My wife and I are travelling to New Zealand in Feb. 2019. We are meeting friends in Nelson for 3 nights, then driving with them to Christchurch for 2 more nights. They head home and we plan on staying in the south island for 2-3 weeks more and then heading up to the north island for 4-6 days. Would appreciate any help with figuring out itineraries for the south island given meeting our friends and also dealing with the busy time of January school recess. We are active, love to hike and explore but appreciate museums, culture, etc. My only thought at this time was flying into Auckland, get over jet lag for 2 nites, then flying to Nelson to hook up with our friends for the 5 days with them. After that...... Thanks

I could have sworn I responded to this yesterday!

Whew! I'm not going crazy after all. Did you see the response I posted on the other thread? And thank you for starting your own.

freediver -

You might get more responses by starting your own thread. But in the meantime, school holidays in NZ (summer break) end between Jan 28-Feb 7, depending on school. Until then, locals and their families will be out in force as well as international visitors - busy time, higher prices, more crowds.

If it were me, I'd meet up with your friends first, and then take the rest of your trip after they leave when kids are back in school.

It makes sense to start a trip in Christchurch as then you can make a figure 8 loop and return to Christchurch for departure. By doing so, you can incorporate both the inland route (Mt Cook) and the West Coast (glaciers), but you'll need a good two weeks. More is even better - three weeks would be ideal.

If you were to fly directly into Nelson, spend time with your friends and then drive on to Christchurch, you could easily drive both routes, hit the highlights and then depart from Christchurch (and on to Auckland).

Yes, Melnq8, I got your first reply...thank you!!! That's why I started my own post. So do you have any route suggestions after we depart from Christchurch? Relatively speaking time is not an issue so 2-3 weeks after leaving Christchurch is fine with us. Hitting the west coast and inland route is a definite!!! What would you recommend the best way to accomplish that?And thanks again!

From Christchurch -

Arthur's Pass - side trip to Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks) then down the West Coast via Greymouth and Hokitika to glaciers, then on to Wanaka, Te Anau and Queenstown, then back up to Christchurch via Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook

Or in reverse

It's a pretty standard route - you just need to figure out how much time you want to stay in each place and that really depends on your particular interests, although due to drive distances you'll definitely need to break up some legs of the trip out of sheer necessity.

Something like this perhaps:

As you'll have already spent time in Christchurch -

Drive from Christchurch over Arthur's Pass, detour to Punakaiki - stay a night (or longer if you're into hiking)

Drive from Punakaiki to Franz Josef/Fox Glaciers - if Hoki interests you, spend a night or two here, if not forge on to the glaciers.

I suggest a minimum of two nights at either Franz or Fox, longer if you're a big hiker

Drive from glaciers to Wanaka - spend 2-3 nights here depending on your interests

Drive from Wanaka to Te Anau - base for visiting Milford Sound - spend at least two nights here, more if you're interested in the walking tracks in the area

Drive from Te Anau to Queenstown - spent at least three nights, more if you're so inclined - loads to do in the area

Drive from Queenstown to Mount Cook - spend at least two nights

Drive from Mount Cook to Christchurch - I personally prefer the 'back roads' via Geraldine and Scenic 72 .

With three weeks you'd have time to push on further south than Queenstown, perhaps incorporating Dunedin and the Catlins before heading back towards Christchurch. Or if you prefer taking your time, you could end your trip in Queenstown or Dunedin and fly back to Christchurch, but you'd have to choose between the inland route (Mount Cook) or the West Coast (glaciers).

Or, you could spend some time in Akaroa, which is about 90 minutes from Christchurch.

The options are endless really, it just comes down to time!

Instead of spending two days/nights at the beginning of your trip getting over jet lag in Auckland, consider an onward connection to the South Island. I think it would be more convenient and practical to visit Auckland at the end of your trip as part of that time you plan to spend on the North Island. By finishing up in Auckland, you'd also be closer to Auckland Airport and your departing international flight.

If arriving from the U.S., it's likely your flight will arrive quite early, possibly around 6 a.m.. After picking up your luggage, going through customs and immigration, and taking transport into Auckland, it still might be too early to check into your hotel (or other accommodation). You might not be able to check in until 2 p.m.

Please be aware that in addition to the busy Chinese New Year holiday (from Feb. 4 to 19) and the NZ holiday of Waitangi Day (Feb. 6), February is also a popular time for special events, such as festivals and marathons/triathlons. The Marlborough Food and Wine Festival is on Feb. 9. The Coast to Coast Run is from Feb. 8 to 9. Queenstown's Moonlight Marathon is on Feb. 16 (500 athletes), Challenge Wanaka is on Feb. 16 (1500 athletes). You'll also be here during cruise ship season, which can make port cities more crowded during the day.

In addition to visiting with your friends in Nelson, do you also plan on activities in Abel Tasman NP or are you thinking of driving over Takaka Hill into the scenic Golden Bay region? Also, if you enjoy wine tasting, Nelson has many wineries worth visiting. Depending on your plans, three days might not suffice for the Nelson-Tasman region.

Did you mean you and friends will drive directly from Nelson to Christchurch and then spend two days in Christchurch? Or did you mean you will take two days to drive from Nelson to Christchurch? Because between Nelson and Christchurch, you might want to tour wineries in Marlborough, or visit Picton and/or Queen Charlotte Track/Sound, or do a wildlife cruise in Kaikoura or walk the Kaikoura walkway, or stop in the Waipara wine region.

Thanks so much to Melnq8 and Diamantina for your great replies. Sorry to so tardy in responding. We do plan to visit Abel Tasman as well as some area wineries before spending two nights in Christchurch with our friends before they head back home. Your route suggestions were very helpful as well as the warnings about the busy tourist season and the thoughts about flying directly to the south island first. Now I must dive into research and figure things out a bit. But I am sure to have more questions as time goes by!! Thanks again for your help.