New zealand - north or south island?

Question

im heading to new zealand for 3 weeks and was wondering what people thought about each of the islands - is it best to spend half the time on each island or is it better to spend more time on one island and if so why?

thank you for any help!!

Answer 1

we had a month and did both islands ... we hired a car so did an awful lot of driving!!

the two islands are very different from each other ... the north island was (obviously) hotter but especially around Auckland had a very buzzy feeling about it ... the Ninety Mile Beach at the top of north island was my abiding memory, where else would you get to drive along the beach for miles and miles? (but take the bus trip, don't try to do it by yourself)

south island has lots of drop dead gorgeous scenery whether its Christchurch with its cable car to the top of the extinct volcano rim, the Otago Peninsula and its penguins at Dunedin or the mountains and high-adrenalin of Queenstown  (but budget carefully, you can get through a lot of money in a very short time) ... and by the way it's the journey TO Milford Sound that is worth the trip, not the Sound itself ... but south island has a less buzzy feeling about it commerce-wise and the climate gets cooler the further south you go

three weeks is not long enough to do it justice so you need to narrow it down ... and that's where I struggle to recommend either island because I have so many happy memories of that trip ... in retrospect I wish we had been more selective as we seemed to spend much of our time driving

how about one week centred on Auckland  and going north to Pahia and the Bay of Islands and if you've got time right up to the north tip taking in the Ninety Mile Beach trip from Kaitaia .... then one week centred on Wellington going across the strait to south Island and the Nelson region ... then a week centred on Dunedin and going across to Queenstown

Answer 2

3 weeks is not very long, you're time would probably therefore best be spent on just one of the islands which is a shame as both islands are uniquely worth  a visit!

South island: christchurch is the biggest city in the south, Queenstown is definetly not to be missed, its the adventure capital of the world, white water rafting, bunji jumping, sky diving, you name it. aside from that its just a beautiful place surrounded by mountains.

milford sound is also not to be missed - its a good 3 hours away from Queenstown, or an hour and half a away from te anau which is another beautiful town that gets filled with tourists!

then theres Dunedin, fox and franz joseph glaciers, punakaiki and you must must must visit Nelson and Abel Tasman national park to see some of the most beautiful golden sand beaches in the world!

North Island: Auckland is the capital and the largest city in NZ (population 1 million +) its known as "the city of sails" not least because of its lovely watery surrounds and trillions of boats. Waiheke island which is a ferry ride away from Auckland is worth a visit.

Then theres Rotorua another tourist haven, for good reason, it is admidst geothermal activity and so theres several places that you can visit to see sulphur pools, geysers and all sorts of amazing natural occurences!

Bay or islands and coromandel are north of auckland for some more beautiful beachy scenery.

Also of course you wouldn't miss Wellington the capital city and the bottom of the north island - if you were just doing the north island it woul;d be worth the 3 hour ferry trip across cook straight into the marlborough sounds at the top of the south island, to picton (or vice versa)

Napier and hastings also worth a visit, and taupo.

if you wnated to enjoy yourself then definetly just stick to one island but maybe include the ferry trip at the end of your journey (whichever way you decide to do it).

Otherwise i would probably suggest 2 weeks in the South island and 1 week in the north.

Answer 3

It would be a shame to miss out on one of the islands. Personally I preferred the south island. My advice is to spend 1 week on the north island and 2 on the south.

On the north be sure to visit, Auckland, Rotorua (even with the smell, I loved it, the spa's are not to be missed) and Wellington.

On the south, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown (love the adventure sports). Don't waste your time on Milford Sound, reallly over-rated and a horribly long bus trip to get there, its just another lake, nothing special.

Enjoy your trip.