New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Highest of praise for FirstLight Travel (FLT) an incredible team and Natalie, who put together a truly epic adventure. First, we booked our New Zealand tour in 2019 for travel in 2020. The world had other plans. Throughout the COVID years FLT kept us informed of the situation in NZ and provided good advice about the travelling situation. So when our adventure finally began after 5 years the expectations were high. The expectations were not only met but far exceeded. The 18-day travel adventure was exceptional, every accommodation was flawless every excursion was exceptional! Seriously it was that good, we would go to sleep every night saying Wow it cannot get any better and then a new day would dawn and it was. A few of the highpoints were Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour on our first full day, perfect introduction after 30 plus hours of travelling, fresh sea air wonderful wines and lovely vineyards such a great kickoff. While I could list everything we did I’ll just hit a few not to miss activities – North Island the Kiwidundee tour was a lot of fun and informative with a thoughtful and knowledgeable guide, The Church – Hahei wonderful peaceful and a magnificent restaurant; Waimangu Volcanic Valley: Waimangu Thermal Reserve Self Guided Walk and Boat Cruise probably one of my favorites on the north island a beautiful park and spectacular and easy hike. The cultural experience in Rotorua was really interesting and informative and of course Hobbiton – a blast. The Waitomo Glow Worm Caves: not to be missed – truly an otherworldly experience. For the South Island the train from Christchurch to Greymouth was epic and not to be missed followed on by the drive down to Frans Joesph Glacier a stay at Glenfern Villa wonderful views and an unbelievable Milky Way – wow. Penguin viewing was a lot fun as was a few day respite to explore Queenstown. Truly everything on this tour was spectacular and so much fun highest of praise to FLT for putting this trip together.

First Light Travel was amazing to work with! Micala helped us out, and was always quick to answer any questions. We were able to customize our itinerary and our honeymoon in New Zealand was a dream! Every accommodation was pristine and Micala took care of booking/setting up transportation. Each transportation was on time and everything went so smooth. I would highly recommend First Light to anyone!

Our itinerary was thoughtfully planned by First Light Travel Designer Taylor Nguyen based on our travel preference, the amount of time we had and the places we desired to cover. Even though we only had 11 days in NZ, it didn’t feel rushed. All the connections and pick up worked like clock work. We enjoyed the Hobbiton tour, the hike at Mt Cook, the plane ride over Milford Sound. It was a pity we didn’t get to do the helicopter ride through Franz Josef glaciers due to bad weather. Otherwise the whole trip would have felt more complete. Part of the itinerary allowed us to self drive, which we appreciated as we could take in the sights at our own time. If only the rental car was in a better condition. All in all, we would recommend First Light Travel to any traveller who seeks free and easy but not random and not having to sweat the planning.

Just home from an epic trip - 28-day self-driving tour of New Zealand. Followed by 13 days in Australia. We loved it all (especially New Zealand's south island). I booked the New Zealand portion through First Light Travel who were wonderful to work with. Nicole Keuk, our agent, helped us choose just the right mix of activities and free time, car rentals, and accommodation. Every aspect of our itinerary unfolded super smoothly. I can highly recommend them if you plan a trip down under.

Danielle at First Light planned our honeymoon to NZ and Fiji. It was a seamless trip! We just followed the itinerary and loved our experience! We look forward to more trips with Danielle!

We've just spent an amazing month in NZ for our 30th Wedding Anniversary, made all the more special by the fantastic itinerary put together for us by Nicole at First Light Travel. Nothing was too much trouble and communication before and during our trip was excellent. Nicole made almost 50 bookings for transport, accommodation and activities on our behalf - and every one of them went seamlessly. New Zealand is a spectacular country to visit and we will definitely be working with Nicole when we go again.

Our trip to NZ including a visit to Warbirds over Wanaka, bookended by a boutique hotel stay at the splendid George Hotel in Christchurch, transalpine train to Greymouth and car trip via Franz Josef to Wanaka, and a wonderful stay at the Hermitage, Mt Cook was curated skilfully by Micala at First Light Travel. This bespoke trip gave us the opportunity to see parts of the South Island at the same time as experiencing Warbirds-a must! When cloudy weather precluded a scheduled helicopter landing on Franz Josef glacier, the company was in contact over Easter to ensure we had alternatives and were happy. This level of personalised attention was reminiscent of our previous high end tours of India with Abercrombie and Kent-high praise indeed!
We highly recommend First Light Travel for either organised or individual tours of New Zealand!

We booked the trip with First Light Travel adviser Jaydene who assisted us with our travel plans. Jaydene was excellent in the planning stages and she directed us to the most popular places we should visit as well as to suit our travel wishes for both NZ islands. We had sufficient time without rushing and manage to see very scenic and wonderful places. The trip was meticulously planned for each stage, accommodations, vouchers for the events, transport and the system to back up in the event of a mishap. If you are planning a trip to NZ, talk to Jaydene in the planning stages so that you can benefit from her experience and get the best result. Thank you Jaydene from all four of us and you are highly recommended.

We had the most amazing time, all really well organised and planned by Micala . I contacted First Light Travel back in October 2023 , one phone call and several emails to ensure we were happy with the planned itinerary for 21 days spent in NZ. From day 1 we were picked up at the airport and taken to our first stop in Christchurch .
We had a very full and busy itinerary but looking back it was the best way to cram in as much as possible into 21 days - 2 weeks in the South and 1 week in the North including meeting up with my 2 sons for 3 days . They also used FLT to book places and activities. I can't find one thing that wasn't great, we knew exactly where we had to be and when each day , we stayed at motels for 2 nights, one place 3 nights. There were 4 of us and the only one i didn't like was a bed settee in Dunedin but as it was only 2 nights it was manageable. There was one where we couldn't cook in at all and the town was very busy so struggled to find a place to eat , second night we were more prepared to go earlier out to eat. Apparently this is quite common in Te anau.
We would definitely recommend First Light Travel and enjoyed our holiday so much that we are already thinking about going back in 2025 to see other places.

Piper at First Light helped me plan the trip of a lifetime. She listened to all of my thoughts and ideas and crafted a custom itinerary just for me. She found special tours and activities that matched my interest, particularly anything related to the Lord of the Rings! The itinerary was extremely detailed and came with lots of information about other activities in the area if I had additional time. I traveled through both islands and saw so much in three weeks! I ran into very few problems, and when I did, Piper and other staff at First Light responded right away. I was traveling solo most of the time and I felt completely safe and supported. I would highly recommend having First Light plan your trip to New Zealand.