Learn what to see on your visit to New Zealand, based on
our experiences and recommendations.
Our initial vacation here was 33 days, including travel. We spent 1.5 weeks on the North Island and the rest on the South Island. It was a good amount of time to get a decent view of what New Zealand has to offer.
Building on the prior itineraries, we think the best way to spend the additional 9-10 days you might have were you to take off a month is to ferry over from Wellington to Picton and explore the Top of the South--which includes our part of the world.
see 14-day itinerary and 21-day itinerary for area descriptions
Day 1:
Land in Auckland, spend one day and stay 2 nights.
Day 2: See either or both Devonport and Waiheke Island
in Auckland
Day 3:
Drive north to the Bay of Islands, stay two days and two nights; see area one day.
Day 4: Drive to Cape Reinga and also see 90-mile Beach, back to Bay of Islands, stay Paihia.
Day 5: Drive to Auckland, half day's drive, try to split up what would be a full day's drive, stay Auckland
Days 6 - 8: Drive to Coromandel Peninsula, spend two nights here exploring beaches and tramping and towns, seeing each coast.
Day 9: Drive south to Wellington, include time see the city and wharf. Stay longer if you prefer cities, but that's not where NZ's real beauty is. Option is to do 2 days in Coromandel and ease this driving day #9 into two days, including a look at Rotorua and Taupo.
Day 10: Take early
ferry to Picton then go to South Island itinerary
If you want to do another big city (of 200,000) then Wellington is picturesque as the capital of New Zealand. It is our favourite city of the big three. You can visit the local government buildings and the Te Papa national museum. Wellington has great eating and great shopping with national designers based there and the cool spot is Oriental Bay along the waterfront (be prepared for a traffic jam!).
see 14-day itinerary and 21-day itinerary for area descriptions
Day 10: Arrive in Picton, drive 1.5 hours to Nelson, stay overnight
Day 11: Nelson wineries or drive to Motueka and head toward Abel Tasman National Park
Days 12-15: Spend various days tramping in Abel Tasman, kayaking the park, etc.
Day 16: Day trip out to Golden Bay, including Takaka, Collingwood, Farewell Spit
Day 17: Beach day: choose Kaiteriteri or Tata Beach near Takaka; relax, driving day tomorrow
Day 18:
Drive back toward Nelson to Blenheim, stay overnight
Day 19: Wineries day, tour dozens of wineries: if too drunk, stay in Blenheim another night
Day 20: Drive to Kaikoura, stay 2 nights, book swimming excursions for next day
Day 21: Swimming excursions, eat fresh catch for dinner
Day 22: Drive from Kaikoura to Christchurch, visit one day in CBD, stay overnight
Day 23: Drive south to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook and stay.
Day 24: Morning hike around Mount Cook then drive early afternoon to Wanaka; stay Wanaka
Day 25:
Drive 2 hours to Queenstown, stay 2 nights doing all the adventure stuff
Day 26: Queenstown, including Glenorchy
Day 27: Drive to Te Anau and stay overnight, see Lake Manapouri.
Day 28: Early morning drive to Milford Sound, boat around, spend time, back to Te Anau.
Day 29: Kayak trip on Doubtful Sound, full day
Day 30: Drive to Queenstown and fly back to Christchurch
Day 31:
Travel day, flying day
Picton is not worth more than an hour and then drive out toward either Nelson or Blenheim; hopefully this ferry town will someday become more than it is.
Our home and one of the most beautiful towns in the world, how could you not stop in Nelson and soak up the sun, climb the Centre of New Zealand, or take in the afternoon at Tahunanui Beach or Rabbit Island?
If you hike at home and want to experience one of the best treks in New Zealand, spend 4 days in the Abel Tasman National Park and hike from beach to beach, camping overnight in huts and water-taxi-ing back to Kaiteriteri or Marahau, the base towns to launch into the park. Likewise you could kayak your way up the park by water over 2 days, then hike back down a few bays over two days, and catch your water taxi home.
If you are not interested in several days of trekking, kayak for a day along the ocean shores and take a water taxi out to your own private beach and picnic for the day. So much to do in this park, always too little time. The itinerary above factors in 4 full days, but you can shorten depending on your preferences.
Another hour away from Kaiteriteri and Marahau, and over steep, steep Takaka Hill is Golden Bay all the way out to Collingwood and Farewell Spit. You'll spend a bit of time driving, but be sure to take the car all the way out and hike for a few hours beachside along the spit. Collingwood is the last town on the map at this point and has a few cute places to catch some fish and chips.
Both of these beaches are fantastic, we hesitate to share this with the rest of the world. If you stay near the Abel Tasman area and don't head out to Golden Bay, Kaiteriteri and it's sister beach Little Kaiteriteri are quite, waveless, warm sandy beaches ideal for sun-soaking and swimming. Over the Takaka Hill into Golden Bay, outside of Pohara, you'll find little Tata Beach (and several other bays and beaches worth visiting) where the scenery is as idyllic, but you'll find far fewer people.
Wine, wine, wine, who doesn't love wine. New Zealand has developed a huge reputation for producing some of the world's best wines and the Marlborough Region is where you'll find the best of the best. There is a 10km strip of road between Blenheim and Renwick, about 1.5 hours drive away from Nelson, where you will find about 30 wineries and most tastings are free! Bike rentals available, or you can split your trip into two days because you'll get drunk quickly!
Oh that drive from Blenheim to Kaikoura is one of the best in the country. While Kaikoura is a small town with not too much to see, it's the water activities here that make it worth a stop of at least 1 day, and longer if you have more time. Swim with dolphins or seals and head out onto local rock spits to see the colonies of seals that make Kaikoura their home.
