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New Zealand

Two islands, one very long drive

The longest trip on the list and the one I have spent the most time researching. New Zealand is a driving country, and the mistake almost everyone makes is treating the map as European in scale. I am giving it five weeks and still cutting things.

Trip length
5 weeks
Language
English and te reo Māori
Getting around
Self-drive, ferry between islands
Season
Late southern summer

Six that earn the time

Things to see and do

  1. Drive the South Island west coast

    The road down the western side runs between the Tasman Sea and the Southern Alps with almost nothing in between, through rainforest, past glacier valleys and over one-lane bridges. It is the single stretch of road that most justifies the whole trip, and it demands unhurried days because there is nowhere to make up time.

  2. Walk at least one Great Walk section

    The named multi-day tracks are the country’s best-known walking, and the huts book out months ahead. If the full circuit is not realistic, most of them have a day section that reaches the best of the scenery and returns the same evening. Book what you can, plan a day alternative for what you cannot.

  3. Spend real time in geothermal country

    The central North Island sits on an active volcanic zone, with mud pools, silica terraces, geysers and steaming ground in the middle of ordinary towns. It also has deep significance to local iwi, and the guided visits that explain that context are considerably more interesting than walking the boardwalks alone.

  4. Cross Cook Strait on the ferry rather than flying

    The inter-island ferry takes a few hours and spends a good part of them threading through the Marlborough Sounds. Flying is faster and cheaper on time, but the crossing is one of the better things you can do on the whole itinerary, and taking a vehicle across removes an entire rental changeover.

  5. Go looking for dark skies

    Parts of the country hold formal dark sky reserve status and the southern sky is genuinely unfamiliar if you have only ever looked up in the north. Clear, moonless nights well away from towns, warm clothing, and an hour with no screens is all it takes.

  6. Stop in small towns without a plan

    The best days I have had in countries like this were unscheduled ones in places with a single main street, a bakery and a museum run by volunteers. Build two or three of these into a five-week route deliberately, because a fully booked itinerary leaves no room for them.

Air and rail

How to get there

General guidance rather than specific fares, because fares change and this page does not. Check the current position before you book anything.

By air

Almost everyone arrives by air, most commonly into Auckland, with Christchurch and Wellington also taking international traffic. From Europe it is a two-leg journey via an Asian, Middle Eastern or North American hub and comfortably over twenty-four hours door to door; from the west coast of North America and from Australia it is a single long sector. Biosecurity control on arrival is strict and thorough, so declare anything organic and expect walking boots to be inspected and cleaned.

By rail

There is no comprehensive long-distance passenger network. What exists is a small number of scenic services, most notably the coastal route north of Christchurch and the alpine crossing to the west coast, plus commuter lines around the main cities. These are worth riding as experiences in their own right, but they cannot form the backbone of an itinerary. Plan around a vehicle and treat the trains as set pieces.

On the ground

Self-driving is the default and driving is on the left. Roads outside the cities are narrow, frequently single lane at bridges, and slower than the distances suggest. Long-distance coaches connect the main towns reliably, and domestic flights cover the big hops, but a vehicle is what makes the west coast and the interior possible.

Planned for February to March 2027

When to go

February to March

Warm, settled, long evenings

Late southern summer, and my chosen window. The peak-season crowds have thinned after the New Year rush, the weather is at its most settled, and there is still enough daylight for a full day of walking followed by a long drive.

November to December

Spring into summer, changeable

Alpine flowers, waterfalls at full volume from the snowmelt, and fewer people than high summer. The trade-off is genuinely unstable weather and some higher tracks still closed or under snow well into the season.

June to August

Southern winter

Cold, short days and a completely different trip: ski fields open, the west coast wild, the walking limited. Excellent value and very quiet, but not the itinerary I am planning.

Learned the hard way

Erica's tips for New Zealand

Halve the distance you think you can drive

The roads are slower than any map application will suggest, and the whole point of the route is the stopping. I plan around three or four hours of actual driving a day at most, and I have never once wished I had scheduled more.

Book the huts and the ferry before anything else

Accommodation on the popular tracks and vehicle space on the inter-island crossing are the two things that genuinely sell out. Everything else on this itinerary can be improvised; these two cannot, so they get fixed first and the route is built around them.

Pack for four seasons in a single afternoon

Weather in the mountains and on the west coast turns fast and without much warning. Waterproof shell, warm mid-layer and sun protection travel together in the day bag every single day, regardless of what the morning looked like.