Ready for adventure? Here’s how to spend 14 days in New Zealand

Mountains rise up at the end of the road to Mount Cook in New Zealand

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New Zealand is remote, but our islands are large — all together about the same size as Oregon, and a bit larger than the United Kingdom. And we have beautiful sights everywhere, on every coast and corner of the two main islands. Which means you’re probably going to need to move a lot. Almost every day, if you want to see the full breadth of what the country has to offer, in a short space of time

This is why New Zealand is such a road trip destination — hopping from one place to the next is the best way to see the country. If you’re planning on using two precious weeks of holiday time in New Zealand, it’s possible to see a lot. But you’ll have to move a lot.

You could dedicate two weeks to just one island (the North Island if you love beaches, surfing, and Maori culture, or the South Island for epic landscapes and adventure) but if you’re comfortable with a few long driving days, you can cover a lot of New Zealand’s two islands in a two week road trip.

A lot of locals will tell you to slow down and focus on spending more time in one region. In principle I agree with the slow travel approach. But – if this is your once in a lifetime trip to New Zealand, I understand wanting to see as much as you can.

As a New Zealander with a great love for the wildest parts of this country, I’ve had the luxury of spending much more than just 14 days exploring the country. If I had to pack it all into two weeks though, these are the stops I would make along the way. I’ve tried to include notes on stops you can drop, or swap, where possible.

Getting around

You’ll need a rental car or a campervan. You could look at doing the North Island with a rental car, and the South Island with a campervan, if you want to experience a bit of both, but either way you’ll need your own vehicle for this itinerary. For cars, (check prices on DiscoverCars), make sure you pick a company which allows you to drop off your vehicle in Rotorua, if you take the internal flight.

I have also included an internal flight in this itinerary, to save time. You can travel to Wellington and take the ferry, but this adds several days.

14 days in New Zealand

This is a day by day breakdown of two weeks in New Zealand. I’ll go into (a lot) more detail for each day below.

Day 1 | Arrive in Auckland and find your feet
Day 2 | Waitomo glow worm caves
Day 3 | Drive to Rotorua
Day 4 | Spend the day exploring Rotorua
Day 5 | Fly to Christchurch and drive to Hokitika via Arthur’s Pass
Day 6 | Drive down the West Coast to Franz Josef
Day 7 | Drive from Franz Josef to Wanaka
Day 8 | Make your way to Queenstown
Day 9 | Go on a Doubtful Sound (or Milford Sound) overnight cruise
Day 10 |Return to Queenstown to explore a little more
Day 11 | Drive from Queenstown to Aoraki Mount Cook National Park
Day 12 | Spend the day exploring Aoraki Mount Cook, before heading to Tekapo for the evening
Day 13 | Drive from Lake Tekapo to Christchurch, fly to Auckland. Spend your last night on Waiheke
Day 14 | Waiheke, fly out

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This is just one variation of a two-week New Zealand road trip.

If this itinerary doesn’t look quite right for you, feel free to contact me with questions, or book a call and we can talk through itinerary options together, to help you plan your ideal trip.

Day 1 | Arrive into Auckland and find your feet

Auckland skyline glowing orange and yellow, as seen fro North Head in Devonport — *The Auckland skyline*

There’s a good chance your international flight will land in Auckland, the biggest and busiest of the airports into the country. This makes it a logical starting point for your trip; if you want to cover both islands in two weeks, it makes sense to see a little of the North Island on a road trip from Auckland, before flying to the South Island.

It also makes Auckland something of a necessity; somewhere you’ll most likely need to stop after a long flight, to sleep and find your feet. Auckland, however, is a city much like cities anywhere. My advice is, only spend as much time as you need in Auckland. Get your bearings, then get out of there.

The airport is at least 30 minutes from the centre of the city (more in rush hour traffic) but even if you’re just looking to stop for one night, I wouldn’t try to stay close to the airport. There is very little to see or do around the airport. If you head into the city centre, you’ll be able to have a meal at one of the city’s fantastic restaurants and perhaps head for a drink to toast your arrival.

Stay

Most hotels are clustered in the city centre, around Queen Street and the Viaduct. While the immediate areas around your hotel might not be the most inspiring, these areas are very convenient to transport (the ferry terminal for Waiheke is right at the bottom of Queen St.) and you will be walking distance to many restaurants.

If you prefer a quieter neighbourhood with less of a concrete jungle vibe, check out stays in Ponsonby or Grey Lynn.

Day 2 | Waitomo glow worm caves

Drive time: 2.5 hours

Waitomo is the name of both a tiny village in the Waikato, and the wider district underneath which lies a labyrinth of limestone caves; the name Waitomo comes from the Māori words wai (water) and tomo (hole or shaft). Although glowworms are the star attraction for most visitors to Waitomo, the cave systems with their limestone formations, rivers, and caverns offer caving and adventure opportunities just as enticing as glowing bugs. There are many caves and tours to choose from, ranging from trips where you can keep your feet dry to those where you can jump feet first into pitch black water.

Stay

Itinerary notes

You could bypass Waitomo altogether if caves aren’t your thing, or look at carrying on to Rotorua after your caving trip (although that would make for a long day). It’s also possible to stay somewhere near Cambridge or Tirau (both around an hour from Waitomo) if you’re interested in visiting Hobbiton. Stay a night in a rural Airbnb, then visit Hobbiton in the morning, before continuing on to Rotorua, one hour further south.

Day 3 | Rotorua

Drive time from Waitomo: 2.5 hours

Your first introduction to New Zealand’s most dynamic thermal area is likely to be a whiff of sulphur-rich air as you drive into town. Rotorua is built right on top of a geothermal system which sends steam up through storm drains, and makes mud pools bubble in public parks. One of the main reasons to visit Rotorua is to see a geyser, a colourful pool of acid, or steaming cliffs.

This geothermal activity, and rich Maori culture, are the main attractions in Rotorua, but the lakes and forest around the town mean it is also something of an adventure hub. There is plenty of zip lini ng and mountain biking to be done around the town, but my top adventure activity in Rotorua is white water rafting. The Kaituna River features the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world; it’s also very beautiful.

For your first afternoon in Rotorua, you could dive straight into thrills (and possible spills) with Rotorua Rafting (my top choice because you get a free sau na after t he experie nce), plus you can nip next door to Okere Falls Store for a post-rafting burger. Later in the evening, check out the Redwoods Nightlights (I recommend paying to skip the line if you want to do the actual walk; otherwise you can still see a lot from the ground).

Day 4 | Experience Māori culture and thermal springs in Rotorua

*Rotorua is the place of steaming lakes and cliffs — where mud boils and water comes out of the ground already too hot to touch*

With a full day in Rotorua, you can easily check off the main highlights of the area; seeing a geothermal park and getting to know Maori culture.

Of the geothermal parks, Waimangu Volcanic Valley — around 30 minutes south of town — is my preferred option. It’s quieter than the more famous Wai O Tapu, involves a gentle walk through the valley.

Rotorua is the most accessible place in New Zealand to get to know Māori culture. There are several experiences offering a dinner and a show in the late afternoon, which can fit well into a tight itinerary. These cultural experiences are somewhat commercialised — Te Pa Tu caters to a couple of bus loads of visitors each night — but they do provide a good introduction to traditional Maori customs and food.

With Te Pa Tu, this looks like an evening tour of a ‘village’ (it’s more of a set than a living village) followed by a traditional hangi meal and performances, including a haka. Te Puia combines both geothermal activity (most notably the huge Pohutu geyser) and Maori culture, so a combo experience there is the most efficient option.

You could also choose to take a more indulgent approach, and unwind at Wai Ariki, a thermal spa with cultural elements.

Activities

Wai Ariki thermal spa
Te Pā Tū Maori village
Enjoy a Māori guided forest tour with Whirinaki Forest Footsteps

Day 5 | Fly to Christchurch

A red and yellow tram trundles between the pastel coloured buildings along New Regent Street in Christchurch

The most time efficient way to see both islands is to fly from Rotorua to Christchurch. One internal flight in New Zealand can save you hours of driving , and with the cost of petrol and the ferry between the islands, you will end up spending the same amount or less on a flight from north to south. The only catch is that Rotorua airport is very small and there is a limited number of direct flights to Christchurch (although the small size is also a positive; getting on a flight in Rotorua feels like boarding a bus, it’s so laid back).

If timings don’t work, you could drive back to Auckland (around 3 hours) to catch a flight south. There are many more flight times from Auckland, and lower prices too, as the budget airline Jetstar flies out of there.

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island, which makes it a key entry and exit point. There are things to enjoy in Christchurch, but my personal preference is to spend more time outside of cities. Most of the time, if I fly into Christchurch I pick up a car and scoot straight out of town — the airport is on the edge of the city, so it’s relatively easy to make a quick escape.

If you manage to snag a morning flight, you could pick up a car and head straight to Oamaru the same day. If you land in the afternoon, you might as well stay a night in Christchurch. The town is pretty enough, with some great restaurants.

Stay

Itinerary notes

If you’re flying south from Auckland, you may want to fly to Queenstown instead. There isn’t a huge advantage to flying to Christchurch (except for the direct flight from Rotorua) — Oamaru is roughly equidistant between Christchurch and Queenstown. Tekapo, on the other hand, is closer to Christchurch, so if you plan on plotting a route through the centre of the South Island, then Christchurch is the better option.

Day 6 | Oamaru

Drive time 3 hours 20 minutes

A large building made from bricks of white limestone

Head straight to Oamaru, arriving in time for lunch. You can stop by Riverstone Kitchen on the way into town, or Tees Street Cafe in Oamaru is lovely.

The more common route linking Christchurch and Queenstown is to go through the middle of the South Island via Fairlie and Lake Tekapo. The reason I’m suggesting Oamaru is because it’s such a funky little town. Covering a few blocks close to the waterfront is a Victorian precinct with buildings shaped from white limestone cut in thick blocks from a nearby quarry. The ‘Whitestone’ buildings give Oamaru a unique aesthetic; and, license to be a bit quirky. The Victorian-era buildings provided the perfect backdrop for a Steampunk culture to thrive in town. If you’re not familiar with it, Steampunk is a science fiction concept where the future is steam powered. So, futuristic but also Victorian era inspired — Burning Man type goggles and steam trains that fly.

You can dive into this world at Steampunk HQ, a permanent exhibition of steampunk-inspired sculptures; many of which have been crafted from industrial junk. There are also a number of thematic shops around the Victorian precinct, where you can browse for your own steampunk outfit or pick up second hand books and other curios.

The other key attraction in Oamaru is the Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony. This colony of little blue penguins made Ōamaru their home when they moved into an abandoned rock quarry. They weren’t immediately welcomed; in the 1980s, the town’s leaders wanted the intruders evicted. Fortunately, passionate locals managed to convince the council to establish the site as a protected breeding area, and a tourism operation. The vision was to use visitor revenue to fund the ongoing protection and monitoring of the colony. And it worked. When surveys began in the early 1990s, there were only around 33 breeding pairs. In 2026, 263 pairs laid nearly 900 eggs – the total population is growing by around 8% a year. The experience is one of the coolest wildlife encounters you can have in New Zealand, made even more special knowing you’re helping to support such a successful conservation operation. The best time to see the penguins is at dusk, as they return home from a day of fishing out at sea. As night falls, you enter the viewing area and take a seat in the amphitheatre-like seating.

Activities

Stay

Itinerary notes

Pastel colours are reflected on Lake Tekapo at sunset, with blush pink hills in the distance — *Tekapo*

If Oamaru doesn’t sound interesting, the more common route is to make your way to Aoraki/Mount Cook via Lake Tekapo. Over in Tekapo, the dark night sky means a bounty of stargazing tours, while the lake itself is pretty.

Day 7 | Oamaru to Aoraki Mount Cook (or Twizel)

Oamaru to Twizel 1 hour 45 minutes/Oamaru to Aoraki/Mount Cook 2.5 hours

From Oamaru you can turn inland again and drive to Omarama, which takes you along the same route as the Alps to Ocean cycle trail. My favourite stop on this road is the small town of Kurow, which has a lovely little free museum, an excellent cafe – Waitaki Braids, which is also boutique accommodation – and a Valli tasting room. From Omarama, you can head to Aoraki/Mount Cook.

Where you end up on this day might come down to availability of rooms in Aoraki Mount Cook village. There are hotels and places to stay in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village, but rooms book out far in advance.

If you can secure a bed for the night in the village, I highly recommend it – staying in the park is beautiful, and means you get to enjoy it without the crowds. If everything is booked out (which is not uncommon), Twizel is a good backup. You can still see the mountains from there, and you could spend the afternoon around Lake Pukaki enjoying the views.

If you land in Twizel on this day, the following morning you’ll be close enough — around an hour away — that you can reach the national park early, ahead of the crowds.

Stay

I enjoyed Aoraki Alpine Lodge (although any available room in Mt Cook Village works)
Pukaki Air Lodge, Twizel

The window of Mt Cook Aoraki Alpine Lodge living room looking out towards the snowy mountains — FEATURED STAY

Aoraki Alpine Lodge
A basic but very serviceable place to stay, with a great shared kitchen and lounge area. With almost nowhere to eat in the park, having cooking facilities was perfect.

See more

Day 8 | Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

The drive along the edge of Lake Pukaki towards Aoraki is surreal on a good day; there are superb viewpoints of the mountains ahead. The shimmering spire of Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, rises above the far end of the lake

Aoraki/Mount Cook — the cloud piercer — is New Zealand’s highest peak. The national park lying at the foot of Aoraki is quite possibly the single most beautiful place in New Zealand, a land of rock and ice. The sound of rock and ice falls is almost always present, and even in summer ice bergs drift in the glacial lake below Aoraki.

For somewhere so wildly and dramatically beautiful place, Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is surprisingly accessible (although it’s worth noting that this easy accessibility and stunning scenery together make Mount Cook a very busy place). One day is all you really need for visiting Aoraki Mount Cook. There are a handful of walking trails to choose from, depending on your fitness and enthusiasm.

Wanaka is around 2.5 hours from Aoraki/Mount Cook, close enough to make your way there after a day of hiking.

Activities

The Hooker Valley Track is 3 hours return
Sealy Tarns track is around 5 hours return.
Getting up to Mueller Hut and back takes around 7 hours return

Stay

Itinerary notes

Twizel — less than 1 hour from Aoraki — might be an easier place to land than Wanaka, especially if you’ve done a longer hike. If you stayed in Twizel the night before visiting Aoraki, it makes sense to stay for two nights, and head to Wanaka the following morning.

Day 9 | Wanaka

Like Queenstown, Wanaka has lake and mountain landscapes, easy access to hiking, skiing, wineries, and restaurants. Wanaka, however, is smaller and has a more laid back vibe. Where Queenstown is hopped up on thrills, Wanaka is more about the outdoors. Instead of Queenstown’s plethora of fine dining restaurants owned by hospitality groups, Wanaka has a swag of food trucks and owner-operated restaurants. Queenstown has a casino and a Louis Vuitton store; Wanaka is the birthplace of Mons Royale adventure clothing, and has an outdoor shop that also serves coffee.

After several days of moving quickly, I also find Wanaka to be a good place to slow down a little, and just be. On a hot summer’s day, there are some superb swimming spots around. My favourite is Lake Hawea; get picnic supplies from Pembroke Patisserie on the way out there and sit on the pebbled beach reading a book, dipping in and out of icy water and admiring the mountains.

Stay

Activities

Visit Mou Waho Island
Hike Roy’s Peak, Isthmus Peak, or Rocky Mountain
Head into the Matukituki Valley to hike Rob Roy Glacier track
Go packrafting in Mount Aspiring National Park
Take a detour towards the Blue Pools
Enjoy a sunset hot tub at LandEscape Wanaka (also a fantastic place to park overnight in a campervan)

Itinerary notes

Two nights in Wanaka will give you time to check out one of the hikes in the area (Roy’s Peak, Rob Roy Glacier, or Isthmus Peak) or visit Mou Waho Island. But for me, three nights is ideal; hike, visit Mou Waho, and round out your time with lake swims and possibly a hot tub overlooking mountains.

So, I would prefer to spend two full days in Wanaka (heading to Queenstown on Day 11, instead of Day 10). Spending an extra day in Wanaka means you would have time to explore the Matukituki Valley, where you can hike Rob Roy glacier track. This day trip can make a good alternative to driving out towards Glenorchy and the Routeburn track, from Queenstown. Both tap into Mount Aspiring National Park; either is stunning.

I have steered this itinerary towards spending more time in Queenstown, mostly because there are more activities on offer there. If bungy jumps, sky dives, and other adrenaline activities are on your bucket list, Queenstown is the place to be.

Day 10 | Queenstown

queenstown lakefront — *The Queenstown lakefront, early morning*

Queenstown is only a little over an hour from Wanaka. You can choose from two routes. The first option is to go over the Crown Range Road, past Cardrona and the famous Cardrona Hotel. This is the more scenic route, but the road is trickier to drive – with many a hairpin bend – and often closed in winter.

The other option is to take the low road through the Kawerau River Gorge, which conveniently takes you past some great wineries in the Gibbston region. Some vineyards serve excellent food, so stopping for lunch is a nice option. Kinross is ideal for this, with a good bistro and the best wine tasting in the valley, or Mora Wines closer to Arrowtown has stellar food and a very pretty garden setting.

Either way you choose to go, you can also stop in at Arrowtown before getting to Queenstown. Arrowtown is only small, and you can wander round the village in an hour or so before going for food or coffee at a local cafe — check out Provisions of Arrowtown or the Fork and Tap.

One of my favourite Queenstown activities slots nicely into an evening in Queenstown – the cruise across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak on the TSS Earnslaw. The coal-fired steamship sails over to Walter Peak station, where we had a gourmet buffet dinner (surprisingly good) and then watched a sheep dog show (spectacular).

Activities

Wine tasting — Kinross is my favourite
Visit Arrowtown
Cruise across Lake Wakatipu on the TSS Earnslaw
Check out Perky’s Floating Bar for a nice spot to sit with a drink

Stay

Scenic Suites Queenstown (Queenstown centre)
Driftaway Queenstown (Frankton)
Millbrook Resort (Arrowtown)

Itinerary notes

Queenstown can be a lot. If you’d like to pass it by, you could consider driving from Wanaka to Te Anau. This would put you closer to Milford Sound — two hours away, as opposed to four hours from Queenstown — so you could visit Milford Sound the next day. There are some excellent hikes along the road to Milford Sound; leaving from Te Anau means you can spend half a day exploring the Lake Marian track, or Key Summit.

Day 11 | Queenstown

With a full day in Queenstown, you can tick off any adventure activities you have bookmarked. If I had to pick just one, the Skippers Canyon Jet is excellent, including a hair-raising drive into the spectacular canyon (with drop offs so steep I couldn’t look down) and a whip around on the water as well.

Another good option is to hike up Ben Lomond, the peak rising right above town. It’s around 5 hours return if you take the gondola to shave off time (which I highly recommend).

Or, you could spend the whole day heading north along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy, one of the most scenic drives in the region. Walk a section of the Routeburn Track if the weather is on your side. If you’d prefer not to drive, Dart River Adventures’ funyaking trip combines transport to Glenorchy with a gentle paddle through Mount Aspiring National Park.

Activities

Day 12 | Overnight on Doubtful Sound

One of the South Island’s great highlights is Fiordland, a wilderness so vast and deep I have no doubt there are many parts of this millennia old ground that have never known the tread of human feet, and almost undoubtedly never will. Laid out along the remote southwestern edge of the South Island, Fiordland National Park is rippled with forested valleys and mountain ridges. The coastline is crenellated with deep fjords gauged by glaciers of eons past.

The rugged coast of Fiordland is slashed with 14 fjords, but for most visitors, only two are within reach. Milford Sound is the more famous and more accessible fjord, and arguably the more beautiful one. But, it’s also very busy; boats follow each other round the fjord in a steady procession, each one stopping in exactly the same spots, never out of sight of the one before or the one after. On board, people jostle for space to lean against the railings.

On the water at Doubtful Sound, the second of the two visitable fjords, you’re unlikely to see even a single other boat. Visiting Doubtful Sound on an overnight cruise with RealNZ was one of the best things I have done in New Zealand. As a way of seeing Fiordland’s wild side, and having enough time in the national park to actually breathe, the overnight trip by far outstrips any of the Milford Sound day trip options.

The overnight voyage includes snacks, meals, kayaking, and swimming, as well as commentary from an enthusiastic nature guide. You can also arrange to have transport from Queenstown, so you don’t need to drive yourself to the starting point in Manapouri.

Itinerary notes

If the overnight trip doesn’t fit into your plans, another option is to skip straight to Te Anau on the previous day, and spend this day visiting Milford Sound and the hikes on the Milford Road.

I don’t really recommend taking the bus tour to Milford Sound from Queenstown. It’s a long day that feels very structured and never fully apart from the crowds. If a flight to Milford Sound, followed by the cruise, is within your budget, that is a good option, but otherwise I think Milford Sound is better visited from Te Anau.

The other option is to skip Fiordland altogether and spend all of these days in Queenstown, using the town as your base to explore the area.

Day 13 | Queenstown

If you chose the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, you should arrive in Queenstown mid-afternoon. With just an evening at your disposal, you could embrace a slower afternoon and head out for dinner and a drink, or people watching on the lakefront. Queenstown is an easy place to splurge, whether that’s on accommodation, drinks, or dinner out.

Queenstown does also have some nice souvenir shopping — my personal favourite is Frank’s Corner, which specialises in New Zealand made gifts and goods.

Itinerary notes

The Doubtful Sound cruise is reliable enough that you could even get on a flight to Auckland in the evening, passing straight through Queenstown.

Day 14 | Waiheke Island

You could just as easily visit Waiheke Island at the beginning of your trip (either staying over there, or going for a day trip), but seeing as you’ll likely want a stopover in Auckland before an international flight, it can make a nice way to bookend your trip.

Staying around Britomart means you will be easy walking distance to the ferry terminal.

Alternatively, you can also book a night’s accommodation on Waiheke itself, for a beautiful experience (I love staying on Waiheke!).

And as mentioned above — if you fly out of Auckland at the end of your trip, you can always arrange to spend the night before your international flight in the city and make the Waiheke afternoon trip the very last thing you do in New Zealand.

It’s easy to get there, even from the airport — Uber to the ferry terminal and catch a 45 minute ferry. If you’ve driven from Tekapo to Christchurch, then boarded a flight, this can make for a long day. But, once on Waiheke, the main thing to do is relax.

You could aim for an evening meal at a vineyard, or just go for a stroll on the beach with ice cream.

If you have the time and want to visit wineries, once on the island the easiest way to get around is to book a wine tour. I recommend going with Kiwi Connect, a small local company, because they like to strike a balance between seeing wineries and scenic places.

You can also catch public buses around the island, by just tapping on and off with your credit/debit card. They go past many of the more popular vineyards, like Tantalus and Te Motu, so you can visit one or two vineyards (there are several clustered together so you can easily walk between them) and stop for a lavish lunch somewhere.

Ferries from Waiheke are frequent and reliable, so getting to the international airport is striahgtforward.

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