The Elliott Podcast

Is Christchurch really the world’s most interesting city?

Christopher Elliott — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:40 GMT

Christchurch, New Zealand’s resilience is on display everywhere you look. From its jarringly contrasty architecture to its surprising diverse food scene, this city has reimagined what a modern urban center can be.

But is it the world’s most interesting city? Hmmm, let’s find out …

Christchurch’s post-quake blend of classical heritage and modern architecture can leave you with design whiplash. (But I think Iden was just hungry in this photo.)

Architecture born of necessity

Christchurch’s skyline is a curious blend of the old and the new. Following a series of devastating earthquakes, the city has seen a surge in “AutoCAD chic” architecture—modern, functional, and visually arresting. These buildings, designed for both style and seismic safety, give the city a forward-looking feel.

Cultural context: The city’s rebuilding hasn’t just been about steel and glass. It’s also about honoring the past and the Māori heritage of the region, which is thoughtfully integrated into many of the new public spaces.

💬 Our question of the week: What’s the LEAST exciting destination you’ve ever visited?

We adore your comments, and read them on every podcast. This week we’d like to know about the most boring city you’ve ever been to. Tell us about the place you’ve already forgotten about … if you can still remember it. Our top commenter gets a free one-year subscription to Elliott Confidential, our sister newsletter.

One of our favorite hangouts in Christchurch was Hell Pizza—because, well, they make a helluva pizza. Look, we just spent the whole month eating and walking around town. Is that so wrong?

Let’s eat!

The food scene in Christchurch is impressive. The always-crowded Riverside Market, with its diverse range of vendors, is a must-visit for anyone looking for a new culinary experience. Traditional New Zealand fare, Asian food, great coffee—they’ve got it all.

Pro Tip: Don’t miss Base Pizza in the Riverside Market. Their wood-fired pizzas are some of the best in the city, and the atmosphere is always buzzing. For a truly world-class coffee experience, head to Espresso Studio. The long black (like an Americano) is our favorite.

The boys on assignment at the Christchurch Convention center with Gillian Officer, center’s director of business development. Who knew a trash compactor could be so … interesting?

Sustainability is at the heart of the city (and so is Oscar)

One of the most impressive things about Christchurch is its commitment to sustainability. Take the Te Pae Convention Center, for instance. As a certified carbon-neutral facility, it’s leading the way in sustainable event management. Here’s my Forbes story about the center.

If you’re at Te Pae, keep an eye out for Oscar, the trash compactor. It’s a great example of how the city is using technology to reduce its environmental impact.

Iden takes a moment to smell the roses at Hagley Park. At this time of year, they are quite fragrant and colorful.

Sometimes, you have to stop and … well, you know

Hagley Park is the beloved centerpiece of Christchurch. Its botanical gardens are a stunning display of New Zealand’s diverse flora. Iden just had to stop and smell the roses (more on that in the podcast).

Christchurch is a city that has taken its challenges and turned them into opportunities. It’s a place that’s full of surprises, and its special blend of history, innovation, and natural beauty makes it a must-visit destination. (This isn’t our first time.)

OK, maybe it’s not the world’s most exciting destination, but that’s the way they like it here.

Don’t forget our question of the week: What’s the most boring destination you’ve ever been to? Let us know in the comments! The top commenter gets a free one-year subscription to Elliott Confidential.

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Swept away in windy Wellington, New Zealand

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:03:10 GMT

Wellington is a city of vertical hills and horizontal rain, a place where the sophisticated hum of Parliament meets the raw, salt-sprayed edge of the Cook Strait. It’s the next stop on our around-the-world adventure—and as we quickly learned, “Windy Wellington” is more than a nickname.

Technically, it’s late summer here, but the Antarctic gusts didn’t get that memo. We nearly got swept into traffic a time or two, and locals joke that if you stand between two buildings at the wrong time, the wind might knock you down. You really have to watch out.

Our question of the week: What’s the most traumatic weather experience you’ve ever had?

We love your comments, and read them on every podcast. This week we’d like to know about your most traumatic weather experience. Have you ever been swept away by a storm or snowed under by a blizzard? Our top commenter gets a free one-year subscription to Elliott Confidential, our sister newsletter.

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That’s quite a squid there!

A colossal catch at Te Papa

If Wellington has a spiritual center, it’s the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. We spent hours wandering through its halls, coming face-to-face with the world’s only intact colossal squid—a massive, oil-preserved specimen that will keep you out of the water.

But the museum isn’t just about the deep sea. It’s also a deep dive into the heritage of the Māori and Moriori people. We marveled at the whaka (traditional boats) and the intricate Rongo Marae Roa meeting place.

Pro Tip: Don’t miss the Gallipoli exhibit by Weta Workshop. The wax sculptures are 2½ times life-size and shockingly realistic—it’s an unforgettable, emotional gut-punch.

Te Papa guide Roger Gascoigne with Lieutenant Spencer Westmacott, an enormous Weta Workshop-created exhibit at Te Papa.

Radical kindness at Everybody Eats

One of the most impactful stops on our trip was a restaurant called Everybody Eats, located just off the vibrant Cuba Street, where we lived. This isn’t your typical bistro. It’s a mission-driven space that rescues food from grocery stores and transforms it into three-course meals. (I wrote more about it in Forbes.)

The concept is pay-as-you’re-able, ensuring that everyone—from travelers to those experiencing homelessness—can sit down to a high-quality meal. They are even turning banana peels into banana sugar in a quest for zero waste. It’s a beautiful, chaotic, and deeply human heart in the center of the city.

Nice view from the top of the mountain, Iden. No need for any hair products today.

Heights, harbors, and high-stakes landings

To truly see Wellington, you have to get above it. We took the iconic Wellington Cable Car from the Central Business District up to the Botanic Gardens. The view from the top is a panoramic sweep of the city and the harbor, nearly rivaling the vistas from Mount Victoria.

From the Mount Victoria lookout, you can watch the planes landing at Wellington Airport. Because of the fierce northwesterly winds, pilots often have to bring the planes in sideways—it’s a spectator sport for the brave and a nerve-wracking reality for the passengers.

Pro Tip: If you find yourself in the capital on a Sunday morning, head down to the waterfront for the Harbourside Market next to Te Papa. It’s the oldest and most popular market in the city, and even in a cold summer, the atmosphere is electric with live music and the smell of roasting coffee. While the seasonal produce is world-class, the real move is to grab a hot snack from one of the many food trucks and huddle behind a concrete barrier to enjoy it out of the gale. (Just keep a firm grip on your compostable plate, or your breakfast will become a high-altitude snack for the seagulls.)

Aren gets a good shot of the Beehive, Wellington’s modernist Parliament building.

Our verdict on New Zealand’s capital

This is a city that rewards the curious. Whether you’re getting caffeinated on Cuba Street watching manta rays glide through the harbor, or eating vegan pastries from Vonuts that taste like a sugary dream, Wellington never stops moving.

Our next stop is Christchurch, New Zealand, but we’re leaving a piece of our hearts—and probably a few umbrellas—behind in the wind.

Don’t forget this week’s question: What’s your most traumatic weather experience? We’re giving away a one-year gift subscription!

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Sailboats, sourdough, and the salty soul of Auckland

Christopher Elliott — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 16:02:19 GMT

Auckland is a city of skyscrapers and cedar masts, a place where the high-gloss world of international business meets the cobalt embrace of the Hauraki Gulf. And it’s the next stop on our around-the world adventure.

New Zealand’s seasons are famously temperamental. Technically, the calendar says summer, but the air begs to differ. It’s a hoodie-and-shorts kind of weather.

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The jacarandas are in full, explosive bloom, painting the streets in a hazy lilac that makes the city feel like an impressionist painting. But there’s still that sharp, Antarctic-derived chill in the morning that reminds you that you’re on an island at the edge of the world.

Jacarandas blooming near our apartment in Auckland. It’s lavender overload!

We spent the mornings wandering the Viaduct Harbor, where luxury yachts the size of small destroyers bob in the harbor, their hulls polished to a mirror finish. But Auckland has a funny way of checking its own ego. Just as you’re admiring an overpriced vessel, you hit the Wynyard Crossing. This pedestrian bridge is the city’s favorite comedy of errors—it always seems to be broken for repairs.

A sailboat in the Hauraki Gulf. This one did not compete in the Grand Prix.

The waterfront isn’t just for the elite, though. Beneath the shadow of the masts, you’ll find the real Auckland. Local kids on rental scooters weave through the tourists, their portable speakers blaring a mix of Pasifika hip-hop and chart-toppers. This is the stage for the Sailing Grand Prix, an event that has transformed the harbor into a high-stakes, wind-powered arena. It’s fast, it’s loud, and it’s surprisingly gritty for a sport usually associated with blue blazers and gin-and-tonics.

Aren with his prized kumara sourdough bread from Amano. Wait until you see what his brother does with this bread in the podcast.

If Auckland has a spiritual home, it might be the bread oven at Amano. Travel, for us, is defined by the quest for the perfect loaf, and we found it in their kumara sourdough. Kumara is the native New Zealand sweet potato, and when it’s folded into a fermented dough, something magical happens. The crust is dark and caramelized, while the inside is soft, purple-hued, and slightly sweet. We usually try to avoid processed carbs, but for this bread, we would fly another 18 hours.

Jet lag is the tax you pay for visiting Auckland, and we were deep in the red. Our salvation was the Espresso Workshop in Britomart. New Zealanders take their coffee with a religious intensity, and the “long black” here is a sacrament. I ordered a triple-shot that smelled like old leather and dark chocolate. I told Iden that if this didn’t wake me up, I’d likely need CPR. Luckily, it did the trick, jolting me back to life.

Auckland as we will always remember it.

There’s a beautiful slowness to Auckland, especially during the summer holidays. Of course, that tempo extends to the infrastructure—we arrived just as the entire train network shut down for renovations. But even in the disruption, there’s progress. The “tap-to-pay” system is a dream for travelers. No more hunting for “AT Hop” cards; you just tap your credit card and hop on a bus. It’s a preview of a frictionless future in a city that still values its heritage.

No, wait. This is how we’ll always remember Auckland. It’s just missing a few hobbits.

This is our third visit in three years, and people often ask why we keep coming back to the same harbor. The answer is in the podcast: it’s the way the light hits the water in the afternoon, the smell of the sourdough, and the feeling that you’re always just one boat ride away from an adventure.

But the clock is ticking on our stay. Next, we’re heading south to Wellington to see if the coffee there can truly compete with Auckland’s best. Stay tuned.

We’d love to hear your comments. As always, we’ll read them on a future podcast.

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CONSUMER ALERT: This is the worst rental car charge of 2026

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 13:31:14 GMT

Happy New Year. And if you’re renting a car, hold on to your wallet.

You’ve probably seen the headlines about rising travel costs (more on that in a minute). Airlines are inventing new ways to charge you for just about everything that used to be included in your ticket price. Hotels have “destination fees” that cover things you didn’t know you needed, like local phone calls.

But the most egregious money grab is happening right at the car rental counter—and almost no one is talking about it.

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No, you are not entitled to sit together on a plane

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:31:16 GMT

Of all the annoying things couples do when they travel, the coerced seat swap may be the worst.

Kirstyn Allen saw it on a recent flight from Atlanta to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Two newlyweds boarded the plane after her and pressured another passenger to surrender her assigned seat so they could be together.

The displaced passenger sat down nex…

Would you drink the water on your next flight?

Christopher Elliott — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:32:30 GMT

Here’s a travel tip you won’t find in the airline safety briefing: Don’t drink the water.

For years, seasoned flyers have adhered to the “coffee pot” rule—never order a beverage that comes from a tank. Flight attendants know it. They won’t touch the stuff. Now, new research confirms our collective paranoia.

CONSUMER ALERT: Should you cancel your Caribbean vacation after the U.S. strikes in Venezuela?

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:32:11 GMT

The U.S. military operation in Venezuela triggered temporary airspace closures and flight cancellations across the southern Caribbean this weekend, but the situation is quickly returning to normal.

Travelers with upcoming trips to islands near the Venezuelan coast still face lingering delays as airlines work to clear the backlog following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.

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Why travelers are more absent-minded than ever

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 13:30:27 GMT

To get an idea of how forgetful travelers have become lately, consider what happened to Ally Murphy and her husband on a recent flight from London to Atlanta.

After collecting their luggage, they caught a shuttle to their hotel.

“After boarding the bus, I realized I had forgotten one suitcase,” recalls Murphy, a voiceover artist based in Seattle. She retu…

What happens when AI starts booking your flights?

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 13:30:53 GMT

Ignore the usual year-end predictions—the hot destinations, the airfare trends, the hidden travel fees. The only thing you need to know about travel in 2026 is this: Agentic AI will touch every trip you take.

What’s that? Well, think of agentic AI as the next version of today’s chatbots. Generative AI summarizes but agentic AI acts. It’s the difference b…

The 6 destinations you need to rediscover in 2026

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 13:30:33 GMT

A cyclist rides through the Kastellet, a former military fortress in Copenhagen.

Somewhere between the unexpectedly comfortable economy class seat on a discount Korean airline flight and the silence of an early morning in Christchurch’s Riccarton neighborhood, it hit me: The revenge travel crowds have finally dispersed. Travel is back to normal.

I thought…

CONSUMER ALERT: What are your rights if an airline stops flying?

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:30:54 GMT

The rumors of Spirit Airlines’ demise have been greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain.

Headlines were swirling this weekend that the ultra-low-cost carrier was on the brink of liquidation. But those proved to just be rumors as of late Sunday evening.

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"The agent waved me away" — why she missed her flight to New Zealand

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 13:31:14 GMT

One of the newest mistakes travelers make is also one of the oldest: forgetting their paperwork.

It happened to Katharine Nohr when she tried to fly to New Zealand. Nohr, an attorney from Honolulu, was so used to traveling to Europe that she assumed she didn’t need a visa to enter New Zealand.

But she did.

“I couldn’t check in for my flight,” she remembers…

The government wants your social media accounts when you cross the border

Christopher Elliott — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 13:30:49 GMT

If you’re planning a trip to the United States from a visa-waiver country, your pre-trip checklist might soon include covering your digital tracks.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has proposed a rule change that would require travelers from 42 countries—including close allies like the UK, France, Japan, and Australia—to disclose their social media handles from the past five years to enter the country.

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CONSUMER ALERT: Senators want cash for flight delays. But will their bill fly?

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:31:27 GMT

You know the drill. You’re on a plane, stuck at the gate. The pilot says it’s a “mechanical” delay. You wait for hours. Finally, they usher you off the aircraft and hand you a voucher that pays for half a cold sandwich.

Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) think you deserve better.

Specifically, they think you deserve cash.

The lawmakers have introduced legislation that would force airlines to pay passengers for delays and cancellations, modeling the rules after the European Union’s EC 261.

You’re reading the Elliott Confidential Consumer Alert, available exclusively to subscribers. Thank you for your support.

The real reason your flight is so uncomfortable

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 13:31:00 GMT

I’m still wondering how I ended up in seat 18E — a middle seat — on a Hong Kong Express flight from Phuket, Thailand, to Hong Kong. But it was an extreme inconvenience.

I was wedged in with just 28 inches of pitch between seats, which is about two inches less than normal. The plane smelled like mildew and body odor, and the seats looked threadbare. I tho…

Fiji Confidential: Culture, kava and endangered green iguanas

Christopher Elliott — Sat, 06 Dec 2025 13:31:14 GMT

Bula from Fiji!

We’ve just returned from a whirlwind tour of these South Pacific islands. And we saw a lot.

Before we get into it, here’s this week’s question: What is your favorite island? It’s that time of year when everyone is thinking of visiting a warmer place, so please cast your vote in the comments.

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Ah, the famous overwater bungalows! We didn’t stay in them, but they sure took a nice picture. These accommodations are at Likuliku Lagoon Resort on Malolo, one of the islands we visited that’s trying to protect the endangered iguanas.

We were honored to visit a part of Fiji few visitors get to see, deep inland. These rivers are teeming with fish and other wildlife. We saw this during our visit to Nanuku Resort, a property that specializes in authentic experiences.

A kava ceremony at Six Senses Fiji. This is one of the most important rituals in Fiji, but be warned: Kava can be a little bit intoxicating.

Today’s podcast looks a little different. Iden just finished his MA in communication from the University of Florida and is putting his editing skills to good use for our reformatted podcast. I hope you like it!

Hey, don’t forget our question of the week: What’s your favorite island?

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Is the TSA’s new $45 penalty for non-compliant IDs fair?

Christopher Elliott — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 13:31:19 GMT

Looks like the government has finally found a way to monetize your procrastination.

After years of delaying the Real ID deadline—a saga that has dragged on longer than a Marvel movie franchise—the Transportation Security Administration has announced a new policy for travelers who still don’t have a compliant license.

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The one mistake travelers make after booking their trip—and how to fix it

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 14:31:13 GMT

It’s not fear driving Harry Wenkert to make a “must-have” travel purchase for 2026. It’s peace of mind, he says.

“I have a parent who is 94 years old and living in a long-term care facility,” says Wenkert, a retired pharmaceutical industry marketer from Pittsburgh. “I’m also concerned about having enough medical and evacuation insurance coverage.”

As trav…

CONSUMER ALERT: Here’s what to expect when you travel this Thanksgiving

Christopher Elliott — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:05:02 GMT

Thanksgiving travel is supposed to be a nightmare this week — at least, that’s what the forecasts say. But if past holidays are a reliable guide, it won’t be nearly as bad as the predictions.

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These bags are on a roll: What to pack in 2026

Christopher Elliott — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 14:31:12 GMT

Peak Design’s Roller Pro has replaceable heavy-duty 60mm wheels.

Some travel disasters start small. It’s a wobbly wheel you hardly notice until you’re double-timing it through the terminal and your carry-on suddenly feels like you’re dragging an anchor.

After spending 350 days a year on the road with a rotating cast of carry-ons, I’ve discovered that the …