Planning Our Trip Through New Zealand – Part I of II: South Island
Planning how to approach New Zealand was a challenge for us, but we do have a few tips to make travel planning easier for you (or you could just replicate our route with some tweaks).
Our Approach
Some of our friends highly recommended using a camper van to travel the entirety of New Zealand, which did not fit with how we wanted to travel as a family of four. For a trip this long, we prefer to have more space, separate bedrooms, and a working kitchen and bathroom. We also didn’t want to drive narrow mountain roads or onto the ferry in a bulky camper van. Finally, renting a camper van was expensive! (Even more so than renting a car and staying in Airbnbs, which surprised us.)
Another approach that we’ve used elsewhere — basing ourselves in a central hub and branching out to nearby destinations by car — also didn’t really seem to align with what we wanted to do in New Zealand, since the places we were most interested in seeing were spread out the length of the two islands.
Ultimately, the approach that we landed on was booking a one-way car rental from Queenstown to Auckland, and staying in Airbnbs along the way.
Our South Island Itinerary:
Queenstown – Te Anau/Milford Sound – Wanaka – Whataroa – Fox River – Tasman
To plan out our itinerary, we started by identifying the key sites and areas that we wanted to see, and then built our route around them while attempting to minimize long car days. We generally spent two to three nights in each place, which meant that we were alternating travel days with exploration days.
It was an ambitious itinerary and a faster pace than we would normally travel at, but given the amount of time we had in New Zealand (around three weeks total between the two islands) and how much we wanted to see, we think it struck the right balance for us.
Our Trip
Queenstown
We arrived in Queenstown from Brisbane one day later than scheduled, unfortunately (thanks, Virgin Australia!), but we were immediately blown away by the mountains and the picturesque landscape that greeted us when we finally made it. We’d rented a car from the Budget car rental location in the Queenstown Airport well in advance of our trip. But because we arrived one day late — despite having talked to the agents in person at the Brisbane location, called, AND emailed Budget to let them know to hold our car — they’d cancelled our original reservation. So when we arrived at the counter, they insisted that all they had to give us for our three-week rental was a Hyundai Staria, a massive 11-seater commercial passenger van the likes of which we have never seen in North America. And they totally knew that we were going to object, but they swore up and down that this was the only vehicle available.
So despite our light verbal objections, we did end up taking it. But after driving it all of four minutes to drop off our things at our Airbnb, we immediately returned and insisted that they switch it out. There was no way that we were going to manage on narrow mountain roads and the ferry with that thing. And the cost of the gas would have been sky-high. To the rental agency’s credit, after a little bit of pushing, we ended up with a Toyota Camry hybrid, which worked out perfectly for us.
The first stop in our itinerary was this Airbnb in Queenstown, which we really liked. While it was a bit small for a two-bedroom apartment, it was well-equipped, modern, had incredible views from the balcony, and was a short drive into the town.
The highlight of our time in Queenstown was our first real family hiking experience, climbing all the way to the Queenstown Hill Summit, where the views were absolutely spectacular. It is well worth the effort and you can literally walk to the trailhead from town.
Queenstown itself was a nice tourism-oriented town, with tons of options for things to do. It was cool and windy at times in March (the end of their summer), so definitely bring some layers no matter what time of year you visit. And be sure to try a Fergburger, which is an institution in this town (and apparently known across NZ) and nearly always has a lineup down the block. We can confirm that it was tasty and worth the wait.
We were supposed to spend three nights in Queenstown, but due to our flight cancellation we were only there for two. We think three would likely be sufficient to get a good taste, and more if you’re planning on doing a wide variety of outdoor activities there or using it as a base to explore the surrounding area.
Te Anau/Milford Sound
From Queenstown, we headed south to Te Anau, which was an approximately two-hour drive. The main reason tourists go to Te Anau, and the reason we decided to stop there, is to make the drive to and from Milford Sound doable in one day (i.e. under two hours each way).
We chose to stay at this Airbnb in Te Anau, which was comfortable and fine for the two nights we stayed.
From Te Anau, we did a day trip into Milford Sound. The drive from Te Anau down to Milford was a bit treacherous in the rain, but still probably one of the most beautiful drives in the world. We joined a pre-booked cruise with Pure Milford, which we can highly recommend. We lucked out with a sunny day (though very cold!) and managed to see a bunch of dolphins and seals throughout our two-hour cruise. The views were absolutely spectacular — the fjords and waterfalls framing Milford Sound were like nothing we’d ever seen before. So while it was a long way to come for just one attraction, we do think it was well worth the cost and effort, and a must-do for anyone visiting the South Island.
Wanaka
From Te Anau, we backtracked the way we came from Queenstown (quite literally driving back through Queenstown right past where we’d stayed) on our way to Wanaka, which took about three hours in total. We did stop in Arrowtown, a nice little highly touristic traditional Gold Rush town, primarily to kill some time before our next check in. Patagonia Chocolates in Arrowtown has some great ice cream, if you’re looking for a treat.
We stayed in Wanaka for two nights, which felt about right. We explored the town, saw the Insta-famous “Wanaka tree,” and climbed the Mount Iron Track. Again, this hike was very doable with our careful five- and seven-year-olds, although we thought the views were better from the Queenstown Hill Summit. Overall, it was a pleasant stop and the Airbnb we booked was fine, although it did look nicer in the pictures.
Whataroa
From Wanaka, we drove four and a half hours to Whataroa, with stops at the Blue Pools, a few of the roadside lookouts en route, and the Haast Pass Lookout, Fantail Falls, and Thunder Creek Falls. Our main reason for stopping in Whataroa was to break up our journey north in a town within driving distance of the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with us on this stop. We only had two nights and one full day in Whataroa, and the grey and rainy weather during the entirety of our visit meant that we did not get to see either of the glaciers. To see the Fox Glacier from the car-accessible viewpoint, you need clear skies and full visibility. And the Franz Joseph Glacier was simply not viewable from where the tourist trail we were on ended (the part of the trail where the glacier is most viewable had been closed off recently due to an incident with tourists who weren’t following the rules and got stranded there).
While our Airbnb in Whataroa wasn’t fancy, it was big, clean, cosy, and comfortable and we enjoyed a quiet rainy day there with our kids.
Fox River
From Whataroa, we hugged the west coast on Highway 6, driving three hours to our next Airbnb stop, near Fox River. This stop itself was decided upon 100% because of our Airbnb, which had beautiful commanding views of the ocean from its perch high up on a hillside, with a fantastic level of privacy. The house was new and modern and all were very comfortable here, despite the distance from shops. We spent some time checking out the nearby Pancake Rocks and Blowholes Track and searching for glow worms in the Punakaiki Cavern (pro tip: bring a flashlight if you go!), but we mostly just hung out and enjoyed our surroundings. We stayed here for two nights.
Tasman
From Fox River, we drove three and a half hours to our next Airbnb in Tasman, a small town within easy striking distance of Abel Tasman National Park. We did not love this Airbnb, which was located a bit too close to the owner’s house (who also lived on the property) and felt a bit too much like a converted garage.
The highlight of our stay in Tasman was definitely the hike we did with our kids to Apple Tree Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park. It was quite a distance for them (10.5 kms return), but we enjoyed it and had a good time playing on the beach at Apple Tree Bay.
We stayed in Tasman for three nights, which was longer than necessary, but we wanted to ensure that we would get a day with good weather to experience Abel Tasman. So worth booking the extra day here for us just in case.
Picton Ferry
From Tasman, we drove the two and a half hours to the Picton Ferry terminal, where we boarded a car ferry to travel to the North Island. There are only two ferry operators that service the Cook Strait route between Picton and Wellington, and many ferry times fill up and sell out weeks in advance, so make sure you book tickets as early as possible.
Also note that some car rental companies force you to return your rental car in Picton and get a new car in Wellington, which seems like it would be a bit of a hassle, but Budget allowed us to simply keep our car and take it across to the North Island. The ferry cost us around $250 USD four the four of us and the car (slightly more than it would have if we didn’t have the car), but it saved us a lot of hassle.
The one area of the South Island that we regret not stopping in is Marlborough, as it was quite beautiful, and a few days spent flitting from vineyard to vineyard sipping on some of our favourite Sauvignon Blancs would have been nice. But we will have to save that for our next visit.
Up next, our North Island itinerary.
This is part one of our New Zealand planning series. You can read the next part of the series here.