We had a GREAT experience working with Dianne and her firm GoWalkAbout Travel. (…) She has deep knowledge of the accommodations, sights and adventures, earned over many years of experience, but happily finds the new and innovative.
Travel to New Zealand: What You Need to Know
G’day!
Thanks for visiting our website! We at Go Walkabout Travel Agency are your Travel Agents Specializing in New Zealand for travelers from the USA and Canada.
With over 30 years of expertise specializing in travel to New Zealand, you are guaranteed to receive the specialized knowledge from your Travel Agent that only a local would know.
Here are some of our tips from our Travel Agents Specializing in New Zealand on what you need to be mindful of when planning your trip.
- If you are traveling on a US or Canadian Passport then you will need a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) to holiday in New Zealand and we can assist you with how to apply for one. Your passport must be valid for at least six months after you return to North America and if you have any previous criminal records you may be denied entry. You also may be asked for proof that you can support yourself during your visit and must not enter on a one-way ticket.
- New Zealand is a small country and it does get busy during its great weather times. The best times to visit New Zealand are from Sept-April. Remember the South Island is going to be colder so if you want to enjoy decent weather in both areas then your Travel Agents specializing in New Zealand suggest anywhere from Nov-March as a great time to visit. We personally like the March time period as it is after the mad rush of Summer.
- The best way to get around New Zealand is to self-drive and also fly. Most roads in New Zealand are single lanes (unless you are on a major highway) they can be very winding and you need to be mindful of sheep! New Zealand is not the type of country that you rush between places when driving for your own safety! Remember New Zealand driving is very different from driving in Chicago, Toronto, or even Dallas!
- Jet-lag always hits the hardest upon your return back to Canada and the USA after enjoying your luxury vacation in New Zealand. Allow yourself an extra day or two before going back to work. Many of our clients located on the East Coast i.e Atlanta, Boston, Tampa like to have a stopover on their return to break that extra-long journey. You can trust the advice from your Travel Agent Specializing in New Zealand – they have all flown this route many times themselves!
- Not only is your Travel Agent specializing in New Zealand here to give you all their advice when designing your vacation, we also give you access to our 24/7 support emergency line when you are in New Zealand. We always have your back no matter what!
- Your dedicated travel agent will work with you on mapping out what your dream vacation looks like, we will look at your wants and needs and also take your budget into consideration. Your Travel Agent specializing in New Zealand is born and raised in the South Pacific and knows it like the back of their hand! There will be no cookie-cutter itinerary for your vacation to New Zealand!
- Book early! Our Travel Agents specializing in New Zealand need time to start planning and designing you a once-in-a-lifetime custom itinerary. The earlier you book the better chance you have of getting to stay in the best accommodation options and getting the first choice on small group tours. There are limited flights per day departing from Houston, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Los Angeles to Auckland. New Zealand is getting busier and busier with events and conferences so play it safe and have your customized vacation package tailor-made early!
- Consider a stopover or also visiting Australia. Did you know that airfares often do not cost that much more when traveling to both Australia and New Zealand? Your other stopover options are the beautiful Cook Islands, Fiji, and Tahiti. We also have specialists from these regions as well. The South Pacific is all that we work with as we were all born and raised there!
- New Zealand has many different accommodation options. Your Travel Agents specializing in New Zealand will work closely with you to match you with the best options. We suggest a mixture of farm stays with a local family, luxury lodges (we all deserve a treat) and apartments so you can do some laundry or hotels. This will give you a true overview of life in New Zealand.
Our Travel Agents Specializing in New Zealand look forward to designing you a custom vacation utilizing their years of knowledge. We can tailor-make you a once-in-a-lifetime trip whether you are planning an action-packed family holiday, attending a conference, celebrating a wedding anniversary, taking advantage of that well-deserved graduation gift, or finally getting to relax on that luxury romantic honeymoon.
For more information on planning a handcrafted vacation with a Travel Agent Specializing in New Zealand please click on the button below.
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What Our Past Travelers Have to Say
G’day Dianne. Thank you! You listened well and organized our trip extremely well. Pick up and delivery times were spot on. The hotels were all good to great. (…) I just wanted to let you know that we appreciated everything you did to arrange a wonderful trip.
42 Days, 2 Countries, 6 States, 1 Territory, 15 Cities/Locations, 14 Flights and not a single mishap. On top of that, we had a GREAT TIME! A TRIP OF A LIFE-TIME! Our six week adventure to Australia and Singapore was our most memorable vacation to date. (…) Dianne is a wonderful find and without hesitation we recommend her to family and friends. Dianne will certainly be organizing our next adventure.
(…) Dianne put together an incredible New Zealand trip for us – we travelled from one tip to the other, East and West included. I would have thought Dianne knew me from childhood as every spot we visited or stayed at – was exactly what I would have chosen myself (had I known the country). (…)
Dianne planned a fantastic honeymoon for us. (…) We gave her an idea of the things and activities that we like to do and she just rolled with it! We didn’t really know much about either place, so didn’t have too much of a preference of where we wanted to go, but with her knowledge she was able to send us to some amazing places. (…) Thanks for planning us a wonderful honeymoon!
(…) Everything went very smoothly, thanks to you and your organizational skills! We really appreciate everything you did for us! (…) I want to thank you (Dianne) for all the work you & your colleagues did to ensure that we had an enjoyable holiday.
(…) Dianne, there are so many things you did for us that I cannot list them all in a letter. However, I can say that I have never worked with a travel agent before who took as much time to deal with all the details – big and small. It was like we were part of your extended family and you took full responsibility for our wellbeing. I would recommend you to anyone looking for a great travel agent, and I wish you the best of success in the future.
(…) From the beginning, Dianne really stood out. She spent a significant amount of time on the front end learning what we were interested in and what we did not like about previous tours. (…) I would definitely recommend GoWalkabout Travel to any of my friends and family. Thanks again for our trip! We had a fantastic time!
It was a trip of a lifetime!! (…) Every thing was working like clockwork. (…) Thanks Dianne and it was a pleasure meeting you and you taking the time to meet us in Sydney.
We really enjoyed working with Dianne in planning our trip to Australia. She was very efficient and gave us great recommendations. Prior to our departure, she ensured we had everything we needed including packing tips, in order to have a great trip. We would highly recommend using her services.
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