Planning a road trip to New Zealand

Having just returned from an almost month-long trip around New Zealand’s South Island, I thought it would be useful to bring together everything you need to plan a road trip across New Zealand. I had already started writing about the country more than two years earlier, after I was lucky enough to discover the land of the Kiwis during a wonderful road trip around the North Island.

I later realized that I could not find a single overview article covering everything you need to know for a trip to New Zealand. I have already written about driving, budgeting, and several specific areas of the North Island. After this article, I also plan to publish a guide to our South Island itinerary.

In this article, I will cover the practical formalities for visiting New Zealand, how to get there, how to travel around, the weather, and how much time you should allow. I will also discuss activities, accommodation, driving, what to pack, and a few itinerary ideas for both islands.

If there is one destination on the other side of the world where you can enjoy wide-open spaces and impressive landscapes, it is New Zealand. Depending on your route, you may encounter beaches, volcanoes, valleys, national parks, lakes, volcanic terrain, waterfalls, geothermal areas, hot springs, vineyards, fjords, glaciers, and, of course, thousands of sheep. Let’s set off to discover the land of The Lord of the Rings.

Let’s start with the basics. In practice, the requirements are fairly straightforward:

• You must hold a passport that remains valid for the duration of your stay.
• You must have a return or onward ticket showing that you intend to leave the country.
• You must obtain the well-known NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority).

Since October 1, 2019, foreign visitors have been required to obtain this authorization. You can apply online or through the mobile app. I personally used the NZeTA app, which you can find in your phone’s app store, and it worked perfectly. All three of our applications were approved within 24 hours. You will need your passport and a photo of yourself, which you can take with your phone.

The NZeTA allows you to enter and leave the country for two years, with each stay limited to a maximum of 90 days. It cost NZ$9 through the app and NZ$12 online. Since July 1, 2019, visitors have also had to pay the NZ$35 IVL, or International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy. When I applied through the app, both fees were paid at the same time.

The easiest way to reach New Zealand is, of course, by plane. Depending on where you live and when you travel, you can sometimes find attractive fares. From Europe, flight comparison websites may show round-trip options from around €700–800. I recommend using this comparison tool, which I have personally relied on for more than ten years.

From the United States, most major cities offer flights to New Zealand. Fares from the West Coast can start at around $700, and flights are often cheaper from this side of the country than from elsewhere. This is especially true for direct routes from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Auckland. The lowest fares from the United States are often available from Hawaii, with round-trip flights sometimes costing less than $400–500.

From Canada, flights from major cities may start at around CAD 900.

The question may sound simple, but if I tell you that you can find yourself camping in 4°C weather outside the middle of winter, then the best time to visit New Zealand suddenly becomes worth considering. The link above takes you to my full article on the subject. In short, this is how I see it:

• The best season for warmer weather is generally summer. In the Southern Hemisphere, this runs roughly from December to March, the opposite of Europe and the United States. Even so, it can still become surprisingly cold in the middle of January. I had just returned from a month on the South Island between December 15 and January 15, and we experienced 12°C in Christchurch with an icy wind and 6°C in Milford Sound. You have been warned!
• The warmest season is also the busiest, both for international visitors and New Zealanders on vacation. Some places were extremely crowded, which affects several aspects of the trip: prices are higher, accommodation fills up quickly and often needs to be booked in advance, and some beautiful natural sites can feel overwhelmed by visitors.
• If you are planning specific activities such as skiing, multi-day hikes, or cycling, you will need to choose the right season. Some hiking trails close in winter, while ski resorts are closed in summer. Winter driving can also be difficult because of snow, ice, and freezing rain, and some mountain passes may close. Finally, daylight hours are much longer in summer than in winter.

I would therefore recommend traveling slightly outside peak season, as I did on my first trip to the North Island, either in September–October or April–May. It will not necessarily be warm, and you will need clothing that protects you from the cold and wind. That said, your luggage may not be very different from what you would pack in the middle of summer. I say that as someone who wore a Gore-Tex jacket and a beanie in January. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference.

This is a broad question, but many travelers will have limited flexibility, especially if they work and only receive five weeks of annual leave. I find that limitation just as frustrating as you do. The answer also depends on your travel style: whether you like to take your time or prefer to move quickly from one major attraction to the next.

From my own experience, I spent a month on the North Island and still did not see everything. I then spent three weeks on the South Island. We managed to travel around much of it, but the pace felt far too fast for me. We were traveling with a young child, who was one and a half on the first trip and four on the second, which naturally affected the rhythm of the journey, even though children sometimes adapt better than adults. This is how I see it:

• I would not travel from Europe or the United States for less than 15 days.
• Trying to visit both islands in 15 days is extremely ambitious unless you fly between Auckland and Christchurch, a journey of about 1 hour 15 minutes. Even then, you would have only one week on each island and would probably see no more than two or three main areas.
• Three weeks, or ideally a month, is more realistic for visiting both islands, although I still think it is too short. You will need to make choices about what to include.
• To make a broad tour of New Zealand, I think you would need around two months. Even then, the pace would remain fairly intense, with several hours of driving on many days, which is what we experienced on both trips.
• If you want to take your time and can afford it, I would recommend about a month and a half on each island.

Opinions also differ when it comes to transportation, but there are two main approaches:

• Travelers who prefer to rent a car and choose their accommodation separately, whether that means campgrounds, Airbnb rentals, motels, or hotels.
• Travelers who prefer to rent a campervan or motorhome and sleep in the vehicle.

Based on my experience and what I observed during two months of traveling around New Zealand, renting a car is usually cheaper than renting a van or campervan. We chose to rent a car and sleep in a tent, which is, in my opinion, by far the least expensive option. If camping is not for you, you can still rent a car and book Airbnb properties or other accommodation through Booking as you travel.

Many travelers also prefer to rent a motorhome or van. The main advantage is the additional space and comfort compared with sleeping in a tent. On the other hand, renting one for three weeks or a month is considerably more expensive than renting a standard car. You may point out that a self-contained motorhome allows you to stay for free at freedom camping areas, and that is true. However, in practice, many travelers still choose campgrounds to make use of the facilities, as we did. In the end, you pay more for both the rental and the campsite pitch, but you gain comfort. Once again, it comes down to personal preference. Matthieu has written a complete article on this subject on our blog.

New Zealand offers accommodation for every travel style and budget. From the most expensive to the least expensive, the main options are hotels, motels, vacation rentals, Airbnb properties, hostels, campgrounds, and finally free overnight stays in designated areas for tents or campervans. You can find more information here.

We have done a lot of camping in New Zealand, and I have written a full article on the subject. On our most recent road trip, we alternated between camping and Airbnb because my wife was five months pregnant. It was possible to find Airbnb accommodation for around €50 per night. That was still more expensive than camping, but it gave us the chance to sleep in a “real bed,” as my son liked to say.

For bookings outside Airbnb, we simply used Booking.com, which is very convenient for finding good deals, sometimes even at the last minute.

To be honest, we are probably not the best people to advise you on organized activities, as we rarely book many and generally prefer to travel independently. Our New Zealand road trip was no exception. The only activities we personally tried were:

• The visit of Hobbiton (see our opinion on the subject),
• A cruise in Milford Sound,
• The Queenstown Skyline by day.

That said, it is very easy to book activities either before your trip or just a few days in advance, depending on your itinerary. Some of the most popular options include:

I could write a great deal about this topic. I have already published an article about our North Island itinerary from the end of 2017, so there is no need to repeat everything here. The main points to remember are:

• There is no single perfect itinerary for either the North Island or the South Island.
• Most travelers naturally focus on the best-known and most popular places.
• Your itinerary will largely depend on how much time you have and how you prefer to travel, whether that means exploring a smaller region in depth or moving from one place to another every day.

Instead of following a rigid route, I suggest identifying the places you most want to see on each island. I also plan to write a complete article about our South Island itinerary.

Among the best-known and most popular places:

• On the North Island, the must-sees are: Auckland, Cape Reinga, Bay of Islands, Rotorua, Orakei Korako, Wellington, Hobbiton, Lake Taupo, Tongariro National Park, Coromandel (Cathedral Cove/Hot water beach/Waitomo glowworn caves).
• On the South Island, the classics are: Christchurch, Kaikoura, Akaroa, Lake Pukaki, Lake Tekapo, Moeraki Boulders, Omarama Clays Clifs, Dunedin, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Wanaka, Doubtful Sound, Abel Tasman National Park, Punakaiki, Franz Josef Glacier, Arthur’s Pass, Lake Wanaka.

I know I am repeating myself, but you will not be able to see all of these places in only two or three weeks. You would need much more time and will inevitably have to make choices.

Based on the two months I spent in the country in total, I would suggest the following:

• For a two-week tour of New Zealand, at a very intense pace: Auckland -> Coromandel -> Rotorua/Taupo area -> Tongariro -> Wellington -> Christchurch/Akaroa -> Lake Pukaki/Tetapo -> Te Anau -> Milford Sound -> Queenstown -> Fox Glacier.
• For a three-week trip, you could add Cape Reinga on the North Island or make a detour through Dunedin and the Catlins on the South Island.

These are fast-paced itineraries, as mentioned above. You could easily spend three or four hours driving each day, and sometimes even more. It is up to you to decide whether that pace is worthwhile. Personally, I would rather see fewer places and enjoy the best ones properly, but that reflects our slower style of travel.

More generally, it can be difficult to travel truly off the beaten path. Most visitors, myself included, naturally focus on the country’s most beautiful and famous sites in order to make the most of the trip.

I have also written a complete guide to driving in New Zealand. Here are the main points to keep in mind:

• Driving times are often longer than you think,
• Remember that traffic drives on the left. I once encountered a tourist driving the wrong way at 120 km/h.
• Take care when approaching one-lane bridges, which are clearly marked on the road. Some are located near bends, so approach them cautiously.
• Sometimes you’ll have to drive on gravel roads to get to places like the Catlins or Abel Tasman National Park to see the beautiful sandy beaches of the north of the South Island.

Some people will tell you that you do not need to pack anything special for New Zealand, but I do not entirely agree. It is one of the countries I have visited with the most unpredictable and changeable weather. Even in the middle of summer, in January, we experienced rain, cold temperatures of 6°C in Milford Sound and 12°C in Christchurch, and almost constant wind. In addition to your usual travel essentials, I recommend packing the following between October and March:

• A lightweight Gore-Tex jacket of this type, for example, offering good protection from wind and rain.
• Lightweight hiking shoes that dry quickly, such as these Adidas shoes.

If you travel during the low season or in winter, you will need warmer clothing, including base layers and sweaters. And yes, it is entirely possible to buy all your camping equipment locally, as New Zealand has plenty of good outdoor gear.

For outdoor activities and photography, I particularly recommend bringing a pair of binoculars for watching birds, dolphins, whales, and penguins, as well as a GoPro. It can be useful for wildlife encounters in the water and for activities such as rafting.

Budget is always difficult to estimate in a blog article because it depends on many factors, including the length of your road trip, transportation, accommodation, activities, and how you plan to eat. You can find more details in my complete guide to the cost of traveling in New Zealand.

To keep your costs down, focus on the following:

• Finding cheap flights from where you live,
• Renting a car and camping.
• Preparing your own meals.
• Prioritizing hiking, walking, snorkeling, and wildlife watching, including birds and seals, over paid activities.
• Limiting the distances you travel, perhaps by focusing on a single island or region.

I will finish this long road trip guide with a few practical points worth remembering.

• You can buy a local SIM card when you arrive at the airport, allowing you to make calls and use mobile data wherever 3G or 4G coverage is available. We bought a New Zealand Vodaphone card for NZ$100 at Auckland Airport. It was more than enough for one month of calls and internet use, and social media access was included in the package.
• Electrical outlets are different from those in French Polynesia, where we live. I recommend carrying a universal travel adapter of this type.
• An in-car adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter and provides two USB ports is also very useful for charging an iPad or iPhone during the trip.
• For navigation, I do not recommend paying extra for a GPS. An iPhone works well, or even better, a cellular iPad, which is what we used. You can insert a local SIM card and stay connected while driving. Useful apps for a New Zealand road trip include Rankers, CamperMate, and Trade Me. Maps.me is also worth downloading, as it provides free offline navigation once the maps have been saved. It is practical and worked perfectly for us.
• Other useful apps for a trip to New Zealand include Wikicamp for accommodation, Arrival for activities, Met Service NZ Weather for forecasts, and GeoNet for earthquake information.

That brings me to the end of this article. You should now have everything you need to start planning your road trip in New Zealand. The country is ideal for this type of journey, and exploring such varied landscapes is a real pleasure. If you have already taken a road trip there, is there anything important you think I have missed? And if you are still planning your trip, take a look at our guide to the best things to do on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Have a great trip!

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.

Despite our care, a mistake may have slipped into this article. If you find any, please don't hesitate to let us know so we can correct it as soon as possible and keep our information up-to-date!