My family and I just got back from the most INCREDIBLE trip to New Zealand! I am so excited to be writing this post that I haven’t even touched down in Minnesota yet and I’m already starting this post on the plane. I don’t want to forget any detail!!
Where is New Zealand?
New Zealand is a country on the continent of Oceania. It is an island country with two main islands: The North Island and the South Island. These two Islands do not connect to each other, so you either have to fly or take a boat to get to them (kinda like Hawaii). The islands are in the Southern Hemisphere and the South Pacific Ocean is its borders. It is about a 4 hour flight to Australia, so the country is pretty isolated!
Some nice to know Facts:
Going to New Zealand is like time traveling forward if you are from the US. They are 19 hours ahead of CST (then 18 hours after daylight savings- which happened while we were there). We left on a Sunday night, flew 13 hours, and arrived in New Zealand on Tuesday Morning. This is important to take note of when trip planning. It is nice on the way back because you time travel backwards to the USA. We left on a Thursday afternoon in New Zealand and arrived to the US on Thursday morning.
The seasons are backwards in New Zealand compared to the US. Their summer is considered to be from November-February and then March (when we went) is the beginning of the transition to fall. We had amazing weather the whole trip. We had one rainy/cloudy day and the rest of the days were in the 60s-70s and sunny. I even got a sunburn (but that is not surprising for me).
In New Zealand, you don’t tip at restaurants, so the service is much relaxed. Most of the restaurants we ate at we would order before hand and seat ourselves. There would be water pitchers you could bring to your table and the waiter/waitress would bring the food to your table.
How long should you plan to spend in New Zealand?
When we were traveling around we met so many people who were doing very long trips. It is a long way to come from the US, so I feel like most people would go for around 2-3 weeks. We personally had 9 full days in the country. Our trip was technically 11 days, but due to time traveling forward we lost a couple days. With the 9 days I feel like we saw a good amount of New Zealand, but could’ve used at least another week to see everything. I would recommend at least 2-3 weeks, but if you are like us and doing the trip in under that it is still SO worth the long trek!
Our Itinerary
I am going to share our exact itinerary for the trip as well as a review of the towns and activities we enjoyed! I am a huge map girl and feel like with New Zealand there is definitely a strategic way to do a trip because the driving can be a lot! I will be sharing a map with all the spots we went to. In my next blog post I will link all the costs for the trip, so stayed tuned for that! At the end of this post I will also be sharing a bullet list of things that I wish I could’ve done.
Getting to and around New Zealand
We flew on Delta from LAX-AUK. It is a new route that they just started and I got a great mileage deal (more on that in the next post). So my family met in LAX on Sunday (our flight left at 11 pm that night). We then did 3 different flights throughout our 10 days within the country on Air New Zealand. You have to pay for an overhead bin carry on when flying Air New Zealand, so be sure to make note of that when purchasing your tickets.
You NEED a car in New Zealand. You could also take a tour bus everywhere, but personally that seems like a lot of time spent sitting with strangers. Everything is very far apart. Most of the time, we would spend about 2-5 hours driving between cities. There is a reason people love to do van life in New Zealand. We rented cars in both the North and South Island and had good experiences with renting a car. In New Zealand they drive on the left hand side of the road so it takes some getting used to! Also not all cars are automatic so it is important to request one when booking your rental car if you don’t want to drive a stick shift.
We used SNAP car rental in the South Island and it could not have gone any better. We arrived in the small town of Nelson, called the SNAP shuttle, and they picked us up right away from the airport to take us to our car. There was no long line either!
In the North Island we used autoline. We were only in the North Island 2 days so we opted for a very cheap car rental and this was definitely one of those places where you got what you paid for. We did not get the car we asked for (we received a small Toyota Aqua). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend using this car rental.
Day 1: Arrive in Auckland- Flight to Nelson (South Island)
We arrived in Auckland and took a flight to the small town of Nelson in the South Island where we picked up our rental car. Nelson is supposedly one of the “sunniest places in New Zealand.” We wanted to be able to spend time at the beaches around Nelson and they were all beautiful.
— Tahuanui Beach
A nice long, wide beach right in the heart of Nelson.
—Boulder Bank
Is a unique environmental feat where a bunch of rocks have formed a long bank in the ocean. This was cool to look at and if you wanted to (and it wasn’t so windy) you could walk along the bank!
— The Honest Lawyer for Dinner and Drinks
This is a cute restaurant located right on the ocean! There are also rooms above the restaurant where you could potentially stay. All 4 of us got the fish and chips which were wonderful. I also got a fabulous mocktail.
Stay: This Airbnb which we really liked:
Day 2: Explore Abel Tasman National Park
The real reason why we stayed in Nelson is it is the town that provides close access to Abel Tasman National Park. The park is beautiful, with miles and miles of secluded beaches that you could walk to! The beaches had bright blue water and golden sand. They honestly reminded me so much of Hawaii. It took about 1-1.5 hours to get to the entrance of Abel Tasman from Nelson. We did the Inline Campsite and Inline Bay hike, which was 3 miles and took about 1.5 hours to do this! I would love to come back and explore more of this National Park
— Kaiteriteri Beach
This was a nice, smaller beach located closer to Nelson (about 20 minutes). We spent a few hours laying out at the beach and my brother and I went for a swim. The water wasn’t exactly warm, but we toughed it out!
— Stephano’s Pizza for Dinner
Holy cow this pizza was huge. We got one large pizza and it easily fed all 4 of us!
— Back to The Honest Lawyer for drinks!
Can you tell we like this place?
Stay: The same Airbnb
I loved our time in Nelson because there were not a lot of tourist around. It felt very much like a local experience. From our airbnb, my dad and boyfriend could walk to the coffee shop, which was located in front of an elementary school. Most kids would walk to school in the morning with their parents and then get coffee at the coffee shop on their way out!
Day 3: The long drive to Christchurch
Today is the day I knew we would be spending a lot of time in the car. Nelson is at the very northern tip of the South Island, so we had a long way to go to make our way ultimately down to Queenstown. We broke up the drive and spent about 6 hours driving along the east coast of New Zealand down to Christchurch. The drive was beautiful! I saw dolphins jumping in the ocean out my car window, we drove through deserts and wine country, and through mountains! We really saw it all on this drive.
What I wish I would’ve done was stayed in Kaikoura for a night. Kaikoura is a small beach town located 2.5 hours north of Christchurch. This is one of the only places where you can ethically swim with dolphins! I tried to book us on a tour, but they were all sold out for the next 10 days, so make sure you book in advance!
We arrived in Christchurch around 4 pm and checked into out airbnb:
Then it was off to explore! Christchurch was definitely a much larger city than Nelson. It is the largest city in population on the South Island. It felt very residential as opposed to populated by tourists.
Here is a link to the Airbnb we stayed at:
New Brighton Beach: This beach was about 20 minutes away from our airbnb and it was huge! Miles and miles of sandy beach stretch along the coastline of Christchurch! The waves were large, sucking me under multiple times. There was a group of kids learning to surf while we were there. This was a fun beach to play in the water and relax at right outside the heart and hustle of the city!
Riverside Street Market:
This is essentially a food hall with so many different food options. There are restaurants located inside and outside in the food hall and every type of cuisine imaginable. We tried a little bit of everything from different vendors from chicken tenders, dumplings, to gelato. This is a great aesthetic stop for dinner or lunch!
Day 4: Lots of Hiking!
This was one of my favorite days during our time in New Zealand! We left early in the morning to ultimately end up in Wanaka, but with stops at Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, and Mount Cook National Park along the way!
Lake Tekapo: This is a large, beautiful lake with lots of biking and walking paths. It is a UNESCO dark nature reserve, so it is perfect for stargazing at night. This is where the famous lupin flowers bloom in the summer. We missed their bloom when we went, but from all the pictures I googled it looks like a photographers dream!
Lake Pukaki: A little farther along we stopped at Lake Pukaki and this was by far my favorite lake! The water is a milky bright blue color unlike anything I have ever seen. Mount Cook is set as the backdrop of this lake. Even these pictures I’m showing here don’t do it justice. Definitely visit this spot!
Mount Cook National Park:
I love to hike, so this was one of my favorite days because Mount Cook is just beautiful! We arrived around 1 pm and didn’t find it to be horribly crowded, but during the busy summer season you definitely would want to get here early. There are so many different trails that range in length and difficulty.
Sealy Tarns Trail: This trail has over 2,000 stairs! It is 3.3 miles out and back with 1700 feet of elevation gain! All up the hike you have amazing views of Mount Cook and the unique seafood green colored glacial lakes in the distance. It felt like I was in a green screen. You could spent multiple days in Mount Cook if you are an avid hiker exploring all the different parts of the park.
Other hikes that were recommended:
— Hooker Valley Track: 6.8 miles roundtrip with 650 feet of elevation gain
— Tasman Glacier: 0.8 miles roundtrip, 250ft elevation gain
— Kea Point: 1.8 miles roundtrip, 250 ft elevation gain
From Mount Cook we drove the 1.5 hours to Wanaka, a small lake town about an hour outside of Queenstown! This town has the famous “Wanaka Tree,” which is a tree that grows inside the lake! This is another town I wish we had spent more time in as opposed to seeing the tree and getting a quick dinner because there is so much hiking around the area!
We stayed in a very tiny ski town 20 minutes outside of Cardrona for the night! It was very cute and the town had one hotel, a coffee shop/restaurant, and a gift shop. Lots of beautiful mountain views surrounded this small town!
Day 5-7: Queenstown
If I had to pick a favorite city in New Zealand, it would either be Queenstown or Nelson. Queenstown is a city situated on Lake Wakatipu, which is the third largest lake in the country! The lake is beautiful, with crystal clear (and very cold) water! This was definitely the most touristy place we went in New Zealand, but well worth the stay. It is the adventure capital of the country so there are so many different adrenaline-filled activities as well as hiking, shopping, and a great food scene. Here are some of my must do Queenstown activities:
AJ Hackett Bungee Jumping: If you are an adrenaline junkie, this activity is for you! I had never been bungee jumping before, but my dad was so excited to do it, so he roped my brother and I into doing it as well. The scenery for the jump is unmatched. A river is right below where you jump, and depending on your weight, if you want to touch the river it is possible. None of us touched the river though. What is unique about it being above a river is that instead of the team pulling you back up to the bridge after you have finished your jump, you are lowered to a raft with workers floating in the river ready to bring you to shore. There were tons of people just watching jumpers we well!
Milford Sound Flight and Sea Tour: This was one of the activities I read that was a must do when coming to New Zealand. Milford Sound is considered to be the “eighth wonder of the world” and is technically a fjord! There is nothing quite like it! You can drive to Milford sound and take a cruise around the fjord, but the drive is very remote and 3.5 hours each way, so we opted to take a flight with Glenochy Air.
We loved our experience flying for 45 minutes to the sound, spending 2 hours cruising the sound, and flying another 45 minutes back. We were on a small plane that sat 8 people! Each person got their own window seat and our pilot got so close to different glaciers! It was amazing to see all of the mountains from above. We saw tons of glacial lakes as well! I highly recommend spending the money to do a flight, cruise, fly experience. The cruise is like any other boat tour. A large boat took us around the fjord all the way out to the Pacific Ocean. I enjoyed the cruise ship, but my dad/brother said they could’ve just done the flying and been happy. The cruise took us up close to a lot of waterfalls though so that was neat! If I had to go again, I would love to fly to the sound and then do a kayak tour!
Walk around Downtown: Downtown Queenstown has so many cute shops and a great park right along the water. There was a market going on one of the days we were there so we got some local goods as souvenirs to bring home. We ate lunch along the lake everyday!
Tiki Trail to the top of Queesntown Gondola: If you are feeling up for a little more exercise, take the free hike up to the top of the Queenstown Gondola. If you don’t want to hike you can also pay and take the gondola up. You will see amazing views of the city surrounded by the lake and mountains! There is a cafe/resturant up top where you can grab some food and enjoy it with a view! This was our third hike in 3 days so our legs were exhausted but we made it to the top! It is 2.8 miles roundtrip with 1440 ft of elevation gain!
Onsen Hot Pools: The perfect way to end our third day of hiking was by going to the hot pools! The Onsen hot pools are cedar-lined hot tubs filled with mineral water. They overlook the beautiful Shooter River Canyon. We went to the pools at night though, so while we got a cheaper price, we missed the view! We spent an hour in the hot pool and each got a complimentary drink and snack!
Lake Swim: Depending on the time of year you visit- you have to at least swim in one of the many lakes! My brother and I swam in Lake Wakatipu and it was freezing! We ran right up to our hotel and jumped in a warm shower after!
Run/Walk Along the Lake: I loved my morning run around the lake! There were trails everywhere and most of them were soft surface! A runners dream!
Ferg Burger: This place is famous in Queesntown and most always has a long line! For good reason! We ate here for lunch all three days we were staying in Queenstown. There is no seating at the restaurant. You essentially walk up, order, and take your food to go somewhere! The burgers are massive! They also have a bakery and gelato shop. One of the days for lunch we ate there and got acai bowls! Not as good as their burgers! Well worth the wait in line for this place!
Fat Badger Pizza: This was another place we loved so much we ate here twice for dinner! The service was quick and fast and the pizza was delicious!
Oaks Shores Apartments: OMG this places was amazing! The room was bigger than my 2 bedroom apartment in Minnesota. We had a two bedroom place with a full size kitchen and massive living room that overlooked the lake! We also had lake access from our place which was great. Splurge on this place!
Day 8: Flight to Auckland, Drive to Coromandel:
The sad day where is it time to leave the South Island! We hopped on a flight early in the morning from Queenstown to Auckland with a layover in Christchurch! At this point, we had seen none of the North Island so I was excited to explore! We chose to head to the Coromandel Peninsula! This is a Peninsula northeast of Auckland that has some amazing beaches!
Hot Water Beach: We drove 3.5 hours up the Peninsula to Hot Water Beach! The whole drive I kept thinking that New Zealand reminded me of Kauai because there were beautiful lush trees and vegetation everywhere! It can be more cloudy/rainy on the North Island as well. Unlike Kauai, there were hardly any tourists on any of the beaches! We chose hot water beach because at certain times of the day when it is low tide, you can dig a hole in the sand and hot water will fill the hole to create your own hot tub! We didn’t arrive at low tide either day we were there, but the beach was still great. The water was warm, the waves were great for body surfing and it was surrounded by greenery! Definitely a sleeper spot for a beach vacation.
Hot Water Beach Top 10 Holiday Park: Considering we booked this place right when we showed up, it was a decent find! This is normally not the type of place I would prefer to stay, but it was unique and fun for our family. This is a campsite complete with electrical setups if you wanted to stay in a camper van, or rooms that have 4 bunkbeds that you can either pay $20 USD per night to rent a bed or $80 to have it to yourself. There is a pool, bathrooms, showers, a kitchen, and a big playground and trampoline. It was a really cool way to glamp. They have these Holiday Parks all over New Zealand so it is a cheaper way to stay in an otherwise decently expensive destination!
Day 9: Beach Day plus airport!
Our last full day was spent at Hot Water Beach with a beach day! It was nice to relax at the beach after a busy week of exploring and hiking! In the afternoon we drove back to Auckland and stayed at the Holiday Inn near the airport to catch our 2 pm flight the next day. Here are some of my favorite pictures taken from the many flights we took!
What I wish we did:
— Stay Longer: This one wasn’t exactly possible since I booked an extremely good deal and had to fly between those dates but I would love to go back and explore the North Island because there are so many places I want to see!
— Kaikoura: I would have loved to stay a night in this town and book the swimming with dolphin excursion
— Spend some extra time in Wanaka
— Do Roy’s Peak hike
— explore Auckland
— explore Rotorua: this is where you can see a lot of the New Zealand Maori culture.
I hope you enjoyed this New Zealand guide and Itinerary! I am so excited to share most posts about our bucket list trip! Stay tuned for a total cost break down post coming soon!
