New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

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

Our honeymoon to New Zealand was incredible! First Light Travel and their Consultant Amelia Riwai were brilliant. The Itinerary, Activities and Accommodation was exactly what we wanted. Amelia was fantastic with her communication throughout the planning and travel process. This made our honeymoon stress free so that we could enjoy every moment. We cannot recommend you enough!

Alannah and Evan Murray – Adelaide, Australia

When I wanted to add a week in Australia to our tour of New Zealand I was referred to Kasey Yee at First Light travel. She asked me how long we wanted to be in Australia, where we wanted to go and how much we wanted to spend. She totally nailed it. From the wonderful lodging and the great excursions, we saw enough of Australia in our short one week to wet our appetite for future trips. While we are generally not city people my husband really wanted to go to Melbourne, we had no idea how big a city it was. The most delightful tour of our whole trip was the Hidden Secrets Tour of Melbourne where we were given an insider's introduction to the city and its charming arcades and shops. We explored so many things in our short trip. We saw the animals of Australia, a penguin parade, a rainforest, the 12 Apostles, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Sydney Opera House. It was all a little exhausting but it was fabulous.

Kathy & Jeffrey Parker - USA

I had never used an agent before, but Shelley did a fantastic job getting to know us first via email and then via phone, then putting together a near-perfect itinerary for our 7-week New Zealand road trip adventure! Having our itinerary booked and paid for ahead of time made for a stress-free holiday once we were there. The pacing was just right too — a 3-4 hour drive between each location, then usually staying two or three nights at each accommodation.

Bruce & Carol Oppenheim - USA

Dear Jo,

We had a wonderful time in nz thanks to your terrific advice, help, and planning of such a good itinerary. The trip was great and we want to thank you for your work in making this such a memorable experience. We will definitely use you again if we return to nz and will tell all our travel friends about First Light Travel. Your attention to lodging, places of interest, and transportation, all made the the trip so much easier than if we had tried to do this on our own. All you promised was delivered and the ease of contacting you made planning so simple.

Thanks again for your invaluable help.

Henry & Janet Capillary - North Carolina USA

First Light Travel and particularly Michelle put together a really terrific vacation for us. Overnight stops of more than one day allowed for exploration and also afforded the ability to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

We would highly recommend that anyone with only a 2 week holiday limit and a healthy travel budget use First Light Travel to create an itinerary. Great scenery, people, food and experiences.

Howard and Constance Simmons – Philadelphia USA