Classic New Zealand in 15 days: both islands, self-drive
Fifteen days is enough for both islands, and we want to be straight about what that costs you. It means seven changes of base and several nights that are one night rather than two. That is the compromise both islands force at this length, and if it does not appeal, our fourteen day South Island rout
- Duration
- 15 days
- Pace
- Moderate
- Hotel changes
- 7
- Best months
- Nov, Dec, Feb, Mar, Apr
- From
- $4,650 per person
What we do not do is understate the driving. Every time below is the real one, with the stops you will actually make, not the number a mapping app gives you.
Who it suits: first-time visitors who want the geothermal north and the alpine south, and who are comfortable behind a wheel most days.
Day by day
Day 1: Arrive Auckland. Transfer, and nothing. Most flights arrive in the morning, and the honest advice after that flight is daylight, a walk and an early night.
Day 2: Auckland and Waiheke. The ferry to Waiheke Island, forty minutes across the gulf, for olive groves, Bordeaux blends and beaches. Back for dinner in the city. Auckland is a gateway rather than a destination and we treat it as one.
Day 3: To Rotorua. Collect the car and drive south, about 3 hours 15 minutes with a stop at the Waikato river. Afternoon at Whakarewarewa, a living Māori village built on top of a geothermal field, guided by the people who live there.
Day 4: Rotorua. Wai-O-Tapu or Orakei Korako in the morning, the two best geothermal parks, with Orakei Korako the quieter of them. Afternoon in the redwood forest or at the lake. An evening at a marae with a hangi meal, which we book with a family-run operation rather than a bus product.
Day 5: To Taupo. A short drive, about an hour, past Huka Falls where the whole Waikato river squeezes through a rock channel. Afternoon on Lake Taupo, or at the Tongariro river.
Day 6: Tongariro. The Alpine Crossing, about 12 miles (19.4 km) across an active volcanic landscape, with a booked shuttle at both ends because parking at the trailhead is limited to four hours. It is the best day walk in the country and it is fully exposed, so we build in an alternative day and check the forecast with you the night before.
Day 7: To Wellington. The long North Island drive, about 4 hours 30 minutes down the Desert Road and through the Manawatu. Evening in Wellington, which after a week of volcanoes is a proper city with proper restaurants.
Day 8: Wellington. Te Papa, the national museum, which is genuinely excellent and free. The cable car, Zealandia if birds interest you, and the coffee that Wellington argues with Melbourne about.
Day 9: The Cook Strait and Kaikoura. Drop the car in Wellington and cross as foot passengers, about 3 hours 30 minutes, with the last hour threading through the Marlborough Sounds, which is the best part. Collect a second car in Picton, because taking one across costs considerably more than swapping. Drive to Kaikoura, about 2 hours.
Day 10: Whales, then Christchurch. Sperm whales are resident off Kaikoura year round because of the deep trench close to shore, so this is one of the few wildlife days anywhere that reliably delivers. Afternoon drive to Christchurch, about 2 hours 30 minutes along a coast that the 2016 earthquake lifted several feet out of the sea.
Day 11: To Aoraki. Inland across the Canterbury plains to Lake Tekapo and on to the Mount Cook village, about 4 hours. The lakes on this road are the colour they appear in photographs, which is rock flour rather than filters. Night under the Aoraki Mackenzie dark sky reserve, and the stars are a scheduled activity here.
Day 12: Hooker Valley, then Queenstown. The Hooker Valley Track at first light, about 6 miles (10 km) return over three swing bridges to a lake with icebergs in it, and the best short walk in the country. Then the Lindis Pass to Queenstown, about 3 hours 30 minutes.
Day 13: Milford Sound. The long day, and we say so. Queenstown to Milford is 178 miles (287 km) and about four hours each way, with no fuel after Te Anau. A cruise in the middle. It rains at Milford roughly two days in three, and the rain is not the problem: it puts hundreds of temporary waterfalls down the walls. For anyone who would rather not drive it twice in a day, we move you to Te Anau for the night instead.
Day 14: Glenorchy and Arrowtown. The road along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy, about 45 minutes and the best short drive in the country, then the Dart valley. Afternoon in Arrowtown, and a last dinner in Queenstown.
Day 15: Departure. Queenstown airport is a ten minute drive from town and the approach is worth a window seat.
What is included
Accommodation with breakfast, two hire cars arranged either side of the ferry with all fees, the Cook Strait crossing as foot passengers, the Whakarewarewa guided visit, a geothermal park entry, the marae evening with a hangi, the Tongariro shuttle at both ends, Te Papa arranged, the Kaikoura whale watching with the alternative if it is cancelled for sea state, the Milford cruise, a day-by-day document with honest driving times and the stretches with no phone coverage, and a WhatsApp group with your specialist and our partners on the ground.
What we would change, and when
- Travelling December to February? This route needs to be booked nine to twelve months out, and Queenstown and Te Anau are the constraints, not the flights. Ask later than that and we will be building a different route around what is left.
- Would rather drive less? Cut the North Island to Rotorua and Wellington only, and give the extra three days to Fiordland and Wanaka. Or take the South Island alone.
- Want to add a Great Walk? It changes the whole trip, because hut bookings open on one fixed date each year and the popular ones sell out in minutes. See our Great Walks route.
Related
Shape this trip around us All New Zealand, where the drive always takes longer than the map says trips