Road Trip in New Zealand: The Must-Sees of Both Islands

We spent 11 days road-tripping New Zealand’s North and South Islands in March 2019, covering 3,220 km by rental car and campervan for a total of 3,582 NZD (about 2,438 USD at 2019 rates) as a family of four. From Hobbiton and Cathedral Cove to Mount Cook and Milford Sound, here are the must-see stops on each island, our itinerary and our full expense breakdown.

At the risk of sounding caricatural, when we thought of New Zealand before visiting, we had two things in mind: the Lord of the Rings and the All Blacks rugby team. The first evoked the sublime landscapes, and the second, Maori culture and the legendary haka. Now that we’ve been there, we can say that New Zealand is much more than that.

Must-See Stops on New Zealand’s North and South Islands

North Island: Coromandel to Auckland

In the Coromandel Peninsula, we visited Hot Water Beach, where people bring shovels to dig into the sand at low tide to bathe in a natural jacuzzi. When we passed by, we weren’t lucky: the water wasn’t warm unless you moved away from the shore and dug very deep to find it, and we had neither the patience nor the tools to do so.

A few minutes from Hot Water Beach is the famous Cathedral Cove, a major tourist attraction in the region: a natural tunnel in the rock. The short hike to get there is easy and quite scenic.

Jessica was completely delighted when we visited Hobbiton, AKA “The Shire” — she’s a lifelong fan of the Lord of the Rings. Throughout the visit to this magical landscape, we had the film’s music running through our heads.

On the way south is a lesser-known attraction that’s really worth a visit. Blue Spring Putaruru is a river of exceptional purity that draws its source from deep in the mountains. To preserve its clarity, swimming is forbidden.

Our road trip took us to Taupo, a pretty and pleasant town on the edge of a lake with a view over the mountains. It sits inside a volcanic caldera with thermal waters everywhere.

Auckland is the capital and largest city of the country. This vibrant and multicultural city attracts people from all backgrounds for its quality of life, which we came to appreciate while walking around.

South Island: Christchurch to Milford Sound

On the South Island, the weather was more variable and colder than in the North, but the views are much more spectacular and worthy of the Lord of the Rings’ extraordinary landscapes. We very often found ourselves recalling certain scenes from the films at the turn of the many roads.

Faithful to our reputation, we charted our way from Christchurch to Milford Sound. We walked the 10 km Hooker Valley Track, at the foot of Mount Cook, where we admired a glacier and icebergs amid a fantastic scenery.

In Fiordland, the views are truly spectacular. We tried to hike up to Lake Marian, but without success because we weren’t equipped with walking boots. So we turned back along the way, not before pausing to take in the magical forest surrounding us.

In Milford Sound, a 2-hour boat ride awaited us to sail to the end of one of the world’s most famous fjords, once called the “eighth wonder of the world” by the author of the Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling.

South Island: Queenstown to Christchurch

Queenstown is nicknamed “The Adventure Capital of the World,” and with good reason: bungee jumping, skydiving and jet boating are just a few of the extreme activities on offer for thrill-seekers. Having grown a bit too old to enjoy an adrenaline rush, we chose a more relaxing activity instead, hiking up Queenstown Hill, from where we admired a panoramic view of Lake Wakatipu and part of the city.

A short detour to Glenorchy, along the same Lake Wakatipu, also offers sensational views.

Leaving Queenstown on the hilly road to Wanaka, we had no choice but to stop several times along the way. Once in Wanaka, we could admire #thatwanakatree, the iconic tree standing in the lake.

We then drove along the island’s west coast and saw the now “mini” Fox and Franz Josef glaciers in the distance. This region wouldn’t have left its mark on us without the breathtaking view of Bruce Bay.

The road through Arthur’s Pass, along the slopes and heights of the mountains, at the crossroads of waterfalls and lakes on the way to Christchurch, is breathtaking. To close out our trip to New Zealand, we did two small but beautiful hikes at Cave Stream Scenic Reserve and Castle Hill.

How to Plan a Road Trip in New Zealand

Itinerary: North Island to South Island

We landed on the North Island for 4 days, based in Auckland, where we rented a car for a 1,000 km loop through the Coromandel Peninsula and the center of the island.

Back in Auckland, we took a domestic flight to Christchurch, on the South Island. From there, we rented a campervan for 7 days to drive down to Milford Sound and past Mount Cook, then back to Christchurch via the glacier route on the west side of the island.

1. Hot Water Beach
2. Cathedral Cove
3. Hobbiton
4. Blue Spring Putaruru
5. Taupo
6. Auckland Sky Tower
7. Hooker Valley Trail
8. Lake Pukaki
9. Mount Cook
10. Pop's View lookout
11. Milford Sound
12. Queenstown Hill
13. Bennetts Bluff Lookout
14. Queenstown
15. Crown Range Summit
16. That Wanaka Tree
17. Bruce Bay View Point
18. Cave Stream Scenic Reserve
19. Castle Hill

Transportation and Accommodation

In Auckland, we benefited from the generosity of our friends Joy and Andrew, who opened the doors of their beautiful home to us — our boys had the pleasure of playing with their 3 mixed-race children. To cover part of the North Island, we rented a Nissan X-Trail.

On the South Island, we rented a Jucy campervan in Christchurch to cover 2,000 km of road. Camping is highly regulated in New Zealand, so wild camping wasn’t an option. We stayed in DOC (Department of Conservation) campsites as much as possible, using a short-term DOC Pass that paid for itself after 2 nights. Otherwise, the Campermate and Wikicamp apps also pointed us to free camps.

2026 update: DOC no longer sells a short-term camping pass like the one we used. Its current Campsite Pass is an annual pass only (295 NZD for adults), covering up to 7 nights per 30-day period at a single campsite; individual nights are billed separately at standard rates for a shorter trip (doc.govt.nz).

How Much Does a Road Trip in New Zealand Cost?

We spent a lot of money on transport. Restaurants being relatively expensive, we preferred to buy groceries and prepare our own meals. Overall, the cost of our stay for our family of 4 was:

• 3,582.00 NZD (2,438.06 USD);
• 325.64 NZD (221.64 USD) per day;
• 81.40 NZD (55.40 USD) per person and per day.

Amounts were paid in New Zealand dollars. US-dollar equivalents use the average exchange rate during our trip (March 1–12, 2019): 1 USD = 1.47 NZD.

In detail:

Expense Category	Amount Spent
Flight	1,081.00 NZD / 735.77 USD
Accommodation	99.00 NZD / 67.38 USD
Transport (including gas)	1,532.00 NZD / 1,042.74 USD
Eating out	58.00 NZD / 39.48 USD
Groceries	504.00 NZD / 343.04 USD
Activities	308.00 NZD / 209.64 USD
Total	3,582.00 NZD / 2,438.06 USD

Conclusion

New Zealand is one of those countries (along with Australia) we absolutely wanted to visit before planning our round-the-world trip. During the planning process, our interest in this country waned while that of other countries grew. With a sense of accomplishment, we finally visited New Zealand.

It’s time to head to another sunny destination: Fiji is awaiting us!