New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

This was the easiest vacation I have ever planned. I left the planning details to the NZ experts and was not disappointed! Fantastic trip, with a detailed itinerary that took out all the stress! Jo made excellent, informed recommendations that let us see as much as we could in the 12 days allotted. The trip went like clockwork!

We felt we got the most of the time we had and, of course, want to return when we have more time - Must come back!

Holly Nelson & Ben Dossett – Texas USA

Hi Shelley,

Just wanted to let you know that we had a fantastic time in New Zealand also! On behalf of the crew, I would like to express a heartfelt thank-you to you and your team!

We very much enjoyed the tours you selected. My wife had concerns about the hotel room in Mt Cook as she thought it was a “motel”. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that you booked a Chalet! The room was nice and clean, and also close to Hermitage where our booked activities took place. How thoughtful! When our fight to Christchurch was cancelled due to a nail in one landing tire (no kidding!), you and your team quickly responded with rearranging hotel and transfer. While we were stressed by the disruption, we were comforted by the fact that there was always a member from your team answering our after-hour calls and helping. You were diligently monitoring weather and adjusting our itinerary in order to maximize our chance to make the Milford Sound flight. We did! The aerial view of mountains and lakes on Milford flight was breathtaking! It was the best part of our trip! We were much impressed by both the beauty of New Zealand and your service! We now feel like we have a friend there. 

Thank you again!

Warm regards,

Yc and Jingyuan Luo - USA

Wonderful service, wonderful itinerary.... my tour was smooth and efficient. The routes chosen were wonderful with the right amount of time between traveling and staying.

John Dodson - United States of America

Merry Christmas Joe,

I haven’t given up on returning to NZ to “Finish our Trip”, though it might be another year or two. But you can be sure you will be the first to know.

Thank you again for putting together such a wonderful trip for us.

Mark, Renee, Adam and Jennie Greenstein - Calafornia USA

Hi Deb,

I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you personally for all of your efforts in helping to create our perfect holiday.

My reason for wanting to go to New Zealand was because my Mum used to always talk about going to New Zealand.  Mum passed away last year and never got the chance so this was my way of honoring her dream as well as my own.

Allan and I got to see and do things that we never thought we would and no holiday we take again will ever be as good as our trip to New Zealand. As requested, I have attached some holiday snaps.  Lots of snow in November was not something we were expecting but was a fabulous bonus!

Thanks again for all of your efforts.

Allan Donaldson & Wendy Crow – Victoria, Australia

We had been to New Zealand a long time ago for business, but only had a few days to get a taste for this incredible country. We had an idea of what we wanted to do when we had the opportunity to return. Jo Taylor worked with us to craft an itinerary that really was spot on. The accommodations were places we would never have found on our own, and they thought of all the details regarding activities, itinerary, transfers, etc. Hiring Jo, and the First Light team was a great decision for us!

Adam & Marsha Rujan - USA

Judith planned the New Zealand trip for my dad and me. It was amazing. We enjoyed every part of it! The accommodations were more than perfect and they were located in the most beautiful places. We did have some trouble during our trip and the only thing we had to do was call First Light Travel. Judith, Anne and Jo were always there to help. We can’t thank you enough!

Corina Cuijpers and Bert Clement - Holland

From the beginning Jo has been exceptional!! And she had to deal with planning a trip for 5 people, all who had never been to NZ, only having 8 days and of course wanting to see North and South!!! She had her hands full with us but handled it beautifully. Especially when our departure flight to get to NZ was cancelled, Jo helped us figure out which excursions to keep and which to let go and communicated with the excursion company to pick us up from the airport. Even throughout the journey, there were a few hiccups, none of which were the fault of Jo's, but she helped us and was very easy to communicate with. We all loved our trip and most definitely want to go back to NZ and would use First Light Travel again and Jo!!!!

Dani & Ben Wehrle - USA

We took a two-week journey thru both islands by car. Yep, we drove 1500 miles in two weeks, stayed in 9 cities, and had an experience of a lifetime. We stayed in Auckland, Taupo, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, Punakaiki, Fox Glacier, Queenstown, and Te Anau, and went jetboating, helihiking, bungy jumping, museum visiting, fiord cruising, bike riding, fine dining, meat pie dining, and glowworm caving.

The logistics and booking of this rather complex trip were handled by our travel consultant extraordinaire, Amelia Riwai. After exchanging emails about what it was I wanted to do and some preferences about lodging, she was able to put together our rather ambitious itinerary. The materials provided regarding the itinerary, driving times, and scheduling made this a really easy trip to navigate. Basically, I just followed her instructions, set the GPS, and off we went.

The properties that we stayed in were perfect for us, and some of them were so fabulous that we will stay in them again if/when we come back to this wonderful country.
Seriously, if you're on the fence about coming to NZ, don't be; this place is the most beautiful country we've ever seen, the people are so incredibly kind and friendly, and any time spent here is time well spent. And let First Light handle the arrangements; they know this country incredibly well and will build a custom itinerary to suit you.

Albert Camacho JR & Dolores Camacho - USA

Booking with First Light Travel was an exceptional, stress-free experience. We booked through Dawn who was always prompt (as much as a 16 hr time difference allows), informative, and always ready to change things to our liking. All information, documentation, and vouchers were ready and sent to us well in advance of our trip which further reduced the stresses of international travel. Once we arrived in NZ we had zero problems as everything was set up and ready for us. We simply told them who we were and it was ready to go! We were kept busy going all over the South Island with excursions and new experiences around every corner. It was truly a trip of a lifetime, and the best part, well within our budget! I would absolutely use them again and recommend them to anyone going to NZ or anywhere else they operate.

Taylor Green & Lauren Jones - USA