New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Shelley, Thank you so much for planning our wonderful holiday in New Zealand. We all had wonderful experiences and it really was the adventure of a lifetime. The attractions and accommodations you planned were all excellent and the itinerary and voucher system worked so smoothly!

Thank you also for arranging the lovely weather, it was absolutely beautiful for the full two weeks. Highlights of the trip were our rafting excursion with Hamish and our stay at Within the Bays B&B; Hans and AnneMarie are just delightful. We loved how many of the tours and activities are small and private. We loved getting to know our NZ hosts and spend good, quality time together as a family. We have all fallen in love with New Zealand. We'll be back for sure - we haven't seen the South Island yet!

Thanks again, 

Jeni, Jason, Sam and Anna Brett USA

In November, my wife and I celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary traveling through New Zealand. Having done some extensive online research, we decided to have First Light Travel plan and book our trip. Marrying Marianne 46 years ago was certainly the best decision I ever made. Choosing First light Travel might be the second best!

Our First Light Travel agent, Amelia Riwai, was sensational! Every aspect of our two-week itinerary was nothing short of First Class. We stayed in some beautiful hotels and several lovely bed & breakfasts. We particularly enjoy the B&Bs because they give us a chance to meet and share time and experiences with our hosts - and the places that Amelia chose for us are owned by very friendly, talented and gracious people who thoroughly enriched our Kiwi experience. And then, there were the tours and excursions! 

We are very active seniors and so many of the things we chose to do involve some physical activity. From the thrilling Huka Falls Jet Boats to the exhilarating Franz Josef Glacier Heli Hike to the wondrous Glow Worm Caves and the scenic Doubtful Sound cruise, we have memories to last a lifetime -- and so much to talk about this holiday season.

Dick & Marianne Spagna - USA

Dawn and First Light Travel were amazing. I am so glad we worked together for our vacation. Dawn paid close attention to the type of holiday we wanted and planned accordingly. Everything was booked and organized perfectly. The vouchers were helpful, letting us know who/when we needed to confirm. We had no problems, everything went so smoothly. We were a very happy and satisfied couple.

Sandra Oman & Michael Barr - USA

Kasey, Thank you for planning a wonderful trip for us. It was absolutely amazing and we had great weather too! Here are a bunch of pics of us having fun on our trip . We will be sure to refer you to folks we know because you provided Wonderful service and very efficient, even with the time zone difference!!

Julie Baher & Family - USA

Suzie, Thank you! We had an amazing adventure in NZ, you truly have a beautiful country and we were so happy we made this trip. Your itinerary and all the suppliers were great and everything went on smoothly, thanks for doing this! Really nothing I can complain about and everything to praise! All the activities were great and the tubing was one experience to remember, but so is the hot air balloon, paragliding and the jetboat / heli experience in Wanaka. Something I would not be able to do on my own without your help. That's why people need you to do these for them.

Thanks again

Grace Chua & family - Philippines

Chrissy, We had the BEST TIME OF OUR LIVES! It far exceeds my best expectations and I am so very happy with your service. Everything you did for us was perfect. I have an aunt that works for Singapore Airlines and have told her all about your company and YOU. I told her she can use your name and company to give to others who are interested in vacationing there and use my experience as testimony. I am so pleased with your services that I'm looking into taking other vacations in just the area that you service so I can use you again! We have made memories to last a lifetime and I'm sure the pictures will help paint that picture for you. The only thing that didn't go as planned was our hike through Abel Tasman. My family of 5 from flat, level Florida could not complete the 4 hour hike. We had to call the company and have them "rescue" us from the midway point. It was rather fun as we got to ride on a speed boat and see more of the coastline up close so it was still a blast! Again, thank you for everything! We will definitely use your services again and will highly recommend you to ABSOLUTELY everyone we meet!

Estee and the Davis family USA

Hi Jo, Thanks for our holiday, we had a great time! Everything else went smoothly, we thought we were going to miss out on the rafting due to weather but miraculously on our third time slot change and after rushing back from Dunedin to Queenstown, the weather cleared and we got to go.

Thanks Again 

Susan Grantham and Eamon Clanchy - Australia

Our whole group was constantly saying how happy we are that we chose First Light Travel for our New Zealand trip. The number of places we stayed in and activities we did would have been such a hassle to book and keep track of receipt/tickets. The booklet of vouchers and long-form itinerary, with a summary at the top of each day, were amazing to have. I would love to have all of my vacations planned by them. Special

Thank you to Judith for her patience and insight.

Craig, Jane & Maya Steinbeck - Singapore

Hey Dawn, thank you for planning a dream vacation on the South Island fo...r our family. We appreciated the variety of the activities (Glow Worm cave, Heli-glacier, Milford Sound flight and cruise, hiking, and biking) that you fit into a short week; found the rental car and the accommodations you arranged quite comfortable (especially the rental unit overlooking the lake in Queenstown that provided us front-row seats for the New Year's fireworks display); and of course loved the gorgeous scenery every where we turned! We appreciated how efficiently you fixed the little glitch with our airline tickets - everything worked out perfectly and we would definitely recommend anyone planning a driving trip in New Zealand to work with you. PS thanks for planning perfect weather for us too! 

The Kofman Family

We simply LOVE to deal with Shelley Kirk. This is now the third time that we deal with Shelley and she is just a jewel. She always has good suggestions, the places that she chooses matches with our requirements, she is quick to respond to our queries. Cant ask for anything more of a tour operator, Great work Shelley, we really appreciate the time you spent to help us have an amazing trip in New Zealand.

Simon, Claudine, Raymond and Agathe - Australia