New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

We were looking for something special to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We started to check out New Zealand on line and saw things we liked so we contacted First Light Travel. They came up with an itinerary on some of the things we wanted to see and they added to our list. The itinerary was what we had hoped for. It was well planned and everything was booked ahead of time. Our hotels, excursions and travelling were all lined up. This made for a relaxed and pleasurable trip .They also planned down time for us so we could do some exploring on our own. First Light Travel made this holiday something very special for us, we could not have done this on our own. We highly recommend this travel company. Thank you First Light Travel.

We were so very glad we chose First Light to help us plan our independent touring time in New Zealand. Our first contact was with Bernadette where she inquired about our interests and desires for our trip and engaged in dialogue to help us refine our trip. Then we worked with Katarina who saw us through the rest of the process and answered questions at the last minute and also while we were on our trip. We were thoroughly happy with their expertise and assistance throughout the whole process. We ended making a couple of changes which they helped us through very smoothly. We loved not having to buy tickets for activities and having our hotels prearranged and paid. There was also the right amount of free time to explore on our own or just rest which we worked out together through the planning process.

Our 21-day trip through the South Island of New Zealand was simply amazing, thanks to Micala at First Light Travel. She planned everything perfectly—fantastic sights, great accommodations, and incredible activities—all running like clockwork. We absolutely loved every moment and couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Highly recommend!

We had a great trip! Essentially, it was everything we had hoped and thought it would be. We especially loved the South Island (we thought this would be the case before our trip and it turned out to be so). Heidi listened well and heard us (activities we enjoyed, kinds of places we liked to stay). She patiently went back and forth with us and developed an itinerary that we thoroughly enjoyed. Now, having traveled to New Zealand, there are changes we would make (e.g., wouldn't stop in Rotorua, spending the time in Christchurch instead, maybe go to an outlying island for our stay in Fiji), but we would say that our itinerary allowed us to see so much of New Zealand in our 4 weeks visiting, soaking in the local flora, fauna, and culture. The itinerary also had some built-in free time which we appreciated and enjoyed. It allowed us to book some things on our own such as the National Museum (Wellington), Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, Highlanders/Blues Rugby match in Dunedin, wine tasting (South Island), and just wander into and through interesting places (The Wool Company in Utiku, Foxton Beach, Cardrona).

New Zealand is a beautiful and welcoming country. Food was delicious and services informal but professional. Hotels, in general, lack charm and character but First Light's choices were all comfortable and clean with everything one could need available.

We can not think of anything that could be improved, even mid trip when we contacted Heidi to add things, events it was actioned within hours. We highly recommend this company for New Zealand tours, and look forward to using them again. Their honesty of competitiveness re flights from the UK was refreshing, allowing us to stay in Singapore on both journeys for the same cost.

First Light were the first people we contacted regarding our trip to New Zealand and from start to finish were most helpful in helping us to fulfil this trip of a life time. They kept us up to date ,when we were traveling around New Zealand, of any disruptions that we might encounter and were on the end of the phone if we needed them. Thank you.

Kirsty completely customized our itinerary to ensure our vacation was everything we hoped for. She provided 3 iterations at different price points and with varying scope, fine-tuning it as we went along. Her professionalism, cheerful guidance and suggestions (and patience!) were so appreciated. We would recommend First Light to any first-time visitors who would like to enjoy New Zealand to its fullest.

Thank you for a well thought and planned itinerary. Really enjoyed our holiday. Also i am coeliac and Heidi conveyed this to all experiences so was so great to have this sorted for me.

Jessika did an amazing job of planning our vacation. She chose great tours and sights for us to see. This was a once in a lifetime trip and I will never forget all the great memories. There were no problems with any of our reservations or our itinerary. Everything went so smoothly. Loved staying at the Hermitage at Mt. Cook. Seeing the sun shine on the snow peak was unforgetable. Enjoyed Hokianga harbor a great deal and it was unexpected. Thank you Jessika