and yet connected to the local people and the surrounding environs.  My husband and I had requested an active trip and Rhodri delivered a variety of experiences for us so that we had a fabulous time.  We travelled for 16 days and did and saw a lot, giving us a very good appreciation for all that New Zealand has to offer.  Highlights include the Glow Worms Cave in Waitomo, hiking the Tongariro Crossing on a perfect sunny day, hiking along the Queen Charlotte Track after a water taxi ride on the Marlborough Sound out to the trail, kayaking both on a river in Havelock as well as on the ocean in Kaikoura, and the days we spent based in Queenstown.  From that beautiful city we did an excellent day trip out to Milford Sound and a day hike on the Routeburn Track, and very much enjoyed a “down day” where we cruised on a beautiful lake to Mt. Nicholas Farm where we learned about sheep farming followed by a 14 km cycle to Walter Peak sheep station where we partook of an incredible barbecue lunch.  All of our day trips were well-arranged for us and we just showed up and enjoyed the activity.  Many activities were guided, but we did a few on our own as well.  We added in a trip to the Redwoods in Rotorua, a stop at Waiotapu for the geothermal area and did some impromptu hikes in other areas including beautiful Akaroa.  Also a stop at a winery for lunch outside of Blenheim.  First Light Travel and Rhodri were so very easy to deal with and created a wonderful memorable trip for us.  When we needed to change the itinerary  to allow one more day, Rhodri was able to quickly do so.  He was very responsive to my emails.  Our flight arrangements were smooth, the accommodations were nicely appointed and well located, and the car rental went well.  It seems that everywhere we showed up, whether for a rental car, activity tour, ferry ride or the bed and breakfasts and small hotels, people were expecting us and made us feel welcome. 

We costed out the trip at the end and our calculations showed that we actually saved a few hundred dollars by booking with First Light Travel, rather than booking things separately ourselves.  My husband and I highly recommend First Light for anyone considering a New Zealand trip.

Maureen Hutson and John Chase - Canada


Mona & Adam Banes

5
New Zealand Glaciers
USA

Flawless trip! First light was recommended by our friends. From the moment we connected with Jo, she was on top of making sure our trip was planned and that we were able to accomplish all of our travel goals. She took careful note of the activities we wanted to do, and gave us great recommendations on activities that she thought we should do. Every day was perfectly planned out, from what time to leave, an accurate description of the activity, and other recommendations to do in our (very little)downline. My Husband and I were only able to visit NZ for 2 weeks and somehow Jo managed to get us to all of our destinations with a couple extra stops along the way. Jo had great communication with us, and did everything she could to stay within our budget (which we thought would be impossible during the Holiday travel!) We have already recommended Jo and First Light to a few family and friends! Thank you for an unforgettable 2 week journey through your beautiful country!!

Mona & Adam  Banes - USA


Grzegorz Banas & Danuta Rarus-Banas NZ & OZ

5
New Zealand Holiday
USA

We wanted to thank you for organizing our travel to New Zealand and Australia and I'll be back! Jo Taylor has selected the itinerary to meet our needs. Also, Jo Taylor was really helpful to reschedule weather related events during our journey.

The journey was great!

Grzegorz Banas & Danuta Rarus-Banas - USA


Manson and Tuanhong Koh

5
Honeymoon Itinerary
Singapore

My wife and I had a great trip to the south for 2 weeks, we enjoyed every bit of it! Big thanks to Dawn, our coordinator, for her fabulous planning for our trip. It was hassle free, packed with variety of activities we get to do and space for us to explore. And the pace was perfect for us. No stress! Thanks for making our trip a pleasant one. We love NZ!

Manson and Tuanhong Koh - Singapore



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