Although you can’t go wrong traveling anywhere in New Zealand, here are our top 10 sight-seeing destinations in New Zealand.
- 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.
- Abel Tasman National Park (track, Abel Tasman Lodge, beaches)
- West coast of South Island by car to Greymouth, then by Tranz-Alpine train to Christchurch
- Christchurch (botanical gardens, events, galleries, architecture)
- Taupo/Rotorua area (Maori cultural shows, thermal parks, Huka falls and jet-boat ride, trout lake)
- Blenheim & the Marlborough wine country (especially during Wine & Food Festival)
- Hawkes Bay Wine Festival (including visit to art deco city of Napier)
- Coromandel (villages, scenery)
- Auckland (America’s Cup village, museums, art gallery, Sky Tower, restaurants)
- Bay of Islands generally, especially Russell & Kerikeri. This area is great from a land-travel perspective, but is even better by boat.
- Queenstown (sports & scenery)
- 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.
