First Light Travel

First Light Travel Welcome to First Light Travel & Absolute South Pacific - Premier Experiential Tourism specialists.
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Since 2001, travellers have trusted First Light Travel to deliver itineraries that exceeded their expectations. We are your gateway to premiere New Zealand self drive and group touring experiences. Choose from one of our many ‘Tried and Tested’ itineraries or have one of our friendly Kiwi consultants design a unique holiday just for you. If you prefer we can also arrange the flexibility and privacy of travelling around New Zealand with your own personal driver guide.

If you are thinking about travel to New Zealand (especially if you want to fly fish) you need to work with Nicole at Fir...
23/04/2025

If you are thinking about travel to New Zealand (especially if you want to fly fish) you need to work with Nicole at First Light Travel. My wife and I have travelled all over the world (Africa, several countries in South America, Japan, most of Europe, Vietnam etc) and we have always booked our own trips and excursions – it does not work like that in New Zealand (all 3 agents for my New Zealand trip which I interviewed told me I needed to work with an agent even if it was not them). That was the best advice I got and will share with you
From someone who has worked with lodging professionally for 30 years I can tell you the travel infrastructure in New Zealand is different. There is not as much information on the Web as most other countries. Booking for their summer (winter in the US) needs to be done 4 to 6 months in advance. Almost every town we were in we saw hotels flashing No Vacancy signs everywhere.
Most web sites provide lists of the best fly-fishing rivers to go to and are spread-out across the country. Even after fishing three of those rivers I do not know where to go next. Destination fishing lodges are few and can be quite expensive.
You need Nicole to help you plan your dream trip. She is professional, personable, a great listener to understand what you want your trip to be and truly cares about her clients.

Arthur Neudek, USA

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/new-zealand-fly-fishing-tour

We were looking for something special to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We started to check out New Zealand on ...
23/04/2025

We were looking for something special to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We started to check out New Zealand on line and saw things we liked so we contacted First Light Travel. They came up with an itinerary on some of the things we wanted to see and they added to our list. The itinerary was what we had hoped for. It was well planned and everything was booked ahead of time. Our hotels, excursions and travelling were all lined up. This made for a relaxed and pleasurable trip .They also planned down time for us so we could do some exploring on our own. First Light Travel made this holiday something very special for us, we could not have done this on our own. We highly recommend this travel company. Thank you First Light Travel.

Elaine & Henry Janz, Canada

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/classic/classic-new-zealand-vacation-package

New Zealand and First Light Travel were both awesome. Just go. The 21-day self driving tour by First Light was the right...
23/04/2025

New Zealand and First Light Travel were both awesome. Just go. The 21-day self driving tour by First Light was the right pace and allowed us to explore as we wanted. Booking was simple and the accommodations were top notch. The excursions were so well planned and there was not a single issues over the 21 days. We are so appreciative to Anna C. for her timely and knowledgeable advice.

Scott Drysdale, Canada

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/both-islands/three-week-best-of-new-zealand-vacation-package

My wife and I had long dreamed of taking our bucket-list trip to Australia & New Zealand, but as we researched the vario...
11/04/2025

My wife and I had long dreamed of taking our bucket-list trip to Australia & New Zealand, but as we researched the various places to go and things to do, we quickly became overwhelmed by all the options. We saw great reviews for First Light Travel (based in Auckland) and we decided to hand over our list of preferences and have them book the trip for us. This was the best decision we made for this trip! They knew all the good places to go, the hotels, excursions, and all the transfers between travel points. Danielle was the one who booked our trip, and her friendliness and knowledge of the country made it all so easy for us! Every detail of our month-long trip worked out perfectly and on-time, thanks to Danielle’s great planning. Thank you, Danielle—if we ever go back there, we’re calling YOU!!

Don Durston, USA

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/new-zealand-and-australian-self-drive-tours/21-day-oceania-discovery-tour

We had a wonderful time during our 24 days in New Zealand, our longest holiday ever. Our only regret was not staying lon...
10/04/2025

We had a wonderful time during our 24 days in New Zealand, our longest holiday ever. Our only regret was not staying longer. We rented a car and driving was very easy. I think people don't realize how rural most of the country is, and that you are usually driving on two lane roads, with lots of single lane bridges! Not like the autobahns in Europe! And the scenery everywhere is breath taking. The itinerary from First Light was perfect - drive times, locations, experiences. I don't think we would have had such incredible encounters if we had booked this ourselves. We thought this would be a once in a lifetime trip, but we might be back!

Jane Damschroder, USA

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/reviews

We were so very glad we chose First Light to help us plan our independent touring time in New Zealand. Our first contact...
10/04/2025

We were so very glad we chose First Light to help us plan our independent touring time in New Zealand. Our first contact was with Bernadette where she inquired about our interests and desires for our trip and engaged in dialogue to help us refine our trip. Then we worked with Katarina who saw us through the rest of the process and answered questions at the last minute and also while we were on our trip. We were thoroughly happy with their expertise and assistance throughout the whole process. We ended making a couple of changes which they helped us through very smoothly. We loved not having to buy tickets for activities and having our hotels prearranged and paid. There was also the right amount of free time to explore on our own or just rest which we worked out together through the planning process.

Patty & David Johnson, USA

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/reviews

Our 21-day trip through the South Island of New Zealand was simply amazing, thanks to Micala at First Light Travel. She ...
10/04/2025

Our 21-day trip through the South Island of New Zealand was simply amazing, thanks to Micala at First Light Travel. She planned everything perfectly—fantastic sights, great accommodations, and incredible activities—all running like clockwork. We absolutely loved every moment and couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Highly recommend!

David Finkemeyer, Australia
https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/south-island/ultimate-21-day-south-island-self-drive-tour

We had a great trip! Essentially, it was everything we had hoped and thought it would be. We especially loved the South ...
10/04/2025

We had a great trip! Essentially, it was everything we had hoped and thought it would be. We especially loved the South Island (we thought this would be the case before our trip and it turned out to be so). Heidi listened well and heard us (activities we enjoyed, kinds of places we liked to stay). She patiently went back and forth with us and developed an itinerary that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Ray & Melanie Swan, USA
https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/both-islands/three-week-best-of-new-zealand-vacation-package

We can not think of anything that could be improved, even mid trip when we contacted Heidi to add things, events it was ...
10/04/2025

We can not think of anything that could be improved, even mid trip when we contacted Heidi to add things, events it was actioned within hours. We highly recommend this company for New Zealand tours, and look forward to using them again. Their honesty of competitiveness re flights from the UK was refreshing, allowing us to stay in Singapore on both journeys for the same cost.
Ian Chandler, United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/both-islands/full-monty-south-to-north

First Light Travel was absolutely amazing to work with! Specifically, we worked with Marcella, who created a perfect vac...
03/04/2025

First Light Travel was absolutely amazing to work with! Specifically, we worked with Marcella, who created a perfect vacation for us through New Zealand. We wanted to see all the lord of the rings sites that we could and she put together an amazing itinerary that allowed us to see so much! Even got engaged at Hobbiton which was a dream! Marcella was so attentive to our needs and would help find alternatives to activities when we did not want the original ones she suggested. Such a delight to work with and will absolutely be using her again whenever we travel back to New Zealand!

Lexi Hughes, USA

https://www.firstlighttravel.com/nz-self-drive-itineraries/both-islands/lotr-filming-locations-tour

We highly recommend First Light Travel. Once we mapped out a basic itinerary, they helped us book accommodations and exc...
03/04/2025

We highly recommend First Light Travel. Once we mapped out a basic itinerary, they helped us book accommodations and excursions saving us so much research time. Everything they recommended was top notch and the excursions were simply out of this world. On one of our driving days, they even messaged us about a road closure so we could adjust our route. It was a dream vacation. Thank you First Light!!

Renee Illes, USA
https://www.firstlighttravel.com/new-zealand-and-australia-self-drive-tours/new-zealand-and-australia-self-drive-tour

When we planned to visit New Zealand and Australia, we looked at many prearranged tours. We liked some activities and di...
03/04/2025

When we planned to visit New Zealand and Australia, we looked at many prearranged tours. We liked some activities and did not like others. First Light created an itinerary based on our wants, needs and budget. We were working with 2 tour agencies. First Light came in substantially lower in price and arranged all the tours, activities we requested. Have already mentioned this to friends who will reach out when they are ready to travel to the part of the world.

Suzanne Vanacora, USA

https://www.firstlighttravel.com.au/australian-self-drive-itineraries/australian-and-new-zealand-self-drive-tours/21-day-oceania-discovery-tour

Four of us just returned from a 3 week trip to the North and South Islands of New Zealand . First I must mention what a ...
25/03/2025

Four of us just returned from a 3 week trip to the North and South Islands of New Zealand . First I must mention what a beautiful country New Zealand is, from its breathtaking landscapes ,the vibrancy of the communities and the friendliness and warmth of the people. Learning about the Maori culture was a highlight of the trip.
While researching travel agencies I settled on First Light Travel.It was important to me to use the expertise of a local agency if possible . First Light Travel more than exceeded our expectations. I worked with Marcella Johnson. She was very professional, available when needed, and very instrumental in helping me set up our itinerary. She worked well within my budget. We chose to have private drivers on each island which made it possible to concentrate on just having fun without having to worry about the logistics of driving . Not only did they drive us from one place to another ,they made sure to recommend scenic stops, as well as places for lunch they thought would be of interest to us. Everything went off without a hitch. The hotels, as well as the tours she arranged were exceptional. Marcella helped us to choose activities that met all of our needs.
I (and my family) would highly recommend a trip to New Zealand, and in order to have the best experience possible you should contact First Light Travel.

Barbara Maciejewski, USA
https://www.firstlighttravel.com/new-zealand-private-tours/3-week-nz-wide-private-tour

Address

85 Beach Road
Auckland
1010

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 8pm
Sunday 9am - 8pm

Telephone

+6492814481

Website

http://www.absolutenewzealand.com/, http://www.absoluteaustralia.com/, https://www.fi

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Trusted Australian & New Zealand Tours

Since 2001, travellers have trusted First Light Travel to deliver itineraries that exceeded their expectations. We are your gateway to premiere Australian and New Zealand self drive and group touring experiences. Choose from one of our many ‘Tried and Tested’ itineraries or have one of our friendly consultants design a unique holiday just for you.