Able Tasman
 

Spending 2 nights near Able Tasman NP wanting to do half day walk and water taxi back to Marahau. Where is the best town to stay. Motueka, Kaiteriteri or Marahau. Accom budget up to $200/n for 4 people. Wondering if Motueka holiday Park is too far from Able Tasman walks? Heard Kaiteriteri was nice town, but it seems a back track to get to Marahau
Looking at Motueka Holiday Park
Ocean View Chalets , Marahau
Kaiteriteri ?????

Check the aquataxi.co.nz for important info such as the tide tables. It looks as if they also do pickups at Kaiteriteri. You can take a water taxi both ways, and do the scenic stretch between Bark and Torrent. Then it doesn't matter where you stay.

I was picked up in Nelson via a transfer bus which worked out fine, too although it made the activity into an all day affair pretty much.

On our last trip to Abel Tasman, we based ourselves in Upper Moutere and our water taxi pick up was from Kaiteriteri Beach. It was about a 25 minute drive from our cottage to Kaiteriteri.

It really doesn't matter all that much where you stay if you have a car. Kaiteriteri is tiny, not much there in terms of services, other than a great beach and lots of B&Bs. Marahau is right at the doorstep of Abel Tasman, so it's very convenient if you just want to roll out of bed and walk down to the water to board your taxi. Motueka is the closest town of any size, lots of accommodation there, many restaurants, shops, etc.

If you stay at Motueka Holiday Park, you're probably looking at a 20 minute drive to Kaiteriteri, give or take. Marahau is only 8 km further than Kaiteriteri.

thankyou mlgb and melnq8. what is the trip likr between kaiteriteri and marahau? how long would that take?

I'm confused as to what type of trip.

Google Maps works in NZ. It says driving = 10 to 15 km and 34-36 minutes. Look at the map too, as the roads to both places are very windy, it may take you longer.

It's been awhile since I made the drive from Kaiteriteri to Marahau, but I seem to recall it was a typical SI road, narrow and winding. I just did another search and found that Kaiteriteri is 13 km from Motueka, and 5 km from Marahau.

These are small places, so traffic generally isn't an issue.

If you're worried about time, I suggest you tell the water taxi company where you plan to stay and ask them for some guidance on how much time to allow.

I missed your question about Ocean View Chalets in your first post. I've not stayed there, but it uniformly gets good reviews here and as an added bonus, you can't get any closer to the start of the park.

I LOVED Ocean View Chalets AND Abel Tasman. You might want to read my trip report.