New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

We had a wonderful time during our 24 days in New Zealand, our longest holiday ever. Our only regret was not staying longer. We rented a car and driving was very easy. I think people don't realize how rural most of the country is, and that you are usually driving on two lane roads, with lots of single lane bridges! Not like the autobahns in Europe! And the scenery everywhere is breath taking. The itinerary from First Light was perfect - drive times, locations, experiences. I don't think we would have had such incredible encounters if we had booked this ourselves. We thought this would be a once in a lifetime trip, but we might be back!

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.

First Light Travel did a flawless job of planning and arranging this once in a lifetime vacation, and we truly couldn't be more happy with their service! Special shout out to Natalie for being so friendly and responsive, and for working so closely with my husband to plan this dream vacation.

We are so grateful that we chose to go with First Light Travel. It was so easy that we were taken care through the planning, from our arrival in New Zealand and during our driving tour that we didn’t want it to end. We got to experience so many wonderful parts of New Zealand without worrying about a thing. Accommodation, activity choices and little upgrades were exactly what we hoped. We had an amazing family trip thanks to First Light Travel.

Our trip exceeded our expectations! Kirsty Marriott listened to our requests for customizing our self guided South Island New Zealand trip and included everything we wanted to experience plus some. We highly recommend First Light Travel and Kirsty Marriott

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 Travel was absolutely amazing to work with! Specifically, we worked with Marcella, who created a perfect vacation for us through New Zealand. We wanted to see all the lord of the rings sites that we could and she put together an amazing itinerary that allowed us to see so much! Even got engaged at Hobbiton which was a dream! Marcella was so attentive to our needs and would help find alternatives to activities when we did not want the original ones she suggested. Such a delight to work with and will absolutely be using her again whenever we travel back to New Zealand!