South
Island Self-Drive Itineraries
Seven Day Driving Modules
|
|
This is a classic image
of NZ's South Island - a still pure lake perfectly
reflecting the snow capped mountains in the background.
Is there a more
beautiful country, anywhere in the world? Perhaps not.
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.
|
New Zealand's South Island is
much less populated than its North Island, and has the more
remarkable scenery. The Southern Alps chain of mountains,
the fiords, the glaciers, stunning coastlines and beautiful
native forests - there's so much to see that you'll struggle to
fit it all into a week.
Indeed, it is absolutely not
possible to do justice to the area in such a short time, but
better seven days than none at all. Hopefully the
following itineraries will help you work out how to get best
value from the short time available to you.
Sample Itineraries for touring
the South Island, with a seven day travel time.
If you decide you want to focus a short stay in New Zealand on
only the country's South Island, these suggestions of possible
ways to spend seven days on a self-drive itinerary around the
South Island will be helpful.
See our separate page of seven
day North Island self-drive itineraries for more suggestions
if you wish to spend time in the North Island too.
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.
|
|
Click on map to open a larger map in a new
window |
Queenstown
and Fiordland |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
|
1 |
Arrive Christchurch,
collect car, drive to Dunedin.
Approx 355km/220
miles, 5hrs driving time. |
Dunedin |
|
2 |
Morning in Dunedin,
then drive to Te Anau.
Approx 290km/180
miles, 3.8 hrs driving time. |
Te Anau |
|
3 |
Touring to Milford
Sound and cruise on Milford Sound, then drive back to
Queenstown.
Approx 400km/250
miles, 5 hrs driving time, plus cruise on Milford Sound. |
Queenstown |
|
4 |
A day in and around
Queenstown. |
Queenstown |
|
5 |
Drive from
Queenstown to Christchurch via Arrowtown, Wanaka and Mt
Cook.
Approx 610km/380
miles, 8.2 hrs driving time. |
Christchurch |
|
6 |
A day in and around
Christchurch. |
Christchurch |
|
7 |
Fly on from
Christchurch today. |
|
|
|
Total distance
driven : 1660km/1040 miles plus local touring |
|
Return to Itinerary Menu Page
|
Click on map to open a larger map in a new
window |
One Week
South Island Only - Northern South Island |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
|
1 |
Arrive Christchurch,
collect car, drive to Nelson via Picton.
Approx 450km/280
miles, 6 hrs driving time |
Nelson |
|
2 |
Drive from Nelson to
Greymouth via Motueka and Westport.
Approx 375km/235
miles, 5.2 hrs driving time. |
Greymouth |
|
3 |
Touring around
Greymouth, perhaps down to Hokitika |
Greymouth |
|
4 |
Drive from Greymouth
to Hanmer Springs.
Approx 210km/130 miles, 2.7 hrs driving time. |
Hanmer Springs |
|
5 |
Drive from
Hanmer Springs to Christchurch.
Approx 130km/80
miles, 1.9 hrs driving time. |
Christchurch |
|
6 |
A day in and around
Christchurch. |
Christchurch |
|
7 |
Fly on from
Christchurch today. |
|
|
|
Total distance
driven : 1165km/730 miles plus local touring |
|
Return to Itinerary Menu Page
|
|
Click on
map to open a larger map in a new window |
The South
Island's West Coast |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
|
1 |
Arrive Christchurch,
collect car, drive to Greymouth via Hanmer Springs and
Westport.
Approx 450km/280
miles, 6 hrs driving time. |
Greymouth |
|
2 |
Drive from Greymouth
to Haast, stopping at Fox Glacier.
Approx 315km/195
miles, 4.1 hrs driving time. |
Haast |
|
3 |
Drive from Haast to
Queenstown via Wanaka and Arrowtown.
Approx 220km/135
miles, 2.9 hrs driving time |
Queenstown |
|
4 |
A day in and around
Queenstown. |
Queenstown |
|
5 |
Drive from
Queenstown to Christchurch via Mt Cook.
Approx 590km/370
miles, 7.5 hrs driving time. |
Christchurch |
|
6 |
A day in and around
Christchurch. |
Christchurch |
|
7 |
Fly on from
Christchurch today. |
|
|
|
Total distance
driven : 1575km/985 miles plus local touring |
|
Return to Itinerary Menu Page
|
|
Click on
map to open a larger map in a new window |
Christchurch inland to Dunedin |
|
Day |
Activities |
Overnight |
|
1 |
Arrive Christchurch,
collect car, spend day sightseeing around Christchurch. |
Christchurch |
|
2 |
Drive from
Christchurch to Queenstown via Mt Cook, Wanaka and
Arrowtown.
Approx 610km/380
miles, 8.2 hrs driving time. |
Queenstown |
|
3 |
A day in and around
Queenstown. |
Queenstown |
|
4 |
Drive from
Queenstown to Milford Sound for a cruise, then to Te
Anau. Approx
405km/255 miles, 5.1 hrs driving time |
Te Anau |
|
5 |
Drive from Te Anau
to Manapouri, then to Dunedin.
Approx 315km/195 miles, 4.2 hrs driving time |
Dunedin |
|
6 |
A day in and around
Dunedin. |
Dunedin |
|
7 |
Fly on from
Dunedin today. |
|
|
|
Total distance
driven : 1330km/830 miles plus local touring |
|
Return to Itinerary Menu Page
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
|
If so, please donate to keep the website free and fund the addition of more articles like this. Any help is most appreciated - simply click below to securely send a contribution through a credit card and Paypal.
|
Originally published
22 Aug 2008, last update
30 May 2021
|
Search 
Related Articles 
