Nelson & Picton New Zealand
 

Hello, I am travelling with partner and my parents to Nelson from the Franz Josef Glaciers in a few weeks. We are taking the long drive straight to nelson and we only have 2 days here before we have to drop the hire car off and catch the ferry to north island.

Can anyone give me advice on wether or not after this long drive we should stay in nelson for both days and drive to picton to catch the lunchtime ferry on the 3rd morning or should we do Nelson for 1 night then drive to Picton for 1 night and catch the ferry the next day.

Could really use some help and its much appreciated! :-)

If it was me I would spend one night in each place purely because Picton and its surrounds are interesting to explore. There are some wonderful little craft / art shops there, too.

The drive from Franz Josef to Nelson will take you at least 6.5 hours, longer with stops.

By the time you reach Nelson, you'll not have much time to do anything. You'll probably check into your accommodation and go find dinner. Most shops, etc in the city close pretty early.

Accommodation in NZ generally has a 10 am check out time, so if you only stay that one night, you'll be checking in late in the day, and out early the next. That's not very relaxing IMO.

I agree with dotty that Picton is well worth some time, but because it's only 90 minutes from Nelson, I question the wisdom of splitting your two nights between the two places.

If it were me, I'd spend both nights in Nelson or both nights in Picton, which allows one full day to explore. If you choose Nelson, then I suggest heading to Picton early the day of your ferry departure. If you get to Picton by 9 or so, you'll have plenty of time to explore the main street and take in some views. But, you won't have time for much else.

Thank you both so much for your suggestions that has helped me out! Gem