5 Week South Island New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary

Last Updated on 16th May 2024

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Planning an epic South Island New Zealand road trip and not sure where to start when it comes to putting together the perfect itinerary? I’ve got you covered!

Our 5 week South Island New Zealand road trip was without a doubt some of the very best weeks of my life.

Of course, there were many ups and downs and plenty of challenges along the way but I wouldn’t change one thing about our time in the South Island (except maybe do it all over again as I miss it so much already!).

I’m going to have lots of new content all about our New Zealand road trip over the next couple of weeks but I wanted to start off by sharing a brief (read: mega long) insight into our 5 week New Zealand South Island road trip itinerary!

If you’re wondering how long it takes to drive around the South Island, how to plan a South Island New Zealand road trip or you just want to know the best stops on a South Island NZ itinerary, check out my guide below!

Read more: Top Things To See and Do in South Island New Zealand

New Zealand South Island road trip itinerary – Southern leg: Christchurch to Christchurch (3 weeks)

If you’ve been following me on Instagram over the past couple of months during our road trip in the South Island, you’ll have seen that we split our road trip into two ‘legs’.

We worked with two different campervan companies (Escape Rentals for 3 weeks and Mad Campers for 2 weeks) and as both pickups were in Christchurch, both ‘legs’ of our trip started and finished in the capital city!

Read more: 25 Most Instagrammable Places in New Zealand

New Zealand South Island road trip itinerary summary

• Christchurch
• Timaru, Oamaru & All Day Bay
• Moeraki Boulders, Shag Point & Leith Valley
• Dunedin & Brighton
• Purakaunui Falls & Slope Point
• Bluff Point & Invercargill
• Te Anau
• Milford Sound Road & Milford Sound Cruise
• Queenstown
• Arrowtown & Champagne Gully
• Wanaka & Albert Town
• Lake Hawea
• The Neck, Blue Pools & Ahururi Bridge
• Twizel
• Mount Cook
• Lake Pukaki, Tekapo, Burke’s Pass & Geraldine
• Mount Somers, Kaikoura, Blenheim
• Picton
• Motueka, Harwoods Hole, Abel Tasman National Park
• Carters Beach
• Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks) & Shipwreck Point
• Franz Josef
• Hokitika
• Arthur’s Pass
• Christchurch

South Island road trip map

Over the course of our first three weeks in a campervan, we covered 2,467km which is a lot of mileage in such a short space of time.

We saw so much on the first part of our trip including Milford Sound, Mount Cook National Park, Slope Point, Te Anau, Wanaka, plus so much more!

We also saw wild penguins, seals and dolphins over the course of the first couple of days which was such a surreal experience! Here’s a brief insight into the first 21 days of our trip (more detailed guides will be live on my blog very shortly covering the Otago region, the West Coast, the Southern Scenic Route and the Nelson and Marlborough region)!

Day 1 – Christchurch to Chamberlains Ford Reserve

We picked our Escape Rentals van up in Christchurch in the afternoon, made our way to Pak N Save and stocked up on plenty of groceries (largely just bread, soup, noodles and pasta, AKA the staples for a campervan road trip around New Zealand 😉 ) and then drove to Chamberlains Ford Reserve where we spent our first night in the van!

Read more: How To Make The Most Out Of Your New Zealand Road Trip

Day 2 – Timaru, Oamaru & All Day Bay

On our first full day in the van, we were lucky enough to see wild penguins and were greeted by the most beautiful sunset when we parked up at All Day Bay Beach free campsite!

Read more: 15 Best Freedom Camping Spots In South Island New Zealand

Day 3 – Moeraki Boulders, Shag Point & Leith Valley

After waking up to the most beautiful sunrise at All Day Bay, we made our way to Moeraki Boulders and then on to Shag Point where we stumbled across the most gorgeous seals basking in the sun! Wild seals and penguins in two days; it was such a surreal experience!

Day 4 – Dunedin & Brighton – best driving route South Island New Zealand

I have to be perfectly honest; we really didn’t enjoy Dunedin at all, but we did enjoy seeing the world’s steepest street (as it was at the time; just a few weeks later, Wales stole the title from Dunedin, New Zealand’s Baldwin Street!).

Day 5 – Purakaunui Falls & Slope Point

Day 5 saw us heading through the Catlins Forest Park and we made a stop at Purakaunui Falls which was so gorgeous and an absolute must-visit (especially in summer when you can swim underneath the falls!).

We also went to Slope Point which is the southernmost point in New Zealand (excluding Stewart Island) and it was remarkable to see just how far away we were from everything!

Day 6 – Bluff Point & Invercargill – 5 week South Island New Zealand road trip route

The next day we continued around the very bottom of the island and stopped off at Bluff Point which showed us where we were in relation to many other places around the world; it’s safe to say we were pretty far from home!

We also saw a bit of Invercargill and stayed at a campsite just outside of the city.

Day 7 – Te Anau – New Zealand South Island road trip

We then made the 2-hour drive to Te Anau in preparation for a fun-filled couple of days exploring Fiordland National Park.

Te Anau is such a beautiful place and the views over the lake across to the mountains are phenomenal. We also stayed at the Getaway Te Anau campsite which was one of the best paid campsites we stayed at during our entire trip to South Island New Zealand.

Day 8 – Milford Sound Road: Mirror Lakes, Lake Gunn, Falls Creek, The Chasm, Homer Tunnel, Milford Sound Lodge

Driving along the Milford Sound Road was without a doubt one of the best things we did in our entire time in New Zealand. It’s a drive unlike any I’ve done before and you’d be hard-pressed to experience anything as beautiful or magical in your life!

We spent many hours driving along the road, stopping at Lake Gunn, Mirror Lakes and The Chasm and cruising through the seemingly never-ending Homer Tunnel. If there’s one experience I can recommend doing in the South Island, it would be this (and the cruise as featured below!).

Read more: 33 Fun Facts About New Zealand

Day 9 & 10 – Milford Sound Cruise & Lumsden

A cruise along Milford Sound is cited as one of the best things to do in New Zealand in every single guidebook, blog post and travel guide and it’s for very good reason.

The Milford Sound Cruise is one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery I’ve ever seen and I really couldn’t recommend it enough. The drive to get there is known to be pretty treacherous, particularly in the winter months, but we were so lucky with the roads and found it to be remarkably enjoyable!

Read my post to find out everything you need to know about visiting Milford Sound!

Day 11 & 12 – Queenstown – 5-week New Zealand South Island itinerary

We spent a couple of days in Queenstown even though we only originally intended to stay for one night.

While we were there, we stayed in a beautiful campsite, got new tattoos (I got the beautiful silver fern leaf which I’m obsessed with) and we also attended the Queenstown Winter Festival.

Day 13 – Arrowtown & Champagne Gully

Day 13 saw us wandering around Arrowtown and sleeping right next to the lake at Champagne Gully, just outside of Clyde.

Day 14 – Wanaka & Albert Town – New Zealand 5-week itinerary

After two weeks of living in the van, we visited Lake Wanaka and saw the famous Wanaka Tree.

It’s a tad underwhelming at first as you can’t really see it until you’re up close and personal but it looks so picturesque once you’re right in front of it!

Read more: What Is New Zealand Famous For? 40 Famous NZ Things

Day 15 – Lake Hawea – New Zealand South Island road trip

We stayed right on Lake Hawea on day 15 and it’s hands down one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen in my life; the colour of the water is so blue and vivid.

Read more: 11 Reasons Why New Zealand Should Be At The Top Of Your Bucket List

Day 16 – The Neck, Blue Pools & Ahururi Bridge

The neck and the blue pools were next on our South Island road trip agenda and they were so beautiful!

The blue pools are a hub for tourists during the summer months so even though we didn’t get to swim in the crystal clear waters, we did enjoy the peace and quiet of the place without the masses of crowds!

We also drove quite late into the night on day 16 all the way up into the mountains where we parked at a free site in Ahuriri Bridge for the night. We had the most incredible stargazing opportunity of our lives and it was one of the coldest but best highlights of our entire trip!

Read more: The Best Free Campsites In South Island New Zealand

Day 17 – Twizel – NZ South Island itinerary

We arrived in Twizel the day before we headed up to Mount Cook Village as we wanted an “admin day” to get some work done, do the laundry and get nice hot showers before we made the trip up to Aoraki National Park.

Twizel is renowned for being perpetually foggy so you can barely see a couple of hundred metres in front of you!

Read more: 40 Easy Campervan Meals – Best Campervan Recipes

Day 18 – Mount Cook – New Zealand South Island road trip

If you’re wondering what the best place to visit in New Zealand is, then one of the most iconic places to explore on the South Island has to be Mount Cook and as soon as the imposing mountain came into view, we finally understood what all the hype was about!

The weather can be pretty temperamental when it comes to visiting Mount Cook and we really thought we’d have to miss out on seeing it! However, we persevered and kept driving and we were so lucky that the clouds cleared and we were greeted with the most stunning views of the huge mountain-scape!

Day 19 & 20 – Lake Pukaki, Tekapo, Burke’s Pass & Geraldine

Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the infamous vivid blue colour of Lake Pukaki because we were greeted with fog again on our way back down from Mount Cook but we were blessed with blue skies again once we reached Tekapo.

We also made a brief stop at Burke’s Pass which is a wonderfully quirky place full of old cars and antique stores; definitely worth a stop if you’re heading back towards Christchurch that way!

We also stayed in the Geraldine Top 10 Campsite for two nights so that we could get a bit of laundry done and some more work as I had a few client deadlines to meet. We also headed to the village’s 80s disco night which was so much fun!

Read more: The Best Paid Campsites in South Island New Zealand

Day 21 – Mount Somers – self-drive New Zealand South Island

We spent our penultimate night in our Escape Rentals van at a little campsite in Mount Somers where we headed to the local pub and indulged in delicious steak sandwiches with the locals!

Read more: 11 Ultimate Road Trip Essentials For Couples

Day 22 & 23 – Christchurch

Unfortunately, our last night in the Escape van was actually the worst paid campsite we stayed at during the first three weeks; it was pretty dirty, the people were weird and rude and it just wasn’t a nice stay!

We did however enjoy hanging out in Christchurch for a bit before we had to hand the van back. I can’t say that I’d really highly recommend Christchurch; there are a few cool things to see but other than that, it definitely wasn’t my favourite NZ city!

New Zealand South Island road trip itinerary – Northern leg: Christchurch to Christchurch (2 weeks)

For the second part of our South Island New Zealand road trip, we worked in collaboration with Mad Campers and used one of their vans for just over two weeks to explore the northern part of the South Island.

South Island New Zealand road trip map – distance covered part 2

We drove just over 1700km on the second leg of our trip and went all the way from Christchurch, up to Kaikoura, Picton, Nelson and the Abel Tasman National Park.

We then went all the way down to Westport, Greymouth and the Glaciers and then finally across Arthur’s Pass back to Christchurch!

I have to admit; the second leg of our South Island road trip wasn’t quite as much fun as the first leg and that was largely just down to the fact that it rained almost every single day.

It was still some of the best weeks of my entire life, however, and it completed our New Zealand trip perfectly!

Read more: Hiring A Campervan In New Zealand Advice: Mad Campers and Escape Rentals Review

Day 23 – Christchurch and Amberley

Once we picked up our Mad Campers van, we headed back to the same Pak N Save supermarket that we went to on the first day of our road trip and stocked up on plenty of food and drink (and plenty of road trip-worthy snacks, of course!).

Travel tip: get 5% off your Mad Campers booking with the code ‘imjustagirl5’ on your next New Zealand campervan road trip!

Day 24, 25 – Kaikoura – 5-week South Island road trip

On the second and third days of the second leg of our South Island New Zealand road trip, we actually worked with Glamping Hub to review one of their luxury yurt accommodations in Kaikoura!

It was such a novelty sleeping in a proper bed for the first time in weeks and we had such a lovely couple of days just completely chilling and doing sweet FA!

Read more: A Luxury Yurt Break In South Island New Zealand With Glamping Hub

Day 26 – Blenheim

When we stayed in Blenheim at a free campsite right next to the sea, we were greeted with the most beautiful pink skies at sunset!

Day 27 & 28 – Picton

Picton is so beautiful, especially around the harbour and we were so lucky to have such lovely weather when we hiked up to the top of the Harbour View Track in Victoria Domain.

Day 29 & 30 – Motueka, Harwoods Hole, Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park is an absolute haven for outdoorsy people and while we only scratched the surface of things to do there, we still caught a glimpse of just how wonderful it really is.

We drove up into the National Park to one of the lookout points and then continued to the Harwoods Hole Track which was so much fun!

Day 31 & 32 – Westport, Carters Beach

On days 31 and 32, it poured with rain almost non-stop (it did stop briefly so that I could take this picture thankfully!), so we spent pretty much two entire days at Carter’s Beach campsite where we got lots of work done.

Day 33 – Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks) & Shipwreck Point

Our visit to the Pancake Rocks was a very wet one but it was still a lot of fun to see them!

They’re so unusual and didn’t feel real at all; if you get the chance to stop off and see the rocks and the blowholes on your road trip around the South Island, I’d definitely suggest doing so!

Day 34 – Stay at Franz Josef – New Zealand South Island road trip

Continuing with the rainy theme of the second leg of our road trip, our visit to Franz Josef Glacier was incredibly wet and gloomy.

While we still had a great time staying in the lovely campsite and relaxing in the hot pool, we didn’t actually get to properly see the glacier as the weather conditions were just so bad!

Day 35 – Drive from Franz Josef to Woodstock Pub near Hokitika

To make up for our unfortunate time at Franz Josef, we treated ourselves to our first Sunday Dinner in 3 months at the pub where we camped for the night just outside of Hokitika!

The food was delicious and almost made up for our disappointment of not seeing the glaciers!

Read more: 3 Months In New Zealand Cost – Is New Zealand Expensive?

Day 36 – Drive to Jackson’s Retreat from Hokitika

On our penultimate night in the van and consequently, in New Zealand, we slowly began making our way towards Arthur’s Pass to get back to Christchurch.

Before we hit the actual National Park, we stayed at a campsite called Jackson’s Retreat (I’ve written about our time and experience at the campsite here…).

It was (of course) still raining and it really felt like we’d never catch a break with the weather!

Day 37 – Drive Arthur’s Pass, stay just outside of Christchurch

Thankfully, the skies cleared once we drove out of the mountains at Arthur’s Pass and we were blessed with beautiful blue skies and a picturesque snowy, mountainous backdrop.

It was such a great way to conclude our final full day in New Zealand and it made me realise just how much I truly adore this country.

Day 38 – Drop off the van in Christchurch and fly to Melbourne

On our final night in New Zealand, we stayed right next to the sea at a free campsite just outside of Christchurch where we packed up our van, shoved everything into our 70L backpacks and got ready to fly to Australia for the next part of our trip around the world!

Read more: 6 Months Travelling New Zealand, Australia & Asia Itinerary

FAQs – New Zealand South Island road trip

If you still need some help to plan the perfect 5-week itinerary for your South Island New Zealand road trip, I’ve put together a list of the most frequently asked questions below!

How long does it take to drive around South Island New Zealand?

If you were to drive around the entirety of New Zealand South Island without stopping, it would take you approximately 30 hours.

However, I imagine that you’ll want to make a lot of stops during your New Zealand South Island road trip itinerary, so naturally, it will take a lot longer…

How many days do you need to see South Island NZ?

A South Island New Zealand itinerary can be completed in 7 days, 2 weeks or more. Personally, I would always recommend allocating as much time as possible for any road trip itinerary so that you can see as much as possible.

The ideal amount of time for a New Zealand South Island road trip itinerary would be 2-4 weeks. This gives you enough time to do all the driving routes at a somewhat leisurely pace and it will also give you plenty of time to enjoy all the highlights along the road trip route.

Campervan hire for your New Zealand South Island road trip

Hiring a campervan in New Zealand is definitely the best way to go about planning an epic South Island road trip as it’s such a fun and beautiful way to experience the unequivocal beauty of the country.

During our 5-week NZ South Island road trip, we hired a campervan with both Mad Campers and Escape Rentals and I would highly recommend both companies for your New Zealand road trip.

Check out my detailed review of both campervan hire companies in New Zealand below and use the code ‘imjustagirl5’ to receive 5% off your Mad Campers campervan hire booking!

Read more: Hiring A Campervan In New Zealand – Mad Campers & Escape Rentals Review

Is it easy to drive in South Island New Zealand?

Driving in New Zealand is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable places in the world as it’s 100% catered for road trips. The roads are big and spacious, but usually much quieter compared to roads in places such as the US, the UK, and Australia, for example.

A lot of the time, there is just one main road leading in/out of a town, so it’s very hard to get lost as you just need to follow the road to the next destination! It’s also not like Australia where you have to keep an eye out for kangaroos on the road and signs are super easy to follow, so I would definitely say that driving in New Zealand is a breeze and definitely an enjoyable experience!

The main thing you have to be wary of when driving in New Zealand is if you’re visiting during the winter months (June to September) as the roads can become a little icy and wet.

Which is more beautiful North or South Island NZ?

This question is almost impossible to answer, so I’m not going to answer it in this post! Instead, I’ll direct you to my detailed comparison post of both islands here:

Read more: North Island vs South Island New Zealand – Which Island Is Better?

What are the best months to visit New Zealand South Island?

Most people would argue that the New Zealand spring/summer months of November to March would be the best time to visit South Island NZ as the weather is more pleasant and you’re less likely to face road closures due to snow, wind, rain and ice.

While I would agree that it’s probably easier to visit in those months, our 5-week New Zealand South Island driving itinerary in June/July (the middle of winter in NZ) was truly one of the most memorable and magical experiences of my life.

We got to experience the South Island in the height of winter so we saw places such as Milford Sound, Mount Cook and Queenstown in the snow and while it did make the driving conditions a little tricky at times with icy roads and road closures, it also looked like a true winter wonderland, so I’m an advocate for road trips in New Zealand all year round!

Our time in New Zealand is something that I’ll treasure forever and our South Island road trip was without a doubt one of the best adventures of my entire life.

If you’ve got a New Zealand road trip planned anytime soon or you have any questions about our trip, please drop me an email, Tweet or Instagram DM and I’d love to help!

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Pin for later – 5-week South Island New Zealand road trip itinerary

Is a South Island New Zealand road trip on your bucket list? What would your perfect South Island road trip itinerary look like? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.