Questions & Answers

A journey that is uniquely curated for you by bringing together our truly wonderful community of accommodations, guides, and other partners. Latitude South does not operate ‘off the shelf’ itineraries and many of the experiences you will enjoy whilst in the care of Latitude South have been hand-picked and created especially for you. Your Latitude South journey is designed and managed around your unique interests and needs, and this will be evident in the ‘living’ of your journey. The ‘ingredients’ that will be blended to bring to life your bespoke journey are hand-picked by your intimately knowledgeable Luxury Travel Curator. These ingredients include accommodations that speak to your preferences, those of our treasured guides who match your travel style, interests and personality, overland travel that takes in the destinations to which and between you will travel and all other services that we feel match your unique goals and expectations for your time in Australia &/or New Zealand.

Whilst we hear disingenuous promises that companies care about us every day, we do truly care. Behind our Luxury Travel Curator’s stand our operational team – a pivotal group of specialists who guarantee the meticulous preparation and implementation of each of our guest itineraries. This is likely one of the few, if not the only time in your life, you will visit Australia &/or New Zealand and we would like it to be positive, exciting and full of warmth as you experience our service, the quality of our arrangements and all of our amazing guides who will bring you into their unique world based on your interests. Our small and absolutely perfectly formed team at Latitude South recognizes that travelling to Australia &/or New Zealand is a significant investment of your money and time and Latitude South journeys honour this with a genuine focus on excellence, authenticity and exclusivity.

Yes, our Los Angeles based ticketing office is a licensed Air New Zealand ticketing agent through which all of our client flights are purchased and ticketed.

The Latitude South office is located in Nelson, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. We provide comprehensive on the ground support for our clients whilst travelling in Australia &/or New Zealand. In addition to our Nelson based staff, we have client support teams in both Auckland, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. We utilize up to the minute communication tools to stay connected with you so you may easily contact us whilst in-country.

Australia

If visiting Australia, your passport must be valid only for the period of your intended travel in and out of Australia.

Australia requires all travellers from Visa Waiver Countries (the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore & Ireland included) to hold Electronic Travel Authority Entry Permits. Anyone who arrives in the country without a valid authority to enter Australia, may be delayed until their identity and claims to enter Australia are checked. If a person does not meet immigration clearance requirements, they may be refused entry to Australia.

If you are travelling to Australia from a visa waiver country, you must hold an Australian eTA (Electronic Travel Authority) before you travel. Latitude South furnishes instructions for eTA application as part of our service.

Following receipt of your eTA approval, you may visit Australia as often as you wish in a 12-month period with a maximum stay of up to 3 months.

New Zealand

If visiting New Zealand, your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond the planned date of departure from New Zealand for your return home following your journey.

New Zealand requires all travellers from Visa Waiver Countries (the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore & Ireland included) to hold Electronic Travel Authority Entry Permits. Anyone who arrives in the country without a valid authority to enter New Zealand may be delayed until their identity and claims to enter New Zealand are checked. If a person does not meet immigration clearance requirements, they may be refused entry to New Zealand.

If you are travelling to New Zealand from a visa waiver country, you must hold a New Zealand NZeTA (Electronic Travel Authority) before you travel. Latitude South furnishes instructions for NZeTA application as part of our service.

You must also pay an IVL (International Visitor Conservation & Tourism Levy) which funds tourism infrastructure and helps protect our natural environment. The fastest way to request your NZeTA and pay the IVL is by downloading the free app to your mobile phone. If you use the app, it will take you less than 5 minutes to complete your request. Your IVL payment will be processed as part of your NZeTA application.

Following receipt of your NZeTA approval, you may visit New Zealand as often as you wish within a 24-month period with a maximum stay of up to 3 months.

Using credit cards and accessing local currency

Prior to your trip, we suggest checking with your bank to see if they will charge foreign transaction fees on credit card transactions and cash withdrawals from local ATM’s whilst travelling and if necessary, securing an alternate method of payment to use whilst overseas.

We recommend the use of your ATM card and associated 4-digit PIN for cash withdrawal. Your bank may charge a transaction fee for each withdrawal hence we recommend infrequent withdrawals during your trip.

Visa and MasterCard are widely accepted. American Express is not as widely accepted, particularly in New Zealand. It is also advisable that you inform ATM and credit card issuers of the dates you intend to travel and the countries to which you will travel to ensure you don’t encounter any problems accessing funds whilst travelling.

Local Goods and Service Taxes

Good and services in Australia are subject to a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a 15% Goods and Services Tax (GST) in New Zealand. GST is included in prices in Australia and New Zealand.

You may be able to claim a refund of the goods and services tax (GST) and wine equalisation tax (WET) included in the price of goods you bought in Australia. You do this at the airport or seaport when you leave Australia. To find out more, see the tourist refund scheme (TRS).

You cannot get GST refunds on items you purchased in New Zealand. If you wish to buy something and not pay GST on it, you must, 1.) buy it from a duty-free shop or 2.) arrange for the retailer/supplier to ship/export your item out of New Zealand.

Tipping

Tipping in Australia and New Zealand is not customary and nor is it expected by those service providers you will encounter daily in the natural course of your journey. If however, you feel the service you have received is exceptional, and you wish to recognize excellent service with a gratuity, this is something that will always be appreciated; however, again, not expected.

In restaurants and cafes, and in recognition of excellent service only, a gratuity if 10 – 15% of your total bill is suggested and for guides, taxi drivers and hotel staff, etc., whatever you feel is appropriate, if anything.

Public Holidays

Australia and New Zealand have public holidays throughout the year and your Latitude South itinerary will reflect these. Public holidays can impact business hours and some businesses in both Australia and New Zealand charge public holiday trading surcharges and these are normally displayed on windows or counters.