New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

We made a last minute decision to travel to NZ north Island for Christmas 2023. Fight Light Travel were amazing in tailoring an itinerary to suit our timetable and specific interests and recommended places to visit based on our specific interests at such short notice. Fight Light Travel were a pleasure to deal with, they were very professional, great communicators and listened to our ideas as well. We packed a lot into our 12 days on the road with a self drive tour. We had a hassle free holiday. Thanks you Tatyana and your team. We will be using FLT again. cheers Gregg and Jenny

Found First Light Travel on the internet and gave them a call. I talked to Narissa Phillips who helped us plan and execute a really fun tour. Everything went according to plan. One hotel room was a disappointment but they got us a refund for the inconvenience. They did place us for three nights at the River Resort which was fantastic! We were concerned about driving on the left, but the roads are well marked and safe to drive. First Light Travel included a wonderful comprehensive map guide of New Zealand. This plus the GPS made driving a snap.

Narissa was terrific and thorough, and her charming accent just added to the positive experience with First Light Travel.

Mel and Sue Thompson -  USA

Michelle was fabulous! She was prompt, attentive, clearly communicated, and when our Heli Hike at Franz Josef Glacier was cancelled due to bad weather, she made sure we received our refund, and she gave us timely updates regarding road closures due to construction and bad weather. And when I left my ipad at the hotel in Mount Cooke, Michelle gave me valuable information about a bus route that would leave Mount Cook in time to get to our next hotel in Christchurch. Because of this, the bus driver arrived later that same day in our new city with my iPad! Michelle is a gem, make sure you don’t lose her!!!!

Linda and Bruce Shore - Canada

Our trip to New Zealand was nothing short of amazing. What a beautiful country! We were lucky enough to spend a month touring both islands, and Christine did an excellent job of listening to my inputs and designing a trip that was just perfect for my husband and me. We cannot say enough good things about First Light Travel or New Zealand.

Elaine & Scott Keller - USA

First Light Travel did an amazing job! They took the time to understand our wants, needs and abilities as well as our budget. They planned out our whole itinerary. Hotels, transfers, excursions and car rentals (31 vouchers in all). We were expected and welcomed in every one. Thank you to Jo and Suzie for making our New Zealand experience everything we hoped it would be.

Gary & Nancy Houghton – 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

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

My first time to NZ & what a trip. First Light Travel were exceptional in helping to plan our itinerary, & the trip went well without a hitch. The whole process went like clockwork & the voucher system for bookings made it so much easier for us. I would definitely use First Light Travel for any trip to NZ. Great communication & feedback - essential when planning a trip.

Just go to First Light Travel as your No 1 travel site.

Eric & Leanne Steacy - Australia

Thank you, for all your help in organizing our trip to your wonderful country. The itinerary you created for us was an excellent balance between scheduled activities/"must sees" and unscheduled time. We saw a great deal and got a good sense of New Zealand from all the places we visited.

Jean, Mark & Emily Greaves - USA

My husband and I debated for months where we should go for our honeymoon, but after our first call with Toni from First Light Travel, it became clear to us that New Zealand was the right choice. From the very beginning, Toni was friendly, informative, and just incredibly helpful. We quickly learned that New Zealand had so much to offer, with locations and excursions that fit perfectly with our personalities and desired trip. Toni took the time to listen to our preferences, understand our time frame, and respect our budget. We made a few tweaks to our itinerary, but it didn't take much work at all to craft the perfect 2 week excursion.

While the planning process itself was noteworthy, our actually trip exceeded our expectations in every way. Travel was not only easy, but enjoyable. Ever taxi, transfer, booking and reservation went smoothly and on time. Every hotel was stayed at was friendly and accommodating, and the materials prepared by First Light (and given to us upon arrival) provided just the right amount of detail to make sure our trip went off without any issue. We fell in love with New Zealand, and it's with thanks to First Light Travel for making sure we made the most of our time in such a beautiful country. We really couldn't be any happier with our experience!

Sarah Futernick and Matthew Peven - USA