New Zealand Road Trip Highlights and Must-See Spots

Our 3-Week New Zealand Road Trip: Itinerary, Highlights & Travel Guide

Three Weeks Exploring New Zealand's South Island

Are you looking for an incredible New Zealand road trip itinerary to take you around the picturesque South Island? From stunning viewpoints to an endless list of things to do, I’ll be sharing my top must see places and experiences.

In October 2025, my husband and I spent the most magical three weeks driving around New Zealand’s South Island. Our days were pretty packed with a mixture of scenic walks, eating incredible food, exploring wildlife habitats and saying “wow” around every single corner.

Shoulder season is a great time to visit, and October was just coming into spring. We found our accommodation offered great value for money, and for the most part, we were lucky with the weather. Though in New Zealand you should always expect four seasons in a day, whatever the season (expect to hear that saying a lot)!

In this blog, I’ll be sharing an overview of our three-week itinerary and the highlights from each destination. If you’d like to see more of our experiences, favourite walks, tastiest restaurants and most unforgettable moments you can also check out my New Zealand YouTube series, starting with arriving in Christchurch.

I’ll also be sharing a more in depth blog for each location, so be sure to subscribe if you’d like to follow along.

So grab a cuppa, and settle in… We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.

The New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary

Here’s a summary of our itinerary:

Christchurch – 2 nights
Lake Tekapo – 1 night
Dunedin – 2 nights
Stewart Island – 1 night
Te Anau – 2 nights
Queenstown – 3 nights
Lake Hawea/Wanaka – 1 night
Franz Josef – 1 night
Punakaiki – 1 night
Golden Bay – 2 nights
Nelson* – 1 night
Kaikoura* – 1 night
Christchurch* – 1 night

* This was our planned itinerary; due to red weather warnings at the end of the trip, we had to return to Christchurch early, missing the nights in Nelson and Kaikoura.

Rental Car & Driving Route

For our New Zealand road trip, we hired a Mitsubishi ASX from Go Rentals near Christchurch Airport, which was the perfect size for our two large suitcases and a couple of backpacks in the boot.

The route was mostly planned around the walks and sights we wanted to experience between our accommodation bases; I do thoroughly recommend following as much of ours as you can. Have a look at the Google map I’ve made below, which shows the driving route and most of the places mentioned in this blog, including accommodation, foodie finds, and some of my favourite walks & activities.

We did use Google Maps for directions, but be aware that you can easily add 10-15% on to the duration of each journey for many reasons…

Slow and nervous drivers
Roadworks
The sheer volume of roadside viewpoints you will want to stop at!

Location Highlights:

When to visit:

New Zealand is amazing to visit during any season, but shoulder season will likely offer better value for money (March to May and September to November). We visited in October and loved it, though found some of the more remote locations hadn’t fully opened for peak season (e.g. a cafe on Stewart Island). Always check local school and public holidays before booking your trip so you can factor those into your plans and budget.

We plan to return to New Zealand in September 2027 so we can fully embrace their winter and hopefully experience some of the skiing.

Overnight Locations:

Christchurch

Perfect for acclimatising to the New Zealand time zone. Walk through the Botanic Gardens, ride the tram, take a trip up the Gondola, admire the street art, eat your way through the Riverside Market or soak your muscles at the New Brighton Beach hot pools. We fell in love with Christchurch; don’t just treat it as a transit stop!

Lake Tekapo

Good base when taking the inland route from Christchurch to Dunedin. See The Church of the Good Shepherd, soak up the views at Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. Experience stargazing in one of New Zealand’s Dark Sky reserves. Tekapo itself is quite touristy, so you could stay in Twizel to get better value for money.

Dunedin

A vibrant student city surrounded by nature and greenery. Visit Tūhura Otago Museum or enjoy a nature tour of the Otago Peninsula with The OPERA.

Te Anau

A stunning lakeside town and the gateway to fiordland. The perfect accommodation base if you’re looking to day trip to Milford Sound or Doubtful Sound. Te Anau is crammed full of wonderful eateries and scenic walking and cycling tracks.

Queenstown

The adventure capital of the world! A bustling resort town that has an incredible amount to see and do. Stay longer here if possible to enjoy many of the hiking tracks such as Roy’s Peak (closed during lambing season) and Queenstown Hill. Day trip to stunning Glenorchy with multiple scenic stops along the route. Let your hair down with the Queenstown Luge, Ziplining, Bungee Jumping, Jet Boating, E-Biking through the Remarkables or heading up one of the local ski fields. Enjoy fine cuisine at Ayrburn or even a winery tour. There’s so much to see and do in Queenstown but do expect it to be much livelier than the rest of the South Island. Don’t forget to try a famous Fergburger – Get it to go and head over to Perky’s Floating Bar!

Wanaka

Another beautiful lakeside town, not far from Queenstown and a perfect base if you’re staying for winter sports. This could be a great place to stay just before driving the Haast Pass towards the West Coast. Make sure to fill up on fuel before leaving!

Franz Josef

A small town that truly feels like it’s from a fairy tale. Wonderful green rainforest and the opportunity to go heli-hiking on Franz Glacier. This is where we spotted some very naughty, but very beautiful Kea – The world’s only mountain parrot.

Punakaiki

A small village further north of Franz Josef, located between Westport and Greymouth. An obvious sight-seeing stop would be the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. These are an otherwordly sight to behold; they have a really accessible boardwalk and we managed to catch a spectacular sunset here.

Pōhara

A coastal settlement in the Golden Bay region sitting just outside the Abel Tasman National Park. This is a wonderful place to relax, or the perfect base for tramping the many hiking trails in the area. The famous Wharariki Beach is just over an hour away by car and there’s plenty of watersports to keep you busy too, including kayaking and paddleboarding. This region is definitely home to some of the best beaches in the country.

Nelson

A bohemian city situated in the north of the South Island and known as the sunniest place in New Zealand. It has a popular walk which takes tourists to the “Centre of New Zealand”, though this isn’t an entirely accurate claim. We did the walk and though the views at the top were amazing, we found the walk to be quite steep, windy and repetitive (no views until the top) and we’d already seen better views from the nearby Hawkes Lookout. If you like peanut butter, you’ll have to visit Pic’s Peanut Butter World. Nelson can also be the base for day trips to the Abel Tasman National Park; however, I’d strongly advise staying multiple nights in the immediate vicinity, such as Kaiteriteri, Moetueka or Pohara.

Kaikoura

Although this was the last main stop on our itinerary, we sadly made the decision to skip this due to a red weather warning and wild fires. Kaikoura is famous for its whale watching – though we were worried about the reports of the effects of the rough seas causing sea-sickness! This is somewhere we’ll be heading back to next time, even if it’s just a day trip from Christchurch.

Best Viewpoints & Short Walks:

These are some of my favourite stops along our New Zealand road trip. When you have long travel days it’s not always realistic to complete full day hikes, so these were perfect.

Rakaia Gorge Walkway

This took us around 90 minutes and is an out and back route but it was our first experience of seeing the turquoise waters of New Zealand. If you didn’t fancy the walk, you could easily make a quick stop at the Rakaia Gorge Lookout instead.

Ōmārama Clay Cliffs

A geological marvel and well worth the off-road detour. The Ōmārama Clay Cliffs are towering pinnacles, that provide a unique experience. The walk from the car park is short, but walking right up to and in between the cliffs is certainly another wow moment, and one I’m not forgetting any time soon. The gravel road to get there is quite bumpy, and will likely take about 15 minutes to get in, and another 15 to get out. So make sure to allow extra time for your journey. There’s an honesty box system in operation for payment.

Moeraki Boulders

A stunning beach with perfectly formed spherical rocks dotted along the shoreline. There is a car park, cafe and visitor centre, so expect to also see a few other tourists too. Make sure you time your visit to coincide with low tide, so you get the best views of the boulders. If that happens to be at sunrise or sunset then you’ll be in for an ever better treat!

Nugget Point

One of the best coastal walks of the entire trip, such rugged coastline and a very striking lighthouse at the end of the track. It’s about a 20 minute walk from the car park and not too difficult. The effort to reward ratio is incredibly worth it!

McLean Falls

This was our first experience of just how close waterfalls casually sit next to the roads. After a short walk through a moss and fern covered forest, and with the temperature rapidly dropping, we had yet another WOW moment as McLean falls came into sight.

Lake Marian Track

One of the many stop offs on the drive to Milford Sound. If you’re staying in Te Anau and want a longer walk, you could set out to complete the full track over a day. We only took the short 15-20 minute walk to the viewpoint, which was already undeniably dramatic. I would say the best stop we made during our fiordland trip.

Bennett’s Bluff

Another quick stop but one that will leave you awestruck. Mountains. Turquoise water. The freshest air. A short but accessible walk from the car park will take you to one of the best roadside viewpoints in the area. Perfect if you’re taking a drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy – don’t miss it!

Hugo Tunnel

This is one for the mountain bikers (or e-bikers in our case), rather than the walkers. The track down to Hugo tunnel is narrow and windy, so only confident bikers should attempt it. The climb on the way back also feels pretty brutal but it’s such a unique experience and it certainly made our day.

Mount Iron Track

I did this as a solo hike while my husband went to (and really enjoyed) Wanaka Shooting Range. Mount Iron looks impressive but the hike only took me around an hour. Expect a bit of loose rock underfoot and steps to climb but once again, the view as you near the top leaves you just as breathless as the physical exertion. A convenient car park sits right at the start of the track. Follow the advice I took, and walk the track anti-clockwise for better views and an easier descent.

Roaring Billy Falls

We heard Roaring Billy Falls before we saw it, as we were driving towards it. Not a location we’d scheduled but the downpour had put a stop to our other walks so we spontaneously pulled off the road into the car park. Just a 5-10 minute walk through rainforest will bring you to admire the extremely powerful waterfall on the other side of the Haast River.

Wharariki Beach

Our favourite beach of the entire trip. Yes there’s a drive to get to it (about an hour from Pohara), and then about another 30 minute walk from the car park, but it was so worth it. One activity we had planned from the moment we knew we were heading to New Zealand. And yes… we recreated the Microsoft background! Made even more magical by witnessing seal pups play in their nursery pool.

Best Paid Experiences:

Christchurch Gondola

One of the stand out highlights of the entire three weeks and enjoyed on our first full day in New Zealand. Best to do it on a clear day to take advantage of the never ending views overlooking snow capped mountains, the ocean and Lyttelton Harbour. After riding the gondola up you’ll be greeted by a cafe, visitor centre, a viewing platform and even an informative ride taking you through the natural and human history of the Canterbury region. You can catch the gondola back down or take the very scenic walk down to Lyttelton like we did, which takes around an hour.

Dunedin Tour

Booked with Monarch Wildlife Cruises and Tours, we had a full day excursion starting at Larnach Castle (spoiler, it’s not really a castle but looks like one) followed by a wildlife cruise, and tour of The OPERA. A varied but very insightful day learning about the historical and conservation significance of the Otago Peninsula.

Kiwi Spotting

Booked with Real NZ, we spent a few hours one evening heading out to the remote bush of Stewart Island in the search for kiwi birds. We learnt a lot about these elusive creatures during our boat trip, and finally, nearing the end of the excursion, managed to catch sight of not one but two kiwis. A once in a lifetime experience and one I won’t forget.

Milford Sound with Luxe Tours

I’m so pleased we booked a smaller experience with Luxe Tours, instead of one of the large group excursions. There was a maximum of 12 people in our mini van; our guide Andres was so friendly and knowledgeable and we were given plenty of stop offs along the route to Milford Sound. We were also on a smaller cruise, with allocated seating. Not that we did much sitting; we were constantly wandering around the boat looking for the best views of Milford Sound, which happened to be in every direction.

Queenstown Gondola & Luge

I won’t lie here… I nearly didn’t bother doing the luge. I thought it would be a childish activity, but it turned out to be the best thing to do mid-way through the New Zealand road trip. I actually let my hair down and allowed myself to giggle like a school child as I raced down the track. All with the most magnificent backdrop, I don’t think there’s a more picturesque luge track anywhere in the world.

E-Bike Hire with Around the Basin

Based in central Queenstown, Around the Basin offer many options for bike hire. From simple hire by the hour to full planned out tours. Our morning started at their shop where we were picked up and ferried off to Arrowtown in their minibus. Once there, we were given our e-bikes and safety briefing, along with a paper map and sent off to enjoy our day. We had to return the bikes to Queenstown by 5pm, giving us a full day to explore.

Best Food

Best Evening Meal

Redcliff Restaurant & Bar in Te Anau – Great service, beautiful settings and all three courses were spectacular!

Best Breakfast

Unknown Chapter in Christchurch. Especially the French Toast. This was a tough one as there were so many amazing breakfast spots on our trip.

Best Pie

Tutaki Bakery in Murchison – Although all the pies during our trip were insanely good, this one takes the crown. A small van in a small town but absolute maxed out on flavour and quality.

Best Accommodation

I’m not going to recommend all of the accommodation we stayed at because, well, I think there’s better options out there. However, here’s a list of the accommodation I would recommend, and if you’re interested in booking any, please check out my Expedia Shop – It won’t cost you any extra but I would receive a small commission which really helps to support my content.

Adina Heritage – Christchurch

Centrally located right next to Christchurch Cathederal, in an old Government building. Massive apartment style accommodation with laundry facilities.

Bluestone on George – Dunedin

Beautifully decorated and fully equipped accommodation, complete with kitchenette and a washer/dryer. Free parking which is an added bonus. It’s a 15-20 minute walk into the city centre.

Fiordland Lakeview Motel and Apartment – Te Anau

Huge room with separate living and sleeping areas. Kitchenette. Lovely staff and wonderful views over the lake from the lounge. Free parking and conveniently located near the town centre. Washing facilities available on site (not in room).

Stay of Queenstown

Beautiful apartment with breakfast ingredients included in the price. Each room has a different layout, but ours had mountain views. Very friendly staff. Free parking which is a rare find in Queenstown. Situated close to the start of the Queenstown Hill track and just outside of all the hustle and bustle, making this a much more relaxing stay. The walk into town is about 15-20 minutes but you can take a walk via the Botanic Garden.

Rainforest Retreat – Franz Josef

A very unique stay, especially if booking one of the tree houses like we did. Free parking, right in the centre of Franz Josef. The best Wi-Fi of the entire trip.

Ratanui Lodge – Pohara

Small but perfect rooms with free parking. Right opposite Pohara beach which is a beautiful place to watch a sunset. A la carte breakfasts are included with the stay and barista coffee available at no extra charge. The pancakes were amazing. This was the perfect base to explore the Abel Tasman area.

Want more of the New Zealand Road Trip?

I really hope you found this overview blog helpful if you’re considering, or planning a South Island road trip. My YouTube series has many more tips and shows some of the incredible scenery I’ve mentioned above and I’d love for you to check it out.

I’ll also be writing some more in depth blogs, breaking down each leg of the journey, so if you’re interested in reading those, please make sure to subscribe, and follow me on socials and I’ll let you know as soon as the next one goes live! Expect a full run down of places to eat and views to see.