I hope this guide made you look up cheap flights to New Zealand, but, if not, send me a DM because I’m a bit concerned for your mental well-being . If you’ve had the opportunity to visit this beautiful country already, please tell me all about it ASAP. Happy travels!

Taupō

Kaikōura

Bay Of Plenty

Waitomo Caves

New Zealand

Matamata

Ngatapa

Waikato District

Manawatu-Wanganui

Southland

Akaroa

Queenstown

Auckland

Rotorua

New Zealand Bucket List

The Ultimate Summer Adventure!

Explore the gems of both North and South Islands in this adventure-filled itinerary. In the North, we'll explore Auckland, Waitomo, and Rotorua. From there, we'll fly to South Island and roadtrip along the coast hitting Queenstown, Christchurch, and everything in between. YES- that's right. All in 18 days!

What's included?
- Budget friendly hotel accommodations
- The best places to eat & drink
- Where to go and what to see
- Links to must-do excursions
- A digital map of all locations
- Travel with a mobile guide you can open on-the-go 
- Leave the planning to me and have a stress-free, unforgettable experience!



Wānaka, New Zealand

Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

South Island, New Zealand

Fox Glacier, New Zealand

North Island, New Zealand

Franz Josef Glacier, West Coast, New Zealand

Queenstown, New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand

Rotorua, New Zealand

Christchurch, New Zealand

Milford Sound, New Zealand

The Ultimate 18-Day New Zealand Itinerary

This is a map of all my favorite spots to explore, eat, and stay in Aotearoa New Zealand after a year and a half of living in the land of the long white cloud with my two kids. Nearly all the pins are child friendly and they are noted if not. 

I update this periodically as I travel to new places so keep an eye out and enjoy New Zealand's incredible country!

Kid-friendly New Zealand

This guide is for both Islands in New Zealand (the north and the south) for first time visitors who are taking their camper van throughout the islands with a few days in Auckland and Queenstown. It's a three week itinerary and includes the arrival and departure flight days (and has some suggestions for these days as well). 

It will go through (in detail!) every location we visited, the activities we did, the sites we camped up at, the restaurants we ate at (in between our camper van meals), what we learned about New Zealand and the camper van life whilst we were there, and other suggestions of what to do in the areas so you can alter your plans to fit what you want. 

Note that this itinerary includes two different camper van rental locations on each island, and flying between the two islands. But you could easily do the majority of this itinerary and just switch up a few days to drive between the two islands! This itinerary does have a decent amount of driving but its because we really wanted to PACK our itinerary to see as much of New Zealand and it's beautiful scenery whilst we were here. 

The main locations touched on are listed here (and we highly recommend all of them):
-> Auckland (& Waiheke Island)
-> West Coast North Island (Black Sand Beaches / Mt Taranaki)
-> Tongariro Alpine Crossing
-> Coromandel Peninsula
-> Queenstown
-> Milford Sound
-> Wanaka (& Roys Peak)
-> Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park
-> Dunedin
-> The Catlins

If you're looking for a detailed guide that outlines your plan for each and every day, look no further! 

Tongariro National Park, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

Milford Sound, Southland, New Zealand

Coromandel Peninsula, Kaimarama, New Zealand

Marokopa, New Zealand

Waiheke Island, Auckland, New Zealand

The Catlins, New Zealand

New Plymouth, New Zealand

Mount Cook National Park, Canterbury, New Zealand

Oamaru, New Zealand

Egmont National Park, Taranaki, New Zealand

Dunedin, New Zealand

Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Canterbury, New Zealand

3 Weeks in New Zealand - See The Best of BOTH Islands

A complete roadtrip itinerary of the North Island from Wellington to Auckland. Activities, Food & Accommodations.

Taupō, New Zealand

Hamilton, New Zealand

Wellington, New Zealand

Napier, New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND 🇳🇿 North Island │A 12-day Roadtrip Itinerary 

This itinerary outlines nine days of continuous adventure on the North Island of New Zealand. Spend a couple days exploring Auckland and the nearby islands, head out west for some black sand beaches and secret coves, hit up some insane hiking trails, and head to the east coast for some stunning beaches that draw the local crowds all summer. 

This itinerary is partially in hotels, but most of it is geared towards campervanning or rooftop tenting it through the North Island (that's what we did & LOVED it). It also includes a few hours of driving a day, and quite a few hiking opportunities (of course these can be substituted for other activities in the area). If you don't want to drive as much you could always spread the activities over more days, or skip your least favourite part to spend more time in the other areas ... but good luck trying to choose! Each day outlines activities to fill your day, how much driving, what to eat, where to stay, and other suggestions / information. 

This itinerary covers the following specific places:
-> Auckland
-> Waiheke Island
-> Hobbiton
-> Marakopa
-> New Plymouth (Mt Taranaki)
-> Tongariro National Park
-> Lake Taupo
-> Coromandel Peninsula 
-> Coromandel Forest Park
& so much more!

Note: if you're interested in doing both North and South Island in one trip, you should definitely consider purchasing our 3 week itinerary (found on our thatch home page) as it includes all of this same information & everything on the South Island!

Pinnacles Walk, Waikato, New Zealand

Coromandel, New Zealand

Pouakai Circuit Reflective Tarn, Taranaki, New Zealand

Hobbiton™ Movie Set Tours Buckland Road, Matamata, New Zealand

Lake Taupo, Waikato, New Zealand

Mount Taranaki, Taranaki, New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND: 9 Day North Island Campervan Itinerary

Just 4.8 million people occupy New Zealand's two islands, leaving vast untouched landscapes in this stunning corner of the world. Explore the north island for kiwi history, diverse vibrant cities and Maori culture all within reach. Whereas, the south island holds some of the most natural and stunning landscapes you will ever see. In this guide, the best cities, tourist attractions will be unearthed, as well as all the essential logistical questions, instagramable places, do's and don'ts and tips from bloggers.

The Complete Guide to New Zealand

- Unlimited access to the interactive map
- Unlimited access to detailed information
- More than 200 things to do including accommodation, activities, attractions, beaches, mountains, hikes, some secret places and more...
- Unlimited access to several types of suggested routes
- Direct links to service reservation pages 
- Different itinerary suggestions depending on your interests.
- Recommendations

New Zealand 

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

On the North Island of New Zealand is the famous glowworm attraction in the Waitomo Caves. They’re made up of two levels. You must book to see this attraction, but a lot of the tour guides are actually direct descendants of the Maori Chief who originally explored the cave. It’s an unbelievable experience.

Paid tour. Learn from Maori about the history of the caves. Our guide was pretty funny too. Take a walk through the caves and learn about the worms before taking a short boat ride through the most epic glow worms.

This is a really unique experience where you enter caves and the walls of the caves become illuminated by the glow worms. You will need to book this experience in advance they can get busy!

One of the main reasons to visit the Waitomo Caves is to see the beautiful lights created by glowworms on the walls and roof of the caves.

Largest glow worm cave in NZ. What a surreal experience! For our trip we booked an 11 am tour.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

About Waitomo Glowworm Caves

What people say

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