Our beautiful South Island is one spectacular place, with snow capped mountains, rugged coastline, beautiful fjords and so many amazing activities and hikes. Planning your road trip in New Zealand can be a bit overwhelming with so much to fit in, so we've put together an action packed 5-day itinerary to help plan your ultimate South Island itinerary. 

New Zealand South Island itinerary for a road trip

• Day 1: Christchurch to Franz Josef

• Day 2: Franz Josef to Wanaka

• Day 3: Wanaka to Queenstown

• Day 4: Queenstown to Lake Tekapo

• Day 5: Tekapo to Christchurch

There are so many different beaches to visit in New Zealand and majority of our beaches really capture the beauty of our county's coastline. The Rotorua Canopy Tours team love exploring our best New Zealand beaches to enjoy a surf, swim or a leisurely walk with their dogs - they have put together their top 8 best New Zealand beaches they think are the top things to do in New Zealand.

1. Taputopotu Bay, Cape Reinga

2. Puheke Beach, Kaitaia

3.  Tawhitokino, South East Auckland

4. Makarori Beach, Gisborne

5. Bark Bay, Abel Tasmankk

6. Hokitika Beach, West Coast

7. Taylors Mistake, Christchurch

8. Purakaunui Bay, Southland

There’s nothing better than packing up bags, piling the kids in the car and hitting the highway for a good old-fashioned family New Zealand road trip. While holidays are all about ditching the rules, we've put together some tips to make your New Zealand road trip more fun when you have little ones in the car.

1. Don’t fit too much into one day

2. Don’t forget the snack bag

3. Don’t leave the bug spray behind

4. Don’t forget to plan ahead

5. Don’t drive for too long

6. Don’t forget to have fun along the way

7. Don’t stay indoors. Plan lots of outdoor activities

8. Don’t forget backseat games

9. Don’t be rigid with your itinerary

10. Don’t plan big hikes

The Rotorua Canopy Tours guides love a good adventure and they enjoy getting out driving through the North Island soaking up the beauty of our country. On their days off they are always going on road trips around the country to their favourite spots and destinations. We asked the team to share their favourite places they road trip to - check them out below to add to your New Zealand Itineraries: 

1. Taranaki Falls, National Park Village
2. Mount Maunganui, Tauranga
3. Tatapouri Bay, Gisborne
4. Fletcher Bay to Stony Bay, Coromandel Town
5. Tongariro River Trail, Turangi
6. Tokaanu Thermal Pools, Turangi

Central North Island is full of awesome adventure activities. You really can be spoiled for choice which makes it hard to choose what to do especially if you are short of time. Check out our ultimate 5 day adventure in the central North Island that you should definitely include in your New Zealand Itinerary. 

• Day 1: Hamilton
• Day 2: Rotorua
• Day 3: Okere Falls
• Day 4: Taupo
• Day 5: Tongariro / Ruapehu

From New Zealand’s largest city to its geothermal heart, this five day road trip covers some of our must-do spots that you should include in your New Zealand Itineraries. A family road trip from Auckland to Rotorua will take you to a volcano, hobbit holes and glowworm caves, and zipping through ancient trees.

Rotorua’s ancient forests, geothermal energy and raft of outdoor adventures makes it a top-notch place to visit for a family holiday.  It’s a wonderland for both kids and adults, with things to do in Rotorua like zip lining, hiking and lugeing. Being locals ourselves, we’ve put together a 5-day, family-friendly Rotorua itinerary to help you get inspired. We promise it will be one for the photo albums!

1. Skyline Skyrides & Stratosphere Restaurant 
2. Walk in the Redwoods & Rotorua Canopy Tours
3. Rainbow Springs
4. Kuirau Park & OGO 
5. Eat Streat

The drive from Auckland to Rotorua is a very common North Island route planned into New Zealand Itineraries for visitors exploring by car or campervan. The travel time for directly driving Auckland to Rotorua takes about 3 hours but there are a few different routes you can take. This is also a drive that you can make a day out of by stopping off at some spectacular places along the way and checking out what New Zealand small towns have to offer. 

Below are our favourite stop-offs on your drive from Auckland to Rotorua:

 Explore Central North Island’s awesome natural wonders on this four-day Rotorua itinerary, also featuring the underground wonders of Waitomo.

Driving from Rotorua to Wellington, is a very popular drive and can be made even better when you know about the awesome things to do and places to see in-between!