Although you can’t go wrong traveling anywhere in New Zealand, here are our top 10 sight-seeing destinations in New Zealand.

  1. Milford Track (and starting-point village of Te Anau, and end-point Milford Sound).  This is a hut-to-hut trek that should not be missed under any circumstances.
  2. Abel Tasman National Park (track, Abel Tasman Lodge, beaches)
  3. West coast of South Island by car to Greymouth, then by Tranz-Alpine train to Christchurch
  4. Christchurch (botanical gardens, events, galleries, architecture)
  5. Taupo/Rotorua area (Maori cultural shows, thermal parks, Huka falls and jet-boat ride, trout lake)
  6. Blenheim & the Marlborough wine country (especially during Wine & Food Festival)
  7. Hawkes Bay Wine Festival (including visit to art deco city of Napier)
  8. Coromandel (villages, scenery)
  9. Auckland (America’s Cup village, museums, art gallery, Sky Tower, restaurants)
  10. Bay of Islands generally, especially Russell & Kerikeri.  This area is great from a land-travel perspective, but is even better by boat.
  11. Queenstown (sports & scenery)
  12. Kauri forests (near Dargaville, on west coast of North Island)

Yes, I know that’s 12 destinations, not 10, but we were unable to cut two.

Categories: Land Travel