New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Jo Taylor was right on the money with all the activities she had set for my NZ holiday experience, having my own mode of transportation was a good decision, being a loner and used to doing my own thing, was amazing to have my own mode of transportation.

I would highly recommend First Light Travel. From the outset, Jo Taylor was extremely helpful and attentive and I knew we'd be in safe hands. We had a very short time to pull an itinerary together for our 11 day tour of the South Island but Jo listened carefully to our needs and pulled together the most amazing trip we have ever had. We wanted to experience the spectacular scenery of New Zealand whilst also enjoying comfortable 4*+ accommodation and we were not disappointed. Everyday, we thought it couldn't get any better but the south island just kept exceeding our expectations. Milford Sound, The Milford Track and the Rob Roy Glacier Trek were all absolutely stunning and after a long day hiking, we'd always return to wonderful, comfortable, cozy accommodation with great people and great service. Thank you First Light Travel and Jo for a vacation we will never forget!

Sheryl & Troy Muniz Singapore

Shelly:

Thank you again for a wonderful trip.

I am pleased to provide a review of First Light Travel and their knowledgeable travel agent, Shelly Kirk. My wife and are experienced travelers and our expectations are extremely high. First Light Travel is a boutique travel agency that designs individualized itineraries for discerning travelers. After identification of our travel likes and dislikes a nearly thirty day New Zealand adventure/itinerary was specially prepared by Shelly Kirk (a New Zealand resident). When the travel packet arrived we were impressed with the abundant information as well as the detailed day-to-day specifics. Driving distances, recommended restaurants and special information for each day were detailed and easy to understand. Ms. Kirk designed a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime New Zealand trip as the accommodations, visual sights and specialized side trips were perfectly planned. Because of Shelly Kirk’s attention to detail we saw and experienced the best that New Zealand has to offer. Amazingly we did not experience a single negative experience during our trip. With highest accolades am pleased to recommend First Light Travel and their agent Shelly Kirk to future KIWI travelers. The personal touch and attention to detail is evident as during our trip Shelly Kirk arranged to meet us for lunch to insure our needs were being met. That personal encounter reveals the specialized treatment that one encounters with First Light Travel and Shelly Kirk. Please email me at A-varner@indstate.edu if you would like additional information.

Again, thank you for a wonderful trip.

Your New Friend.

Allen and Geraldine Varner - USA

Hi Jo!

It is Richard Tan. I would just like to thank you for organising such a wonderful and enjoyable trip. We really enjoyed ourselves very much. Both Heather whom we had as a guide in Wellington and Godfrey , who drove us to Martinborough and our guide there too were Super. They were simply fabulous. They were the best we had throughout our trip. Godfrey took care of us as though we were his family. Very professional.

Once again thanks a lot for showing us the best of your beautiful country, those places we had been to.

Have a great weekend.

Best regards

Richard Tan - Singapore

We traveled to the South Island of New Zealand with another couple and planned to stay 3 weeks to have a good look around. I started Googling what to see in NZ and came across First Light Travel, we didn’t look back. Kasey Yee was very professional and informative and came back promptly with an itinerary. We tweaked it a little until we were happy that our trip would be exceptional. Accommodation was very clean, centrally located and a great variation, from high quality hotels to a magnificent farm stay. Activities were very well thought through and even though we didn’t do anything extreme it suited ours needs. I thoroughly recommend First Light Travel …Kasey in particular, she took away all the stress of booking everything ourselves.

Kym Schwark & Helen Preston - Australia

We had a wonderful 10th anniversary trip to NZ South Island organised by First Light Travel :). Christine Goodger was a wonderful agent and arranged things such that the itinerary planned went very smoothly. She was able to adapt the plan when I unfortunately injured my knee and suggested good alternative activities to original ones we planned. We had no Issues transiting from the Transalpine railway to rental car. And the daily activities were not too tiring. The accommodation planned was also superb with friendly hosts and good locations.

I really thank Christine and the team for organising such a memorable trip.

Geoffrey Samuel & Michelle Tan - Singapore

We would definitely recommend First Light Travel. We booked our trip to New Zealand with First Light. Shelley was great to work with through the whole process. Very responsive, even when we cancelled one of our accommodations at the last minute she helped us get our money back. We had a general idea of where we wanted to go for our two week trip, but Shelley gave us great advice on places to go, things to see and do, and more than anything, found us excellent accommodations.

Mark and Christy Granger - USA

Highly recommend FLT, especially Jo Taylor. Jo was able to help us customize the perfect self-drive itinerary that included an ideal blend of planned activities and free time for spur-of-the-moment fun. Planning, booking, and travelling was easy and worry-free, thanks to Jo. The level of detail she provided before and during the trip made for a stress-free enjoyable vacation. Having traveled to 25+ countries, New Zealand is one that we definitely plan on returning to…maybe this time with the kids in tow! We won't hesitate to use Jo and FLT again for future NZ travels.

Sarah & Jeremy Hessel - USA

Jo did a fantastic job at preparing our itinerary and surprised us all with all the wonderful excursions! We had a group of 9 ranging from ages 4.5 to 67, Jo made the whole trip very easy to follow and enjoy! It was extremely stress free and all the accommodations were fab! I don't think I would've done a better job myself if I planned everything! All our excursions planned were amazing! And because we had no expectations, everything exceeded our expectations!! (if that makes any sense!) Will definitely go through Jo / First Light Travel again if we head back to NZ (which I'm sure we will!) and highly recommend them to anyone who wants it stress free if planning their trip to NZ! Just tell them your desire and they will make it happen! So glad I found them on the internet! Thank you Jo for your wonderful planning!

Abigail Tam and Family – Hong Kong

Shelley was an exceptional travel agent.  Having not been to NZ or Melbourne AUS we really needed the type of expertise she provided.  When our travel to NZ was delayed, she was excellent managing our schedule and re-booking required activities.  She was quite pleasant to work with and very timely in her responses.  I highly recommend her and the firm to others.

Paul, Carolann and Grant Stickler - USA