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20 Gems Around New Zealand You Should Get Excited About Now That Travel Bubble Is A Thing

20 Gems Around New Zealand You Should Get Excited About Now That Travel Bubble Is A Thing

It’s official, New Zealand has signed off on a travel bubble with Australia so we can start booking our tickets — which is probably why NZ is trending on travel booking sights.

In fact, Wotif data showed that travel interest for our next-door neighbours after the Trans-Tasman travel bubble announcement spiked by as much as 1770 percent for some parts of the country, when compared to the week earlier.

“It’s great to see the immediate interest for New Zealand as Aussies look to take advantage of the new travel opportunities available to them,” said Wotif Managing Director Daniel Finch in a statement.

“No doubt many are looking to reunite with family and friends, while it’s clear others are looking to enjoy a winter break across the ditch, with holiday destinations like Queenstown and Wānaka trending”.

But where are the new places in NZ that we all want to see first?

Over on Booking.com, besides the big cities like Wellington and Queenstown, they’re seeing quite a few lesser-known destinations start to trend in their searches — partly thanks to Aussies starting to dream, but also for Kiwis looking to get out in their own backyard.

If you’re looking to travel like the locals, check out these top 10 trending smaller destinations from the platform for a little inspiration:

  1. Russell
  2. Raglan
  3. Kaiteriteri
  4. Glenorchy
  5. Ohope Beach
  6. Omarama
  7. Whakapapa Village
  8. Takaka
  9. Punakaiki
  10. Wairarapa

From this list of unexplored gems, we can see that Kiwis were going crazy for beach town getaways over summer, with places like Russell in the far North and Raglan’s rugged surf on the West Coast. Maybe something to hold on to for a few months.

 If you’re thinking about a ski holiday though, Whakapapa Village on the North Island has also been popular in the searches. Better get on those ski passes now though, they’ll be hot ticket items.

Meanwhile, Wotif is seeing a spike in interest for accommodation options for more traditional, but just as epic destinations. Apparently, we’re all hoping to go to these 10 places:

  1. Queenstown
  2. Wānaka
  3. Taranaki
  4. Gisborne
  5. Otago
  6. Auckland
  7. Christchurch
  8. Northland
  9. Coromandel
  10. Wellington

(Lead image: Tourism NZ / Miles Holden)

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