New Zealand
Traveling to New Zealand is an awe-inspiring experience that transports you to a world of breathtaking landscapes and vibrant culture. From snow-capped mountains and pristine lakes to lush forests and stunning coastlines, New Zealand offers a captivating blend of natural wonders, adrenaline-pumping adventures, and warm Kiwi hospitality that leaves visitors in awe of its beauty and longing for more.
New Zealand Travel Video
Check out a short travel edit of traveling through New Zealand to gain inspiration for your trip.
10 Day Itinerary
The following itinerary served as our guide during our trip through New Zealand and can serve as an excellent starting point for crafting your own adventure. From the bustling streets of Auckland to the fjords of Fiordland National Park, this itinerary encompasses a diverse range of destinations and experiences, offering a glimpse into the incredible beauty and captivating culture that await you in New Zealand.
DAY 1: Arrival in Auckland
Upon arrival in Auckland and after dropping off our bags at our Airbnb, we walked down to the waterfront and had lunch at one of the many restaurants looking over the water. The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the city and getting used to the change in time zones.
For dinner, we visited the Ponsonby neighborhood. Ponsonby is known as a hip and vibrant neighborhood with trendy bars with craft beers, cafes, and boutiques. There is also a great food scene here, with everything from food trucks to upscale gastropubs.
DAY 2: Waiheke Island
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For our first full day, we took the quick ferry ride to Waiheke Island, which is known for its many wineries (over 30 on the approximately 35 mile square island). The ferry terminal in Downtown at the Harbor has departures every day on the hour, but check the schedule in advance to ensure everything is running on time. The journey took about 40 minutes and gave great views of the Auckland skyline and intense emerald waters of the Hauraki Gulf.
Once you arrive at Waiheke Ferry Terminal, check when the last ferry departs the island. There are many rental car facilities within walking distance. We used Go Rentals and had a reservation in advance just in case.
The winery we were given a recommendation to go to was Stonyridge Vineyard. It was an ivy covered stone building looking into a small valley surrounded with rolling, grass covered hills. The wine was great and we took a walk through the vines after we had eaten and drank.
After the winery, we headed to the coast and found a great beachside bar called Charlie Farley’s. It had an outdoor patio that looked out over the beach on the other side of the street. After a few more beers, we went down and watched sunset from the beach before heading back to catch a ferry back to Auckland.
DAY 3: Transfer to the South Island
We caught a mid morning flight from Auckland to Christchurch to begin our travels of the South Island. The plane ride provided fantastic views of the Southern Alps (recommended to get a window seat on the right side of the plane). After getting our rental car, we headed off towards our Airbnb for the next two nights which was on a private property just outside of Twizel.
The drive is about three and half hours, but with the mountains in the distance getting ever closer and passing the many famous lakes of the South Island, it flies by. If you aren’t in a hurry, take the Inland Scenic Route 77 which is much more scenic and takes you through the foothills of the Southern Alps.
Before getting to Twizel, you’ll pass Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, both have beautiful scenic lookouts over the blue glacial waters. Lake Tekapo is a famous stopping point in the Lupine Fields next to the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Twizel is a small town, but we found a great casual dinner spot in the main town center at Ministry of Works Bar & Eatery. Our Airbnb (MenardsNZ Ecosanctuary) was just outside of town in the designated Dark Sky Reserve area, and the stars were incredible. It was a great spot that even had a hot tub. The owners, Amy and Jason, live on the other side of the property and couldn’t have been nicer and more accommodating.
DAY 4: Mt. Cook National Park
The drive into the Mt. Cook National Park from Twizel takes you along the western shore of Lake Pukaki and has plenty of opportunities for photo ops, many of which are on social media. Inside the park, we took the Hooker Valley Track hike. It’s 3 hours out and back (3.1 miles / 5 kilometers), with multiple suspension bridges you get to walk over until finally ending at Hooker Lake.
We then drove to the Tasman Glacier viewpoint, which is on the bank of Tasman Lake with the glacier coming off the mountain in the distance. The river that flows out of the lake braids and if you have a drone, it’s a great place to fly it. We also parked on the side of the road and hiked up to one of the waterfalls. There’s no trail for this, but something fun to do if you want to do some actual off the trail exploring.
After the hiking, it’s good to have a bite to eat at the Mt. Cook Lodge with its tall glass windows looking into the valley before returning to Twizel.
This was a longer road trip day down to the southern portion of the South Island to the town of Te Anau, which lies at the entrance to Fiordland National Park. To break up the 5 hour drive, something fun to do is stop at Hook Wanaka. When there, you rent fishing poles and fish in the ponds spread throughout their beautiful grounds which are stocked with salmon. They then will cook your salmon on site and prepare them however you like, to enjoy there on site or take to go.
Other good viewpoints along the way were:
Crown Range Summit
Arrow Junction Lookout Point
Along Lake Wakatipu
South West New Zealand World Heritage Area
After checking into our Airbnb, we had dinner at Redcliff Cafe, which has lots of New Zealand meats and fish. If you’re in the mood for some further drinks, head to The Ranch which will have live music playing upstairs most nights.
DAY 5: Transfer to the Te Anau
DAY 6: Fiordland Helicopter Tour
There are so many outdoor activities to choose from when you’re at the gateway to Fiordland National Park, and we wanted to take full advantage. We chartered a one hour helicopter tour through Fiordland Helicopters, which was definitely a highlight of the trip. The tour took us straight over the peaks with unparalleled views. They even landed us at a spot looking over Doubtful Sound which was only accessible by helicopter. At the end of the tour, we were dropped at Luxmore Hut, which is a stopping point along the Kepler Track.
This allowed us to hike down along the Kepler Track back into the trailhead on Lake Te Anau, just outside the town. The hike down to the car park, where you can grab a taxi back to town, is 8 miles and takes about 3.5 hours. There’s also a water taxi that would let you cut out the last few miles, but we found the time schedules were unreliable and missed it.
We were pretty tired from the hike, so we spent the rest of the day hanging in town, specially at the Moose Tavern, a pub with a porch along the lake. For dinner, we cooked the left over salmon from Hook Wanaka at our Airbnb.
DAY 7: Milford Sound
Today we woke up early to make the drive to Milford Sound and explore Fiordland National Park. The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound is 75 miles but takes just over 2 hours since the road in the park is windy through the mountain passes. It’s worth it to get up early to beat the tour busses and chargers that come from Queenstown for day trips. The drive in is beautiful with huge peaks rising from the valley floor with waterfalls all around. The forests and trees are also so different than anything else in other parts of the world.
The shore of Milford Sound is developed and even has an airport for flights around the sound and for tourists coming in from Queenstown. We chartered a 2 hour ride through Cruise Milford. The boat takes you almost out to the Pacific Ocean and takes you right along the base of waterfalls (similar to what you can do at Niagara Falls). We even saw some penguins and seals basking in the sun along the banks.
There’s a few small restaurants to grab food after the boat cruise. Before leaving, walk along some of the trails that leave from the car park and out to a good lookout point of the Sound. On the way out, make sure to stop at Pop’s Lookout (right along the main road and is platform looking down the valley). Due to time constraints, we weren’t able to do any additional hikes, but these are some good ideas of other things to do (also see links to left):
Key Summit Trail (3.4 km / 3 hours total)
Stop at Gertrude Valley Lookout
Lake Marian Hike (6.2 km / 4.5 hours total)
Depending on time and energy level, drive down to Manapouri for sunset after having dinner in Te Anau for a great sunset over the lake there with the mountains in the distance.
DAY 8: The Catlins
This night we planned to check into our house in Queenstown. In talking with someone locally, we had been told about the Catlins, a coastal area on the southeast portion of the island. It extended our drive significantly, but was worth the extra drive to see as much as we could.
We started by heading towards Nugget Point Lighthouse, a three hour drive from Te Anau. The lighthouse is perched on a cliff side with huge boulders below it stretching out to the sea. The area is less dramatic than the west coast but scenic in its own way with rolling hills and farmland. We made our way down the coast and stopped at Purakaunui Falls (a cascading waterfall with just a short hike from the car park). Further along, we made it out to a sandy flat beach at Purakaunui Bay, then turned back inland and towards Queenstown via Highway 8 along the Clutha River. Again, a scenic drive that let us see more of the countryside.
That night in Queenstown we found a spot for dinner and spent the night on the town taking advantage of Queenstown’s nightlife scene.
DAY 9: Queenstown
Queenstown is one of the coolest towns I’ve been to, surrounded by mountains and on the edge of Lake Wakatipu. There are what feels like an infinite amount of outdoor and adventure activities for both summer and winter months. For our first full day, we rented bicycles from one of the many outfitters in town and took the gravel trail along the lake to Frankton. Along the way, we stopped at a great breakfast spot called The Boatshed Cafe, and sat on the porch over the lake. There are miles of biking trails, so you can make up your own route based on where you want to go and how far.
After the bike ride, we rode the gondola (Skyline Queenstown) up to the top mountain and did the Skyline Luge. There’s also a restaurant up here with large windows looking out over the entire Queenstown area which the view never gets old.
For dinner, we found a hole in the wall Japanese restaurant that was one of our favorites of the trip, so much that we went back a couple nights later.
DAY 10: Queenstown
The rest our days in Queenstown were not the best weather, but the town has so much to offer it’s impossible to be bored. We had planned to head to Wanaka, a hour drive to the north and take a Jet Boat tour up the river, but it was rained out.
We spent a lot of time at Attiqa Sun Deck, a rooftop bar with fire pits overlooking Queenstown with views of the lake. There’s also plenty of shopping with great stores all around to spend time in.
Here are some of the best restaurants we tried in Queenstown:
Fergburger (Famous burger spot which always has a line)
Tanoshi (Japanese)
Rata (set menu, Michelin star quality)
Blue Kanu (Polynesian and Asian)
The World Bar & Restaurant (good pub/bar food)
The Lodge Bar (at the Road & Gunn store)
