Part of the First Light Travel Group
South Pacific Specialists
+64 (9) 320 1065
We’re Absolute New Zealand, the Luxury arm of the First Light Travel Group established in 2001: award-winning creators of unique, perfectly-tailored travel experiences.
So who are we? Well, we are a team of people in the know (about New Zealand). And we’re passionate about detail and service. Combine these, and you come out with our one simple, sole purpose – to encourage and indulge your curiosity about the South Pacific and to ensure that your time away is perfect.
We know that it’s incredibly important to spend your time off well and we understand how every moment counts. You don’t want to miss a single thing – down to the last song before the sun sets.
So our role is to make sure that your travels are filled with moments like these. With us, you’ll see a destination in a different light – through the Absolute lens – and discover things you won’t find out about any other way.
Equally, if you’re not sure where to travel but you do feel the need to escape, give yourself a treat or a challenge, or learn something new… we can arrange that too. Our advice is full of insight and inspiration, carefully curated to suit you. So is your bespoke itinerary.
A quick introduction what we do and how our website works
Our website is a mood board, and our trips are here for inspiration. Browse, mull it over, and inquire.
One of our Travel Experts will devise an itinerary based on your inquiry, special interests, group size, and goals for your trip.
Our trips are entirely bespoke. You can make alterations and we will work together until your itinerary is perfect.
We’re tailor made – we build all our trips from the ground up, with thoughtfulness, care, and attention to detail. Nothing is too little, and nothing is ever too much. What you see on our site are merely suggestions – we tailor each trip to the individual.
Inspiration from us is priceless – we don’t charge for our quotes and we will work to get them right before you commit.
We’ll save your time, stress and energy. Our travelers lead busy lives. It can be difficult to find the proper time to plan the escape you deserve; overwhelmed by options, fretting about FOMO. “Have we made the right decision – is this the right time and place?” But it’s our job to cut through that noise – to do the digging, the heavy lifting, the tailoring and precision engineering, all on your behalf.
Our flexibility promise – We understand that you want something to look forward to without adding any extra uncertainty. Because of the strength of our relationships and longevity in the industry, the vast majority of our suppliers are happy to be as flexible as we are, subject to availability.
We’re here for you – Working with our team, you can be certain that we will be here for you from your very first contact to in-country support and beyond.
We will be your trusted specialists – you’ll deal with just one person who will know your preferences.
We are the authority on Travel in New Zealand, Australia and our South Pacific Islands. We launched in 2001 – our travel partners are fully vetted – nothing is left to chance.
We take sustainability seriously – we are recognised with an Enviro Gold rating from Tourism New Zealand. We have joined forces with ‘Arrowtown Choppers’ (as in tree choppers), this is a collaborative project supported by the Arrowtown local community and local businesses including First Light Travel and New Zealand Trails. The project is a significant part of our strategy as a tourism business to become carbon neutral by 2027. As the forest develops, the carbon captured in the trees and soil will help offset our carbon dioxide emissions.
We are creating a community of like minded travellers – early adopters – trusting us to go beyond traditional travel channels and have fun during the process.
When is the best time to visit New Zealand? When it is Summer or Winter in the northern hemisphere, the opposite season prevails in New Zealand. New Zealand can, due to our maritime and mountainous environment can offer up four seasons in one day – so always come prepared.
New Zealand Seasons Explained
Passports
Make sure before you arrive that your passport is valid for at least three months beyond your intended departure date or one month past the date you intend to leave if the government issuing your passport has consular representation in New Zealand. You’ll also need to check if you need a New Zealand Visa.
Visa Exemptions
You don’t need a visa to visit New Zealand if you are:
Visa Waivers
Visitors from over 50 countries don’t need a Visitor’s Visa to New Zealand for stays up to three months.
You do need:
The following are visa waiver countries:
Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia (citizens only), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong (residents with HKSAR or British National–Overseas passports only), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea South, Kuwait, Latvia (citizens only), Liechtenstein, Lithuania (citizens only), Luxembourg, Macau (only if you have a Macau Special Administrative Region passport), Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal (if you have the right to live permanently in Portugal), Qatar, Romania,, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (if you are a permanent resident), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (UK) (if you are travelling on a UK or British passport that shows you have the right to reside permanently in the UK), United States of America (USA) (including USA nationals), Uruguay, Vatican City
We know it can be daunting to arrive in a new country for the first time. Especially after a long flight. Don’t worry, the information supplied below will make things run as smooth as possible for you on arrival to New Zealand.
After your plane lands, you will:
Having sailed through the arrivals process, it’s time to start the holiday of a lifetime!
The International Date Line has confused navigators, explorers, and the everyday traveler for nearly five centuries since humans first began circumnavigating the globe. It is important you do know what date you actually land in New Zealand – don’t let it baffle you!
The International Date Line is the boundary where each calendar day starts and is also known as the “Line of Demarcation” because it separates two calendar dates: When you cross the date line traveling east, you subtract a day, and if you cross the line traveling west, you add a day.
When you travel from North America, you travel across the International Date Line which means you journey forward in time to get here. So when you leave San Francisco on Friday night you land in New Zealand on Sunday morning. Of course, you may feel like you’ve lost a day but you’ll gain that back on your return journey, arriving home just a few hours after leaving – it’s like time travel!
Tourism to New Zealand has boomed in recent years. Travellers have also realised New Zealand offers a safe, friendly holiday destination with tons of fun things to see and do. With visitor numbers increasing we experience certain seasonal bottlenecks, so to avoid disappointment, reserving parts of your holiday well in advance is strongly recommended.
The best way to travel to New Zealand is obviously by air (unless you want to spend a lot of time on a boat). Most major airlines offer direct flights to New Zealand.
From Europe: flight times are around 24 hours (two flights of around 11-12 hours). Most travel experts recommend a 24-hour stop over in Asia (think Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo.)
From Australia: New Zealand is a three and a half hour flight from the East Coast of Australia, and around 10 hours flight from most places on the Pacific Rim, like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
From North America: Many flights from the West Coast of the USA leave in the evening, taking about 15 hours, a non-stop overnight flight from the United States.
Think about incorporating Australia or the Pacific Islands in to your itinerary. Talk to one of our Travel Designers – we are the experts in creating combination tours of the South Pacific.
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