7 Best Ways to Travel Around New Zealand
Author: Tessa Mager – 8 min read.
It is finally happening! After your epic New Zealand travel plans have been in the fridge for two years, the borders are finally opening up for you to come and explore all that Aotearoa has to offer. But the question is – What are the best ways to travel around New Zealand?
Duration of Stay
Before you can decide what mode of travel is best for you it would be good to know, in broad terms, what your plans are. Are you planning to do a short two-week trip, a medium one-month holiday, or are you going all-in and planning to stay for three months or longer?
The reason why this is important is that while one mode of transport might be great for a two-week trip but become a real draft after a month. For example: Hiring a car might sound more flexible at first glance but logging your bags from the car to the motel every night might get old after two weeks and a campervan might be more suitable.
Main objective of your trip
Being a city and culture gal or an adventure and thrill bro (or the other way around) will play a big role in choosing your transport. Sure, it might sound very cost-effective to travel by bus and train only but awesome hikes and other off-the-beaten-track adventures are, well, off the beaten track. You will find not many busses and trains will frequent these often windy roads and rural areas.
Most adventure providers and all the great walks will offer shuttle services but they often come with a price tag, adding to your already dwindling budget.
If you are planning to see every inch of the bigger cities such as Auckland, Christchurch, or Dunedin, don’t worry about hiring a car, trying to squeeze your motorhome down the often narrow streets, or fighting for parking in the city centre. The cities have extensive bus and/or train (even an occasional tram) networks that will get you from A to B in a timely and affordable manner.
Keeping your duration of stay and the main objective of your trip in, we have listed below the 7 best ways to travel around New Zealand.
- Campervan / Motorhome
- Motorbike
- Car Rental
- Train
- Bus
- Boat
- Bicycle
Campervan / Motorhome
Perfect for
Duration: 3 weeks or longer
Family Friendly? Yes
Type of Travel: Sightseeing, camping, lots of different places.
Important: These rentals are not allowed on dirt roads and the Crown Range Road between Wanaka and Queenstown. Keep current fuel prices in mind when budgeting your trip. Book ferry well in advance.
By far the most popular way to travel around New Zealand is by renting a motorhome or a smaller campervan. The reason that these are so high in demand is that New Zealand has a wealth of freedom camping options where you can actually park up in the most beautiful spots for FREE. Rankers is an awesome free app that shows all camping spots, free and paid in New Zealand, including reviews and facilities.
Another reason is that it gives you the option to be spontaneous. No pre-booking your overnight stay required.
This option is great for those wanting to travel around New Zealand for a longer period as you will only have to unpack your bags once and operators will often give a discount for longer rentals. Make sure you do a comparison of rental companies available as the prices can vary quite a bit. You can do an online comparison at campertravel.co.nz
We wouldn’t recommend this option for a short one or two-week trip as you will be charged a premium and your trip might feel quite rushed as driving takes time with New Zealand’s windy roads and speed limits as low as 45 km/ph.
Important to note
When considering renting a motorhome. Most providers will have you sign a form stating that you won’t drive the Crown Range Road. This isn’t only the highest main road in New Zealand, making it extremely scenic and memorable, it is also the road from Wanaka to Queenstown.
Due to the road being narrow and windy, most motorhome drivers will struggle to navigate this road, and therefore rental companies are making you take a detour. A long one! If you are planning to stay in this area for most of your time in New Zealand (yes, you, adventure bunny), you might want to consider a rental car instead.
Motorbike
Perfect for
Duration: 2-week trip
Family Friendly? No
Type of Travel: Sightseeing, scenic, See the whole country
Important: Check license regulations for New Zealand.
Unknown to most, New Zealand is one of the most beautiful and well-suited countries for travelling around on a motorbike. What makes the roads not so great for motorhomes, makes it a bike enthusiasts’ playground. The windy roads are beautiful to navigate by bike and the ever-changing scenery will keep you wanting more.
South Pacific Motorbike Tours has a wide variety of bikes ready and waiting for you to hit the road. Whether you are looking to explore the forgotten highway, cruise along the coast, or make your way through the Southern Alps, a motorbike is definitely one of the best ways to travel around New Zealand.
We believe if seeing the countryside is your objective, a one-month trip on a motorbike is ideal. It will allow you to pack light and it gives you plenty of time to see both the North and the South Island.
Consider taking this trip in April/May (fall) or September/October (autumn) as the roads won’t be congested and the accommodation prices will be lower. Not to mention, the colours of the landscape in these months are mind-blowing!
Car Rental
Perfect for
Duration: Multi-day Trip
Family Friendly? Yes
Type of Travel: Flexible, Routes between airports mainly
Important: Plan your trip according to the route that has the most availability. So departing from Auckland to Wellington or Christchurch for example.
I know, when we say car rental most people just start seeing dollar signs. And it is true that car rentals are often quite pricey and the increased fuel prices can lead to a blown budget before your trip has even started. But it doesn’t have to be!
For your short trip, we’d like to introduce, drum roll, please… Transfer Car. This is going to be your new favourite website if you are wanting the flexibility of a car with the budget of taking the train. Basically, they offer you a free one-way rental for you to relocate their rental car from the one branch to the other (usually from one airport to the other)
There is more though! To sweeten the deal they often throw in a paid ferry crossing and/or a full tank of fuel. Not to mention, most often than not, they will allow you a couple of days to get from one side to the other or offer discounted extra days. Didn’t I say this would be your new favourite website?
Obviously, this doesn’t work for everyone but for those willing to be flexible about what parts of New Zealand they see, this is a super affordable way to travel.
Train
Perfect for
Duration: Day Trips
Family Friendly? Yes
Type of Travel: Scenic, Sightseeing, City & Culture
Important: Train seats sell quickly so make sure to book in advance. You won’t be able to ‘hop on & off‘
This is one of our favourite ways to travel New Zealand as it allows you to really take in the scenery without keeping your eyes on the road. Another benefit is that you get to see many parts of the country not accessible by road.
There are three different main routes to choose from on Greatjourneysofnz.co.nz: TranzAlpine, Coastal Explorer, and the Northern Explorer. They are all one-day journeys (one-way) through the most breathtaking scenery New Zealand has to offer.
Per person, you will be spending just over $100 to travel the journey from beginning to end. You also have the option of travelling only parts of the track. Did we mention there is also a fully licenced cafe on board? So no need to haul in your own food & drinks.
These journeys are perfect for short trips as they will allow you to see large parts of the country in just a couple of days.
Bus
Perfect for
Duration: Short trips in cities only but can be used for extensive periods of travel.
Family Friendly? Yes
Type of Travel: Budget, Backpacking, Culture, Shopping, City
Important: It is only recommended to use busses in the bigger cities as they have extensive bus networks, smaller towns and cities do not.
This option we only recommend using within the confines of the bitter cities such as Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Tauranga. In most of those cities, you can buy a bus tag that you can preload with money to pay for your fares.
Buses in New Zealand cities are mostly on time and will have an extensive network of routes, making sure that you can get to all the places you might want to visit. A lot of buses also offer free wifi and have dedicated bus lanes making bus travel quicker than sitting bumper to bumper in your rental.
There are many additional benefits to taking a bus. For example, there is no fighting over parking or paying a hefty parking fee. It will also allow you to just hop on at the next stop, after exploring, instead of having to backtrack to your car. Did we mention it is a great way to get your step count in too?
If you are not a big fan of walking, the city has got you covered! Most cities have scooters and bikes scattered around that you can rent by downloading an app such as Flamingo. Make sure to wear your helmet though! We don’t want to hear any hospital stories coming back to us.
Boat
Perfect for
Duration: Day, Overnight, Multi-day
Family Friendly? Yes
Type of Travel: Adventure, Scenic, Nature
Important: Make sure you do not suffer from seasickness before booking a multi-day sailing trip. This will ruin your entire holiday!
This option is probably neither convenient nor low-budget however, for the true Kiwi experience a boat trip has to be at least contemplated.
There are some great places around New Zealand that are perfectly suited for an overnight cruise (Fiordland Expeditions – Doubtful Sounds), whale & dolphin watching (Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari), or a multi-day sailing adventure around the Bay of Islands (Ecocruz).
We can’t conclude this boat section without mentioning one of the most epic transports in New Zealand – the ferry crossing from Wellington to Picton. This three-hour journey boasts some of the most stunning views of the Cook Strait and the Marlborough Sounds and is a must-do when visiting New Zealand.
Booking well in advance (think two months or more) is essential when wanting to cross with a vehicle. If you are crossing as a pedestrian, two weeks should be enough to get you a spot. There are different tickets available, including a special viewing deck, and cabins if you enjoy your privacy. You can check availability here.
Bicycle
Perfect for
Duration: Unlimited
Family Friendly? No
Type of Travel: Adventure, Once in a lifetime, Endurance
Important: Some of these routes are for experienced riders only, Make sure you check before starting as this could be potentially dangerous. Always wear a high-vis vest when cycling on open roads.
The last mode of travel is still on our New Zealand bucket list and we have only managed to tick off one so far. This was the spectacular Hauraki Rail Trail that left us wanting to do them all! There are still twenty-one more great rides for us to do. If you want to see them all you can check out our About Us page where they are all listed.
Even though New Zealand has a great network of cycle paths there is still more work to do. At the moment these great rides aren’t interlinked yet. This would mean either driving from one to the other (picking a few that excite you most) or planning a cycling route that would include main and potentially dangerous roads.
Cycling around New Zealand should only be attempted by seasoned cyclists as some of these tracks are grade 4, meaning they are for experienced riders only. If you are a novice but are still wanting to try these tracks, stick to the grade 1 to 2 routes.
You can fly in your own bike (advised if this will be your main mode of transport) or you can rent a bike in most cities and at the start of the more well-known tracks.