Frequently Asked Questions
- Fees are per traveller, include GST, same for visitors; vaccines costs are separate
- Please refer to the table below and choose the appointment that suits you best. If you are unsure, please check with our reception before you request a booking.
- Only booked travellers go into the appointment, unless the traveller is a minor
- Group appointments are at one sitting, but individualised to each traveller
- Some vaccines are funded by the Ministry of Health if you are eligible (see Vaccinations > Funded)
- All appointments 30 mins and over require a deposit of $75 per person (non-refundable)
- Appointment fees are chargeable even if you choose not to have any vaccines. Saturday surcharge of $35 for all new clients first visit.
- All prices quoted are subject to change
Appointment Fees | Time | Cost | Description |
New Trip (Existing client) | 20 mins | $110 | Existing client travelling to a new destination that has had a previous Standard or Family Appointment at our clinic in the past 10 years (and received vaccines from our doctor) |
Standard First Visit (Adult) New client (deposit required within 24 hours) | 30 mins | $150 | You, Your health, Your trip: personalised travel health advice including time to receive your vaccinations with our travel doctor (40 years of medical practice) |
Standard First Visit x 2 New clients (deposit 24 hours) | 50 mins | $140 each | Bring in your travelling companion; advice is individualized to each traveller |
Subsequent Follow Ups | 10 mins | $30 | Opportunity to discuss any queries and advice you may have from initial appointment and receive boosters. Your antibody results, current and past vaccine records are updated and documented. Saturday surcharge does not apply |
Yellow Fever Only | 15 min | $100 | You have no other travel health concerns e.g. other vaccines, rabies, malaria, altitude etc. We will assist you with travel medication & kits. No personalised ‘checklist’ is provided and your other medical concerns unrelated to the YF vaccine will not be discussed. Please refer to the Yellow Fever Vaccination section. |
One Vaccine Only | 15 min | $90 | One injection of your choice (not yellow fever). We will assist you with travel medication & kits. This appointment is subject to conditions of YF appointment and no yellow vaccination passport is provided. If you request extra vaccines, extra administration costs apply. If you require a vaccination passport the cost is $25 |
Malaria Only | 15 min | $65 | What is my real risk of malaria ? Advice includes travel medication & kits |
Medical Kit Only | 15 min | $35 | Assessment and dispensing of our custom medical kits only |
Junior First Visit <13 yrs | 20 mins | $120 | You, Your health, Your Trip |
Family Special 2 adults + 2 children <13 yrs (deposit 24 hours) | 90 mins | $430 | Group appointments are at one sitting, but individualized to each traveller depending on their age, health, risks and past vaccinations. Childhood vaccine records are assessed and transferred into yellow vaccination passports and updated with travel vaccines |
Family Special 2 adults + 3 children <13 yrs (deposit 24 hours) | 120 mins | $495 | As above |
Medical Assessment or illness post trip | 30 mins | $180 | To address any concerns and assess and diagnose any infections from your trip.
Other Medicals: Fitness to Travel, Pre Deployment Medicals: $250 – $300 |
- All prices include GST and are the same for non-NZ residents
- The costs are per dose as per the ‘Vaccination Schedule’ and will be clearly explained to you at your appointment
- Some vaccines may require more than one dose to be effective or provide lifelong protection
- Our vaccine costs are competitive as we order in ‘bulk’ & vary in price from $65 to ~$200+ for specialised vax e.g. Japanese Encephalitis.
- Consider being up to date with your age appropriate NZ vaccines (some are funded i.e. no cost to you), before travel vaccines
- Tetanus/diphtheria: avoid this as it offers no pertussis protection. Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis 3:1 $75, Tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis/polio $130 (4 in 1)
- Hepatitis B $65, Hepatitis A $125 (junior $85),Typhoid $110, Hepatitis a+B $125, Hepatitis/typhoid $210 (out of stock), Yellow fever $175
- Some vaccines appear expensive but give you lifelong immunity and are an investment for future travel health
GENERAL COSTS
- Total ~ costs for a first time traveller: appointment + vaccines for a standard trip e.g.14 days to Asia (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, hepatitis, typhoid) is $400+
- ‘Off the beaten’ track travel may involve more specialised vaccines e.g. rabies $85 and will increase the total cost of consult + vaccines to ~ $600 ++
- If you are still unsure about costs or need to budget, rather have the appointment only; then plan the vaccines for a later date
- We keep our prices as reasonable as possible, yet deliver a high quality travel medicine service to our travellers. We purchase our travel vaccines in bulk and pass the discounts onto you
- Your medical insurance company will usually cover the costs of the consultation (depending on your cover), however the vaccine costs are not usually covered as they are considered to be preventative! If you wish to claim, do include a cover letter stating that you required advice on travel illnesses so as not to return home and impact your health insurance claims & costs. They usually reimburse you for ‘after travel’ illnesses. Any medical documentation you require for claims from your health insurance company is chargeable.
- If you request prescriptions for medication we do not stock, script fee is $30 (per A5). If requesting the doctor to fill out specific medical reports or supply you with medical documents (e.g country, university, insurance, employment); extra fees will apply depending on complexity. Minimum charge for any report is $85.
- We can only assist with prescriptions for previously prescribed medication eg OC’s, asthma. We do not supply prescriptions for our specialised clinic medical kits.
- We accept Eftpos, Visa, Mastercard, Amex; all invoices to be paid on the day (i.e. no accounts or discounts, manual credit card transactions 5% bank fee)
- For medico-legal reasons, you cannot return any vaccines or medication once it’s been dispensed (taken home)
- All prices quoted are subject to change
- The more PRINTED information you can bring in of past vaccines or relevant blood tests the easier the appointment; and saves you time, needles and money!
- If you are unable to print, please email your records to doctor@travelclinic.co.nz the day before your appointment with your name in the subject heading
- Past vaccination records (authenticated if possible i.e. batch numbers, site, signature)
- ‘Well Child Book’, ‘Yellow booklet ‘ or any Vaccination ‘passport’
- We can only use documented immunisation records to determine what past vaccines have been given
- No matter how certain you or your mum are when you say “I would have had everything when I was young” we cannot use that as evidence of immunisation. It is safer to test for antibodies than rely on ‘mum’s memory’ and potentially leave you susceptible to diseases.
- Details of your trip itinerary, so we can advise you for specific areas of risk
- List of all medical conditions and medications
- Your passport (or a copy) if you are having the yellow fever vaccine
- If there are any inconsistencies with your prior vaccine records we will point it out to you and may recommend & request blood tests at your initial appointment. Blood tests results take ~24-48 hours. Labtests collection center is a short walk from our clinic
- If you are unsure of previous disease or immunisations, we can request blood tests for immunity at your initial appointment: measles, chicken pox and hepatitis (NB: antibody blood results need to be interpreted in the context of what you may have had or not had in the past). Some blood tests are chargeable by the laboratory e.g. hepatitis B ($23 + blood collection fee of $13)
Please get to us well before your appointment so we don’t have to ‘rush’ you through. Plan ahead for traffic and parking. If you are late, we may have to schedule your vaccines for a later date (no extra appointment fees).
- Fill out a comprehensive questionnaire on ‘you, your health, your trip’ which takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete.
- Only booked travellers go into the appointment, unless the traveller is a minor.
- You will be advised by the doctor (30 minutes including time to receive vaccinations).
- A written ‘checklist ‘ and personalised vaccine schedule is generated for you & bring it in to all follow up appointments (for health & safety protocols).
- Vaccine advice is only for the person being consulted i.e not for other family members not booked in.
- The travel doctor will provide an overview of the risks for your trip e.g. food and water, health hazards, altitude, insects and animals, malaria, dengue, deep vein thrombosis, women’s issues, medical kits, travel insurance, safety and security, and environmental concerns. Our travel assistants will assist you in more detail after your appointment.
- We will recommend the vaccines you need to protect yourself; you decide what you wish to have depending on your budget and protection you want (not ‘fear’ factor).
- The vaccines will be administered on the day by our doctor or at a later date that suits you. We will advise the vaccine combinations and time frame to have the vaccines.
- Our philosophy is not to administer vaccinations unless medically necessary.
- If you are unable to decide on any vaccination (after your initial 30 minute appointment) and wish to do more research e.g. CDC Country/Disease Report, you will be advised to book a subsequent follow up appointment ($30)
- Extended appointment fees will apply if you prolong the appointment beyond 30 minutes.
- Please don’t commit to a course of vaccines if you cannot complete e.g. hepatitis A/B.
- All vaccines given and blood tests results are documented on the official ‘International Health Regulation Certificate of Vaccination’ – issued by the NZ Ministry of Health.
- No vaccines are administered without your signed consent and acknowledging that you have read the ‘Questions & Answers’ and ‘Vaccinations’ page of this website (NZ Medical Council).
- The vaccines are administered in either your non dominant upper arm or antero-lateral thigh; you can choose to sit or lie down (with the end of the couch raised). Skin preparation or cleansing with alcohol when the injection site is clean is not necessary.
- If you are anxious to receive vaccinations please advise the doctor.
- Please assist to restrain & distract your child (while your child is being vaccinated)
- After the vaccines are administered and you exit the doctors room, please take a seat and wait in the reception for at least 15 minutes (or you may faint and/or injure yourself)
- Please use this time (if you opt for) to allow our staff to help you with your ‘checklist’
- Allow 45 – 60 minutes of time for your first visit.
- Once dispensed, oral vaccines and medication cannot be returned.
- All vaccines & medication are on site and no scripts are issued.
- If requesting the doctor to fill out specific medical reports or documents (e.g country/university medicals), extra fees will apply depending on complexity.
- Please familiarise yourself with all our appointment and vaccine costs so there is no confusion when you come in.
- Our advice may differ from your GP, friends and others in your tour. This is not unusual and will be explained at your appointment
- NB: right of admission to our clinic is reserved
- The first appointment is 30 minutes with the travel doctor including the time to receive vaccinations.
- Allow for a further 15 minutes for our staff to assist you with the ‘checklist’ our travel doctor prepares for you.
- You can bring a friend along to wait in reception and your friend can be called in (when you are receiving the vaccines).
- GP’s usually refer their patients to a travel clinic : Travel Medicine is what we do
- We do not have the expertise to do what your family doctor does, neither does your family doctor or ‘GP travel clinic’ have the expertise to do what we do
- You get complimentary access to our travel doctor whilst travelling (with access to his email and mobile); with 30 years of full time travel medicine expertise
- You save time and money by not having two travel appointments, and possibly inappropriate immunisations and vaccination dosing schedules
- It is also not ideal for a ‘well’ traveller to be sitting in a GP waiting area before travel with other ‘sick’ patients’ & contagious bugs (coughs/colds/vomiting/diarrhoea)
- We give you the latest, correct, up to date information (not advice that may be inconsistent especially as regards the ‘real-time’ risk of malaria)
- Our travel vaccines are very competitively priced and better priced than most family medical centers, as we pass our bulk purchase discounts to you
- Most GP’s or GP ‘travel clinics’ do not offer or administer specialised travel vaccines eg. rabies ID, Japanese Encephalitis, Tick Bite Encephalitis or combination vaccines like the 4:1 tetanus
- Our travel doctor spends 30 minutes with you and provides you with a written comprehensive, personalised, latest, up to date ‘checklist’ for your trip
- At the travel clinic you get specialist advice and guides regarding vaccines, ‘real-time’ malaria risk, insect avoidance measures, medical kits, altitude, water filters, compression stockings, deep vein thrombosis, travel insurance etc.
It is a one-stop for healthy and safe products and covers the A-Z of travel health. - We provide you with the official “New Zealand Ministry of Health – International Health Regulations Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis” which you can use for the rest of your travelling life. This certificate is only available at travel health clinics.
- We cannot advise you on vaccines timing/schedules if they are not given in our clinic.
- Please forward a copy of your yellow vaccination booklet to your GP
Our reception staff are not qualified to offer medical advice. They can advise on how it works when you come in and they can book you in for an appointment.
The vaccinations you need depends on a number of factors: you, age, health status, previous immunity, trip (duration, country, season, accommodation and activities).
However, we do have a ‘Country Report’ where you can select the country you are travelling to. This will give you a general idea of what you need to consider for your trip.
We can offer email advice to clients that have previously entered into a ‘medical relationship’ with us i.e. consulted our doctor previously. However if it’s been more than 2 years we suggest you book a ‘New Trip’ appointment.
Our doctor cannot medico-legally offer any specific medical advice to the general public without a ‘face to face’ appointment.
All vaccinations and medications are prescription items and this means medico-legally that you need to have a consultation to get them. Consultation time can between 15-60 minutes and is a service we provide. We do not accept prescriptions from other providers. You will need to be consulted by our doctor.
- You can telephone or request an appointment online
- We will require an email address to confirm all appointment bookings
- We will send you a ‘confirmatory’ email within 24 hours to confirm the type of appointment, date, time & relevant website information to read
- If you do not receive the ‘confirmatory’ email, please check your ‘junk folder’ first then email info@travelclinic.co.nz to check on the status of your booking
- Plan as early as possible, 2-3 months before departure
- However, if you are leaving at short notice, remember ‘it’s never too late to vaccinate’ e.g. hepatitis A can be given at the airport and it will be effective!
- Late is better than never i.e. some protection is better than none
- Some vaccine schedules can be ‘accelerated’ e.g. rabies, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis if you have time constraints before the trip
- Feel free to come in anytime, browse, talk to our travel assistants who will show your around our clinic, so you know what to expect before you book an appointment with our travel doctor
The earlier the better for good reasons : you can better plan what is best for you
- Some vaccination require several doses e.g. rabies (3 doses)
- Some immunisations take time to give you protection
- Minimise any possible side effects while away
- The side effects of modern vaccines are minor
- It only hurts for a second or two (if you allow us to ‘warm’ up the injection area)
- Its best not to watch if you are anxious; request to lie down if you are tense
- You do not need to go without food before you have vaccinations or blood tests
- You can do all your usual activities after the immunisations
- You can drive, work, gym; but best to take it easy on the day of the jabs
- Do drink lots of water after vaccinations as side effects are minimised if you are well hydrated
- Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption
- If you don’t feel well after the ‘jabs’, then take it easy
- Local reactions at the site of the injection are a positive indication that your immune system is responding to the vaccine.
- There is no ‘gain without pain’, e.g. the tetanus injection may cause a lump or redness and hardness that persists for a few weeks (in younger individuals)
- The next day you may feel tired, sore body, slight temperature and may develop tender enlarged glands (lymph nodes in the armpit or neck)
- Sore throat and vomiting is highly unlikely due to the vaccines
- There is always the possibility of a rare adverse event or vaccine failure
- For those travellers that ‘loathe’ having immunisations and ‘things put into my body‘; however do consume wine, alcohol, smoke, preservatives; please have a read of https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/want-to-avoid-cancer-drink-less-say-experts-6340462.html
- Use an ice or cool pack (not heat) as soon as discomfort in your arm starts. Use the cool pack as often as needed. If pain worsens, use an arm sling if you have a red arm and take paracetamol if you have body aches and/or a fever. If you still feel unwell, please give our doctor a call and we will consult you at no charge.