Travellers Testimonials and Reviews: First Light Travel

We had the pleasure of working with Toni who planned a perfect trip for us! We gave her an idea of what we wanted to do and she came up with our awesome itinerary.
 We enjoyed all the trips that were planned for us. We especially appreciated that we were able to weave some free time into each of the locations we visited. It helped to make our adventure so personal to our needs.
First and foremost I have to compliment Toni on the choice of accommodations. They were all just perfect for the locations and our needs. All of them had kitchen facilities and in-room/or on property laundry. All were perfectly located to what we wanted to do. 

For example, we were planning on hiking in the Abel Tasman National Park and we could walk to the park's entrance from our chalet, which was just fantastic.


First Light Travel was very responsive when we had to cancel the last 5 days of our trip due to COVID-19. We appreciated how quickly they got back to us.
All in all we would say that our adventure to Australia and New Zealand was everything we hoped for and more. We know that Toni and First Light Travel helped to make it happen.

We cannot wait to come back to New Zealand. We will certainly have First Light Travel plan our trip.

Barbara and Timothy Orourke - United States of America

My husband and I are experienced travelers and I typically do all the travel planning and booking for our international trips. We are comfortable with public transportation and negotiating our way around new cities. However, anything that I could have planned would not be in any way equivalent to the experience we enjoyed in our 3 1/2 week tour of Australia planned by FIRST LIGHT TRAVEL. Not only did they help us select tours and accommodations that we wouldn't have known about, but they were there when there was an unexpected change in itinerary or when we had any questions or concerns. I would recommend them to anyone who is traveling to Australia or New Zealand.

Joan and Dave Kaderavek - USA

Hello Shelley,

I hope all is well.  I just wanted to take this time to say "THANK YOU!".  I appreciate the time and effort you put into setting up a fabulous trip.  It was the trip of a lifetime.  I appreciated every aspect of my travel and the places that I visited.  Accommodations were wonderful and each place I stayed was very comfortable.  It seems you put the package together in just the right way.  When I needed some time to rest, I had that in my schedule with having either the morning off before a tour or the afternoon/evening after a tour.  You made this vacation a breeze.  All I had to do is be where the itinerary said to be and the time indicated. 

Australia was wonderful, but New Zealand was spectacular.  New Zealand has to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited.  I have memories that will be with me forever.  So thank you for all that you did to allow me to be able to have a beautiful experience.  It really pays to have someone who is familiar with the countries you are touring to put something together based on your interests.  You listened to what I wanted and delivered.  I have already recommended you to a colleague who is interested in traveling to Australia and New Zealand.  I will continue to recommend you to anyone I know that ask about Australia and/or New Zealand.  You definitely have one completely satisfied customer in me.  Thank you again.   With great regard. 

 Raemona Willis-Middlebrooks - USA

First Light Travel provides excellent service! We planned our NZ and AU itineraries with their assistance and both trips have been amazing. We had multiple flights and destinations planned and our consultant was kind, courteous, and very quick to notify us immediately of any changes to the itinerary. Our trip was hassle free and so enjoyable. We will definitely continue using their services for any future tours their agency covers. Highly recommend!

Bobbi & Lance Murray – USA

First Light Travel created our trip of a lifetime. It was a 2-month vacation in New Zealand and Australia, and had many different activites, accommodations, travel arrangements and scheduling. Everything about our trip went well, with not one single glitch.

Patrica & Steven Aboud – Canada

First Light Travel was hands down the best company that I have ever worked with! They were so accommodating to every email. They called me several times on their dime just to get to know me and my holiday desires better. They worked with me countless hours to develop the perfect itinerary. Their services didn't cost us a penny! They even mailed us our itineraries in addition to emailing them and had a bag of maps for us at our accommodation in case our GPS didn't work. If you are going to Australia or New Zealand, and you don't use First Light Travel, you are nuts.

Joelle Moorman and Dylan Cullimore - USA

Because Shelley was so thorough in putting together my itinerary I was able to see everything I wanted to see, and much more. Shelley would suggest activities to add and I am glad I did. I was never disappointed. It was an exceptional experience in both New Zealand and Australia. I was very pleased.

Jim Geiger - USA

Jo is a miracle worker! 

I can’t say enough about how great she was to work with!  There wasn’t a pre-planned tour available for the winter season, so she took us under her wing and helped us to create a custom designed trip of a lifetime.  She accommodated and exceeded our every need and request...and believe me there were many.  She took care of every detail from pickup and drop offs to detailed notes and phone numbers for confirmations.  We didn’t have to worry about a thing...and that made all the difference in traveling.

Our drivers and guides were treasures!  They took personal interest in offering detailed information about their beloved country as well as answering any questions we had with patience and enthusiasm.  The excursions she selected for us were fabulous...we were treated to the best of the best meals and service.  We called it our “spoil spree” adventure.   When there was a complication in our trip due to a flight cancellation, she was instantly available for us to problem solve and she personally handled arrangements to get us back on schedule.  Phew!  I felt so much better having her “on board” with us for the whole vacation process.    

We highly recommend First Light Travel to anyone and we are already making wishful plans for a return trip...now if we can just get her to branch out on a global scale for all of our traveling in the future!  What do you say, Jo?

Australia favorites:

The Sydney Harbor dinner cruise - beautiful scenery, AMAZING food with wine pairings, live music, and first-rate service.

Wendy Sorenson - USA

Dear Kasey,

Thank you so much, for putting together our trip to WA. We had a wonderful time. Everything was well arranged right from the start. We had a perfect pick up at the airport and a nice hotel in the middle of the centre in Perth. All the accommodations were good, it was each time a surpise to see and find out where we would sleep. Almost all the accommodations where in or near the city centre, so easy to go out for a walk and have dinner.

The Maragret Discovery Tour and the Cape le Grand tour was fantastic.The local guides showed us beautiful places and could tell us a lot from the place and its history In Kalgoorlie we booked the Super Pit Tour. It is advisable to prebook this tour, we were lucky there was a cancellation in the morning, otherwise only two of us could join the tour.

At Rottnest Island we had a really special and wonderful host, Irene. A lady from over 80! We really liked her company, but I think it is not necessary to have a host at Rottnest. I think we were the only, walking around with a host.

We took loads of pictures. I included some, so you have an idea of our trip.

WA is a beautiful part of Australia.

Cheers,

Verdonck Family - Singapore

It was a wonderful experience to work with Jo from First Light Travel.  She is very professional and helpful, designing a tour specific to our small group.  Most importantly, she was immediately available when we ran into a snag with a cancelled flight, arranging other transportation to get us back on our itinerary.  It was comforting to all of us to have her support!

My favorite parts of the trip were:

1.  Brisbane:  This city surprised me with the beautiful Botanical Garden and the river flowing through.   I would like to spend more time there and do a lot more exploring.

2.  Cairns:  What a paradise!  Winter is a great time to go and enjoy this tropical area, there is so much to see and do.

3. Te Anau:  The hotel Radfords on the Lake is set next to the lake and the scenery is stunning.  The glow worm cave was so beautiful and Milford Sound is so spectacular that pictures cannot do it justice.

4,  Queenstown:  What a wonderful, fun city set in an amazing place!  Take the gondola ride to the top at night for a great view.  For that matter, all of New Zealand is so unspoiled and beautiful, I would be happy to spend much more time there.

Thanks so much for your help, Jo.  You helped make our trip wonderful!

Letha Davis - USA