New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Feb 3, 2025 - Thank you Anna for orchestrating an incredible vacation to New Zealand. On a scale of 1 to 10 you are a 12.
Your attention to detail and professionalism led to a flawless and most enjoyable trip. Every stop we made, the hotel, rental car agency or sightseeing vendor was aware of our booking, and this made the trip seamless. What a wonderful way of traveling. There was not one issue or uncomfortable situation.

The self-guided trip allowed us to be ourselves and travel at the pace we wanted. We got the opportunity to see what both the North and South Islands have to offer. On the North Island in Auckland the All-Blacks Experience gave us our first glimpse into the Maori culture; the haka for both the men's and women's teams were definitely a highlight. Thank you to Flynn for navigating us through this. Hobbiton was next. A magical stop that brought us to another place and time - middle earth. Ellie made our tour memorable. She is a delight. She provided us with many details regarding the filming and the numerous homes of the Shire including the construction of Bag End. Being able to walk into the many rooms of Samwise Gamgees house was very special. The detail of the construction and furniture makes this a must see. In Rotorua the walk amongst the redwoods was very special for us. The hanging walkways was amazing. A beautiful way to experience them. A big thank you to Marcelo for his leading us through the mountain biking tour in the Whakarewarewa Forest and Jacob for his patience and guidance in leading us onto one of the Rotorua Lakes at dusk to view the glow worms in the nearby caves. A truly unforgettable experience. With no light pollution the glow worms in the caves were like looking into the night sky and seeing hundreds of stars. Truly magical.

On the South Island our adventures continued in Christchurch punting down the Avon. Our guide was very knowledgeable and provided us with lots of pertinent information. Queenstown is an outdoors persons paradise. Whitewater rafting with Mark on the Shotover River was unbelievable - in a good way. The ride to the launch point on Skipper's Canyon Road was half the adventure. Glad I didn't have to go back on that old dirt road again. The Oxenbridge Tunnel was a rush. Milford Sound was the highlight of the trip for me. Kia Ora. Seeing this natural wonder of the world was awe inspiring. We were glad to be on Makayla's maiden trip to the Sound from Queenstown. A stop for a hand pie at Miles Better Pies is a must. The Eco Adventure to Lake Wanaka and Mou Waho island holds a special place in our hearts. Our guides led a hike to the top of the lookout on Mou Waho where there was a pond/pool. One of the guides had a sapling and led our group of a dozen or so to an area to plant it. I helped plant the tree. It felt like giving back in some small way...a forever connection to New Zealand. A big thank you to Rosie for leading us on a hike near Lake Mapourika. The last of our adventures on the South Island was the scenic train from Greymouth back to Christchurch and the end of our trip.

Thank you, Anna, for everything you did for us. I am convinced our trip would not have gone as smoothly or as pleasurably as it did, if it were not for your assistance and attention to detail. Kia Ora.

P.S. We will be in touch again. I will need to check on the progress of the sapling on Mou Waho Island.

Danielle at First Light Travel made my trip to New Zealand with my sister absolutely perfect! She was very patient with us as we requested changes to the itinerary until it was exactly what we wanted and more. The activities were thrilling (Hobbiton, multiple LOTR day and half-day tours, Milford Sound, Waimangu Volcanic Valley, etc.) and the accommodations were all so nice. It the trip of a lifetime and the trip of my dreams! 11/10!

We used First Light for a trip to the North island in January 2025. They put together an amazing itinerary, found great lodging and interesting activities that I don’t think would have been easy to organize in our own. They were very useful and helpfulfor our trip!

First Light Travel planned an unforgettable 16 day trip to Fiji and New Zealand to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary. I can attest that this one of our all time favorite trips. We experienced so many unforgettable experiences such as paragliding, jet boating, swimming with wild dolphins, and Hobbiton. Our travel planner, Gina O'Neill, was exceptionally detailed and thoughtfully took all of our feedback to craft our dream vacation. She made our trip seamless and completely stress free. Can't say enough good things about First Light Travel! Highly recommend this service!

First light travel (Taylor) organized our 8-day trip to the South Island of New Zealand, and she did a great job of organizing our itinerary, accommodations, and activities to make our trip comfortable and enjoyable. Next time I want to travel to the North Island of New Zealand, I will definitely book with them again.

Nicole did a great job learning our interests, matching our interests with activities, and making the arrangements. The Sydney Bridge Climb was fun and memorable. The Sydney Aquarium was excellent. We surprised how wonderful it was. We appreciated the unscheduled time that allowed us to wander and discover this gem. We loved the Lord of the Rings venues--WETA and Hobbiton. We are grateful that Nicole mentioned the Hobbiton Evening Banquet possibility early enough for Nicole to make reservations. All other activities suggested were terrific and enjoyable. The Maori events (Te Puia/Te Ra and the Te Po Indigenous Evening Experience were much appreciated. In Aukland we totally enjoyed the SkyCity Orbit 360 dining experience, and the Waiheke Island experience, as suggested, was a great way to end our once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Thank you, thank you!

If we had tried to plan this trip on our own, it would never have been as memorable as was. Nicole at FirstLight took the time to discuss our interests, get to know us, and plan activities that exceeded our expectations. Nicole was responsive to our preferences and made every activity one we enjoyed. Having a detailed and complete itinerary relieved us of the pressure of figuring out almost all of the details, yet allowed us enough unscheduled time to explore.

Driver (Terry) is very professional and familiar with the tour route. Attentive to details. As he is familiar with the route, he knows where has good food and coffee places. As our helicopter ride was postponed (weather condition - Franz Josef), and we do not have next plan. Terry is quick in planning where to go next and also taking consideration of my mum walking speed. He followed us throughout the walks / hiking make sure we don't lost our way too. Very lucky, we able to take the Helicopter the next day! The original plan was delay a little bit but we manage to complete all the places that was plan in the itinerary. Thank you First Light Travel and also our driver Terry Looyer. After so much fun in South of New Zealand (Christchurch, Franz Josef, Queenstown), I love New Zealand! I will be back again to visit Auckland and Rotorua and will also definitely get First Light Travel to plan my trip again!

Had a great trip, and got to see many amazing things in NZ. Looking back, the only thing I may have changed would be to extend our trip by a week and have some down time with nothing scheduled so we could just relax between the activities. Not your fault, I told you I wanted to see as much as possible, it was just hard to know on the front end just how tired we were going to be. Loved the activities, the country was amazing and I would love to come back.

Fantastic trip. It was nice not having to figure out all the logistics myself. It made the trip pretty simple since everything was planned for us.

I would recommend Heidi Gillingham and her team to manage your NZ travel Throughout the whole process they were prompt and helpful, extremely patient and solutions oriented Well done and our thanks to you

Loved it all but sea kayaking and swimming with dolphins were our absolute favourites Kirsty did a brilliant job of listening to our wish list and packing in our requests without making us feel rushed. We even managed to add a few extras along the way!