By Bus in Upper South Island and the West Coast

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By Bus

InterCity buses leave daily for Nelson from the ferry terminal in Picton. The trip takes about three hours. From Nelson, InterCity runs the length of both the west and east coasts daily. Atomic Shuttles also runs daily services along these main routes. Abel Tasman Coachlines, InterCity, and K Bus run the smaller routes to Motueka, Takaka, and the Abel Tasman and Kahurangi national parks.

Many of the smaller routes cut their service frequency in winter, some stop altogether, and others reduce their route destinations, so if traveling then, be sure to double-check the schedules. Some companies downsize their buses as you get farther from Nelson, so a trip to Totaranui may involve two changes as the bus size decreases along the way.

Bus Depot

Nelson (27 Bridge St. 03/548-3290).

Bus Lines

Atomic Shuttles (03/322-8883. www.atomictravel.co.nz). InterCity (03/548-1538. www.nelsoncoaches.co.nz). K Bus (03/578-4075 or 0800/881-188. www.kbus.co.nz).