North and South Island in 2 weeks - help required

familyguy321

Hi All,

My wife and I will be visiting NZ for 2 weeks in April and completely lost on how to best structure our time to see as much as possible on both Islands. We've put together an initial itinerary below and any advice would be much appreciated:

Day 1 (Sunday): Flight lands in Auckland early afternoon. Plan is to check into hotel and then go out for boat cruise along the Harbour followed by dinner at the Sky Tower.

Day 2 (Monday): Day trip to Hobbit movie set and Glow worm caves (can this be done in a day?)

Day 3 (Tuesday): Day trip to Bay of Islands

Day 4 (Wednesday): Hire campervan and leave Auckland in the morning. Aim to arrive in Rotorua by the afternoon to check out Maori village. Overnight stay in Rotorua.

Day 5 (Thursday): Drive south towards Wellington. (any suggestions on route?)

Day 6 (Friday): Arrive in Wellington and check into hotel. Drop off campervan. Free day to check out Wellington.

Day 7 (Saturday): Early morning flight from Wellington to Queenstown. (Flight not booked as yet but this is the cheapest day by some margin). Free afternoon to explore Queenstown.

Day 8 (Sunday): Nevis swing

Day 9 (Monday): Milford Sound Cruise & Kayak

Day 10 (Tuesday): Morning in Queenstown. Leave in afternoon with campervan and drive North. (Where is the best place to stop in the evening for stargazing?)

Day 11 (Wednesday): Continue driving towards Christchurch

Day 12 (Thursday): Arrive in Christchurch and explore.

Day 13 (Friday): Morning flight out.

Thanks in advance!

FG

dawyldthing

You'll be forever on the go. I did north and south in a month and I felt like I'd been on the go all the while. It's huge and you travel loads. I'd stick to south if you want my honest opinion and go to kiakora to swim with the dolphins when heading north if you decide to.

Don't cram too much in or it won't be a relaxing holiday

Marmaduke123

I agree. You could just about do either the North or South island in 2 weeks, but not both. A lot of the roads in New Zealand aren't wonderful, so it will take you much longer to get to places than it would here. Think narrow, one way bridges!

New Zealand is a wonderful country with lots to see. Decide on your priorities and plan accordingly.

dawyldthing

Day 1 (Sunday): Flight lands in Auckland early afternoon. Plan is to check into hotel and then go out for boat cruise along the Harbour followed by dinner at the Sky Tower.

Day 2 (Monday): Day trip to Hobbit movie set and Glow worm caves (can this be done in a day?)

Day 3 (Tuesday): Day trip to Bay of Islands

Day 4 (Wednesday): Hire campervan and leave Auckland in the morning. Aim to arrive in Rotorua by the afternoon to check out Maori village. Overnight stay in Rotorua.

Day 5 (Thursday): Drive south towards Wellington. (any suggestions on route?)



Your other problem is you're going north to bay of islands which is a long way, (3 hours or more each way) I wouldn't have said a day trip, hobbiton is over 2 hours each way (didn't do it but was on kiwi ex so had to go back for the folk that did) and glow caves in a day would be a push. Drive to Wellington will be a few hours. You'll literally be sitting in traffic. Rotoura to Wellington 5 and a half hours. I mean we did it gradually but sat on the bus at least 4 hours each day, sometimes a heck of a lot more. By the time you get to places you'll just want to sleep. Unless you did a few days in Auckland - day trips/ overnight trip to bay of island, hobbiton another day trip, Maori village might be another somewhere as there were a lot of buses to there. Then fly from Auckland to queenstown spend a few days there then use public transport to Christchurch and explore before flying back which might be more doable but you'll be forever travelling if you don't have a base.

Robin9

Rethink Day 1. You will be so jetlagged you will fall asleep in your soup.

I did much of your trip over 3 weeks by coach and that was nonstop.

knightstyle

As this is MSE have a look at doing the trip in reverse, that is what we did a few years ago.
The camper was then on a relocation deal, 11 dollars a day including insurance and the company paid the ferry cost.
This is because almost everyone does what you propose.
Agree with others allow a few days to relax by the beach etc.
By the way campsites are great with communal kitchens, fridges etc.

agrinnall

Too much in too little time, I was there for almost 5 years and barely touched the South Island (mind you, I was working and they were - maybe still are - very stingy with holidays).

elaineb64

There's an awful lot of content there for two weeks.
We were there for three weeks last year and only managed to visit North Island (we were staying in Brown's Bay with friends who live there).
We landed mid afternoon but by 8pm I was like a zombie!
We hired a car for two of the three weeks. Did the Hobbiton tour but added on an overnight in Tauranga and overnight in Rotorua but was still shattered when we got back. Roads are not that great - especially the drive to Matamata for Hobbiton - lots of narrow winding roads and it's in the middle of nowhere.
We also went to the Bay of Islands, based in Paihia. Visited Waitangi Treaty Grounds and did an island boat trip and ferry to Russell Island.
The rest of the time we did day trips from Brown's Bay. Caught the ferry from Auckland and went over to Waiheke Island (beautiful!), visited Auckland Centennial Park, Hunua Falls and Coromandel.
We really wanted to see south Island but it would have meant we had less time with our friends (we hadn't seen them for 3 years), so we're going back in November (again based in Brown's Bay) but this time we're planning to fly down for 10 days and hire a camper van then fly back to Auckland so we have a week with them before we come home.
New Zealand is a stunning country - have a great time!

WorriedFriend2017

I'll ignore some of the above, I've just been to NZ for 6 days and did much of the North island. Managed to avoid jet lag by getting some sleep on the (long) plane journey and then programming myself to NZ time on my way there. I arrived in the evening so went for dinner and then to bed. Got up around 7-8am then straight out for some sun and breakfast which helps with re-timing everything. I believe its more a mental thing, if you think you'll be jet lagged then you will likely feel it.

What we did was Hobbiton on the way back from Rotorua, as its around 2 hours from Auckland. However you could do it on the way down instead. If you did this as a day trip from Auckland then you'd need 4 hours+ for travel there and back. The visit itself is a guided tour so you're probably there less than 2 hours in total.

We had a night in Auckland, then headed down to Rotorua for the next night.

What I didn't think about was the sulphur smell in Rotorua! You get used to it though. We visited Kerosene Creek which has a natural river heated by some of the sulphur thermal springs so it was nice and warm. There's no extortionate entry fees like some of the other commercial locations.

If you want to do Bay of Islands then I'd probably do that first before heading south.

The roads in the North are good though and its never that busy, so we had no trouble getting around.

I found most prices quite expensive, but then you probably know that already.

Good luck and enjoy it!

DUKE

We did just 12 nights in November, & went from Heathrow-Bangkok-Auckland, no jet lag at all for us on the way there. I found Waiheke Island to be worth a visit, & just a short ferry ride from Auckland. I booked the train (Northern Explorer) from Auckland to Welly, a bit expensive but a nice & non tiring journey spent eating, drinking, & watching the world go by. We went from Welly to Picton on the ferry, another worth while trip. Then flew back to Auckland for our trip home. I did just go to visit family though, so although we appeared to have covered a fair bit of land, we didn't do what most people would, & it was relaxing. Jet lag got us on the return journey, big time. I had the time of my life, hope you do too!!!

zagfles

As above, you're trying to see far too much in 2 weeks that you risk seeing mostly road and not much else! We were there for 3 weeks and stuck to the top half of the North island (mind you it was mid-winter!).

BOI is stunning but wasted if you try to see it in a day trip from Auckland - that's at least 6 hours on the road. BTW there's a glow-worm cave just south of Paihia at Kawakawa if you're headed up that way - far less commercialised and flashy than Waitamo.

Don't miss the themal pools and geothermal parks, these are on a par with Iceland.

Also try to be flexible - we didn't book anything in advance, well no more that a day or two anyway, so we could decide what to do based on weather, how we're feeling etc. Though we did go August which is off-peak, not sure about April but don't tink it's peak season (check the school holidays).

As always the tripadvisor forums are the best place for destination specific advice.