Passport
You must have a valid passport in order to travel (including transit) overseas. Certain countries require your passport to be valid for 6 months beyond the intended period of stay, even if a visa is not required. Your passport must be undamaged with sufficient blank pages for any visas and entry/exit stamps acquired during your travels. For any queries, check with your World Travellers travel professional or check with Visa Direct.
Note: Special passport requirements apply for travel to the USA under the USA Visa Waiver Scheme. One of those conditions is that your passport is machine readable.
Visas
If you are about to head overseas, you will need to know if you require a visa to visit your destination(s) or any transit points enroute. If you don’t have the necessary documentation prior to your departure, you may be denied boarding of your flight or refused entry on arrival. To check out visa requirements please check with your World Travellers travel professional or alternatively contact Visa Direct who specialise providing visa advisory and processing services.
Tip: We recommend that you take photocopies of your passport, visas, credit cards, airline tickets, travellers cheque information, driver's licence. Keep one copy with your luggage and leave one copy at home. This can be crucial information if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of burglary or theft.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is one aspect of your trip that cannot be overlooked. A well known saying in the travel industry is "if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel". Travel insurance is specially designed to address the many situations and potential risks that are involved in travelling and provides you coverage from the moment you pay your first deposit until you arrive back.
World Travellers offers travel insurance protection through our respected partner, Travelsure. Founded by Kiwis in 1986, Travelsure provides travel insurance for approximately one million travellers each year and has operations in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Click here for more details.
Medical Tips
It is essential that you are aware that overseas standards of medical care vary greatly from those in New Zealand. The cost of medical assistance whilst travelling is usually very high and some places will require that you pay in full in advance. If a medical evacuation is necessary, you could be thousands of dollars out of pocket. It is also important to find out what travel vaccinations are required for the country or countries you are visiting. We suggest that six weeks prior to your travel (depending on what countries you are visiting) you consult a doctor to ensure you have all your necessary travel vaccinations, immunisations and/or medication. The World Health Organisation (WHO) provides information for travellers on its website who.int/ith. Another useful website is safetravel.govt.nz which details recent health alerts for destinations around the world and related travel health advice for travellers. The Travel Doctor Group provides travel medicine services to all travellers before, after and while you travel.
Medications
If you are planning on taking any medications overseas with you, you will need to check that they are legal in the country that you are visiting. If you do need to travel with medications, you may need a letter from your doctor describing your medical conditions and a detailed list of the medication you are travelling with. Medication will need to be in its original packaging and be clearly marked in labelled containers. For more information on what medications can and cannot be taken to your chosen destination please contact the Embassy or High Commission for that country.
Travelling with Children and Babies
- Check that your airline allows you to pre-book baby bassinet before the day of travel. Not all will. For instance Air New Zealand only allows pre-booking for infants of 8 months and less, otherwise you must wait until check-in to see if a bassinet is available.
- Sometimes children's ears cause pain on landing. Have some sweets on hand to start chewing as the plane starts its descent.
- Look out for fast track customs and immigration check-points if travelling with infants.
- Take a bottle of Rescue Remedy for everyone else in the family except baby.
Before you Leave Home
- Ensure neighbours are aware of your departure.
- Cancel the paper; turn off washing machine taps, hot water and power if you’re going for a considerable time.
- Make sure pets and prize plants are catered for prior to leaving.