Spirit of Travel is a bespoke travel design studio based in Christchurch, New Zealand. We plan and manage international holidays for discerning travellers through a methodology built on one founding principle: that the best travel begins with genuinely understanding the people who are going.
Before a single booking is made, we invest time in understanding who you are as a traveller. What draws you to a particular place. What you hope to feel when you come home. How you like the day to move. That understanding shapes everything: the structure of the journey, the pace, the sequencing of places, the decisions most clients never know to ask about.
The in-destination partner network we work with brings local knowledge no advisor based in New Zealand could replicate alone. Your full profile is briefed to the relevant partner before you travel. The result is a holiday that could not have been assembled any other way. Not because of what we booked, but because of what we understood before we did.
We seek to understand you, building a relationship so that we can create the best experiences, tailored to your unique desires and dreams.
Please watch the video below to learn more about what we do and who we are.
Ron Montgomery founded Spirit of Travel in 2018, after a decade working across the travel industry and arriving at a clear conclusion: the conventional approach, matching clients to products and arranging rather than designing, was leaving too much on the table.
His interest has always been in the harder question. Not where someone wants to go, but why. Why this destination, why now, and what story they are carrying about what it will be like when they get there. The answers to those questions, properly understood, change everything about how a journey should be shaped.
Canadian-born and long settled in New Zealand, Ron brings an outsider’s curiosity and an insider’s knowledge of what genuinely well-organised travel feels like from the client’s side. His approach draws on more than a decade of industry experience, a curated network of in-destination experts, and a methodology refined across hundreds of client relationships.
Travel is not Ron’s career in the conventional sense. It is where his curiosity about people, places, and the resolution of the yearning people feel for a particular destination finds its fullest expression. That is what drives the standard he holds himself to.
As a New Zealand-based, Canadian-born explorer, I weave my global experiences into every trip I design, ensuring that your adventure is one-of-a-kind. Known as the “bucket list guy” or “trip of a lifetime guy,” I take pride in helping clients realise their ultimate travel dreams.
Our clients have moved past the urge to rush or accumulate. They travel with intention. They value ease, quality, and the confidence that comes from knowing everything has been thoughtfully prepared. They are not looking for a booking service. They are looking for someone who will take genuine responsibility for the shape of their holiday and the experience of being in it.
What they share is not a demographic. It is a disposition: an appreciation for craft, a preference for depth over volume, and a willingness to invest properly in something that matters to them.
Most find us through someone who has worked with us and wanted to share it. They tend to describe it the same way: that it felt like a storybook from the very first meeting, that they were heard every step of the way, that ideas came up they would never have thought to ask for. The planning itself became something to look forward to.
Our commitment to sustainability, curiosity, and continuous innovation ensures that your travel journey not only fulfills your dreams but also respects the cultures and environments you visit.
