For our trip to New Zealand, I decided to focus more on the South Island. It seemed more unexplored to me, a little mysterious, and definitely far more varied when it came to landscapes – with glaciers, fjords, alpine lakes, and mountain passes.
The problem is, it’s huuuge – you could spend two weeks driving around and still not see everything. And we only had one.
I spent a long time figuring out the logistics, tested the route for ourselves, and came back convinced that I’d put together an optimal 7-day South Island itinerary. You’ll need a car for the full experience, although I’ll also include some tips for getting around without it.
And one more thing: Make sure you have plenty of storage on your phone, because this part of New Zealand is absolutely magical!!
Article contents
- Do you need to rent a car on the South Island?
- What is South Island NZ known for?
- Places we managed to visit over 1 week:
- Where we stayed on the South Island
Do you need to rent a car on South Island?
When deciding on whether or not to rent a car for your upcoming trip to the South Island, first you need to figure out what destinations you want to check off your travel bucket list.
If you only plan to explore Milford Sound, Gibbston Valley, and Stewart Island, then you’ll probably be fine without a car.
You can easily get to these places by tours, and, in the case of Stewart Island, by either a plane or a ferry. However, if your plans include seeing other places, then renting a car seems like the most reasonable solution.
Is it hard to drive on South Island? Surely you need some time to get used to driving on the left side of the road. Apart from some areas’ difficult serpentine roads, I didn’t find many cons to driving. There aren’t many cars and the roads are great quality, so it’s safe sailing all throughout your road trip!
Don’t know where to rent a car in New Zealand? Here are some services that I recommend:
I settled on renting a Mitsubishi Outlander for six days on the first website. The car was almost new, with just 12,000 km mileage. As for the price, the car itself cost us US$290 for six days, plus $17 a day insurance. Did we really need that big of a car in New Zealand? Not really… but it was the cheapest option, so I went with it.
My guide to renting a car in NZ >>
What is South Island in NZ known for? Our 7-day itinerary
South Island is a dream destination! The sheer beauty of snow-capped mountains, fjords, and glaciers, great wine, diverse wildlife, and good people – if these things don’t make you want to start packing your things to come here right away, I don’t know what will.
For a chance to see a kiwi bird in its natural habitat, to canoe in deep sounds, and to hike among the mountains a lot of people would give an arm and a leg. I don’t accept body parts as payment for my services, but I am more than happy to share useful information for free, so that your trip around the South Island of New Zealand is easy and enjoyable.
To give you an idea, here’s our 7-day South Island itinerary:
| Route | Experience | Accommodation | |
| Day 1 | 📍Queenstown — Gibbston Valley — Dunedin 280 km |
Car pick up at Queenstown Airport, wineries and wine, Dunedin and its sights | 🏨Owens Motel in Dunedin ($85 per night) |
| Day 2 | 📍Southern Scenic Route 285 km |
The most scenic road of NZ, plus all the stops along the way: Lighthouses, lookouts, coast, waterfalls, and easy trails | 🏨Southern Comfort in Invercargill ($60 per night for a private room with shared bathroom) |
| Day 3 | 📍Te Anau — Milford Sound 380 km |
Te Anau and its attractions; the eighth wonder of the world! | 🏨Central Backpackers in Te Anau ($100 per night for a private room with shared bathroom) |
| Day 4 | 📍Queenstown 170 km |
Town’s interesting places and many hikes | 🏨Southern Laughter Backpackers ($85 per night for a private room with shared bathroom) |
| Day 5 | 📍Mt Cook National Park — Lake Pukaki 320 km |
The highest mountain in New Zealand | 🏨Lake Ruataniwha Holiday Park in Twizel ($60 per night for a cabin) |
| Day 6 | 📍Wanaka — Omarama — Crown Range Road — Queenstown 460 km |
Lots of hikes and sights | 🏨LyLo Queenstown ($198 per night for a private room with bathroom) |
| Day 7 | 📍Day trip to Glenorchy 46 km |
Scenic drive and trails | 🏨LyLo Queenstown ($198 per night for a private room with bathroom) |
Without being too precise (who knows how many detours we’ve taken over the course of that road trip!), we drove almost 2,000 km in a matter of seven days. The roads of New Zealand’s South Island are so beautiful that at times they’re prettier than the destination itself.
I had some rigid rules when I chose where we were going to spend the night:
- We need the place to have parking
- If it’s a hostel, we still needed our own private room
- The more budget-friendly, the better!
Sometimes we had to sacrifice our own comfort for the opportunity to park the car (especially in Queenstown).
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❗️It’s a terrible idea to put off booking a place until the very last minute, especially during summer months – aka winter months in the rest of the world. This was a miscalculation on my part, and it ended up costing us almost $200 for the last night in Queenstown (it wasn’t anywhere near that much!).
Even camping spots in rural areas fill up superfast, so the second you know your travel dates, go on Booking.com and start looking for a place to stay.
As for the actual destinations that are a must-see when in New Zealand, here’s my take on 12 places to visit on the South Island. Enjoy!
To make planning your trip a little bit easier, here’s a map with all of the places I mention in this article. Use it to create your own route on the majestic South Island!
Queenstown
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Let me guess, you’re probably flying in from Auckland or somewhere in Australia. Those are the most common places I saw on the arrivals board in Queenstown Airport.
Interestingly enough: Queenstown and its area were used as filming locations for the 2026 Heart of the Beast movie, so if you’re Brad Pitt’s fan, this location should be on your radar of places to visit in New Zealand.
Sitting on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is unbelievably beautiful. The variety of landscapes is what makes it a great starting-off point for your South Island adventure. However, the truth is, apart from nature-inspired activities, the city doesn’t have that much else to offer – there aren’t many historical or cultural sights. Reading this, you might be wondering, are there interesting things to do in Queenstown at all?
Open your mind to endless entertainment options of the city: Fortunately, the best things in Queenstown are free. The most popular leisure activity here is hiking, or tramping, as the Kiwis call it.
After spending some time here, we found some hiking trails that are 100% worth doing:
- Tiki Trail leading up to Bob’s peak that starts off inside Queenstown and is a free alternative to riding a Skyline gondola. I’d say that the hike is moderately challenging, done in about an hour one-way.
4,2km out & back, 435m elevation gain - Queenstown Hill Walking Track is another popular trail, where you can catch glimpses of the lake and Queenstown itself, that is superclose to the city. The hike is pretty easy and done in about two hours altogether.
5km out & back, 400m elevation gain - Bob’s Cove Track is located further away from Queenstown, so you need to rent a car or take a taxi to cover the 14 kilometers. The view of Wakatipu is worthy – you can even take a dip in its waters during a hot sunny day.
4km out & back, 300m elevation gain - Ben Lomond track is a challenging hike requiring a certain level of fitness to be able to ascend the Ben Lomond summit. It takes around 6-8 hours to actually climb to the top, and we didn’t have that kind of time, so I decided to pass on that one. They say the hike is as beautiful as it is challenging, so be sure to weigh pros and cons before committing to it.
15,6km out & back, 1400m elevation gain
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Apart from hiking enthusiasts, Queenstown is the ultimate destination of adrenaline junkies and anybody who loves the extreme forms of entertainment. Any activity out of the daredevil handbook can be practiced in Queenstown, at least to some extent:
✔️ ziplining (from US$75)
✔️ bungee jumping (from $180)
✔️ kayaking (from $50 for two)
✔️ tandem paragliding (from $210)
✔️ rafting (from $140)
✔️ jet boating (from $90)
✔️ tandem skydiving (from $215)
Your mom won’t be happy about you coming out here, that’s for sure!
But if testing your fears and walking for hours at a time is not your idea of a good time… then I’m not sure you need to spend a lot of time in Queenstown. When you first come to New Zealand and when you leave might just be enough! Ultimately, the three main things to do in the city – without giving yourself a cortisol spike with something extreme or challenging – are perfectly fitted into one day:
- Going up on the Skyline Gondola and racing down the mountain on the Luge Track – from US$56 on the official website, but Trip.com is offering it for $5 less
- Taking a historic TSS Earnslaw Steamship cruise down the Wakatipu Lake – from $73 (please, don’t miss this one!!)
- And witnessing a spectacular sunset at Queenstown Bay Beach – totally free
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When in town, check out Ferg’s establishment – the name that has become a world-renowned institution for having delicious food! The owner has four places around Queenstown that have long been the talk of the town: Fergburger with burgers, Fergbaker with good NZ pies, and Mrs Ferg Gelateria with ice-cream.
Now you can start off on one of the best South Island road trips in New Zealand. Here we go!
❗️From here on, I’ll include the distance from Queenstown to each place, just so you can pick and choose what you want to see and plan your own road trip, instead of me telling you in what order to explore the vast South Island.
Gibbston Valley
The drive from Queenstown takes: Half an hour (30 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? Yep, by joining a wine tour
Everyone’s heard of (or tried) New Zealand sauvignon blanc! And if you’re wondering where to go to visit the OG wine makers, that’s the place. In fact, wineries in the Gibbston Valley are what draws thousands of tourists each year to this part of the South Island.
Since we’re far from being wine sommeliers, we decided to stop at the first one that called our name. We got lucky, Mt. Rosa Wines was everything we wanted and more – the helpful staff informed us about the crucial info on the area. What we learned is that the biggest chunk of grape vines in the Gibbston Valley is of pinot noir variety. Other ones include sauvignon blanc, riesling, chardonnay, and pinot gris.
Personally, we decided to stick with sauvignon blanc and bought ourselves a bottle (38 NZD / $21). If you’re traveling with a company of friends and at least one of them can be a designated driver, then I recommend you try out a wine tasting tour right there at one of the wineries – great wine is all around in the Gibbston Valley.
There are also plenty of ✨wine tours from Queenstown ✨ you can choose from:
- Hop on Hop off wine tour – from $60 per person
- Boutique wine tour to 4 vineyards with lunch – from $170 per person
- Gibbston Valley wineries bike tours – from $60 per person
Milford Sound
The drive from Queenstown takes: 4 hours (290 kilometers)
How to get here without a car? Coach tour | Flight tour | Tracknet bus with a stop in Te Anau ($70 one way)
Milford Sound is arguably one of the best places to visit on the South Island. All of our friends who once visited this area kept going on and on about how Milford Sound was the number one tourist attraction in New Zealand and how we couldn’t possibly miss this stop during our road trip. We happily obliged, though our positive experience was tainted a little.
Side note: There aren’t many countries in the world that can brag about their fjords: Norway, Chile, Canada, Greenland, and New Zealand being the only lucky ones.
The beautiful road to Milford is a destination in and of itself: An hour before you reach the fjords, nature around you completely changes. First you see sharp-edged cliffs surrounded by bright yellow valleys, then embraced by the deepest blue lakes. Once the cliffs end, they are followed by canyons, then again high peaks sheltering you from the sun, then comes the snow. The drive from Queenstown or from Invercargill, as it was in our case, takes about four hours total. The magical backgrounds of the road set the tone for the whole ride, until you reach parking.
What next? One of the main things to do in Milford Sound is simply take in the beauty of the fjords in every way you can! But there aren’t that many ways to do it.
Basically, you have to choose between:
- taking a boat tour – US$102 per person
- or a modern catamaran cruise – the same $102 per person
…and explore the area from the water. The views from the boat are stunning: Huge cliffs with peaks looming over you from above, moss covered stone walls, little waterfalls popping up here and there. Plus, the unique wildlife – from fur seals and dolphins to penguins and parrots!
If you want to turn this trip into a once-in-a-lifetime experience… you can go one step further and take the fjord cruise AND THEN see the landscape again from above on a helicopter flight (with a glacier landing!).
Since we’d already explored Norwegian fjords before our New Zealand trip, this wasn’t enticing enough to pay money for a cruise. We drove to the fjords planning to do one of the hikes there – the one along the waterfront up to the Milford Sound lookout.
But things took a turn for the worse when we finally got to the parking lot. When we visited, parking at Milford Sound cost 25 NZD / $14 for 5 hours, with no cheaper option available. What a rip-off! We didn’t need 5-hour parking for a 1-hour hike. Seemed like they knew most of the tourists were tired from the drive and ready to pay anything.
- By 2026, the price changed. Now they charge by the hour – 10 NZD / $5,7 an hour. But be careful when working out how much time you’ll need. Reviews often mention 75 NZD fines for overstaying by even a few minutes!
Now that I’m done venting, I found out (too little too late) that there’s free parking within 20-minute walk from Milford. If you find yourself in Milford Sound during your future trip, please let me know in the comments below if this free parking tip worked for you!
Getting to Milford Sound is one of the rare instances in New Zealand where you don’t actually need to rent a car.
There are plenty of bus or plane tours from Queenstown to choose from:
Mount Cook National Park
The drive from Queenstown takes: 3 hours (260 kilometers)
How to get here without a car? Day tour from Queenstown | Queenstown–Christchurch bus with a stop at Mt. Cook ($115 one way)
Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand is one of the most picturesque national parks in the country. The area covered by the park is massive, and the time you can spend here and still find something new and interesting is virtually limitless – you’ll be good with staying both a day or a week in the park.
What are the main things to do in Mount Cook National Park? Hiking is the most popular and cheapest activity. Thank God for the assortment of different tracks with varying levels of difficulty!
To paint you a clear picture, this is what our one day in the national park looked like:
- Road to Mount Cook National Park from Queenstown
- Hike to the Hooker Valley, which is a supereasy 2-hour hike that anyone can do
- Hike to the Tasman Valley, notably to the Tasman Glacier viewpoint, which provides sweeping views over the longest glacier in New Zealand. The hike is also pretty easy, with little elevation gain – it runs parallel to the Hooker Valley Track, just on the other side of the mountain. One-way climb will take you 30 minutes.
Important: I can’t emphasize enough the importance of checking the forecast before coming here! The weather is highly unpredictable, and we definitely felt her indecisive nature during our visit. As you can see from our pictures, the mountain decided not to reveal itself to us that day. To make matters worse, we had to endure crazy downpour closer to the end of hiking the Hooker Valley Track, and that was during summer, the high season!
Our somewhat hectic schedule didn’t allow us to explore other widely popular hiking trails in New Zealand concentrated in this park. Here are some of the most noteworthy of your time and efforts:
- Mueller Hut route – this tramping trail is quite challenging. The elevation gain of 1000 meters is not for the novices, and the extreme rocky terrain is hard to climb at times. If you plan to spend the night at the hut, prior reservation is needed!
- Sealy Tarns track – the first part of the Mueller Hut route, this track can be taken on by relative newbies of mountaineering. You will get to experience the 500 meter elevation gain that comes together with beautiful alpine scenery views.
- Red Tarns hike – fit for intermediate level climbers, this hike starts off easy, being relatively flat for the first 3 kms. After that, it’s almost constantly uphill, with the elevation gain of more than 300 meters of hundreds of stairs and rocks making your legs burn from the start. The Red Tarns hike (a tarn being a small alpine lake) is sometimes called the best sunset hike, because the view of the sun setting over the mountains is spectacular when reflecting on the water (that is, if the tarns aren’t frozen solid).
Willing to splurge on something more niche? You can make the experience memorable with either:
a) 🚁a 25-minute helicopter flight over the park and Tasman Glacier, including a short landing on a snowy slope – $215 per person
b) 🚁a helicopter drop-off on the glacier followed by a guided glacier hike, where you literally make your way through ice corridors – $567 per person
Even though our experience in the Mount Cook Park wasn’t as full as we wanted it to be – we saw just a glimpse of the mountain itself and got absolutely drenched by the rain – I still believe that it is one of the best places to visit on the South Island of New Zealand. I would skip Milford Sound, but not Mt Cook!
The drive from Queenstown is pretty long, but the good thing about it is that there are plenty of things to do all over the South Island, so you can make many pit stops along the way.
Hooker Valley Track
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Let me tell you a little more about the hike. Hooker Valley Track is one of the more accessible routes. Because of this, I recommend heading out on your hike earlier in the day, to beat the crowds and have all of the prized photo opportunities to yourself.
Hooker Valley Track isn’t exactly an easy walk (well, literally, it is, but you know what I mean). It doesn’t require gear or a high level of fitness. We managed to finish this 5-kilometer one way route in about two hours, walking relatively fast. We saw people of different abilities on the hike: Both experienced mountain enthusiasts and families with children, even people in dresses and flip-flops!
- On your way, you’ll cross three suspension bridges, which is an exciting thing by itself and requires you to conquer some fears you might have – the bridges get quite wobbly in high wind.
My tip: Try and seize a moment when nobody else is on the first bridge and stop in the middle for the best view of Mt Cook!
The loop around the mountain – with little elevation gain of around 100 meters – lets you have a lot of variation of surrounding views. And let me tell you, they’re to die for! Alpine nature comprised of green grass, snow, rocky cliffs, and weathered terrain leads you to the hike’s destination – Hooker Lake, formed by the retreat of the Hooker Glacier (one of the few glaciers of New Zealand). Beware of the strong winds by the lake – you better hold on to your belongings, as hats and phones are prone to leaving your grip in this area.
Another great thing about the park is free parking on the side of the road, which we greatly appreciated, especially after the whole Milford Sound drama.
❗️ If you’re not renting a car, I’d skip the intercity bus. A round trip ends up costing more than a full guided day trip from Queenstown that already includes the hike:
Lake Pukaki
The drive from Queenstown takes: 2,5 hours (220 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? Not really
Even if you try, it will be hard to miss Lake Pukaki when roadtripping around the South Island of New Zealand. For this, there are two reasons:
- The road to Mt Cook goes along the Pukaki Lake, giving you plenty of time to marvel at its sheer size and beauty.
- Just look at the bright blue color of the lake! It’s so unique you can’t take your eyes off the water!
The truth is, you don’t need to search for good weather or perfect lighting to snap a pic of the blindingly turquoise-blue lake, because it looks like that all the time. It was overcast when we were near the lake and we still couldn’t look at the water for too long, it was that magical bright cerulean color!
They say that Lake Pukaki looks the way it does due to glacial particles that never settle to the bottom. The lake can even be seen from space, it’s that bright. If you’re traveling in a van, nomad-style, there are camping grounds near the lake, as well as beautiful sightseeing opportunities of viewpoints. The best one is Lake Pukaki Viewpoint located on the Mount Cook Road (Peter’s Lookout).
Te Anau
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The drive from Queenstown takes: 2 hours (170 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? A direct bus for $45 one way
The town is a famous place for a layover on your way from Milford to Queenstown. We stayed here at the 📍Central Backpackers.
Te Anau is a little town sitting on the shores of the lake with the same name that is considered to be a gateway into Fiordland National Park – both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound (which is much trickier to get to) can be accessed through Te Anau. Visitor center lets you pick your preferred method of exploring the park: From helicopter rides to cruises.
However, don’t discount the town on being boring, it’s actually far from it! What are the other best attractions of Te Anau?
- We explored glowworm caves with a tour ($88 per person) – got literally into the underground cave system of New Zealand’s South Island with a guide, after cruising across the lake Te Anau itself.
- And paid a visit to Te Anau Bird Sanctuary – perfect experience for tourists of all ages, plus it’s free to enter! There aren’t many birds, but the few that they have are very unique: Cute little blue ducks and very rare flightless takahe!
Wānaka
The drive from Queenstown takes: 1 hour (70 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? Queenstown–Franz Josef bus with a stop in Wanaka for $23 one way
I wish our first impression of Wānaka wasn’t the one you see on the picture, but alas, New Zealand’s weather had her own plans. The little town of Wānaka is home to its namesake lake that sits in the small valley surrounded by the snow-capped Southern Alps.
Again, don’t underestimate the vibe of the town based on its size. There are plenty of things to do in Wānaka that you definitely shouldn’t miss out on:
- Start off with a slightly “out there” point of interest in the area – #thatwanakatree, which is also called a Wānaka Willow. This tourist attraction is pretty unexciting during low tide. But come high tide, the tree that before stood on the edge of the water, gets half-submerged into the lake, creating an illusion of a tree floating upright. Very popular Instagrammable spot on Lake Wānaka!
- Try every sort of craft beer there is in the town. Kiwis know their beer (as well as wine), so take their advice as a standard – for a pint of some local beer, head straight to Kai Whakapai.
- Take a coffee break, or maybe a couple throughout the day, because Kiwis also love their coffee (don’t forget the never ending debate of who actually came up with a flat white). The places that serve the good coffee are Curbside Coffee & Bagels, Scroggin Eatery, and The Coffee Shack.
- Explore the most popular trail of the area – hike the Roy’s Peak track, which starts a little out of the town, a 7-minute drive away, tops. The hike is not for the faint-hearted. You’ll experience 1300 meters of elevation, with the whole hike stretching around 8 kilometers one way. The trail is considered to be pretty challenging, with very steep ascent to the top.
Drive on the road from Wānaka to Queenstown is said to be the most gorgeous stretch of the road on the South Island. The part of the stretch is called Crown Range Road ⬇️
Crown Range Road
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The drive from Queenstown takes: 20 minutes (20 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? No
Crown Range Road is one of the best short drives in New Zealand. Stretching between Wānaka and Queenstown, this is the highest road in the country, with the overall elevation gain of more than 1100 meters, which is superimpressive!
- The 24-kilometer Crown Range Road starts at Arrow Junction and gradually turns into the Cardrona Valley Road, but the most scenic part is over by the time you reach Crown Range Summit (11 km in).
You get to drive through the clouds, sometimes even looking at them from above. Don’t let the surroundings steal your attention from the road, as it is quite challenging at times, with very sharp turns. In winter, the road can get closed due to it not being safe to drive on ice.
As much as you want to take tens of stops along the way, Crown Range Road is too narrow or too dangerous in some parts to let you do this without fear. Don’t worry, there are two official lookout points en voyage to your destination: Crown Range Summit and Crown Range Road Scenic Lookout. The summit is the better viewpoint to choose because it sits higher than the lookout, giving you a better chance of actually seeing the view instead of being stuck in thick fog.
Dunedin
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The drive from Queenstown takes: 3,5 hours (280 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? A direct bus for $42 one way
Dunedin is one of the biggest cities in New Zealand, even though it doesn’t really feel like it when you’re walking its streets. We especially loved the city for its prime location at the start of the Southern Scenic Route – one of the more beautiful drives of the country. We got here from Queenstown, spent the night at 📍 Owens Motel, and then took off on our sightseeing drive in the morning.
Dunedin isn’t the city that will blow your mind away from the start – the single-storey buildings paired with a pretty uneventful landscape. But if you do your research, then you’ll find out that Dunedin has:
- Baldwin Street – which used to be the steepest street in the world! Some town in Wales took the crown away from it. Just by simply looking at the street, my legs became sore.
- Botanic Garden – great place for a family outing; there’s a playground for the kids and a café for adults. Walking around the park premises is a relaxing experience, especially in springtime, when lots of plants start to bloom. You can also buy some food to feed ducks that live in the garden’s pond.
- Dunedin Railway Station – one of the most photographed landmarks of Dunedin. The station’s exterior resembles that of a gingerbread house.
- Larnach Castle – New Zealand’s only castle, which has sprawling green gardens, beautifully decorated interiors, and dramatic history to go with them. You can access the viewpoint at the top of the tower to look at the carefully maintained castle grounds. Ticket price for the castle is 50 NZD / $28 per person.
- Royal Albatross Centre – the only mainland breeding colony of these majestic birds in the world. Taking a guided tour here is a wonderful experience: You get to learn about the birds’ breeding cycle, then watch little baby albatrosses and their long-winged parents. A unique opportunity for 71 NZD / $40.
Southern Scenic Route
Is there any way to get here without a car? No
Southern Scenic Route is, as I already established, arguably the most scenic drive in New Zealand. Sometimes it’s called the Catlins. This 600-kilometer road takes you from Dunedin to Queenstown, following the southern coast, with many interesting stops.
How beautiful is the drive? They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I want the images to speak for themselves:
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It’s really one of the best places to visit on the South Island. Most people recommend allowing around four days for this road trip. We came up with a crazy idea of squeezing the whole thing into one day – partly because we were short on time, and partly because 600 km still sounded just about doable.
Here’s how that turned out:
Important: There aren’t many gas stations and specialized rest stops with shops along the road, so prepare everything you might need in advance!
Nugget Point Lighthouse – one of the first stops on our way, a must-see for spectacular ocean views that open up from the viewpoint. Keep an eye out for seals that like to relax on the rocks by the water! Sheep grazing in the fields and trees bent by the wind come as a bonus.
McLean Falls – great tourist attraction that urges you to take a pause in nature while you get to this multi-level cascade waterfall (20 minutes one way).
Petrified Forest at Curio Bay – a truly special site, this “forest” is located at sea-level, so best to be seen during low tide. There isn’t actually a forest, just some rock mounds poking out of the water. These are the tree stumps that fused with rock over the years – millions of years, actually, because they say these trees witnessed dinosaurs walking among them!
The area of Curio Bay is also famous for its Penguin Walks where you can see these cute little creatures in their natural habitat (maybe even witness the yellow-eyed penguin, the rarest penguin in the world). The only con that we found is that these walks are held in the evenings, which is not that convenient when planning your trip.
Slope Point’s End – the southernmost point on the South Island, it feels like you’re standing by the edge of the world (at least that’s what I felt like). Apart from the thrilling location, the area is famous for windswept trees that grow at an angle. It’s a close drive from Curio Bay, so definitely check it out!
Waipapa Point Lighthouse – another small picturesque lighthouse, located on the coast, in a perfect rugged setting for a photo. The wind is strong here and the views are beautiful; plus, you can catch an animal sighting – seals and sea lions love to play by the shore.
We embarked on the journey through these places at 10 a.m. and finished it at 5 p.m., already exhausted, still an hour drive away from the place we rented to stay the night (📍Southern Comfort in Invercargill).
My thoughts on the Southern Scenic Route: I expected a lot more from the most scenic drive of New Zealand. Most of the road was leading us inland, away from the coast. Still, the environment you’re driving in is pretty spectacular. You get to know the nature of the South Island, which doesn’t feel all that “south” at all. I got a definite “north” vibe from the area: Rugged terrain with grass scorched by the sun (although the usual summer temp here is 15°C!). Apart from that, the other sights reminded me of summer in every way – green-peaked slopes, dark emerald forests, lavender fields and fruit orchards, and sheep everywhere! They look like little marshmallows scattered around the fields.
Glenorchy
The drive from Queenstown takes: 50 minutes (46 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? A tour from Queenstown focusing on Lord of the Rings locations
Glenorchy was put on the map as one of the filming locations of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, so this tiny town has seen the number of tourists rise steadily over the years since the movies came out.
Don’t let the size of the town fool you, there are actually plenty of things to do in Glenorchy:
- Drive straight to Paradise! This road and area in Glenorchy are especially famous with the abovementioned crowd, but just the thought of being in Paradise makes you giddy enough to want to go there.
- Try the most adrenaline-inducing activity of Glenorchy – ziplining! Not for the faint at heart, this experience is something you’ll never forget. The price is 239 NZD / $135 per person.
- Visit the iconic Glenorchy wharf and viewpoint – a quaint little pier, in front of which a charming red shed is sitting at the edge of the lake, with snow-capped mountains in the distance. The best photos here are taken at sunrise, when there aren’t many people around and the soft morning glow lights up the mountains and the lake this warm golden color.
- Walk the Glenorchy Lagoon Scenic Walkway – a pretty easy two-hour hike (or as long as you want to make it) on a boardwalk around the Glenorchy area. A must-do thing if you’re a keen birdwatcher, lots of rare bird species call this place their home.
- For more advanced adventurers, try your hand at tramping on the Routeburn Track – one of the longest hikes in all of New Zealand. It’s quite challenging, covering more than 30 kilometers, so you need to be an experienced hiker to take on this journey through the Southern Alps.
Even with being so close to Queenstown, Glenorchy still remains a quiet little oasis by the lake, where you can come to realign your thoughts and take a breather from Queenstown’s buzzing aura.
The place I wish we’d reached – Franz Josef
The drive from Queenstown takes: 5 hours (350 kilometers)
Is there any way to get here without a car? Queenstown–Franz Josef bus for $107 one way
Franz Josef is a simple small town with a couple of restaurants and giftshops, as well as one of the most popular glaciers of New Zealand with the same name.
Franz Josef Glacier is one of the steepest glaciers in the world, with a drastic change in elevation. It starts at about 2,500 meters above sea level and descends to less than 300 meters.
There are plenty of walks in Franz Josef area that allow you to witness this beauty from varying distances. There are some easy walks, like Sentinel Rock Walk and Franz Josef Glacier Walk. No matter which one you choose, you’ll be traversing through tree-covered stretches of the road, surrounded by ferns, moss, and, unfortunately, sandflies. These pests are real buzz killers when it comes to beautiful places of New Zealand.
The problem with the area around the glaciers is that it rains a lot, so you always play the gamble of glacier visibility. So when you finally see the glacier between the mountains, snap a pic right away! Otherwise, the clouds can roll in at any second and hide this marvel from your view.
Some people may not be so impressed with the glacier itself, and I don’t blame them: If you aren’t standing directly on the glacier (more on this later), you don’t really feel the awe of touching something so giant and monumental, practically frozen in time.
From a lookout point, you see some bright white, blue-ish mass that looks like a waterfall that is not moving. I learned that the glacier is actually moving – from 50 centimeters to a meter a day. Franz Josef glacier was once recorded to move 4 meters a day! It’s crazy when you think about it.
If you aren’t satisfied with looking at the glacier from afar, you should definitely consider booking a helicopter tour with a hike (!) on (!!) the glacier (!!!), where you can explore every nook and cranny of this wonder.
Where to stay on the South Island?
Where to stay on the South Island is one of the most important questions when planning a road trip in these parts of New Zealand.
❗️The one rule of booking a place on the South Island that you must follow is doing it way in advance. Seriously, going into high season with the mindset of “I’ll just make up my route as I go and decide where to stay on the spot” is a bad idea. Even beds in the most basic hostels will cost you three times as much or simply be sold out altogether.
For the whole duration of our trip, we stayed at budget-friendly hotels and hostels. In the case of the latter, we opted for private rooms, and not dormitory-style options. They turned out to be quite up to standard, especially compared with most European hostels, which had put us off this kind of accommodation for a very very long time.
I divided all the places by towns in which (or close to which) they are located, as it is more convenient when you plan the road trip yourself.
Where to stay in Queenstown:
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- Our choice: Southern Laughter Backpackers ($85 a night) – I chose this hostel mainly for the parking space it provided for our dates. Parking in Queenstown can give even the most chill person a migraine – most of the roads here are too steep and too narrow to safely park on the sides. For a bigger car, there aren’t many options available. We got lucky with a nice spot right by the hostel. The accommodations were pretty basic, but that parking space saved us a lot of trouble.
- Our choice: 4* LyLo Queenstown ($198 a night) – modern hotel with great amenities. We especially enjoyed the rooftop lounge area and a rooftop bar. Parking wasn’t available, but the previous hotel staff was gracious enough to let us leave our car on their premises.
- Pinewood Queenstown ($60 a night for a dorm room) – another hostel that provides free parking on site. It’s located a little away from the city center. Great outdoor areas to hang around with a drink in hand after a busy day of exploring Queenstown.
- mi-pad – if we weren’t constrained by budget and a dire need for parking, we would’ve wanted to check out this smart hotel in the middle of Queenstown, with some rooms offering spectacular view of the lake. Prime location, combined with the chance to geek out over the hotel’s app tech features (adjusting the lighting and temperature, ordering food from famed Queenstown restaurants) makes it sound like a fun place to stay.
Where to stay in Mount Cook National Park:
Mount Cook Village didn’t have any available accommodations that met all of our requirements, so we decided to stay in Twizel – a little town within an hour drive from the national park.
- Our choice: Lake Ruataniwha Holiday Park ($60 per night for a cabin) – Twizel’s largest holiday park that offers all of the kinds of accommodations: From campervan parking powered spots to cabins, lodges, and motel units. Lots of parking spaces and location right at the waterfront made me choose this park for our stay. One thing that I didn’t like about the space is lack of free Wi-Fi which was really unfortunate, as mobile internet also had weak service in some spots.
- Twizel Holiday Park ($60 per night for a cabin) – I initially wanted to stay at this resort village, but they didn’t have any rooms available a week before we set out to the park (that’s why I urge you to book things in advance on South Island, places fill up superfast here).
Where to stay in Te Anau:
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- Our choice: Central Backpackers ($100 per night for a private room) – great hostel, don’t let the virtual lack of Google maps reviews scare you away from staying here. This hostel has everything you want: Tidy and clean rooms, friendly staff, wonderful shared kitchen, and, above all, great location by the lakefront.
Where to stay in Dunedin:
- Our choice: Owens Motel ($85 per night) – nice place with perfect location: Dunedin Botanic Gardens and the famous Railway Station are a short walk away. The facilities are nice, some rooms have amazing garden views.
Where to stay in the Catlins (Southern Scenic Route):
I opted to stay at a small town of Invercargill, and I was pleasantly surprised with the level of accommodations provided here:
- Our choice: Southern Comfort ($60 per night for a private room) – we got lucky with this hostel: The staff was extremely nice and considerate, the location was great, and the interiors had a homey feel to them. It felt like we paid a visit to our long-lost well-to-do grandmother who decided to host a family gathering of the most unconventional group of individuals you could ever have imagined!
How many days do you need to see all of the South Island in New Zealand?
My first instinct is to say however long you can afford to travel around the island without running out of money completely!
- In reality, it took us 7 days to explore every place I’ve mentioned here.
If you plan on seeing all of the places like Marlborough Sounds and Hokitika Gorge, then save about 10 days to experience them without constantly being in rush. If you count a trip down to Stewart Island, then better be safe than sorry, so plan on spending around two weeks total on your road trip around South Island in New Zealand.
If you want to properly explore the island, you’ll definitely need to rent a car.
When is the best time to visit South Island?
It’s extremely hard to predict the best month to visit New Zealand, since the weather here is unpredictable at best, unhinged at worst.
Peak season on South Island falls on New Zealand’s summer months from December to February. That’s when you get plenty of sunshine and fewer rainy days (or so I thought).
Our road trip came about the best possible month of January, and still it was overcast most of the time!
Still, we got lucky in many ways, like when we were hiking in the Mount Cook National Park, ten minutes after we finished the track the rain started coming down HARD, so we were left to scramble finding some sort of shelter from the bad weather. Thank God it didn’t start raining when we were in the middle of the hike.
That’s why it’s important to check the weather every morning here, to be ready for everything New Zealand’s climate throws at you. Also: Be okay with being flexible and changing plans (especially when it comes to air adventures, visibility tends to change considerably throughout the day). And, as a rule of thumb, dress in layers – that way you can take clothes off and put them back on depending on the circumstances.
What to bring on your road trip around South Island? Waterproof boots and jacket are a must when exploring New Zealand’s backcountry, some warm layers can be nice as well (in January, peak summer season, the temperature was around +15°C…+20°C during the day and got supercold at night – around +6°C…+7°C). Also, pack sunscreen and bug spray, you’ll need them both.
If you don’t mind the snow and the cold, traveling around the island between June and August can be easy on the eyes: Snow-capped mountains of the area around Wānaka are especially beautiful this time of year.
No matter which time of year you choose, come prepared and you’ll be just fine. As the Kiwis say, the best time to travel to New Zealand is NOW!
I hope that my comprehensive list of things to do on the South Island in New Zealand (and how we somehow managed to squeeze it all into one week) was a helpful guide to planning a road trip around the area on your own. If you have any questions about the places mentioned, don’t be shy – leave them in the comments below! Kia ora!
