A North Island itinerary in New Zealand

New Zealand, this island nation at the end of the world, is famous for its dramatic landscapes, including fjords, glaciers, geysers, and national parks, as well as its rich wildlife and plant life, such as the endemic kiwi. It is also closely associated with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. The country is equally popular with backpackers who travel there on a Working Holiday Visa, often combining New Zealand with Australia and other destinations across the South Pacific. Many round-the-world travelers pass through this part of Oceania between destinations such as Chile, French Polynesia, Easter Island, New Caledonia, and Fiji. During our stay, we spent three weeks taking a road trip around the North Island. If you are planning a visit, my article about the cost of traveling around New Zealand may also be useful. For now, I will focus on our New Zealand itinerary around the North Island.

Below, I describe the different places we visited in more detail. Here is an overview of our three-week itinerary around New Zealand’s North Island.

To explain our approach, we did not want to rush through a three-week trip by trying to visit both islands. Looking back, we are happy with that decision, as we did not even manage to see the entire North Island. For reference, I booked our three-week rental car at a very good price through this website. If you prefer traveling by van or motorhome, take a look here.

So, here is our itinerary around New Zealand’s North Island. For reference, I have included the distances and estimated driving times shown by Google Maps. Keep in mind that journeys often take longer than expected, which is always worth considering when planning your trip.

A few things to know before you go:

• We deliberately decided not to rent a motorhome for economic reasons, and because we enjoy camping.
• We brought our own camping equipment and planned to sleep in a tent every night. However, we also spent a few nights in motel-style accommodation because it was cold, as well as in hostels in Auckland.
• Although New Zealand is famous for them, we did not include any extreme sports such as bungee jumping, rafting, or kayaking in our itinerary.
• We were traveling as a family of three with our young son.

At the beginning of our trip, we decided to head north to explore Northland and the northern tip of the island. From Auckland, there are two main routes to Waipoua Forest, which is famous for its ancient kauri trees and their impressive size.

In my opinion, the more interesting option is to follow State Highway 16 from Auckland toward Parakai, rather than taking State Highway 1, which feels more like a conventional highway. From there, continue onto State Highway 12 through Dargaville.

A visit to the famous Waipoua Forest gives you the chance to see some truly impressive kauri trees, each seemingly larger than the last. Several trails and walking routes are available in the park. If you want to stay nearby after visiting the forest, Trounson Kauri Park Campground is located approximately 30 minutes from Dargaville, just south of Waipoua Forest.

The road through and around Waipoua Forest is beautiful from beginning to end, with narrow sections surrounded by lush vegetation, giant ferns, and kauri trees. State Highway 12 takes you inland toward Kaikohe before joining State Highway 1, which leads north through Kaitaia, the last major town before Cape Reinga.

We had already been warned, so I will pass the same advice on to you: fill up in Kaitaia, whether you need fuel, food, water, or anything else. Farther north, the available stores are smaller, more expensive, and offer only limited supplies.

The road to Cape Reinga is beautiful, and the coastal views alone make the journey worthwhile. When we finally arrived, we discovered a remarkable panoramic view. That evening, we stayed at the beautiful Tapotupotu Campground, located a few kilometers before the cape.

I recommend spending a day or two exploring the Cape Reinga area. A short walk takes you to the famous lighthouse at the cape. Several longer trails also begin nearby and lead toward quieter bays and more isolated beaches.

You can also spend half a day at the Te Paki Sand Dunes, located approximately 20 km south along State Highway 1. These enormous dunes are perfect for walking and enjoying the surrounding views.

To travel south toward the Bay of Islands, you need to return along State Highway 1 before turning onto State Highway 10. For us, especially with a young child, this was a long day in the car.

We had chosen to stay in the small village of Russell rather than the more touristy town of Paihia, which did not seem particularly charming when we passed through. Staying in Russell meant driving around a large bay, but the quiet, partly unsealed road through the area was beautiful.

One useful option that we did not notice at first is the vehicle ferry between Opua and Okiato, which significantly reduces the driving distance.

I recommend spending two days in the area so that you can enjoy some of the walks around the Bay of Islands, visit a few wineries, and explore the village of Russell. You can also take a boat trip for the day. This was clearly one of the places we enjoyed most during our New Zealand itinerary.

From the Bay of Islands, we decided to head as far south as possible toward the Coromandel Peninsula. With our young son, completing the entire journey in one day was obviously not realistic.
It was also worth stopping in Whangarei to visit the waterfall outside the city and explore the Abbey Caves, which are known for their glowworms.

For us, this was a long driving day without many major attractions along the way. You also have to cross Auckland and its suburbs, which can significantly increase the journey time. The route becomes much more interesting once you pass Thames at the entrance to the Coromandel Peninsula and continue north toward Coromandel Town. The day ends with the beautiful road linking Coromandel Town to Whangapoua.

You need a full day to explore the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula. We therefore retraced part of the previous day’s route toward Coromandel Town before continuing to the village of Colville. From there, we followed the beautiful coastline toward Port Jackson Campground at the northern end of the peninsula.

You can then return along the peninsula’s east coast through the other bays. I will tell you more about this in my dedicated article on the Coromandel Peninsula. The roads are beautiful throughout the day, but the distances feel long because driving is slow. Be particularly careful on the gravel sections.

To continue our North Island itinerary, we spent another day on the Coromandel Peninsula visiting two of the area’s most popular attractions: Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove.

I do not usually get particularly excited about heavily visited tourist attractions, but since we were already in the area, we decided to see both. Even though they are very touristy, they are still worth visiting. Walking access to Cathedral Cove is currently open, but the area is naturally unstable and the track can close after severe weather, so check the latest DOC information before setting out. I will tell you more about both places in my dedicated article on the Coromandel Peninsula.

There was nothing particularly exciting about this section of the journey for us. The main goal was simply to continue south toward Matamata and visit the famous Hobbiton movie set, best known as a filming location for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

We spent the late afternoon exploring this charming, fairytale-like place, which was worth seeing despite the admission price. I have written a full article about the visit. Afterward, we continued to Tokoroa, where we found a very pleasant campground. We stayed there for several days while exploring Rotorua, Taupo, and Tongariro National Park.

We left our campground early in the morning and headed to the famous geothermal site of Wai-O-Tapu. It is one of the best-known attractions in the region, which was obvious from the number of visitors. We spent the morning exploring this beautiful site.

We then continued to two quieter places: Kerosene Creek, a naturally warm stream where we spent some time relaxing, and Rainbow Mountain Reserve, where we went for a walk and enjoyed beautiful views over the surrounding lakes. Allow a full day to visit all three locations.

We decided to take our time and spend a second day around Rotorua. We used the day to visit the Buried Village, a former settlement destroyed and buried during the eruption of Mount Tarawera in June 1886. I found the site interesting to explore.

A walk around Lake Tarawera, with its beautiful water and peaceful surroundings, is also well worth doing.

We continued our New Zealand itinerary with another geothermal site, located roughly halfway between Taupo and Rotorua.

Orakei Korako is far less touristy than Wai-O-Tapu and, in my opinion, has more charm. You reach the site by boat, and you can already see steam rising in the distance as you cross the water. The visit takes approximately one to two hours, depending on your pace and how long you stop along the way. It is a place I strongly recommend. In the afternoon, with the weather still beautiful, we continued toward the famous Tongariro volcanoes. We spent the rest of the day driving along scenic mountain roads and admiring the remarkable views of the surrounding peaks. I will describe this day in more detail in another article, along with plenty of photos.

The area offers countless walking and hiking opportunities, so keen hikers will find plenty to enjoy. The famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing is one of the best-known options.

You can easily spend a day exploring the shores of Lake Taupo and walking around the lakeside. We also spent part of the day in the town itself, which we found quite pleasant. There are plenty of activities available around Taupo, even though they were not necessarily our main focus. It is clearly a good place for anyone looking for outdoor experiences.

Our North Island itinerary was nearing its end, and we decided not to travel any farther south. We were running short on time, but as usual, we preferred to take things slowly rather than rush. We therefore drove back to Piha, northwest of Auckland, in a single day, where we met a couple of friends from Tahiti.

We spent three days in Auckland, which we found fairly pleasant, although the weather was not always on our side. We even had hail one morning.

Overall, my impression was mixed. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city, but not its capital, and although it is highly developed, I personally felt that it lacked some charm.

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this article about our itinerary around New Zealand’s North Island. Several places are missing from this route, including Wellington and parts of the island’s west coast. Even so, we enjoyed our journey and found that it was still possible to get away from the most heavily visited places.

If you are looking for ideas for a South Island itinerary, you will have to wait for my next trip to the country. In the meantime, you can start with the best-known destinations, including Queenstown, Abel Tasman, Franz Josef Glacier, Canterbury, and many others.

More articles will follow about specific places and practical tips for traveling around New Zealand.

Are you planning a round-the-world trip? Will you be stopping near us?

Ideas for itineraries in French Polynesia

New Zealand, almost on the opposite side of the world from Europe, remains, in my opinion, an essential stop on any journey through the Southern Hemisphere and the Pacific.

See you soon.

Written by Sylvain PONS

Living in French Polynesia at the time, I explored New Zealand from 2017 to 2020 during two road trips of two months each. As a family, we camped and discovered the beauty of these two islands.

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