New Zealand is a true paradise, and the perfect country for a road trip. The North Island steams with geothermal valleys and strong Māori culture, while the South Island feels wild and alpine, with glacial lakes and remote mountain huts.
The most popular way of exploring New Zealand is to hire a car or campervan and self-drive. The roads are incredibly well-kept, but remember they drive on the left (easy to forget if you’re the only car on the road – just keep in mind that you as the driver and the steering wheel should be more towards the centre of the road rather than driving up the verge!). Tailgating is popular, but you don’t need to participate. And if you’re in a slower vehicle, make use of passing places to allow others to overtake.
Flying is a quick and easy option, with airlines like Air New Zealand and Jetstar offering regular domestic flights. I always compare prices on Skyscanner before booking.
Trains are less common (perhaps due to the mountainous and earthquake-prone landscape), and are considered more of a scenic experience than a form of regular transport. (The prices reflect that too!). But there are some good routes worth checking out: Northern Explorer (between Auckland and Wellington), Coastal Pacific (between Picton and Christchurch) and the TranzAlpine (across the Southern Alps between Christchurch and Greymouth).
Buses are one of the most affordable ways to get around New Zealand. Long-distance coach companies like InterCity connect major cities and smaller towns across both islands, while local buses operate within urban areas like Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
New Zealand has beautiful Southern Hemisphere summers with lots of sunshine. But it also has pretty cold winters, with the occasional Antarctic blast sweeping over the bottom of the South Island. In the North, regions like Auckland experience more of a Pacific climate, with higher humidity in summer and mild but soggy winters.
Every month of the year offers a different experience: lupin fields blooming in late spring, lazy summer beach days, resplendent autumn leaves and winter skiing. I lived in New Zealand for three and a half years, and can happily confirm that there is no such thing as a bad month to visit! But it is important to check the weather and plan which bit of the country you’re visiting accordingly.
There are plenty of beautiful accommodation options in New Zealand to suit every budget, from luxury resorts to backpacker hostels. I always book my accommodation through trusted providers like booking.com and Hostelworld, but always read the reviews carefully. Another popular option for New Zealand is to hire a campervan. Check out the useful resources section below for how to find campsites.
Most visitors to New Zealand for tourism will need to get a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) before arrival, so best to check before you travel. You’ll also need to pay an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy at the same time.
I always recommend checking the official government advice from your own country of citizenship when applying for a visa, for anywhere. For example, I’m from the UK so I use the UK Government’s Foreign travel advice website, and navigate to the “Entry requirements” section of the country I wish to visit. That will show me the correct links to use to apply for a visa officially, without being scammed. E.g. “New Zealand: Entry requirements”.
Be aware that if you just google “New Zealand visa”, you’ll find lots of 3rd party websites offering to do the application for you, which at best will charge you quite a lot of money and at worst may scam you completely.
If you would rather someone else take care of the application for you to save you time and hassle, I can recommend iVisa. iVisa offer an end-to-end visa application service where they take care of the entire application for you. You just need to sign up via their website and fill out the information they need from you for the application. Note that they charge a fee for this service, so it will be more expensive than applying directly yourself.
Here are some of the resources I’ve found particularly useful for travelling in New Zealand. Download the apps before you go to ensure a smooth and stress-free experience! Check out my Useful Travel Resources page for my complete go-to list of websites and apps. You should also check out my post “How to Travel New Zealand on a Budget“.
Currency:
New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
Capital City:
Wellington
Languages:
Te Reo Māori, English
