New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary: 6 Weeks

To say we’ve been able to visit New Zealand twice within a year is kind of unbelievable. If you’ve been reading our blog from when we first started travelling last year, we might have mentioned how incredibly beautiful New Zealand is, as we explored around in a campervan for three weeks. This time, we’re sharing our 6 week New Zealand road trip itinerary by car!

Following the success of our first NZ content, we were invited back to visit New Zealand by Air New Zealand and the Tourism Board to capture images for their social media, showing you a proper Kiwi experience across both the North and South islands!

We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to plan six weeks here; splitting two weeks each travelling around the North and South islands, followed by two weeks Queenstown to relax after it all.

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For your convenience, we’ve put together a map of our whole route for our 6 week New Zealand road trip itinerary. Hopefully it gives you an idea of the amount of ground we’ll be covering! We’ll also be updating this post with links to each of the blog posts from the regions, as we post them, so make sure you stay up to date by subscribing to our blog!

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North Island Posts

Bay of Islands: Wild Dolphins in New Zealand

Bay of Islands: Wild Dolphins in New Zealand

Seeing wild dolphins in New Zealand with Vigilant Yacht Charters around the Bay of Islands; plus where to stay in Auckland and Paihia.

Black Water Rafting at Waitomo Glow Worms + Hobbiton Movie Set

Black Water Rafting at Waitomo Glow Worms + Hobbiton Movie Set

One of the top attractions in New Zealand: Discover glow worms at Waitomo cave, Black Water Rafting and Hobbiton Movie set in Waikato Region.

White Water Rafting and Where to Stay in Rotorua

White Water Rafting and Where to Stay in Rotorua

Amazing fun white water rafting with the River Rats and exploring the redwoods forest, followed by an overnight stay next to Lake Rotorua with Cedarwood Lakeside.

Breaking Cameras in the Rain: Taranaki Falls + Whanganui, Ruapehu

Breaking Cameras in the Rain: Taranaki Falls + Whanganui, Ruapehu

Breaking two cameras, whilst getting our best shots from New Zealand so far at Taranaki Falls and jet boating from Pipiriki up the Whanganui river

What to do in Wellington, New Zealand

What to do in Wellington, New Zealand

What to do in Wellington: New Zealand's creative, culinary capital. With amazing coffee + relaxed vibe, see our tips for two days in the city!

South Island Posts

Abel Tasman National Park: Kayaking Adventure and Friendliest Backpackers Hostel

Abel Tasman National Park: Kayaking Adventure and Friendliest Backpackers Hostel

Kayaking around the Abel Tasman National Park and staying at the Adventure Inn — the friendliest place we've stayed in New Zealand!

Where to Stay in Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura

Where to Stay in Hanmer Springs and Kaikoura

Where to stop off and stay for mountain views, whilst driving through Lewis Pass, on your way towards the East Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Christchurch: Street Art and Where to Stay

Christchurch: Street Art and Where to Stay

Explore the street art amongst the city of Christchurch, then come back and relax in a cosy home from home experience at Eco Villa.

Beautiful Scenery from a Hot Air Balloon, New Zealand

Beautiful Scenery from a Hot Air Balloon, New Zealand

A scenic drive around the Akaroa peninsula and panoramic views of the Southern Alps via an epic hot air balloon in Christchurch, New Zealand

Arthur's Pass and Franz Josef Glacier

Arthur's Pass and Franz Josef Glacier

The best route to the West Coast, New Zealand — Arthur's Pass. Explore one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world at Franz Josef Glacier!

Epic Nature, Super Rugby and 4x4ing — Milford Sound, Dunedin and Mount Cook

Epic Nature, Super Rugby and 4x4ing — Milford Sound, Dunedin and Mount Cook

A cruise through the beautiful Milford Sound, Super Rugby in Dunedin and 4x4ing in Mount Cook Village — Epic nature and adventures touring the South Island of New Zealand

Queenstown and Arrowtown

Queenstown and Arrowtown

Autumn in New Zealand should be spent visiting in Arrowtown and Queenstown. Get an award winning pie from Arrowtown Bakery & Cafe.

Flying Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand Brisbane Airport

We flew from Brisbane to Auckland, which was just under three hours and timed so that we’d arrive in New Zealand’s evening sun. We’d been looking forward to the flight, as Air New Zealand had upgraded us to Premium Economy! Everyone gets excited for upgrades, and any sort of upgrade definitely counts.

Air New Zealand engine view

We were very surprised at the huge benefits from Economy to Premium Economy.

We honestly felt like Premium Economy was good enough to pass off as Business Class!

The service, food and comfort of the seats was at such a high standard!

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Air New Zealand Premium Economy Screen
Air New Zealand Premium Economy

You can check out our journey to NZ in Joe’s vlog below. It was such a privilege to fly into New Zealand with the flag-carrier airline and I wouldn’t stutter for a second to recommend them!




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We would like to say thanks to the New Zealand Tourism Board and Air New Zealand for inviting us to New Zealand for a road trip! No payment has been made in connection with this content. All opinions remain our own.