Latest fromTravel Opinion

The rise of 'free travel': Luxury holiday or unpaid social media swab?
Tourist trap or trend? The pandemic saw a rise in 'travel for free' opportunities.

Opinion: In a Facebook travel group? Proceed with caution
These online advice groups are best served with a grain of salt.

Help! What happens if I catch Covid-19 overseas?
Herald Travel answers your questions about international travel during the pandemic.

Viral video of waterslide fail on cruise ship: 'It happened to me too'
The viral clip of a woman stuck in a waterslide hits close to home for our Travel Editor.

National parks turn 150: What needs to change for conservation
Aotearoa was one of the first nations to adopt National Parks, are they fit for purpose.

Help! My vaccine passport is expiring and I want to book a trip
What does the expiry date mean? And how can you renew it?

Florida of the South Pacific: Is YHA the ITP's first casualty?
For almost ninety years, backpackers looking for bunks have had a place in the YHA.

Back in Black Friday? Should we buy into the November travel Sales?
Black Friday, Mega Monday, Trivial Tuesday?

Fiji bubble: Longer stays and self-isolation drive demand
The biggest question for remains not 'where to go' but 'how do I get back'.

Comment: No Christmas in February, unless you're double jabbed
There has not been this much riding on the yuletide since 1914.

The countries you need to be double vaxxed to visit
The world is rapidly shrinking for unvaccinated travellers.

I promise to be a better tourist: Do pledges work?
Tourism pledges are popping up all over the world. But do they work?

Armchair travel: 'We are all dreaming of swimming pools'
An abridged extract from Kiwi writer Nina Mingya Powles' new memoir Small Bodies of Water.

Why a NZ vaccine 'passport' raises hard questions about discrimination, inequality and coercion
A central concern is that they will cause or exacerbate inequality.

The most expensive minibar item ever sold
Is it time hotels free-up a little space and ditch the minibar?

Sickie etiquette: The ethics of pulling a sick day to travel
Sick leave has doubled. Can we expect more Kiwis to be 'pulling sickies'?

'One tourism franchise to divide them all': LOTR leaves NZ
Why are we so precious about Lord of the Rings? The tourists will be back.

Singapore bubble: Could NZ's borders be opened via the back door?
Australia is still determined to open to Singapore, what does this mean for New Zealand?

How to ... holiday in relative safety
Why travel across the country only to sleep on a blow up mattress?

Travellers learn to live with Covid risk, insurers rewrite history
Coronavirus may become a travel risk we live with, say travel insurers.

Half-price airfare club: Air NZ flirts with footloose travellers
Gotta Getaway: Or, how Kiwis learned to stop worrying and book last minute.

Have phone, will travel: Health passes and apps to restart travel
Find out more about the tools you'll need to navigate a post-pandemic tourism world.

Llama safari? South Island to upend tourism cliches
The South Island is rethinking its offering and getting travel bubble ready.

Kiwis feeling most overseas travel anxiety
Compared to Singaporeans and Aussies, Kiwi travellers are filled with travel anxiety.

Bubble opens New Zealand to Aussie vaccine tourists
MOH encourages any Australian vaccine tourists to wait before seeking Kiwi jab.

Transtasman 6-step: What moves to expect on Tuesday?
For ten months, Canberra and Wellington have been leading each other a merry dance.

Pack up your troubles: a guide to filling your boot
Packing a car is a thankless task but a perfect metaphor for life, writes Karl Puschmann.

Seven new World Wonders for a new start to travel
Is it time we picked seven new wonders, to promote a responsible return to world travel?

Is there a tech solution to unlocking more MIQ rooms?
Tourists consider a Thai holiday not 'in spite of' but 'because of' the novel take on MIQ.