I travelled from Barbados to New Zealand at the end of May until mid June. The weather was pretty perfect, chilly but sunny. Definitely do this epic New Zealand itinerary at this time. I think I had 2 rainy days out of the whole trip. I spent 4 weeks here and managed to explore the whole country. Although I did miss a few things here and there but as you would realize it’s almost impossible to do everything in 4 weeks. Follow my epic New Zealand itinerary below and click on the links for each location for more details.
Epic New Zealand Itinerary
Day 1
Auckland
I landed in Auckland at 7.30am and hopped on a harbor cruise around 11am. It was rainy so there wasn’t too much to do. That evening I hopped on my Naked Bus to Rotorua and arrived around 9.30pm.
Day 2&3
Rotorua
My first day in Rotorua started with a trip to Hobbiton, which is what any other Lord of The Rings fan would do. I finished that day with a long walk around the lake and slept for about 12 hours. The second day I went to Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland with my new friend and dorm mate. It was quite a memorable trip since there is no geothermal activity here in Barbados. I relaxed at Crash Palace that afternoon until it was time to check out the Tamaki Village. Tamaki Village was an epic dinner and cultural show. I hopped on my midnight bus to Wellington.
Day 4
Wellington
I walked around the harbor and finally visited the I-site to get some information. I walked up and down the main street, visited a few shops and houses of parliament. After I visited the botanic gardens on the tram and then ended the day with an epic trip to WETA workshop. Wellington was a pretty cool city and I wish I spent another day here, but I was too excited to surprise my sister.
Wellington
Day 5
Christchurch
I surprised my sister last night and we spent the day exploring Christchurch.
Day 6
Kaikoura
We hopped on the early bus to Kaikoura for a day trip. We booked a seal colony tour and spent the day spotting seals and eating seafood chowder. It’s such a small town so one day to explore was just perfect.
Day 7-12
Christchurch
I spent a few days in Christchurch so I could spend time with my sister. These days were normally spent wandering around Christchurch. One day I took a step back through Christchurch’s earthquake history which was an emotional day but very educational.
Day 13-20
South Island Roadtrip
This part of our epic New Zealand itinerary started with a bus ride to Queenstown where we then picked up a car and explored Mount Cook and the deep south. Check out another South Island guide here.
A View of Mount Cook
Day 21-25
Christchurch
The last few days were spent making memories in Christchurch. It was nice to have a bit of down time after the hectic last week on the road. It was such an epic trip for the few weeks. For my next trip to New Zealand I’m dying to do as many of the great hikes as possible and visit Abel Tasman. I missed the glaciers but I made up for it on my epic Iceland roadtrip in October
What a fantastic trip! I’m dying to get to New Zealand (as a LOTR fan myself) but I’d have to squeeze mine into a much shorter period lol. Seems like you saw all the spots!
You certainly covered a lot of ground. New Zealand is such a beautiful country. One day they will have coffee half as good as us Australians.
You’re describing here just my dream trip! I’m interested in learning more about Kaikoura. Is it enough for just a day trip there?
Yea I would say so, it’s literally one main street and that’s it
Such a great itinerary! I think mine would be pretty much the same except maybe with an extra few days in Rotorua, only because my aunt’s family live there and I may as well pay them a visit!
One of my friends may be moving to NZ to study soon. If he does I’ll definitely come back to this when I go visit!
What a great itinerary! I want to go to NZ soooo badly – it’s high on the list but just not sure when we’ll get there! This trip sounds like a dream 😀 Thanks for sharing.
Such a great New Zealand itinerary!! I’ve been dying to visit this country but it’s so far, I know I need a month here. Definitely saving this for my future trip.
Aah you probably have no idea how I envy you – Hobbiton. Still one of my dreams as one of the biggest Lord of the Rings Fan ever to see this place with my own eyes… Really beautiful – thank you for sharing this and give me an inspiration!
Sounds like a fantastic holiday! I would love to read more about the seal colony tour! I am planning a visit over to NZ soon, so I will definitely steal some of your ideas. What was your favourite place/thing you did out of the 4 weeks? Thanks for sharing your itinerary, I’ll be saving this for later. 🙂
My favorite thing was the South Island roadtrip for sure! I have to find the name of the tour company again
So I am trying to persuade my better half to visit New Zealand this year – I want to visit Hobbiton!! This itinerary will definitely help with persuading! thanks for sharing 🙂
This sounds like such a fun trip! I would love to visit Rotorua next time I am in NZ.
This is really an amazing 25 day Itinerary trip to New Zealand.
Even me a fan of Lord of the Rings, glad that you made a day to visit the place. Very eager to visit the place.
This is a great and Beautiful New Zealand itinerary I have been dying to visit this country but i am not stay many days. I know I need a 3 month here. i will visit again…