A Perfect New Zealand South Island Itinerary

Touring the South Island of New Zealand was one of the greatest adventures of our lives. The natural drama here is as prevalent as anywhere on earth. In this article we’ll outline what we think is a perfect itinerary for New Zealand’s South Island.

Here’s a ridiculous statement: You could never get out of your car and have a spellbinding scenic roadtrip simply through your windshield.

That’s how gorgeous it is here — you are tripping over beautiful things in New Zealand. This land could have given birth to the phrase, “An embarrassment of riches”. And best of all, of it is accessible and awaiting your indulgence.

In our perfect New Zealand itinerary we are planning a THREE-WEEK road trip focused on maximizing our time on the South Island. If you’re looking for something shorter, we address that in the Additional Notes section toward the bottom of the article.

There is no filler in this itinerary — only the very best of what we experienced will be included, and it will be paced well to accommodate the most travelers possible.

Our New Zealand itinerary will begin in Queenstown, which is a two-hour flight from the capitol city of Auckland on the North Island. We believe this is the most natural place to start.

One last thing before we begin: Touring New Zealand in an RV or campervan (preferably a 25′ motorhome), is the easiest way to pull it off if you can handle the stress. Be sure to check out our 20 Tips for Driving a Motorhome in New Zealand before you make up your mind.

And without further delay, let’s talk about beautiful places and things! We hope you enjoy!

Queenstown — 5 Days

Day 1: Fly into Queenstown. Catch up on rest. Walk the town if you have the time/energy.

Day 2: Enjoy the town of Queenstown. Shop. Stroll the Botanic Garden. Skyline Gondola and Luge.

Day 3: AJ Hackett Bungee Jumping or some other thrill seeking excursion. Dinner with a sunset.

Day 4: Drive to Glenorchy and beyond (map) (1.5 Hours RT, 90 km). Enjoy the hikes and viewpoints along the way.

Day 5: Day trip to Wanaka (2.5 Hours RT, 140 km). Peruse the shops. Stroll along the lake and see #thatwanakatree. Catch a movie at Cinema Paradiso. Do a fantastic bike tour. Enjoy dinner w/ a killer view at Bombay Palace Wanaka. Lots of options for fun in this beautiful town.

Notes for Queenstown:

We think you’ll want at least two full days in Queenstown and one day to drive to Glenorchy. We strongly recommend driving out to Glenorchy. It is stunning countryside.

Do not miss the opportunity to luge at the top of the Skyline Gondola.

In this itinerary we made Wanaka a day trip. When our family visited New Zealand we stayed in Wanaka five days, which was probably too long. You could certainly stay in Wanaka like we did, but if you’re limited on time we think you could meet your needs in a day trip.

If Short on Time: Distribute the events of Day 2 to Day 1 and Day 3. We wouldn’t recommend rushing through the Queenstown experience unless you are looking to holiday at a breakneck pace from start to finish. Queenstown is a special place worth spending some time.

Other Ideas: There are an abundance of thrill-seeking opportunities in Queenstown, from parasailing, sky diving, and hang gliding, to boat rides, jet ski rentals, and dinner cruises on Lake Wakatipu.

Te Anau / Milford Sound — 2 Days

Day 6: Have a leisurely breakfast in Queenstown, then drive to Te Anau (2 Hours, 170 km). Take photos on the lake (the pier is a great photo spot). Explore the town. Fill your gas tank!

Day 7: Drive to Milford Sound (3.75 Hours RT, 135 km). Leave bright and early. Make plenty of stops along the Road to Milford Sound. Catch a late afternoon boat cruise. Walk the trail around the shore. Drive back to Te Anau and arrive in time for dinner.

Notes for Te Anau / Milford Sound:

Milford Sound is out of the way — four hours south of Queenstown — but it simply must be accommodated. Of all the places you’ll visit in this itinerary, Milford Sound is top two (along with Mt. Cook) and shouldn’t be missed .

Te Anau is the perfect halfway point between Queenstown and Milford Sound, which makes it an excellent place to stay for two nights.

If done right, Milford Sound is a full-day excursion and should be given as many hours as possible. The drive in is almost as great as the boat cruise, replete with hikes and humongous views. This is why staying in Te Anau is a good idea.

If you’re driving to Milford Sound, make sure you have plenty of gas. There are no gas stations between Te Anau and the Sound, and the gas station at the docks is not reliable.

If Short on Time: Make it a day trip from Queenstown. This will be a super long day with four additional hours of driving. You could also take a bus tour from Queenstown, but you wouldn’t have the leisure time along the Road to Milford Sound or the time to explore the shore, and the day would feel very long nonetheless.

Other Ideas: Rather than staying in Te Anau, you could drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown and lodge there overnight $$$. The next morning you could take an early boat cruise and enjoy the sights along the Road to Milford Sound on your way back out.

Related Article: 35 Amazing Things to Do in New Zealand.

Mt. Cook National Park — 2 Days

Day 8: Drive to Mt. Cook National Park (5 hours, 420 km). Hike the Hooker Valley Track (7 miles out-and-back) when you get there in the afternoon. Stay in Glentanner or Mt. Cook Village.

Day 9: If you’ve come to New Zealand to tackle dramatic hikes then take the Mueller Hut Track straight up the mountainside (3.5 miles each way). It is a very steep trail so be sure you’re in good physical condition. Stay the night at the Mueller Hut (link) if you want to enjoy yourself with the other travelers, or come right back down the mountain if you’re a tireless robot.

If that sounds like too much then stop at the halfway point. This is called the Sealy Tarns Track. It is the exact same trail; you just stop at a powerful viewpoint with a commanding outlook over the valley then head back down on your rubberized legs.

Day 10: If you spent the night at the Mueller Hut you could have a relaxing morning then hike back down. Or if you did the Sealy Tarns hike the day before you could take an early morning stroll up to Kea Point or Tasman Glacier Lake before moving on.

Spend the rest of the day taking photos of Lake Pukaki on your way to Tekapo. There is perhaps no prettier viewpoint in all of New Zealand than that of Mt. Cook presiding over Lake Pukaki.

Tekapo is home to the famous and photogenic Church of the Good Shepherd. There are also a fine assortment of shops in this stunning, lakeside town. Stay the night in Tekapo.

Notes for Mt. Cook National Park:

This was my favorite stop on our 39 day New Zealand adventure. The scenery is out-of-this-world.

The major highlights are the Hooker Valley and Sealy Tarns-Mueller Hut Trails.

Parking is at a premium if you are driving to a trailhead. The line of cars parked on the side of the road is something to behold.

There is a classic viewpoint on the drive into the park (below), about halfway along Lake Pukaki on the right. You’ll see cars and buses pulling in and out (most likely).

If Short on Time: You could take the Sealy Tarns Track early on Day 9, then head to Tekapo for a one-hour visit at the Church of the Good Shepherd, then make your way across Arthur’s Pass N.P. to Hokitika. You would be cramming so many good things into one day that we wouldn’t advise it. However, if you’re short on time and your goal is to see everything, this plan is doable.

Or… You could do both the Hooker Valley Track and the Sealy Tarns Track on the day your arrive. We think it’s too much for one day, especially when coupled with a 5 hour drive.

Other Ideas: It is our recommendation you take your time at Mt. Cook. This is one of the most beautiful places on earth. You could be tempted to bag a couple of hikes and zip on down the road, which is kind of what we did. If I could do it over again I would have stayed another day.

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Arthur’s Pass National Park — 1 Day

Day 11: Drive from Mt. Cook N.P. to Hokitika via Arthur’s Pass National Park (5 Hours, 400 km). Stop at Castle Hills for a 1-mile RT hike. Stop at Devil’s Punchbowl Falls for a 1-mile out-and-back hike. This will be a long, amazing day so get an early start.

Arthur’s Pass National Park Notes:

This might be the most beautiful driving experience you’ll have in New Zealand, (although Glenorchy is tough competition). We think its worth taking your time and making a day of stopping at all the places along the way.

The Castle Hills Rocks are really cool. You can walk around the place in 1-1.5 hours. If you like to take photos you’ll be in nirvana.

The Devil’s Punchbowl waterfall is gorgeous 430′ drop that’s worth the 1.5 mile RT hike. The hike is moderately challenging with a substantial incline. You’ll break a sweat.

Hokitika is a seaside town on the west side of New Zealand’s South Island. This is a great place to end the day with an incredible sunset on the famous Hokitika Beach.

If Short on Time: Want to speed up the day? You could skip the Devil’s Punchbowl Falls, but we wouldn’t skip the Castle Hills.

Other Ideas: You could skip Hokitika entirely and head north to Kaiteriteri to save a couple of days. However, both Arthur’s Pass and Hokitika are pretty epic.

Hokitika — 2 Days

Day 12: Enjoy the town of Hokitika. Walk the driftwood beach. Visit the Hokitika Gorge in the afternoon.

Day 13: Day trip to Franz Josef Glacier (4 Hours RT, 280 km).

Related Article: Our 10 Favorite New Zealand Excursions.

Hokitika Notes:

The Hokitika Gorge is a 30 minute drive from the town. The hike from the parking lot to the end of the trail is about 30 minutes. The water in the gorge is frigid cold and an excellent place to do a polar plunge. Mosquitos arrive like the armies of Saruman the moment the sun goes down.

Driftwood Beach in Hokitika is like nothing you’ve ever seen. They have built semi-permanent structures out of the wood, and there’s so much wood laying around that you can do the same.

The town of Hokitika has an abundance of shops and restaurants to keep you busy.

If Short on Time: You could skip the glacier and move up the coast toward Kaiteriteri.

Other Ideas: If you’re not interested in the Glacier experience, you could simply spend the day relaxing in Hokitika. We think this town is one of the gems of the South Island. The coastline is beautiful and there’s plenty of shops and restaurants in town. Farming valleys lend relaxing vibes.

Kaiteriteri — 3 Days

Day 14: Drive to Kaiteriteri (4.5 Hours, 340 km). Sit on the beach.

Day 15: Beach day. Enjoy and explore this incredible place!

Day 16: Abel Tasman National Park cruise and walk with Wilsons.

Kaiteriteri Notes:

The drive from Hokitika to Kaiteriteri feels very long.

The beaches of Kaiteriteri are some of the best in all of New Zealand. You’ll have three to choose from: Kaiteriteri, Little Kaiteriteri, and Breaker Bay (map).

Wilson’s is the primary boat tour company on the Abel Tasman coast. They do a good job and offer an abundance of tours. Some are simply boat rides. Others are boat rides to and from Abel Tasman trails — they drop you off at one point and pick you up a few miles down the coast.

When picking your Abel Tasman boat tour, be sure to consider Awaroa Bay. It is breathtaking!

Want to know what a typical year traveling looks like for the Hoffmann Family? Check out, The Best of What We Did: Year One.

If Short on Time: You could cut out the beach day and move at a faster pace if you like.

Other Ideas: If you’re dying to see Wharariki Beach, this is as close to day-trip-range as you’ll find yourself. It’s a long, two-hour haul over a mountain to get there.

We stayed at Wharariki Beach and did the whole thing. We don’t think it’s worthy of the hype, but there are good things about it.

The primary issue is, it’s a terrible drive to get there and accommodations are wretched. Unless you have more time than we’ve allotted for this itinerary and can work two additional days into the itinerary, we think there are better things to do with your time. Honestly, if you had two extra days to spend we wouldn’t suggest you spend them there. To each their own.

Wellington — 4 Days

Day 17: Take the Interislander Ferry from Picton to Wellington. The drive from Kaiteriteri to Picton (2.75 Hours, 200 km), is lovely, but the ferry leaves at 2:15 pm so give yourself plenty of time.

We’d recommend leaving early so you can spend a few hours in the town of Picton before getting on the ship. Arrive in Wellington at 5:45 pm. Check-In to lodging.

Day 18: Wellington Cable Car and botanical gardens. Walk the city. Cuba Street. This town has a lot of great restaurants. We had some pretty good burgers at Burger Liquor. And if you like Mediterranean/ Turkish food, Kisa is a very good restaurant on Cuba Street.

Day 19: Te Papa Museum. The world-class New Zealand history and natural science museum takes 3-6 hours to explore. We strongly recommend the Te Papa — it is full of interesting exhibits. Afterwards you could take a chocolate making class at Wellington Chocolate Factory where you get to make three chocolate bars with your choice of some pretty creative ingredients.

Day 20: If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, there is a key shooting location on Mount Victoria to the south east of downtown. It’s just a few minutes to drive up there, and a short walk into the woods for the famous, “Get off the road!” setting. Also, the best view of the city is at the top of Mount Victoria. After you spend the morning like a hobbit in distress, spend more time walking about the city. This is one of the cleanest, most beautiful cities we’ve ever visited.

Day 21: Fly Home!

Wellington Notes:

Other than Queenstown, this trip hasn’t had a city experience, which would create a more well-rounded New Zealand vacation. Wellington makes the most sense to include in this itinerary for multiple reasons:

1. It’s more fun than Christchurch. 2. It’s an easy place to catch an airplane home. 3. You’ll get to ride the Interislander ferry between the islands. We understand Wellington is on the North Island. This isn’t dogma. Wellington’s inclusion provides what we think is the best overall experience.

Wellington is very walkable. This is a polished city with clean people that feels safe.

If Short on Time: You could easily trim Day 20 and integrate LOTR stuff into the other days, or cut it altogether.

Other Ideas: If you aren’t into the Wellington idea, you could route back to Christchurch and fly home from there. Christchurch has worthwhile points of interest.

Additional Notes for New Zealand South Island

Why didn’t we head south from Te Anau?

If you want to head south from Te Anau to visit Invercargill, Dunedin, and Moeraki, it would add about 7.5 hours of drive time to run the circuit and return to Queenstown. Realistically this would add two days to the trip if you were hustling. We believe there are better ways to spend those two days.

Why didn’t we go to Christchurch?

It’s a four-hour drive from Mt. Cook to Christchurch, and another two-hours to get back to Arthur’s Pass N.P. On our 39 day road trip we made this drive and spent a full three days exploring Christchurch.

While mostly pleasant, it was our assessment that if we could do it over again we would have spent those days going somewhere else, which is why we’re guiding readers in another direction. Feel free to head to Christchurch! The city center is great.

If you wanted to skip Hokitika and Arthur’s Pass you could head to Christchurch and onwards to Kaiteriteri and Abel Tasman. This is a reasonable path to take.

What would you do with more time?

We would head further up into North Island and check out Tongariro National Park, Mount Maunganui, and the Coromandel Peninsula. We’d go cave rafting at the Waitomo Glowworm Caves and spend a day at Hobbiton.

If we were to add days to South Island we’d probably spend more time at the beach in Kaiteriteri and a second day in Wanaka to climb Roy’s Peak (a 10-mile slog w/ benevolent payoff). If given enough time we’d make the Invercargill-Dunedin-Moeraki trip around the bottom of the island.

What if you only had Two Weeks? What would you cut?

This could be accomplished three ways:

1. Eliminate Abel Tasman NP and Wellington and spend more time in the Queenstown/Wanaka/Mt. Cook area. We like this approach best because it focuses on beauty and creates a more relaxing pace with less driving. You will lose the beach experience. If you’d like to learn about some incredible beaches in New Zealand, check out 13 Beautiful Beaches in New Zealand.

2. Cut one day from Wellington, one day from Queenstown, one day from Kaiteriteri, one day from Mt. Cook, and all of Arthur’s Pass / Hokitika. We don’t like this approach because it makes the holiday feel like a race. You’ll still see all the best things on the itinerary, but you’ll lose some beautiful and relaxing experiences.

3. Remove Wellington altogether. You could drive from Kaiteriteri to Christchurch and catch a flight to Auckland from there. In addition to this you’d need to subtract two days from Queenstown/Mt. Cook/Kaiteriteri.

An Honest Conclusion for New Zealand South Island

The above New Zealand South Island itinerary might be too slow or fast for your style. Glean what is worthwhile and discard the rest. This is a medium pace itinerary and we are late-40’s adults with teenage kids in tow, for what its worth.

We understand that 25-year-olds are capable of and perhaps interested in zooming across New Zealand to see everything they possibly can in limited time. We also know that some folks want to spend a week hiking a single mountain track.

Regardless of how you plan your trip to New Zealand’s South Island, you’re going to have a borderline celestial experience. Our best advice is to not spoil it with your children. I mean, our best advice is to take your time. Our second best advice is to rent a 25′ RV.

And here’s the plug for our highly useful article, 20 Tips for Driving a Motorhome in New Zealand! We learned a lot and recommend it (with reservations).

Thank you for stopping by our website! We are the Hoffmann family, a full-time RV family that has split residence in Seattle, Washington and San Antonio, Texas. We have special needs children that we homeschool, and work travel assignments for the Veteran Affairs Hospital. If you would like to learn more about us, check out our Start Here and Biography pages. In the meantime, God bless and travel happy!

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