Travel Bubble

With all the excitement around the impending announcement of Travel Bubbles, we’ve been preparing some exciting itineraries to explore New Zealand in 2021, but with little known about how these “Bubbles” will work, we’ve found all the key information you need to know.

A Travel Bubble with New Zealand would mean Australians are allowed to travel to and from New Zealand without needing to quarantine for 2 weeks. This opens the door to leisure and business travellers once again. Currently (as at January 2021) New Zealand travellers are allowed into some states of Australia without the need to quarantine.

According to reports by New Zealand’s COVID-19 response minister Chris Hipkins, he has confirmed the two-way Travel Bubble will likely be established by the first quarter of 2021 despite the recent outbreaks in Australia – TTFN will have confirmation very soon.

If you are thinking of traveling to New Zealand, we can’t stress enough of the importance to be extra careful with your bookings. Last year, a group of travellers from New Zealand were told on arrival that they were required to quarantine because they had mistakenly booked onto a flight that included travellers returning to Australia from other international ports such as the USA. When the Travel Bubble is announced, both the New Zealand and Australian governments will likely have to include some kind of ‘Red’ or ‘Green’ flight status that indicates the types of passengers on board.

It is hopeful that after a successful period of the New Zealand Travel Bubble, Australians will be able to enjoy more travel opportunities with other countries who have managed their COVID cases such as Fiji or Vanuatu. The island nations are more likely to be considered over those that have land borders given the ability to better manage arrivals.

For the optimistic travellers, it’s time to start thinking about where and how you will travel New Zealand in 2021, see below for some itineraries to get you inspired.