North
Island and both Island Self-Drive Itineraries
Seven day driving modules
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Beautiful Russell in
the Bay of Islands is less than an easy day's drive north of
Auckland.
Part
of a series on travel to and in New Zealand -
click the links in the right hand
column for more articles and click here for the
master listing of New
Zealand driving itineraries.
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The suggested driving
itineraries below give you some ideas about how you can
structure seven days in the North Island of New Zealand.
We've tried to include the main
highlight 'must see' sights of the North Island in these
itineraries. This is difficult - there is so much to see
and do that even seven weeks would be easily filled. But
better to have seven days than no days, and so here are some
suggestions for you.
Sample Itineraries for the
North Island and both Islands, with a seven day travel time.
Here are some possible ways of spending seven days on a
self-drive itinerary around the North Island (and optionally
South Island too) of New Zealand.
See our separate page of seven
day South Island self-drive itineraries for more
suggestions.
And if you have more time to spend, consider combining
itineraries, or spending more time in the places featured, and
perhaps traveling shorter distances each day.
We'll also be releasing suggested driving itineraries for longer
time periods in the near future.
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window |
One Week
Between Auckland and Christchurch |
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Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
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1 |
Arrive Auckland,
collect rental car, city sightseeing in Auckland. |
Auckland |
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2 |
Drive to Waitomo
Caves then over to Rotorua.
Approx 350km/220
miles, 5 hrs driving time. |
Rotorua |
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3 |
A day in
Rotorua |
Rotorua |
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4 |
Drive to Wellington,
on SH1, perhaps stopping at Lake Taupo on the way, and
Wairakei if more thermal sights are sought, otherwise,
getting to Wellington early enough to do some
sightseeing around Wellington.
Approx 450km/285
miles, 6.5 hrs driving time. |
Wellington |
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5 |
Take the
Inter-Islander this morning (either with your car or
swapping cars at either end) and then drive on to
Christchurch, perhaps stopping at Kaikoura on the way
for whale watching.
Approx 340km/210
miles, 4.5 hr driving time plus ferry crossing (3.5 hrs
plus waiting time). |
Christchurch |
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6 |
A day in and around
Christchurch. |
Christchurch |
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7 |
Fly on from
Christchurch today. |
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Total distance
driven : 1150km/715 miles plus local touring and
ferry crossing |
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window |
One Week
Between Christchurch and Auckland including
train |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
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1 |
Arrive Christchurch,
don't get rental car, city sightseeing in Christchurch |
Christchurch |
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2 |
Take the
TranzCoastal train from Christchurch to Picton then the
Inter-Islander ferry over to Wellington. Collect a
rental car upon arrival in Wellington.
Train leaves early
in the morning to connect with early afternoon ferry,
arrives into Wellington mid/late afternoon. |
Wellington |
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3 |
Spend the morning
sightseeing in Wellington then drive up to Rotorua.
Approx 450km/285
miles, 6.5 hrs driving time. |
Rotorua |
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4 |
A day in
Rotorua. |
Rotorua |
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5 |
Drive from Rotorua
up to Auckland via the Waitomo Caves.
Approx 350km/220
miles, 5 hrs driving time. |
Auckland |
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6 |
A day of sightseeing
in and around Auckland - perhaps take the downtown ferry
over to Devonport as part of your day. |
Auckland |
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7 |
Fly on from
Auckland today. |
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Total distance
driven : 1150km/715 miles plus local touring,
train and
ferry crossing |
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window |
Northern
North Island |
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Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
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1 |
Arrive Auckland,
drive north to Bay of Islands (ie Paihia) via Dargaville
and SH12.
Approx 355km/220
miles, 5 hrs driving time. |
Paihia |
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2 |
Drive around
Northland - perhaps to a kauri forest or up to 90 Mile
Beach and the very top of NZ (Cape Reinga) or take a
boat to Russell. |
Paihia |
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3 |
Drive down to
Rotorua, taking the SH2 route south of Auckland.
Approx 460km/290
miles, 6.3 hrs driving time. |
Rotorua |
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4 |
A day in
Rotorua. |
Rotorua |
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5 |
Drive from Rotorua
up to Auckland via the Waitomo Caves - perhaps take the
long way along SH30.
Approx 370km/230
miles, 5.1 hrs driving time. |
Auckland |
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6 |
A day of sightseeing
in and around Auckland - perhaps take the downtown ferry
over to Devonport as part of your day. |
Auckland |
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7 |
Fly on from
Auckland today. |
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Total distance
driven : 1190km/745 miles plus local touring |
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window |
Central
North Island |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
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1 |
Arrive Auckland,
drive south to the Coromandel Peninsula; stay in
Whitianga or Coromandel.
Approx 170km/105
miles, 2.3 hrs to Coromandel, another 20km/15 miles and
20 mins to Whitianga. |
Coromandel or
Whitianga |
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2 |
Enjoy the area
around the Coromandel Peninsula. If you're staying
in Whitianga, maybe visit Coromandel or vice versa. |
Coromandel or
Whitianga |
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3 |
Drive SH2 to
Tauranga and 'the Mount' (Mt Maunganui) then over to
Rotorua.
Approx 235km/145
miles, 3.5 hrs driving time from either Coromandel or
Whitianga. |
Rotorua |
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4 |
A day in
Rotorua. |
Rotorua |
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5 |
Drive from Rotorua
up to Auckland via the Waitomo Caves - perhaps take the
long way along SH30.
Approx 370km/230
miles, 5.1 hrs driving time. |
Auckland |
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6 |
A day of sightseeing
in and around Auckland - perhaps take the downtown ferry
over to Devonport as part of your day. |
Auckland |
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7 |
Fly on from
Auckland today. |
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Total distance
driven : 775km/485 miles plus local touring |
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window |
Auckland -
East Coast - Wellington
(Fly back
to AKL if needed) |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
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1 |
Arrive Auckland,
collect car, spend day in Auckland. |
Auckland |
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2 |
Drive to Waitomo
Caves then over to Rotorua.
Approx 350km/220
miles, 5 hrs driving time. |
Rotorua |
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3 |
A day in
Rotorua. |
Rotorua |
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4 |
Drive from Rotorua
to Gisborne.
Approx 280km/175
miles, 3.75 hrs driving time.
(Optional extra - drive around the East Cape on Hwy
35 - increase driving distance today to 465km/290 miles
and driving time to 6.25 hrs) |
Gisborne |
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5 |
Drive from Gisborne
to Hawke's Bay. Probably choose to stay in Napier;
otherwise, Havelock North.
Approx 215km/135
miles, 2.8 hrs driving time. |
Hawke's Bay |
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6 |
Drive from Hawke's
Bay to Wellington.
About 315km/195
miles, 4.3 hrs driving time. |
Wellington |
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7 |
Fly from Wellington
to Auckland if necessary and on from Wellington or
Auckland to your next destination. |
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Total distance
driven : 1160km/725 miles plus local touring and
possibly flight from WLG back to AKL |
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Part
of a series on travel to and in New Zealand -
click the links in the right hand
column for more articles and click here for the
master listing of New Zealand
driving itineraries.
Related Articles, etc
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Originally published
22 Aug 2008, last update
30 May 2021
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