How long should you allow for your New Zealand visit?

Read time: 3-5 minutes

(Updated on 18th March 2025)

It's easy to underestimate how long you should visit New Zealand for to see it properly. There's so much to see and making sure you get the most out of your trip is essential, especially if you're on a budget or have limited travel dates. For most people, we can safely recommend spending between 5 - 10 days in New Zealand. This way, you can explore a majority of an area whilst also taking some time to breathe it all in. However, what you plan to do during your trip to New Zealand will impact this significantly, especially if you want to visit both the North and South Islands of New Zealand!

To really find the answer to your question, we'll break down how you should go about planning your New Zealand trip: from which islands to visit and how that will impact your trip, to ways of travel in New Zealand, and our general recommendations on trip length depending on the type of tour you want to experience. A little local knowledge will help make the most of the time you have.

Two Large Islands & Limited Train Services

New Zealand is much larger than many prospective visitors realise. It's a little larger than the UK, and around the same size as California or Germany. A majority of the travel in New Zealand is also done via road or plane, with some train services connecting various cities and towns.

The country is split into 2 main islands and only has around 100km or so of motorway (roads that could be compared with multi-lane highways in other countries). Most major routes are made up of two-way highways, especially in the South Island. Since most travel in New Zealand is done via car or bus, the roads are usually well maintained and serviced regularly. The good thing is that New Zealand is one of those countries where you can drive for an hour and usually either run into a town, a beautiful lake or scenic view, or a stunning coastline - making it an ideal country for road trip holidays!

You can also travel New Zealand via train, but train services are limited, being made up of scenic rail journeys like the very popular TranzAlpine and Coastal Pacific journeys on the South Island. These trips are great but traveling through the whole country by train isn’t an option. So for most visitors getting around is by road, coach, flying or a combination of the three.

How Long Does it Take to Travel from Top to Bottom?

In terms of time it would take to travel the North Island and South Islands, the North Island from Auckland (near top of the North Island) to Wellington (bottom of the North Island) is roughly 8 - 12 hours depending on the number of stops you make and traffic. The North Island generally has wider roads and more even terrain, making driving in the North Island a much different experience to the South.

On the other end of the spectrum, the longer and mountainous South Island of New Zealand takes roughly between 13 - 16 hours to drive from Nelson (top of the South Island) to Invercargill (bottom of the South Island). Depending on the route you take, the roads can be much more windy, and in some times of the year icy, so take these times with a grain of salt when calculating your trip!

If you were thinking of travelling the entirety of the North and South Islands together top to bottom, then simply add those two islands together for a rough idea, plus a couple hours for the ferry from either island.

Why Self-Drive is the Way to Travel in New Zealand

Don’t be put you off by the lack of motorways or train options. We may be a little biased, but travelling New Zealand by car is a great – perhaps the best – way to experience our beautiful country.

Driving in New Zealand is more than ideal. Our roads are well maintained, well signposted, spectacularly scenic and offer a surprise around every bend. They’re also likely to be much less busy than you are used to – the population is only 4.5 million, after all, as opposed to 60 million in the UK a country of a similar geographic area. Like we mentioned earlier, New Zealand is somewhere where you can drive for an hour and run into gorgeous scenes or towns, so it's the perfect road trip destination.

If you're especially keen on travelling the South Island of New Zealand, then travel via car is almost essential. There are so many activities and places to see that are close enough to drive to within a couple hours, but don't have any bus routes connecting them, so by having a car you're free to travel wherever you want to go in New Zealand. There's also nothing like the freedom of a road trip to really immerse yourself in your New Zealand holiday!

Expect to Spend More Time Getting From A to B than the Map Suggests

All that amazing scenery comes with a whole lot of geography. Our roads are seldom straight for long. Getting around takes a little longer than you might expect.

Realistically when driving in New Zealand, 80kph (or 50mph) might be your average speed over the course of your holiday. Add stops for photos, interesting turn-offs and coffee stops to this time and your travel timings can easily lengthen considerably. So planning a touring visit to fit your location and activity wish list without underestimating driving time is essential to making the most of your time in New Zealand.

This, of course. is where our expert advice comes in but you should also be aware of and consider how much time you want to spend on the road as opposed to exploring particular destinations and attractions.

Our tip: although the driving is great and the scenery is spectacular, don't try and fit too much in. Each region and destination has lots to explore and experience.

So, How Long Do I need to Travel New Zealand?

Although most recommend between 5 - 10 days to travel New Zealand, we've found this advice is usually solid if you're only planning on visiting one of the Islands. To comfortably visit both the North and South Islands by road, you will need at least 14 - 21 days. It can be done in a little less with a couple of longer drives or if you decide to skip some sections and take the train (Picton to Christchurch), or fly between the North and South Island, from Rotorua to Christchurch or Queenstown, for instance.

If you want a quick breakdown of ideal tour lengths, our experience of what planning tours over 20 years suggests:

• 3 - 5 days - Ideal for short trips and ski holiday's: This will allow you to do a short circular trip around key cities or towns, such as Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or Queenstown (the most popular starting/finishing points). If you're planning on spending time for example in Queenstown for a few days and exploring the local sights and activities before venturing further beyond, 3 - 5 days should be ideal for you.
• 5 - 10 days - For those who want to experience more than just one destination: This trip length will mean you can take a tour with more time to explore, and more two night stops in each region. 10-14 days will allow you to visit either the North or South Island's and get the most out of it. This trip length would be more than ideal for those on a more restricted travel dates budget but also wanting to get the most out of your time in New Zealand.
• 14 - 21 - An extensive holiday with more time to Explore: If you're looking at experiencing some of New Zealand's multi-day hikes or more remote experiences, or even just both Island's in one trip, then this is the perfect tour length for you. 14 - 21 days allows for a more extensive trip with a good amount of 2 night stops, and also allows time to include locations such as Milford Sound, Kaikoura, or the Coromandel and Bay of Islands - which might not be possible on shorter time frames.
• 21 and above: Anything over 21 days means you can start to tailor an itinerary to suit your interests rather than letting the time frame dictate what is possible. If you're wanting to see absolutely everything New Zealand has to offer without time constraints, then this tour length is for you.

Planning Your New Zealand Holiday

Now, after reading all of that, you should have an idea of what New Zealand tour length suits you and your needs. Sometimes though it can be a little difficult to narrow it down without looking at some example itineraries or places to go. If that's the case, take a look at our comprehensive list of tour options to see what's possible. You'll see driving distances and times for each major leg of the tour making it easy to understand the pace of each tour.

If you're ready to start planning your New Zealand holiday and want the best advice, tour ideas, and local expertise, then don't hesitate to contact one of our tour planners for help making the most of your New Zealand visit!

See more ideas and inspiration for New Zealand travel.