If you could design an incredible 10-day New Zealand holiday, what would your itinerary be?

Question

If you could design an incredible 10-day New Zealand holiday, what would your itinerary be?

Answer 1

Day 1: Christchurch, spend the morning checking out the arts centre and botanic gardens then walk to the square and go up the top of the cathedral. Have lunch and peruse a few shops then hop into the rental vehicle you already would have picked up from the airport and go for a quick drive over the port hills to Sumner beach for a coffee.

Depart Christchurch in the afternoon say 3pmish and head North to Kaikoura to stay the night

Day 2: Rise and shine early and go on the 7:15am whale watch tour, finishing 10:30-11amish visit one of the bakeries or cafes, grab a lunch to take with and head towards south bay to wander along the kaikoura peninsula walk, take some photos of seals etc.

Depart approximately 2pm and hop back into the rental to head to Marahau the gateway to Abel Tasman national park. Arrive approximatly 5:30pm and stay the night at the marahau beach camping ground.

Day 3: go for a walk on the abel tasman track from Marahau to anchorage (pack a lunch) this will take 2-3hours. have lunch and a swim (depending on the time of year) then make your way back again. Depart approximatly 5pm and head to Picton via Nelson. Dinner in Nelson, arrive Picton approximatly 9:30pm stay the night

Day 4: Catch the ferry from Picton to wellington. spend the afternoon in wellington, visit Te Papa, have a restaurant meal in the evening and stay the night

Day 5: depart wellington and drive to rotorua, arriving late afternoon. check in to accomodation, have dinner then spend a relaxing evening unwinding at the polynesian pools.

Day 6: Go up the gondola and have a luge ride then visit h***s gate in the afternoon. depart late afternoon and drive to auckland. have a late dinner at the sky tower restaurant and an earlyish night!

Day 7: catch a ferry to Waiheke or rangitoto island. visit auckland zoo in afternoon if enough time. drive to auckland airport, drop of rental vehicle and fly to queenstown arriving in the evening sometime

Day 8: queenstown, go bunji jumping, white water rafting or both! take a cruise on lake wakitipu aboard the earsnlaw. depart late afternoon to Te Anau. Visit the glow worm caves in the evening once arrived in Te Anau.

Day 9: catch a shuttle to milford sound from Te Anau. depart late afternoon to dunedin, stay the night in dunedin

Day 10: Dunedin, visit the chocolate factory and go for a drive around the peninsula to the albatross colony. Depart back home from dunedin via Christchurch

10 days is tricky!! this would miss out on the Bay of islands, Coromandel, Taupo, The glaciers and Punakaiki on the West Coast but i think this gives a pretty good overview of NZ - Mountains, seals, whales, seaside towns, golden sand beaches, culture and museums, adventure, boating etc

Answer 2

Day 1 shopping in christchurh

day 2  shopping in welllington, check out the museum there

day 3 go to auckland, shop in the city

day 3 visit sky tower and jump off it, then kelly tarltons

day4 drive to wellington, stop off in little towns on the way. Then take the ferry to Picton.

day 5-6 road trip back to christchurch and stop off in Hanmer springs

day 7 back in Chch, relax and go to sunmer beach with friends, then movies

day8 take the plane to Queenstown, go on the Luge, ski

day 9 shop in Queenstown then go back to Chch!

day 10 do whatever!

Answer 3

I already have an incredible 10 day holiday planned in September. I am a NZ native but now live in Australia. I am going home in September - I cant wait!

Answer 4

Ten Day Itinerary for New Zealand

Arriving in Auckland and leaving from Christchurch

Day 1 – Auckland – Central city – Starting at the waterfront                                              

Look around the Viaduct Basin                                                                              

• Visit the Maritime Museum on the waterfront – really interesting                          

• Go up to Sky Tower – wander up Queen Street and turn up Victoria Street.          Take the lift up to the viewing platform for a magnificent 360 degree view.in the view. If you are adventurous you may like to do the                                                

• Sky Jump or                                                                                                            

• Sky Walk.                                                                                                                  Walk back down to Queen Street, turn right and  carry on up to the                          

• Civic Theatre which is well worth a look inside.                                                          

• A little further up you will come to the Aotea Square where there are weekend markets.  Aotea Centre and the Auckland Town Hall are concert venues .                                                                                                                     Cross over the road and start heading down Queen Street. When you come to Wellesley Street turn  right and you will come to the                                                        

• Auckland Art Gallery. The Art Gallery is on the corner of                                  

• Albert Park. Walk further up past the Art Gallery to Princes Street, and turn left. On the corner of Albert Park is a small historic cottage housing an entry  free  

• Clock Museum.                                                                                                       Carry on toward the university, then go through Albert Park. You will come to steps that take you back down into the city. If you still have time catch a ferry to

• Devonport from the Ferry Building, and wander around the shops, art and craft  galleries,  down the waterfront and take the ferry back to Auckland city.

Day 2 – Auckland – Use the All Day  Bus Pass on the Auckland Explorer Bus and do the circuit, getting on and off as you want. Start at the Ferry building and head round the waterfront to                              

• Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium and Antartica display. From here the bus goes to the

• Auckland Cathedral. Be sure to look in both the old completely wooden building, and the new Cathedral with recently installed lovely modern stained glass windows.

• Auckland War Memorial Museum. You may choose to watch a Maori Concert Party, which is on 3 times daily. You could also go to the Glasshouses and bush walk below the Museum. From here you can catch the bus to

• Parnell historic village. After a browse the bus will go via back to the city via

                              

• Victoria Park market if you have time.

In summer you could take  interchange ( see the timetable) from outside the Cathedral to Auckland Zoo, and the Museum of Transport and Technology.

OR

• Do a trip to Rangitoto Island, walk to the top or catch the small train

OR

• Do a day trip to Waiheke Island by ferry.

Day  3  -   Waitomo Caves and Rotorua  Day Tour . - The tour leaves early and gets back late, but this is a very good day tour to see Rotorua and the Maori culture and our Waitomo Glow worm Caves.

Day  4 – Fly to Queenstown in the morning.  Spend the afternoon wandering the Mall, and shops. and exploring the town. Walk round the lake edge and have afternoon tea in the Gazebo cafe. Early evening, catch the gondola up to Bob’s peak and have dinner at the restaurant at the top.

Day 5 – Choose from 1) Adventure activities such as bungy jumping, Shotover jetboat, white water rafting. 2) A full or half day wine tour. 3) A  Lord of the Rings day tour.

4) Boat trip on Lake Wakitipu to the working sheep station.

Day 6 – 7  - Do an Overnight tour to Te Anau and Milford Sound.

Day 8  - To Christchurch – fly or by bus. Assuming you take a coach it will take most of the day through scenic countryside.

Day 9 – Sightseeing in Christchurch – Either take the Historic tram that  does a 2.5km loop or walk .Look around Cathedral Square, then down Worcester Boulevard .Visit the Arts Centre, and Art Gallery, and wander through the Botanical Gardens, before having lunch at the little stone restaurant on the corner of the gardens. In the afternoon take a bus and go on the gondola up to the top of the hills for a great view over Lyttleton Harbour.

Day 10 – Take a day tour  choosing from  1) Kaikoura to do some whale watching, or swimming with dolphins. 2) A wine tour to the Waipara Valley. 3)  A tour to Akaroa.

Answer 5

In no particular order, you'd no better than me,

Bay of Islands

Auckland

Rotorua

Milford Sound

Some inland desert, the Taranaki Plains?

a Glacier walk, can't remember the name of it

Christchurch

Wellington

The little wee islands off Invercargil that Billy Connolly went to

Jet boating, hiking, bungy, scuba, snorkel, chopper and whatever you fancy blended in amongst this lot destination deciding.

end lots end lots of fush and chups end and mussles at Piha!

Answer 6

heres a list of top 10 things to do in NZ

Answer 7

Here's my Summer itinerary:

1. Arrive Auckland, hire a car and check out city from Mt Eden.  Maybe do a sailing trip on one of the Americas Cup yachts based at Viaduct Harbour.

2. Drive north to Pihia - stopping at some of the east coast beaches en route.

3. Get on a boat to the whole in the rock and stop at one of the islands for some R&R.  Maybe see dolphins on the way back to Pihia.

4. Back to Auckland and straight to the airport and take a flight to Christchurch where you hire another car.

5. Drive from Chrischurch to Wanaka via Lewis Pass.

6. Short drive to Queenstown via historic Arrowtown followed by jet boating in the afternoon.

7. Float plane flight to Milford Sound (budget option is to drive) for the day.

8. Relaxing in Queenstown - TSS Earnslaw on lake maybe.

9. Head north and to the West Coast.  Drive until tired!

10. Up and back to Christchurch via Arthours Pass.  

If that seems too energetic - just head for Queestown and hang out for 10 days!

Answer 8

NZ strengths don't really lie in its cities. My recommendation to someone planning a ten day holiday in NZ would be to  focus on the less populated areas and the wide open spaces. There are really two types of travel experience

1. Broad and shallow i.e. the classic tour coach scenario

2. Narrow and deep. e.g. one week excursion to the serengeti.

I am an advocate of the latter and I would say if you want to experience the essence of NZ then checkout the following itinerary:

Day 1 = Fly into Christchurch. In only ten days I'd suggest focussing on just the South Island. Pick a camper van or rental car at the airport. This is best way to get around NZ. Check out the Christchurch arts centre and then drive over to Lyttelton (stop at the gondola on the way through) in the afternoon. Be sure to visit the Volcano restaurant in Lyttelton.

Day 2 = Drive to Akaroa and then swim with the dolphins in Akaroa harbour

Day 3 = Drive to Nelson via the Lewis pass. This is a fantastic drive with spectacular scenery. Be sure to stop at Maruia Springs (Thermal Hot Pools).  

Day 4 = Try and time your arrival in Nelson with the Saturday market which on year round and definitely worth a look.

Day 5 - 8 = Drive to the Abel Tasman National Park. The best way to see the park is by kayak. Typically most people start their kayak trip from Marehau and finish at Totaranui, but you can do it the other way around. Unless you're an experienced kayaker I'd recommend doing it with a tour guide. Take supplies and a tent and you will have the best three days of your life. The park is stunning... the jewel in crown of the Nelson area. Verdant bush and white and orange sandy beaches are ubiquitous.

Day 8 = Gain feeling back in your arms by having a relaxing stay at www.adrift.co.nz. The cottages are bang on the beach and after a spa bath and a cold beer your sore body will be in tip top condition in no time.  

Day 9 = Check out Pio Pio springs the worlds clearest water

Day 10 = Drive back to Christchurch via Kiakoura. Be sure to stop at the roadside caravan that sells crayfish.

Answer 9

Fish & Chips @ Mangonui,

Agrodome, Luge & compulsory mud  pools in Rotorua,

Waitomo caves, Central plateau, Te Papa museum in Wellington, really good & free (bonus) Cuba St's got some good restaurants. Can't comment too much on the South Island but for action Queenstown Awesome Foursome; Bungee, Jetboat, and so on. Don't forget the fish & chips; they ARE awesome

Answer 10

Had been there and definitely 10-days will be too short. I spent just 2 weeks in South Island and this consisted of zooming from city to city around the island! Simply too much to see there.

I will have to say heading to South Island as a start for the 10-day trip will be a good start. Start out in Christchurch to soak in the old world charm amidst the city.

Head out to Kaikoura for a day of whale-watching. Take the the scenic mountain route along the way.

Third day will be spent getting to the glaciers. This will include a stay at the cool Mt Cook, visiting Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers at the same time.

After the chill of winterland, time to head to sunny Otago and Cromwell. Taste the fruits and nuts produce as well as getting drunk in the wineries aplenty there. Good idea to stay over, or the cops will pull you over for a breathe test.

Next will be a visit to the fjordland. Staying over in Queenstown, visits to Milford Sound to see the scenic coast will be a must. Many activities can be had, so this might well be the last few days before heading back for the homebound flight. Beautiful Lake Tekapo has to be visited in too.

Toss up between Invercargill or Dunedin to pass through on the return trip.  And the interesting Moeraki Boulders. Just non-stop sights along the short time given, actually.

Answer 11

I'd have to say from Te Reinga to Stirling Point, from a tourism viewpoint you'd get the signpost pictures at both the top and bottom of the two islands.

1. Te Reinga via sand along 90 mile beach to view out across the Tasman/Pacific Riptide and hear about the spirits pathway.

2. Waitangi, Russell/Kororareka and the Bay of Islands (Waitangi Agreement, Flagstaff war, Hole in the Rock, swimming with Dolphins etc).

3. Rotorua and the mud pools (and the smells)

4. Wellington and Te Papa

5. Marlborough (wine tasting) and Kaikora for the crayfish

6. Christchurch and punting along the River

7. Franz Josef and the Fox glacier

8. Wanka/Queenstown (and bungee jumping)

9. Bluff and an oyster supper (and maybe a trip on the catamaran to Rakiura)

10. Sky Tower casino!!

............and relax.........!!

Answer 12

Well I really loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy so I would do a driving trip to encompass some of the locations filmed in the movie.

I'd start in Auckland and drive south from there, going through Rotorua where there is interesting volcanic scenery to where they filmed Mount Doom and Mordor near Mount Taupo. I'd definitely go to Wellington because that's where Peter Jackson's from apparently.

In the South Island, I couldn't miss out on going on the same river where Frodo floated on the raft near Queenstown and checking out Milford Sound because I've heard it's just spectacular.

Answer 13

Hi Guys,

I haven't done as much travelling around NZ as I'd like but I would definately recommend doing the swim with the dolphins trip in Bay of Islands.  Very cool!

Answer 14

I don't know about an itinerary, but I can tell you some fun things to do:

Huka Jet (SUPER fun!)

Rainforestation (Pretty cool. Funducational would be the word I would use)

there's lots of other things to do there! (look at the sheep. there are tons of them there!)

If you take anything from my answer, take Huka Jet. It is one of the coolest things ever!

Answer 15

You can make direct enquiry with your holiday at http://newzealand.mvmtravel.com/tours/se... you will find some tour operator list and other information.