New Zealand
We’ve compiled the best of the best in New Zealand - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Abel Tasman National Park
One of New Zealand's most easily accessible parks is also one of the most visited, thanks to its golden sand beaches, sculptured granite headlands, and forest-lined tidal inlets and islands. Unlike other South Island parks, Abel Tasman has few extremes in weather, and its coastal track, one of the Great Walks, is an ideal place to explore without the need of serious technical equipment or experience. Day and multiday trips, walking, sea-kayaking, sailing, scenic cruises, and combos of all of these are popular ways to explore the area. Keep in mind in the peak summer holiday season (Christmas to late January) this area is very busy, and you will rarely be on that dream beach alone. Any time of the year, however, is perfectly suitable for an Abel Tasman trip. The small settlements of Kaiteriteri and Marahau are the main gateways to the national park, both at the southern end and 20- to 40-minutes' drive from Motueka. Stop first at the Nelson or Motueka i-SITE Visitor Centre for maps and information. If you're planning to stop overnight at any of the Department of Conservation's campsites or huts along the Abel Tasman Coast Track, you need to book ahead. You can do this online or at the Nelson or Motueka i-SITE. It pays to book well ahead, especially in summer. Water taxis service the coastline, and they drop-off or pick-up at many points along the way. At the northern end of the park, a road leads from Golden Bay through the park to Totaranui, where there is a large Department of Conservation campground and long, beautiful beach. This is a popular start/finish point for those walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track.
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2. Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Aoraki/Mt. Cook is New Zealand's highest peak at approximately 12,218 feet. There are 22 peaks over 10,000 feet in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. According to Māori legend, Aoraki was one of three sons of Rakinui, the sky father. Their canoe caught on a reef and froze, forming the South Island. South Island's oldest name to local Māori is Te Waka O Aoraki (Aoraki's canoe) and the highest peak is their ancestor Aoraki, frozen by the south wind, and turned to stone. The officially recognized names of this mountain and the national park were changed to their original Māori names of Aoraki (Aorangi to North Island Māori) as part of a 1998 settlement between the government and the major South Island Māori tribe, Ngai Tahu. The Māori and Anglo names are used interchangeably or together. The 273-square-mile national park surrounds tiny Aoraki/Mount Cook Village, which consists of a visitor center, an airfield, a pub, a little school, and a range of accommodation providers. Walking is always an option, and in winter there's heli-skiing. If the weather is clear, a scenic flight can be the highlight of your stay in New Zealand. Contact the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park Visitor Centre or the Metservice weather website to check conditions before setting out on an unguided excursion. Hiking trails radiate from the visitor center, providing everything from easy walking paths to full-day challenges. Be sure to fill your car's gas tank and purchase essentials before leaving Twizel or Tekapo as services are very limited in the village. For a unique hands-on educational experience take a half-hour hike to the fast-growing 7-km (4.3-mile) Terminus Lake of the Tasman Glacier. Fed by the retreating glacier and the Murchison River, the lake was formed only in the past couple of decades. From Terminus Lake, you can examine up close the terminal face of the glacier, which is 3 km (2 miles) wide. A trip with Glacier Explorers takes you by boat to explore some of the large floating icebergs that have calved (fallen away) from the glacier. It's an eerie experience skimming across the milky-white water and closing in on icebergs. From the airfield at Mount Cook Village, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft make spectacular scenic flights across the Southern Alps. One of the most exciting is the one-hour trip aboard the ski planes that touch down on the Tasman Glacier after a gorgeous scenic flight. The 10-minute stop on the glacier doesn't allow time for much more than a snapshot, but the sensation is tremendous. The moving tongue of ice beneath your feet—one of the largest glaciers outside the Himalayas—is 27 km (17 miles) long and up to 2,000 feet thick in places. The intensity of light on the glacier can be dazzling, and sunglasses are a must.
Aoraki Mount Cook, Canterbury, New Zealand -
3. Arts Centre
After major restoration, a large section of the historic Arts Centre, once a popular cultural venue, has reopened with galleries, theaters, boutique shopping, and dining. Further careful restoration and strengthening is still underway on this fine collection of 23 Gothic Revival stone buildings that were originally built as Canterbury's University.
Worcester Blvd. between Montreal St. and Rolleston Ave., Christchurch, Canterbury, 8013, New Zealand3-366--0989 -
4. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
City CenterThe modernist addition to the Auckland Art Gallery has breathed life and light into a structure built in the 1880s. The soaring glass, wood, and stone addition, which some say looks like stylized trees, both complements and contrasts with the formal château-like main gallery. A courtyard and fountain space at the front is home to ever-changing works. The gallery, adjacent to Albert Park, has some 15,000 items dating from the 12th century but also shows innovative and challenging contemporary art that draws big crowds. Historic portraits of Māori chiefs by well-known New Zealand painters C.F. Goldie and Gottfried Lindauer offer an ethnocentric view of people once seen as fiercely martial. Goldie often used the same subject repeatedly—odd, considering his desire to document what he considered a dying race. New Zealand artists Frances Hodgkins, Doris Lusk, and Colin McCahon are also represented here, and there are shows and performances. The gallery has made a tilt to offering more international exhibitions so check with the website for the latest show. Free collection tours are given at 11:30 and 1:30. The café is hip and busy, and the gift shop offers a range of books, original artworks, and keepsakes.
View Tours and Activities5 Kitchener St., Auckland, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand09-379--1349Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, except for special exhibits -
5. Auckland War Memorial Museum
ParnellThe Māori artifact collection here is one of the largest in the world, housed in a Greek Revival building in one of the city's finest parks, with views to match. Must-sees include a fine example of a pātaka (storehouse), a fixture in Māori villages, and Te Toki a Tapiri, the last great Māori waka (canoe). Made of a single log and measuring 85 feet long, it could carry 100 warriors, and its figurehead shows tremendous carving. To learn more about Māori culture, attend one of the performances, held at least three times daily, that demonstrate Māori song, dance, weaponry, and the haka (a ceremonial dance the All Blacks rugby team has adopted as an intimidating pregame warm-up). The museum also holds an exceptional collection of Pacific artifacts and hosts high-quality visiting or issue-specific exhibitions. If you want a bit of talk and music in the evening check out the once-a-month panel discussion followed by live music known as Late at the Museum. The museum is also home to two cafés. On Anzac Day (April 25), thousands gather in front of the museum in a dawn service to recognize the gallantry of the country's servicemen and -women.
Park Rd., Auckland, Auckland, 1052, New Zealand64-09-309--0443Sight Details
Rate Includes: NZ$28 -
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6. Black Estate
With its distinctive black barn tasting room and restaurant on the warm, sunny slopes of the Omihi Hills, this family-run vineyard has become a local landmark. The award-winning architecture perfectly complements the acclaimed pinot noir, chardonnay, and riesling vintages hand-harvested and made on site. Add to this a delicious lunch and tasting menu, focusing on the best local produce and superb service to match the wine. While you dine and sip, enjoy a beautiful view overlooking the vineyards and west to the Main Divide.
614 Omihi Rd., Amberley, Canterbury, New Zealand03-314--6085Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tour and tasting from NZ$95 -
7. Brewtown Upper Hutt
This sprawling tipple-town is an embodiment of a sunny summer's afternoon feeling. Brewtown is conveniently within walking distance from Upper Hutt train station. On site are five award-winning breweries and a whisky distillery, spread around a large green of picnic tables on which to enjoy the vast menus of elevated bar food. Guided tours are available and are a great way to get a behind-the-scenes look and taste of the best in town. All five senses, not just taste, are stimulated at Brewtown: also on-site is a raceway, an ice skating rink, a ten-pin bowling alley, a large trampoline park, an indoor paintball field, and a multiplayer VR gaming station! Essentially a massive playground, Brewtown is incredibly family-friendly, so everyone can join the fun.
23 Blenheim St., Upper Hutt, Wellington, New ZealandSight Details
Rate Includes: NZ$165 for guided tours -
8. Canterbury Museum
When this museum was founded in 1867, its trading power with national and international museums was in moa bones (these Jurassic birds roamed the plains of Canterbury and are believed to have been hunted to extinction by early Māori). The museum still houses one of the largest collections of artifacts from the moa hunting period. You'll also find an interactive natural-history center, called Discovery, where kids can dig for fossils. The Hall of Antarctic Discovery charts the links between the city and Antarctica, from the days when Captain Cook skirted the continent in a small wooden ship. Among the 20th-century explorers celebrated here are the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who was first to visit the South Pole, and Captain Robert Falcon Scott, who died returning from the continent. Fred & Myrtle's Paua Shell House tells the story of an iconic Kiwi couple and recreates their paua (abalone) shell--covered living room which was originally in Bluff. The café looks out over the Botanic Gardens.
11 Rolleston Ave., Christchurch, Canterbury, 8013, New Zealand03-366–5000Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free admission, donations appreciated; Discovery, NZ$2 -
9. Christchurch Art Gallery—Te Puna O Waiwhetu
The city's stunning art gallery wows visitors as much for its architecture as for its artwork. Its tall, wavy glass facade was inspired by Christchurch's Avon River and the shape of the native koru fern. The museum's Māori name refers to an artesian spring on site and means "the wellspring of star-reflecting waters." Free guided tours, entertaining events, and family activities make the gallery a must-see. Shop for a great selection of gifts, or relax at the brasserie and café. Check the website for updates on the gallery program.
Worcester Blvd. and Montreal St., Christchurch, Canterbury, 8013, New Zealand03-941–7300Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
10. Christchurch Gondola
HeathcoteFor one of the best vantage points to view Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains, and Lyttelton Harbour head to Christchurch Gondola. At the top, you can journey through the Time Tunnel to experience the history and geological evolution of the Canterbury region. Afterward, sit with a glass of local wine at the Red Rock Café. Ride the gondola with your back to the Port Hills for the best views of the Southern Alps. The adventurous can walk or mountain-bike back down (your bike can be transported to the top); it's steep in parts so watch yourself. If you don't have a car, hop on a No. 28 bus from the city center or take a Gondola shuttle from the i-SITE next to the Canterbury Museum.
View Tours and Activities10 Bridle Path Rd., Christchurch, Canterbury, 8022, New Zealand03-384–0310Sight Details
Rate Includes: NZ$30 -
11. Christchurch Tram
There's something nostalgic and reassuring about the ding-ding of these heritage trams. All-day tickets allow you to hop on and off and explore the inner city with fascinating commentary by the conductors. The Tramway Restaurant departs daily at 7 pm (bookings are essential). The Tramway ticket office is in Cathedral Junction, but you can buy tickets at other places en route and onboard. Tickets can also be bought in a combination pass that includes the Punting, Gondola, and the Botanic Gardens Tour.
Cathedral Junction, Christchurch, Canterbury, 8013, New Zealand03-366–7830Sight Details
Rate Includes: NZ$25 -
12. Christchurch Transitional (Cardboard) Cathedral
After the famed Christchurch Cathedral was severely damaged from the 2010–11 earthquakes, the Anglican church's Transitional Cathedral opened to help fill a little of the enormous gap left by the loss. Locals call it the Cardboard Cathedral because it is built largely from 98 cardboard tubes, covered in plastic. It can seat 700 and is the largest "emergency structure" to be designed by award-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who gifted the design (right down to its unusual chairs) to Christchurch. The large triangular window at the front contains images from Christchurch Cathedral's original rose window. Built to last at least 50 years, it has been named by Architectural Digest magazine as one of the world's 10 daring buildings. The striking venue is also used for functions and community events outside of church hours.
234 Hereford St., Christchurch, Canterbury, 8011, New Zealand -
13. CoCA—Centre of Contemporary Art
Christchurch's leading contemporary art home was built in 1968 and has since been restored and remodeled as a modern and stylish gallery space. Formed in 1880 as the Canterbury Society of Arts, CoCA is a not-for-profit art gallery run by a trust whose members include several of New Zealand's leading contemporary artists. The gallery commissions, produces, and collaborates with top artists to present an ever-changing set of exhibitions.
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14. Colenso Country Café and Shop
A cottage café and craft shop are set in a garden full of citrus and olive trees and kitchen herbs. The café serves soups, moreish country-style pies, salads, and an ever-changing variety of cakes, scones, muffins, slices, and Devonshire teas. In the shop you can procure tasty chutneys, jams, organic honey, and giftware. The open grassy space, play area, and tame donkeys make this an especially good place to stop with kids. It's located on State Highway 25 just south of the Hahei turnoff on the way to Tairua.
State Hwy. 25, Whenuakite, Waikato, 3591, New Zealand07-866–3725Sight Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed. -
15. Colville General Store
Colville's classic counterculture General Store is run by a local co-operative. It sells foodstuffs (there's a well-stocked organic section), wine, beer, and gasoline. It's kind of like the general store that used to be in all country areas. It's also the northernmost supplier on the peninsula, so don't forget to fill your tank.
2314 Colville Rd., Colville, Waikato, 3584, New Zealand07-866–6805 -
16. Craggy Range Winery
Situated by a small lake with the towering Te Mata Peak beyond, this vineyard has a stellar backdrop. The wines include single-varietal chardonnay, merlot, and syrah; a predominantly merlot blend called Sophia; and a pinot noir dubbed Aroha. You can sample wines at the cellar door; leave time to linger over a meal at Terroir, a French-inspired restaurant overlooking the lake.
253 Waimarama Rd., Havelock North, Hawke's Bay, 4294, New Zealand64-06-873–7126Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tastings NZ$10 (refundable with purchase of bottle) -
17. Esk Valley Estate Winery
Winemaker Gordon Russell produces merlot, syrah, and blends with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and malbec in various combinations, including a rare and expensive red simply called The Terraces. White varieties include chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, verdelho, chenin blanc, and pinot gris. Look for the Winemakers Reserve versions of chardonnay, syrah, and merlot-malbec blend to find out what he has done with the best grapes from given years. The vineyard's position, in a sheltered valley overlooking the Pacific, ensures it captures full sun; it's located 12 km (8 miles) north of Napier, just north of the town of Bay View before Highways 2 and 5 split.
745 Main Rd., Bay View, Hawke's Bay, 4149, New Zealand64-06-872–7430Sight Details
Rate Includes: NZ$20 for a four-wine tasting., Closed Sun. and Mon. -
18. Feilding
For a look at an authentic New Zealand farming town visit Feilding, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Palmerston North. The Feilding Saleyards Guided Tour is a classic experience. One of the largest livestock sale yards in the southern hemisphere, nearly 30,000 sheep and cattle are sold here every week. Every Friday at 11, a retired farmer will guide you (NZ$10, bookings essential) through the sheep pens and computerized cattle auction pavilion, and explain the secrets of a long-time New Zealand farming tradition. After the tour, visit the rustic Saleyards Café, where farmers meet for pie and chips or a toasted steak sandwich. Other local attractions in the Edwardian-style town square include the Friday morning farmers' market and the Coach House Museum that displays restored vehicles from the pioneering era (NZ$12). You could also putter about the town’s bookshops, art galleries, and boutique movie theater, and café. From Feilding, Kimbolton Road passes through prime sheep-farming country to Kimbolton Village, 28 km (17 miles) away. Within a few minutes' drive of it are two outstanding gardens with rhododendrons and myriad other plants: Cross Hills ( crosshills.co.nz; NZ$10; daily Sept.–May) and Heritage Park Garden ( heritagepark.co.nz; NZ$7; daily year-round).
61 Aorangi St., Feilding, Manawatu-Wanganui, 4702, New Zealand06-323–3318-Feilding & District Information CentreSight Details
Rate Includes: Information center is closed weekends -
19. Fiordland National Park
Encompassing more than 3 million acres of wilderness, Fiordland is the country's biggest national park. Nearly a million people visit each year to see playful dolphins and rain forest--coated mountains, but most converge on Milford and Doubtful sounds, the park's stars. Don't worry—the park is massive enough to easily absorb the crowds. The scenery actually quiets them, too: entire boatloads of visitors have been known to just hush out on the water. Sand flies and rain (along with your job, breaking news, and the rest of the world) will seem like tiny nuisances when you behold Milford Sound, with Mitre Peak rising along the coast and waterfalls tumbling into the sea. I see the falls, said one returning visitor, and everything just falls away.
Otago, New Zealand -
20. Gibbston Valley Wines
The wine-making industry in Central Otago began with the vines that were first planted here. The best-known vineyard in Central Otago, Gibbston Valley Wines is a beautiful spot for lunch and wine tasting. There are cheese platters and tasty sandwiches through to a full à la carte menu with wine recommendations. You can even taste wines in a cool, barrel-lined cave with cave tours on the hour. If you can't get out to the winery, Gibbston Valley also has a café in Arrowtown, where you'll get hint of what you've missed.
1820 State Hwy. 6, Gibbston, Otago, 9371, New Zealand03-442–6910Sight Details
Rate Includes: Wine-cave tour and tasting NZ$19.50
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