New Zealand itinerary, day by day

From Auckland to the geysers of Rotorua, then Queenstown and the fiord at Milford Sound: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 7, 12 or 21 days📍 4 stops☀️ Best time: November to March (southern summer)

Milford Sound · Photo Gabriel Peter / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

New Zealand in 7 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 500 km

1Queenstown

Days 1-3

The adventure capital, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu and ringed by mountains. Commercial bungy jumping started here in 1988.

🎟️ Worth booking

Bungy jump or jet boatHalf day · from €120
The Kawarau bridge took the first paying jumpers in 1988. The jet boats run the canyon walls instead, at speed.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Scenic flight over the Southern Alps1h · from €250
An hour above the glaciers and Aoraki, Mount Cook, the 3,724 metre high point of the country.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Wakatipu · The gondola and the view · Arrowtown · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Adventure Q2 Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (€150 a night) · Luxury: Eichardt's Private Hotel (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Kaikikokiko - slowcooked meats (best kai Queenstown) ↗ ★ 4.9 · 133 reviews
TOAST & OAK ↗ ★ 4.8 · 520 reviews
FINZ Seafood & Grill ↗ ★ 4.7 · 5307 reviews
Bella Cucina ↗ ★ 4.7 · 4912 reviews · €€
odd saint ↗ ★ 4.7 · 837 reviews · €€

Photo Ketan Kumawat / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 290 km (via Te Anau)

2Milford Sound & Fiordland

Days 4-7

A fiord under the 1,692 metre Mitre Peak, with waterfalls dropping straight off the walls. Rain falls around 200 days a year, and that is when it looks best.

🎟️ Worth booking

Milford Sound cruiseHalf day · from €70
Out along the fiord to the open sea and back, under cliffs that rise straight from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking the fiordHalf day · from €90
At water level, where the scale of the walls finally registers. Fur seals often come to look.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The fiords · Waterfalls · The scenic road in · Wildlife: seals and dolphins

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Milford Sound Lodge (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Milford Road Merchant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 502 reviews
Black Dog Bar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 328 reviews
Sandfly Cafe Te Anau ↗ ★ 4.6 · 2312 reviews · €€
Redcliff Restaurant and bar ↗ ★ 4.6 · 1550 reviews · €€
Ditto ↗ ★ 4.6 · 1223 reviews · €€

Photo Gabriel Peter / Pexels

New Zealand in 12 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 1 200 km

1Auckland

Days 1-2

The City of Sails, spread over around fifty volcanic cones and wedged between two harbours. A third of all New Zealanders live here.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sky Tower and the city, guidedHalf day · from €30
The tallest building in the southern hemisphere at 328 metres, then the streets below it with someone to explain them.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Waiheke Island day tripFull day · from €55
Forty minutes by ferry from the downtown wharf, to an island of vineyards, olive groves and small bays.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Eden, a volcanic cone · The waterfront · The west coast beaches · City parks

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Attic Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Britomart (€200 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Auckland (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Tempero ↗ ★ 4.9 · 600 reviews
Onslow ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1509 reviews
Milenta ↗ ★ 4.8 · 419 reviews
Apero Food and Wine ↗ ★ 4.8 · 403 reviews · €€
KAZUYA restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 350 reviews · €€€€

Photo Ollie Craig / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 230 km

2Rotorua

Days 3-4

Geothermal ground: geysers, boiling mud and a sulphur smell that never quite lifts. It is also the centre of Maori culture on the North Island.

🎟️ Worth booking

Wai-O-Tapu geothermal parkHalf day · from €30
Collapsed craters, a lake the colour of antifreeze, and the Champagne Pool sitting at around 74 degrees.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Maori evening and hangiEvening · from €75
A welcome ceremony, songs and haka, then the meal lifted out of a pit of hot stones.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Geysers and boiling mud · The redwood forest · Lake Rotorua · Hot springs

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Rock Solid Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Regent of Rotorua (€150 a night) · Luxury: Treetops Lodge (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

River's Catch ↗ ★ 4.9 · 611 reviews · €
Sabroso Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 499 reviews · €€
Momo Bird Rotorua (Nepalese Authentic Cuisine) ↗ ★ 4.9 · 319 reviews
Bold Flavours Bistro, Café & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.8 · 760 reviews
Silk Road ↗ ★ 4.8 · 423 reviews

Photo Jessica Westermann / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Car · 2h · to the South Island

3Queenstown

Days 5-8

The adventure capital, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu and ringed by mountains. Commercial bungy jumping started here in 1988.

🎟️ Worth booking

Bungy jump or jet boatHalf day · from €120
The Kawarau bridge took the first paying jumpers in 1988. The jet boats run the canyon walls instead, at speed.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Scenic flight over the Southern Alps1h · from €250
An hour above the glaciers and Aoraki, Mount Cook, the 3,724 metre high point of the country.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Wakatipu · The gondola and the view · Arrowtown · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Adventure Q2 Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (€150 a night) · Luxury: Eichardt's Private Hotel (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ketan Kumawat / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 290 km

4Milford Sound & Fiordland

Days 9-12

A fiord under the 1,692 metre Mitre Peak, with waterfalls dropping straight off the walls. Rain falls around 200 days a year, and that is when it looks best.

🎟️ Worth booking

Milford Sound cruiseHalf day · from €70
Out along the fiord to the open sea and back, under cliffs that rise straight from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking the fiordHalf day · from €90
At water level, where the scale of the walls finally registers. Fur seals often come to look.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The fiords · Waterfalls · The scenic road in · Wildlife: seals and dolphins

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Milford Sound Lodge (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Gabriel Peter / Pexels

New Zealand in 21 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 1 800 km

1Auckland

Days 1-3

The City of Sails, spread over around fifty volcanic cones and wedged between two harbours. A third of all New Zealanders live here.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sky Tower and the city, guidedHalf day · from €30
The tallest building in the southern hemisphere at 328 metres, then the streets below it with someone to explain them.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Waiheke Island day tripFull day · from €55
Forty minutes by ferry from the downtown wharf, to an island of vineyards, olive groves and small bays.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Mount Eden, a volcanic cone · The waterfront · The west coast beaches · City parks

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Attic Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Britomart (€200 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Auckland (€420 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ollie Craig / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h · 230 km

2Rotorua

Days 4-6

Geothermal ground: geysers, boiling mud and a sulphur smell that never quite lifts. It is also the centre of Maori culture on the North Island.

🎟️ Worth booking

Wai-O-Tapu geothermal parkHalf day · from €30
Collapsed craters, a lake the colour of antifreeze, and the Champagne Pool sitting at around 74 degrees.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Maori evening and hangiEvening · from €75
A welcome ceremony, songs and haka, then the meal lifted out of a pit of hot stones.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Geysers and boiling mud · The redwood forest · Lake Rotorua · Hot springs

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Rock Solid Backpackers (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Regent of Rotorua (€150 a night) · Luxury: Treetops Lodge (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Jessica Westermann / Pexels

✈️ Flight + Car · 2h · to the South Island

3Queenstown

Days 7-13

The adventure capital, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu and ringed by mountains. Commercial bungy jumping started here in 1988.

🎟️ Worth booking

Bungy jump or jet boatHalf day · from €120
The Kawarau bridge took the first paying jumpers in 1988. The jet boats run the canyon walls instead, at speed.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Scenic flight over the Southern Alps1h · from €250
An hour above the glaciers and Aoraki, Mount Cook, the 3,724 metre high point of the country.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Lake Wakatipu · The gondola and the view · Arrowtown · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Adventure Q2 Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (€150 a night) · Luxury: Eichardt's Private Hotel (€550 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Ketan Kumawat / Pexels

🚗 Car · 4h · 290 km

4Milford Sound & Fiordland

Days 14-21

A fiord under the 1,692 metre Mitre Peak, with waterfalls dropping straight off the walls. Rain falls around 200 days a year, and that is when it looks best.

🎟️ Worth booking

Milford Sound cruiseHalf day · from €70
Out along the fiord to the open sea and back, under cliffs that rise straight from the water.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking the fiordHalf day · from €90
At water level, where the scale of the walls finally registers. Fur seals often come to look.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The fiords · Waterfalls · The scenic road in · Wildlife: seals and dolphins

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Milford Sound Lodge (€350 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Gabriel Peter / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Hangi: a Maori meal steamed for hours in a pit of hot stones.
New Zealand lamb, which the rest of the world buys by the container.
Fish and chips eaten out of paper at the edge of the ocean.
Pavlova: meringue, cream and fruit, claimed by Australia as well.
Marlborough wine, and the sauvignon blanc that made the region.

⚠️ What to avoid

Driving is on the left, and the winding roads take longer than the map says.
Mountain weather turns fast: carry layers even in midsummer.
Book DOC huts, ferries and camper vans well ahead.
Biosecurity is taken seriously: clean your boots and gear before you fly.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable New Zealand guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit New Zealand, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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