Discover Travel celebrated its 25th birthday in October 2024. So what was happening back in October 1999? Well, Helen Clark was about a month away from winning an election and becoming prime minister and the last dry electorates in NZ (Eden, Roskill and Tawa) finally voted to end prohibition laws and allow alcohol sales. What […]
Category Archives: Travel News
ETA’s required to enter UK from 8 Jan 2025
New Zealanders and other non Europeans can now apply in advance for an Electronic Travel Authorisation “ETA”, which they will need to travel to the UK from 08 Jan 2025. New Zealand passport holders can apply for their ETA through the UK ETA app or via GOV.UK, with it costing around GBP10 ($21.50) and allowing […]
New “Solo-ish” small group tours with G-Adventures
Our friends at G Adventures are taking their solo offering to the next level, launching Solo-ish Adventures, a collection of trips created exclusively for solo travellers. It’s a move that comes as the operator notes more than 50% of its global travellers now join its trips alone. We’ve seen a rise in the more mature […]
Get through US customs quicker
Ian and Peter have both travelled to the US recently and they recommend using the US’s Mobile Passport Control (MPC) program which allows returning Visa Waiver passengers the chance to bypass the main immigration queues at a growing number of US entry points. The free MPC app allows eligible travellers to securely submit their travel […]
Discover Travel Spring 2024 Newsletter
It’s Spring time. We’ve refreshed! Dear Traveller, The arrival of Spring in Canterbury heralds a fresh new online look for Discover Travel as we celebrate our 25th year in business – our brand new website is now live and filled with lots of inspiring travel content. We hope you like it! We’ve noticed a notable […]
Upcoming events – travel inspiration in Christchurch
Are you needing inspiration? We have spaces left for our three upcoming information evenings: Luxury Africa on Safari with &Beyond – 6:00pm, Thursday 17th October at our office. Trafalgar Tours, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold & NCL Information evening – 5:45pm, Monday 21st October at the Chateau on the Park Small Group Tours with Intrepid Travel […]
ETIAS e-visa to visit Europe introduced in 2025 (maybe!)
At some date in 2025, New Zealand passport holders will probably need an ETIAS Travel Authorisation to enter the EU. (we’re being deliberately vague here as the scheme has been delayed several times since 2020 and still isn’t live yet) ETIAS – the European Travel Information and Authorisation System – is a visa waiver system […]
New Zealand Traveller Declaration reminder
A reminder that all travelers arriving into all New Zealand international airports are recommended to complete a digital declaration instead of a paper arrival card, before travelling to New Zealand. This is not mandatory, you can still complete the paper form on arrival, but it will in time become mandatory so it’s a good idea […]
Discover Travel honoured by Intrepid at the 2024 NTIA Awards
Discover Travel were thrilled to be named ‘Top Leisure Travel Agency’ for Intrepid Travel at the 2024 National Travel Industry Awards recently. We’ve been big fans of Intrepid and their style of innovative small group, low impact travel for 25 years, so to have been recognised with this award was very special. For example, Intrepid […]
A 500m cruise on Ponant’s luxury icebreaker in Lyttelton Harbour
Living in Lyttelton, I see a lot of cruise ships arriving and departing each summer, but Ponant’s luxury icebreaker the ‘Commandant Charcot’ is unique, so when I was offered the opportunity to enjoy a overnight aboard in the harbour, I jumped at the chance. The Charcot had just voyaged from Antarctica and was turning around […]