New Zealand announced today that they will open up to fully vaccinated travelers from 60 countries -- including the US and UK -- starting May 2. (Australians can go starting April 13). No quarantine, just need to show a negative PCR test on arrival.
Given how "closed" New Zealand has been for so long, this sure looks like a good sign.
Yes finally is the general feeling around here (i.e. NZ) - 2 May is all visa waiver countries. Its the weirdest time for us here - Omicron is rampant through the community - literally within 4 months we've gone from an elimination strategy - where every case was rigorously isolated and their contacts were found and isolated - to pretty much a free for all. No one knew anyone who'd had covid in NZ in Jan- now hardly anyone DOESNT know someone with it.
But everything is open (except crowds are limited to 100) . I've gotta say living in Wellington - its like a ghost town - although every business can be open many are not because of a) lack of customers or b) lack of staff or c) both.
For tourists -at the moment - you have to follow the same rules as the rest of us - you'll be give 2 free RAT (antigen) tests on arrival one for immediate use one for day 5 - if you test positive -you're expected to isolate for 5 days. So you'll want flexible airfares and travel insurance.
You also need a antigen prior to flying to NZ
You also need to show proof of vaccine before going to any on-site dining, attraction and similar. That's very likely to drop by May though (even maybe April) - it better - we have no mechanism to recognize foreign vaccinations.
Mask use is wide spread - you need masks in indoor areas - and many wear them outside too - though that's not required. That's not likely to change in the short term. If you are skiing you need to wear a mask on the lifts/queues/ base stations - but not on the slopes.
Watch for airfare deals - airfares have been eyewatering expensive because only a handful of airlines have been flying. Air NZ says they will start their new direct route NYC-Akl in September / October
