Although we visited already a lot of countries New Zealand has a special place in our heart. Not only because we visited New Zealand for our honeymoon but we also think New Zealand is the most beautiful country of the world.
We travelled with a campervan through New Zealand and stayed at all sort of campsites. Our journey began at the North Island, then we went to the South Island and we ended at the North Island again at the Bay of Islands. Below we will give you already a short summary of our top 10 Travel destinations of New Zealand. More will come within the next weeks.
Our top 10:
Top 1: The Milford and Doubtfull Sounds
Top 2: Waitomo
Top 3: Abel Tasman National Park
Top 4: Bay of Islands
Top 5: Queenstown
Top 6: Wanaka
Top 7: Mount Cook
Top 8: Tongariro national park
Top 9: Roturoa & Taupo
Top 10: Auckland & Waiheke Island
Top 1: New Zealand Travel Destination: The Milford and Doubtful Sounds
The sounds are located within the Fiordland National Park. You can find the Fiordland National Park on the South Island of New Zealand on the west coast at the Tasman sea.
Why to visits the sounds?
The sounds are both very impressive pieces of nature with a beautiful scenery. If you have the time try to visit both of the sounds. The differences between both sounds was amazing to see. The Milford is really amazing because of its steep rock walls but the Doubtful Sound is beautiful because it’s really a remote and quiet place on earth. If you visit one or both of the sounds place don’t forget the drive road “94” from Te Auna to the Milford Sound. Take your time… sit back and relax. This road is that beautiful and has so many great short and longer walks just starting at the side of the road. We drove the road twice. Below already some highlights.
Top 2 New Zealand Travel Destination: Waitomo
You can find Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand at the west side of the Island. When you are in Auckland it takes you approximately 2,5 hour to arrive in Waitomo by car.
Why to visit Waitomo?
The most touroperators won’t take Waitomo up in their tours and packages because it’s a small place with not that many hotels and restaurants, for us it was still a bit of a hidden gem. The region where Waitomo lies is known for his limestone caves with glowworms. There are several places where you can visit these glowworms. Most people will choose for the organized trips and visit the caves within Waitomo. There are different ways to see the caves, take a leisurely family trip in a boat, or do something a bit out-of-the box like “black water rafting”. This is a combination of rafting, canyoning and speology. But if you have the time you definitely should visit the Mangapohue Natural Bridge, where when it’s dark you can see millions of glowworms, it looks like fairytail land.
Top 3 New Zealand Travel Destination: Abel Tasman National Park
You can find the Abel Tasman National park on the South Island of New Zealand at the North side. It takes you approximately 5,5 hours from Christchurch by car.
Why to visit Abel Tasman?
The Abel Tasman National park is the smallest national park of New Zealand with 22.550 hectare but one of the most beautiful. We recommend you to visit this park because this national park feels like a tropical island. You will find golden beaches, blue seas and picturesque nature. There is one of the great walks of New Zealand within the park. When you visit the park you definitely need to walk the coastal track (or just 1 part of it).
Top 4 New Zealand Travel Destination: Bay of Islands
You can find the Bay of Islands in the North east side on the North Island. It takes you approximately 4 hours from Auckland by car.
Why to visit Bay of Islands?
The Bay of Islands is a region in New Zealand that is known for it’s 144 paradise islands in a 16 km bay with white beaches, turquoise water and tropical climate. There are a lot of things that you can do like hiking on the islands, scuba diving, boat tours (even to spot wildlife like dolphins, orka’s and whales) and visit the quirky little towns. Actually with enumerating this list I don’t need more words to describe why you should visit the Bay of Islands.
Top 5 New Zealand Travel Destination: Queenstown
You can find Queenstown in the South of the the South Island. It takes you approximately 6 hours from Christchurch by car.
Why to visit Queenstown?
Queenstown is not the biggest city of New Zealand but for us it was the most lively city, what a vibe does this city have! If you’re an adrenaline junky then Queenstown is the place for you to visit in New Zealand, you can go bungy jumping, paragliden, skydiven, raften or take a trip with a jetboat over Shotover River. And do me a favour don’t forget to visit Fergburger for the best hamburger from Queenstown and New Zealand and maybe within the whole world. Already an insiders tip: Order by phone so you don’t have to queue up.
Top 6 New Zealand Travel Destination: Wanaka
You can find Wanaka in the South of the South Island. It takes you approximately 5 hours to arrive in Wanaka from Christchurch by car. If you’re are in Queenstown is takes you approximately 1 hour to arrive in Wanaka by car.
Why to visit Wanaka?
They call it the quiet sister or brother of Queenstown and that’s exactly what Wanaka is. The same vibe but even more relaxed. If you love the outdoors but don’t want to join commercialized trips go to Wanaka! You can walk around the lake, takes some hike tracks or rent a bike or boat. Don’t forget to make a stop at the famous Wanaka tree.
Top 7 New Zealand Travel Destination: Mount Cook
You can find Mount Cook in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand. It takes you approximately 4 hours by car to arrive at Mount Cook from Christchurch or approximately 2 hours from Queenstown by car.
Why to visit Mount Cook?
Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand with a height of 3.724 metres. You can take a plane of helicopter flight over the mountain and discover the beautiful mountains and glaciers. When you drive to Mount Cook take your time for the drive, because on the drive to Mount Cook national park you come across lake Pukaki and lake Tekapo, these 2 lakes are really worth visiting!
Top 8 New Zealand Travel Destination: Tongariro national park
You can find the Tongariro national park in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. It takes you approximately 4 hours by car from Auckland.
Why to visit Tongariro national park?
You have to visit the Tongariro national park because of the Tongariro alpine crossing. Its an amazing day hike with a unique scenery. That’s the reason that the Tongariro alpine track is known as the best day track in New Zealand. The track is 19,4 kilometres long and it’s a track that you will never forget in your life.
Top 9 New Zealand Travel Destination: Rotorua & Taupo
You can find Roturoa at the North East side of the North Island. It takes you approximately 3 hours to arrive in Roturoa by car from Auckland.
Why to Visit Rotorua & Taupo?
Rotorua is known for its geothermic activity and volcanic origin. The insider tip is to visit Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. You can see a geyser and the volcanic area with all of its natural beaty. You really have to visit the champagne pool and if you have the time take the long route through the park because there are a lot of beautiful places in this park. The only thing you have to endure is the smell of rotten eggs that a volcanic area produces. Close to Rotorua you will find Taupo at the North Island of New Zealand. Taupo is known for it’s lake, good vibe and nature hotspots like a waterfall and thermal sources. Lake Taupo originate because of a volcanic eruption. No wonder that this region is also known for its vulcanic origin and geothermic activity.
Top 10: New Zealand Travel Destination: Auckland & Waiheke Island
You can find Auckland on the north Island of New Zealand at the north side. Auckland is the biggest city in New Zealand (But not the capital). Close to Auckland you will find Waiheke Island on the north Island of New Zealand in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. You can take a ferry from Auckland and it takes approximately a 40 minute boat ride to Waiheke Island.
Why to visit Auckland and Waiheke Island?
When you arrive in New Zealand by plane you’re most likely to arrive in Auckland because Auckland has the biggest airport of New Zealand. From there you can start your road trip or you can discover the biggest city of New Zealand. You can find a lot of shops and beaches around Auckland. We advise you take a day within Auckland and also spend a day at to Waiheke Island you can reach by Ferry.
Waiheke Island is the second largest and most populated island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. When you arrive on Waiheke Island you get the feeling if you are on a mix between Tuscany and a tropical island. It consist mostly of vineyards, olive groves and beaches. Because this island is only 19 km long and its surface is only 92m2 so perfect for a day trip. Rent a scooter or bike and explores the island also using the busses to visit the vineyards to be able to drink some glasses of wine.
Conclusion
New Zealand exist out of 2 islands and if you are a nature lover this country especially the South Island has to be on you bucket list. It has everything you want from rainforest to mountains to tropical beaches. We advise you to rent a camper van or car and take your time driving through this beautiful country so you can truly enjoy the nature which this country provide you.
If you have limited time we recommend definitely not to skip Millford Sounds, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, Abel Tasman National park, Waitomo, Queenstown, Wanaka and the Tongariro alpine crossing.
Within our next blogs we will dive deeper into the locations. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think about our posts or share your tips, ideas and memories about new zealand.
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