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TRAVEL INFORMATION
1) ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE INFORMATION
Arrival and Departure Airport: You should arrive at Queenstown Frankton Airport (airport abbreviation: ZQN) and depart from either Christchurch International Airport (airport abbreviation: CHC) or Queenstown Frankton Airport. See Drop-off information below to determine which airport you`d rather fly out of.
Pickup information: Our tour begins at Queenstown Frankton Airport. We will be waiting for you in the baggage claim area (if you arrive on a domestic flight) or after you pass immigration (if you arrive on an international flight) with a sign saying `Access Trips`. Please ensure that your flight arrives between 8am and 6pm on the first day of your session.
Drop-off information: Our tour ends in Christchurch. You may either choose to fly out of Christchurch International Airport (airport abbreviation: CHC), or if you prefer to fly out of Queenstown Frankton Airport we will provide van transportation back to Queenstown (approximately 5-6 hour drive). If you opt to fly out of Christchurch you should ensure that your flight departs after 11am in order that we have enough time to get you to your flight. If you opt to fly out of Queenstown you should ensure that your flight departs AFTER 3pm.
Airlines and Checking Equipment: If you intend to bring your own equipment, please check with your airline regarding policies for checking and transporting sports gear and equipment before you book your flight. This includes inquiring as to weight, charges and liability.
Flights: We do not book flights or insurance for our clients. For recommendations, click here
2) TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
Travel Insurance:
Travel insurance, including emergency evacuation coverage, is compulsory for all our trips. Please do not attend any of our trips without purchasing appropriate insurance coverage. We recommend that you purchase travel insurance that includes cancellation protection so that you will be covered in the event that you are unable to attend our trip (due to injury, illness or other unforeseen circumstances) or in the unlikely event that our trip must be cancelled. We do not provide travel insurance for our clients. Please contact your local travel agent to purchase travel insurance or refer to the insurance page of our website for suggestions.
Passports & Visas
All countries require a valid passport (with a minimum of 6 months validity). Citizens of some countries will also require a visa. To learn more about visa and entry requirements for New Zealand, please check out the New Zealand Embassy website at: http://www.nzembassy.com/ or consult your local travel agent. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documentation.
Age: Most of our trips do not have any age restrictions. The majority of our clients are between the ages of 28 and 50, but we also have many clients who are older and younger than this. Please contact us with any questions.
3) HEALTH AND SAFETY
Emergency Contact: If you need to contact Access Travel in an emergency, you can reach us during office hours at the following numbers:
Dialing within North America: 1 (650) 492-4778
Dialing outside of North America: +1 (650) 492-4778
If you feel that you need to contact us outside of office hours, one of our staff members will be available on the following mobile lines:
Mobile-phone: +1 (415) 260-7270
If you do not receive an immediate answer when calling the above numbers, please leave us a detailed message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Health requirements
Please carefully review the health information section of the following webpage for up-to-date health information, including information on the quality of medical care, the availability of medications and the necessity for vaccinations in the destination country.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_984.html
You are responsible for ensuring that you receive any necessary vaccinations before embarking on your trip with us.
Fitness requirements
The majority of our trips are open to people who are beginners in our target sports. Nevertheless, you should have a reasonable level of fitness before attending any of our trips and you should enjoy physical activity and the outdoors. During the majority of our trips you will be able to take a rest if you find that you are over-exerting yourself, but in order to maximize your enjoyment of our tours you should ensure that you are in reasonable shape.
Safety & Security
To maximize your safety during our tours you should exercise common sense and caution at all times. We recommend that you always stick to set travel arrangements, and avoid unknown areas. We also recommend that you wear minimal jewelry and that you keep valuable items safely stored. Always keep a copy of your passport, airline tickets, traveler`s checks and credit card numbers separate from where you keep the originals.
For information on safety and security in New Zealand, please review the safety and security section of the following webpage: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_984.html
4) WHAT TO TAKE
Equipment:
To maximize your enjoyment and performance during our trip, we recommend you bring your own equipment, especially your own ski boots and poles. If you are unable to bring your own equipment, however, we have high quality ski equipment available for rent. Please see the following web page for information on our rental equipment:
http://www.accesstrips.com/sports/snowboard-holiday/new-zealand-dates-prices/
What to bring
Many of our trips require us to move our base several times, so we recommend that you pack as lightly as possible. There will not always be someone available to help you carry your bags so you should only bring as much as you can carry on your own.
We suggest that you bring the following items:
Clothing & Equipment
* skis & bindings
* ski boots
* ski poles
* ski pants and warm jacket
* gloves, goggles & warm hat
* helmet
* avalanche transceiver (if you have your own)
* casual winter clothes, jeans, pants, warm sweaters etc (washing machines are available in our accommodation so you don`t need to pack for 13 days)
* toiletries
* money belt
* sunscreen
* first-aid kit (should contain lip balm, aspirin, band aids, a cream for sore muscles (e.g. deep heat), extra prescription drugs you may be taking)
Documents & Money
* passport (with photocopies)
* travel insurance (with photocopies)
* airline tickets (with photocopies)
* Credit and/or debit card and/or travelers checks and/or cash
* Any entry visas or vaccination certificates required
Spending Money
* Meals: Dinner - $8-20 (3 dinners included) Of course, these estimates vary depending on whether you want to eat in a very simple restaurant or in a more expensive one.
* Other expenses, aside from meals, there are no required additional expenses for this trip, but you might like to take spending money for such things as souvenir shopping, nightlife and internet cafes.
* Tipping- There is no tipping in New Zealand.
5) USEFUL LINKS
Country Information:
For additional information about traveling in New Zealand:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_984.html
Currency Exchange
The currency in New Zealand is the New Zealand Dollar. For the latest currency exchange information:
http://finance.yahoo.com/currency
6) ABOUT ACCESS TRIPS
Who we are:
Access Trips is dedicated to offering a wide range of instructional adventure tours. If you`re looking for a vacation that provides a huge sense of personal achievement while still being fun, exciting and rewarding, our tours are right for you. We coined the term `instructional adventure tour` to describe our unique style of travel because as far as we know, we are the only company in the world to specialize in offering a variety of such trips! Instructional adventure tours offer the best of both worlds � expert instruction to help you develop and improve in your favorite pastime (or, if you`re a beginner, to help you learn a new pastime correctly from the start), and varied and exciting itineraries to give you a unique and memorable travel experience. Our tours are the perfect mix of a high quality instructional course and an exciting adventure vacation and you`ll find there`s nothing more satisfying than challenging yourself and reaching new heights in your favorite pastime, while also enjoying a unique and authentic travel experience. Our instructional tours encourage you to develop your potential in a relaxed and non-intimidating setting, regardless of your ability level, and reward you with carefully selected accommodation, delicious food, incredible scenery and unique cultural experiences.
We offer trips in all continents except Antarctica and we currently specialize in snowboarding, skiing, surfing, mountain biking and multisport tours. Our team in made up of instructors who are among the best in the world; we select them not only for their talent and experience (many are professional and competitive athletes) but also for their great personalities and their passion for coaching. Our tours attract men and women of all abilities and ages and, thanks to the fact that all clients have a common interest, our trips tend to be fantastic social experiences in addition to great instructional trips.
Our commitment to our clients
Like many travel companies, we are dedicated to offering the highest quality, safest and best value trips that we can. But our client mission is much more than this: on top of offering an excellent product, we are committed to making a positive change in the lives of our clients. We at Access Travel have all benefited in meaningful ways from the remarkable power of having a passion in life, of having a pastime that brings you pleasure, friendships, a sense of achievement and a total escape from the pressures of everyday life. Some of us have found self-confidence, others friendships, and others motivation and drive as a result of our involvement in sports. We want our clients to also experience the pleasure of finding and pursuing a passion. It is our goal that clients return from our trips having found a new passion or solidified an existing one, having made lasting friendships, having experienced a deep sense of achievement as a result of reaching new heights in their favorite sport, and having acquired a new perspective on life as a result of the unique experiences that our trips provide. We have had more than a few clients who have returned from our trips and decided to make major life changes such as changing careers to pursue more meaningful work, moving countries to be closer to the outdoors, and changing universities to be around more like-minded people. We do not expect our trips to have such a dramatic impact on all our clients, but we do hope that all our clients can be inspired in some small way from the experience of sharing their passion with us.
Our commitment to others
Although we are ultimately a for-profit business, Access Travel is about so much more than just turning profits. We operate Access Travel because we are passionate about travel, sports and the outdoors and because we love to share this passion with our clients, our employees and the local people we encounter during our travels. It is deeply important to us that our business contributes to the world in a favorable way and that we use our resources to affect as much positive change in the world as we can. We believe that we have three major responsibilities: to our clients, to our employees and to the world at large (which includes the environment) and we are doing everything we can to serve these three groups to the best of our ability. Please see the company section of our website (http://www.accesstrips.com/company/mission/) to read more about the actions we are taking to fulfill our mission and to effect positive change in the world.
7) FINAL NOTE
The information contained in this document is provided in good faith. Due to the nature of travel, details in this document may change. You should thus use the above information as an indication only and not as a contractual obligation on the part of Access Travel, Ltd.
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