Travellers Testimonials and Reviews: First Light Travel

We just returned from the trip of a lifetime for 22 days in New Zealand, with a little Australia thrown in at the end. It would have never been nearly as enjoyable without the help of Deb Evans at FirstLightTravel. She went out of her way to help us when we were in the planning phase. And once we were in New Zealand, the entire trip went flawlessly from start to finish. There were so many times that we commented, "That would never have happened if not for Deb's help and suggestions!" We have already recommended that our children use FirstLightTravel when they get the opportunity to do this trip. Couldn't have been better--well done Deb and First Light Travel!!!!

Mary and Wayne Gillespie & Robert and Lorraine Keeth  - USA

From the beginning Jo has been exceptional!! And she had to deal with planning a trip for 5 people, all who had never been to NZ, only having 8 days and of course wanting to see North and South!!! She had her hands full with us but handled it beautifully. Especially when our departure flight to get to NZ was cancelled, Jo helped us figure out which excursions to keep and which to let go and communicated with the excursion company to pick us up from the airport. Even throughout the journey, there were a few hiccups, none of which were the fault of Jo's, but she helped us and was very easy to communicate with. We all loved our trip and most definitely want to go back to NZ and would use First Light Travel again and Jo!!!!

Dani & Ben Wehrle - USA

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