Starting in the 70's, it was becoming clear that people were no longer prepared to sit on a tour bus, day after day, listening to a tour guide describe what was flashing past their windows as they drove from town to town.
In fact, the bus tour companies were one of the first to recognize this change, and to their credit they started adding more intimate experiences to their itineraries, to the extent that their products today are almost unrecognizable from what they offered 'back in the day'.
But there's also been a growing number of travelers who want even more, to venture beyond the mainstream and to learn about and experience people and cultures at a deeper level. And they figured they could best achieve this by providing their own transport (a rental car) and making their own arrangements on the ground (accommodation, tours etc). The travel industry even invented a acronym for them - they call them FIT's (Free, Individual Travellers)
New Zealand is a country that's almost seems purpose built for this FIT traveler.
In this blog we explore and comment on the options available to these FIT travelers in achieving their dream New Zealand vacation.
