As someone who absolutely loves to travel and places importance on moments, I always struggle when it gets close to birthdays, anniversaries and special times of the year, like Christmas. I worry I’ll gift someone with something they don’t need and I also worry someone will give me something I don’t need! People love to give each other gifts to see them smile, but often that means finding a material possession to gift them. To me, life isn’t about amassing a grand collection of things and then sitting around looking at them adoringly. No. It’s about experiencing as many different moments as possible, both wonderful and challenging.

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Phoebe Lee Shotover Jet Queenstown Travel Blogger New Zealand

So, for people like me, gift-giving and receiving can become a little tricky. This is why I was absolutely stoked when the team at Tinggly contacted me to share what they do and invite me to do a review. Here’s why…

What is Tinggly?

Essentially, Tinggly is an online gift shop, but a shop with a very cool difference. It enables you to give someone you love the gift of a travel memory and a really fun experience. Basically, you jump on the site and purchase a Tinggly gift box. This gives the receiver access to a collection of 350 experiences in 80 different countries. There’s no pressure to rush into choosing an experience as they’ve got 2 years to use it. Also, buying the gift voucher gives the user access to all the experiences for one price, i.e. they won’t have to pay more for different experiences.

I’m sure you’ve heard of other online experience websites, but Tinggly is different because it’s global. What that means is you’re buying your loved one a travel memory they’ll never forget and possibly something they wouldn’t have done otherwise, especially if they’re travelling on a budget. It’s a real-life example of the quote, “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” 

What I love about it, is these guys are completely changing gift-giving. Instead of giving people things, you’re giving them a travel experience somewhere around the globe. You’re giving them something amazing to remember and cherish, long after the gift is gone. Rather than seeing your gift enter their house and go through the system of being used, relegated to that cupboard and eventually disposed of, you’re giving them something that will stay with them forever.

For travel lovers, that’s pretty much the ultimate. The only way you could top it would be to buy them first-class flights around the world. Which you can also do if you’re exceedingly rich and generous. If you are giving out free first-class flights, let me know. I’d love to be your best friend.

Image credit: Tinggly

How does it work?

Okay, so you buy your beloved friend, family member or chosen life partner a Tinggly voucher. You can print it off, have it delivered to them or email it to them, it’s up to you. They get it, you explain you’ve just bought them an amazingly awesome travel experience somewhere in the world and they jump on the Tinggly website and start cyber-stalking.

There are loads of great experiences to choose from. They could take a Tagine Cooking Class in Morocco, go on a Desert Safari in Dubai, Cruise on an Alappuzha Backwaters Houseboat in India,  go Extreme White Water Rafting in Indonesia, Go Kart Racing on Ice in Finland, Zip-lining in Costa Rica or go Bungee Jumping in South Africa. Some of the experiences are for one person, perfect for the solo traveller, while others are for two people, great for couples.

Once you start looking through all the possible activities, you can’t help but start to get a buzz of excitement. There are so many exciting adventures to choose from and they’re all over the world, so it’s a great way to make their next trip that bit more special.

After Tinggly approached me for the review, I got on the site and started scoping out where we were going and what we could do. With our trip to New Zealand looming on the horizon, I scoped out the NZ options and the world-famous Shotover Jet just happened to be one of them. It was something I’d really wanted to do as I’d heard it was amazing, so the Tinggly voucher worked out perfectly. We organised a date, booked ourselves in and eagerly awaited the day to arrive.

Shotover Jet Queenstown Review Tinggly Travel Blogger

Whipping around in the Shotover Jet

It was freezing cold in Queenstown on the morning of our experience, which just added to the novelty of it all. We arrived at the Shotover River all rugged up like little dumplings, ready to whip around and have some fun. Both Matt and I love adventure activities, anything that gets the heart pumping and makes us smile is always a winner.

After being rugged up even more with waterproof coats and a life jacket, we climbed into the jet boat and got a safety lesson from the boat driver. Before we knew it, we were off.

I can honestly say I spent 99% of the time laughing. I don’t know why, but when I’m having a really fun time doing something I don’t just smile, I laugh uncontrollably like a big, blonde, maniac. It doesn’t make any sense and it’s also a little bit weird. So there I am, sitting in the back of the Shotover Jet, whizzing through canyons in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, laughing like a maniacal fool. It. Was. Awesome.

The Shotover Jet claims to be world-famous and there’s a good reason for it, the drivers make it so much fun by absolutely zooming through these tight spaces, taking you perilously close to the canyon walls and doing 360-degree turns that make your heartbeat out of your chest. There are moments when you’re almost airborne, skimming across the surface of the water like a stone. It’s completely exhilarating and adrenaline-fueled. Both Matt and I loved every second of it and I definitely recommend it as a must-do when you visit Queenstown.

The Verdict

Using Tinggly to give someone you love the gift of travel is pretty awesome. Tinggly gave me the gift of an experience and every time I look back and think about the Shotover Jet experience, I can’t help but smile. I love the concept and think it’s really important to encourage the people you love to get out there and see the world, explore, be daring and have fun. That’s what Tinggly helps to create. It’s getting rid of the idea of giving ‘stuff’ for a gift and promoting the idea of giving the gift of adventure.

If you know someone who loves to travel, cherishes adventures and loves to be a little bit wild, experience new things and collect moments, a Tinggly voucher is absolutely a great gift idea for them. It’s something I would buy Matt or some of my other travel-loving friends, which is pretty much the ultimate recommendation.

Check out Tinggly here


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