New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

If you are a fan of Lord of the Ring movies, this is the trip for you. Actually got to see the country of New Zealand not just the cities on the coast. We loved the country and getting to meet the locals.

Jimmy and Donna  Mullins - USA

We were connected with Chrissy 5 years ago when we traveled to New Zealand. This time, we visited Australia and were thrilled to be connected with Chrissy again! She did just as exceptional a job as the first time. Our interests were taken to heart and she really helped us make the most of our time in Australia. It's quite large, compared to New Zealand, so we had to really pick and choose for our two week trip. We didn't see it all (not even close), but the sample we got gave us enough memories to last a lifetime! We visited Sydney and took a wine tour into the Hunter Valley. We went to Port Douglas and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. We explored Melbourne and enjoyed a 4-day guided lodge walk along the Great Ocean Walk. An exceptional vacation from start to finish. Loved traveling independently, but knowing we had an expert to rely on should anything come up.

Zen & Adam Godfrey - USA

We took a two-week journey thru both islands by car. Yep, we drove 1500 miles in two weeks, stayed in 9 cities, and had an experience of a lifetime. We stayed in Auckland, Taupo, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, Punakaiki, Fox Glacier, Queenstown, and Te Anau, and went jetboating, helihiking, bungy jumping, museum visiting, fiord cruising, bike riding, fine dining, meat pie dining, and glowworm caving.

The logistics and booking of this rather complex trip were handled by our travel consultant extraordinaire, Amelia Riwai. After exchanging emails about what it was I wanted to do and some preferences about lodging, she was able to put together our rather ambitious itinerary. The materials provided regarding the itinerary, driving times, and scheduling made this a really easy trip to navigate. Basically, I just followed her instructions, set the GPS, and off we went.

The properties that we stayed in were perfect for us, and some of them were so fabulous that we will stay in them again if/when we come back to this wonderful country.
Seriously, if you're on the fence about coming to NZ, don't be; this place is the most beautiful country we've ever seen, the people are so incredibly kind and friendly, and any time spent here is time well spent. And let First Light handle the arrangements; they know this country incredibly well and will build a custom itinerary to suit you.

Albert Camacho JR & Dolores Camacho - USA

Booking with First Light Travel was an exceptional, stress-free experience. We booked through Dawn who was always prompt (as much as a 16 hr time difference allows), informative, and always ready to change things to our liking. All information, documentation, and vouchers were ready and sent to us well in advance of our trip which further reduced the stresses of international travel. Once we arrived in NZ we had zero problems as everything was set up and ready for us. We simply told them who we were and it was ready to go! We were kept busy going all over the South Island with excursions and new experiences around every corner. It was truly a trip of a lifetime, and the best part, well within our budget! I would absolutely use them again and recommend them to anyone going to NZ or anywhere else they operate.

Taylor Green & Lauren Jones - USA

Fantastic from start to finish. Michelle at First Light Travel made booking our trip-of-a-lifetime easy and worry-free. We loved the pace and diversity of our Southern Drift small group tour. The scenery never stopped being incredible! Our Tour Director, Tania Simpson, and our excellent driver Diane, were the best one could hope for with their knowledge of the country and culture and personal anecdotes that brought another interesting layer to the overall experience. Accommodations and included meals were great. Optional excursions offered were good value and added to our memories of this amazing trip. It is a long way from home but well worth the time and effort to get there. We highly recommend First Light Travel for this tour of the south island

Linda Lindsay and Virginia Mackie - Canada

We decided to visit New Zealand from USA and didn't have too much time to do research, we contacted a few travel agencies in NZ and chose First Light because they were prompt, Melissa was very friendly easy to work with and she made an itinerary for us we loved.

Fatema, Huseini and Omaima Dhanaliwala - USA

Hi Christine,

We had a wonderful trip!  We decided that New Zealand has to be the most beautiful place on earth!  It is scenery like we had never seen before!  The spring was the perfect time to go with the beautiful flowers coming out, the lambs frolicking in the fields, the grass a beautiful moss green, and the waterfalls full from the spring rains.  The weather was excellent!   Light jackets most of the time except in the Southern Alps.  The Kiwis are most gracious people.  We were treated warmly wherever we went. 

We would definitely recommend your travel agency to everyone.  We would love to return to NZ one day!  

Thank you again for patiently working with us to put together this trip of a lifetime! 

Kathy & Ron Butler - USA

We had an awesome trip with First Light Travel. They helped us a lot with the organization of this fantastic trip. Thanks guys :-)

Michelle Barl  - Germany

Overall for this trip ~~ AWESOME!!! Had a wonderful time and best experience of the weather, activities and environment. Locals are super friendly. However, this all will not happen if I have not engaged your service. I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to my travel consultant, Ms Deb. Without her assisting me from the very beginning, I would not have had the most hassle free planning. Deb has came out with an easy-to-follow itinerary and great accommodations which suits our requirement and budget. Not only that, Deb responds were very prompt and accurate with the information required. Additional bookings or multiple changes which we needed assistance were arranged perfectly! Really great to have experience NZ in such a way. Will definitely visit NZ again as there are so many places still to visit. =)

Jocelyn & Evelyn Goh - Singapore

My wife and I had a great trip to the south for 2 weeks, we enjoyed every bit of it! Big thanks to Dawn, our coordinator, for her fabulous planning for our trip. It was hassle free, packed with variety of activities we get to do and space for us to explore. And the pace was perfect for us. No stress! Thanks for making our trip a pleasant one. We love NZ!

Manson and Tuanhong Koh - Singapore