Discover New Zealand: A Guide to History & Travel Tips

Travel Guide To New Zealand: Key Destinations, Helpful Safety & Travel Tips

Travel Guides
New Zealand

Travel Guide for NZ

With endless, unspoiled landscapes consisting of glaciers, volcanoes, sprawling valleys, lakes, amazing mountains, endless beaches and a huge amount of wildlife, New Zealand is the place to go if you’re looking for an outdoor adventure holiday.

There’s a good reason why so many international film crews come here every year, and it’s high time you discover it too. Sort out travel insurance for New Zealand before starting your trip, get your passport ready, and go visit the land of the kiwis.

Arriving in New Zealand you are immediately faced with a tough choice: explore the North Island or head to the South Island. Both offer amazing things to see and many different activities, and the two are also quite different from each other, making for a very diverse travelling experience.

New Zealand is truly a spectacular nature and adventure destination, brimming with natural beauty and an alluring outdoors lifestyle.

Tourism Website: newzealand.com

Why Visit New Zealand?

New Zealand is one of the best adventure destinations in the world, offering lots of outdoor and adrenaline activities for intrepid travellers. It is also a favourite destination for backpackers due to is reasonably pricing.

Things to do in New Zealand

Have a traditional Mãori feast
Visit Rotorua springs
Enjoy a relaxing day in Wellington
Go Bungee jumping in Queenstown
Ski in Wanaka
Walk through the glacier at Milford sound
Visit Hobbiton

New Zealand World Heritage Sites

New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands, which are five islands groups that is famous for its biodiversity and wildlife.
Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand, a spectacular landscape of fjords, rocky coast, towering cliffs, lakes and waterfalls that is home to the only alpine parrot in the world.
Tongariro National Park, which is the location of mountains of cultural and religious significance to the Maori.

When is the best time to visit New Zealand?

The best times to visit New Zealand are the spring months from September until October and the Autumn months from March until April. December until February marks the main school vacation, and the winter months from June to August are really best for skiing, but the cold weather and rain make it a tricky time for other outdoor activities.

Climate Information

New Zealand has a mild climate with sharp regional variations. Mean annual temperatures on the south island are around 10 degrees and around 16 degrees on the north island. Winters in the south island can be quite chilly and there is usually lots of snow between June and October. Be prepared that rain is quite common for most of the year, with the far south receiving the most rain, and the north island the least.

Average Annual Temperature

10 Degrees Celsius

Average Annual Rainfall

753mm

New Zealand Travel & Safety Warnings

New Zealand is very safe for travellers.
See our New Zealand Health & Safety Guide
Also consider travel insurance for New Zealand before starting your journey.

Key New Zealand Travel Facts

Major Cities

Auckland
Christchurch
Wellington

Location

Pacific Ocean

Population

4,537,081

Size

268,021 km²
75th largest in the world

Currency

New Zealand Dollar

Languages

English
Maori

International Calling Code

+64

Religion

55.6% Christian
34.7% No religion

Official New Zealand Holidays

Date	NZ Public Holiday
January 1	New Year's Day
January 2	Day after New Year's Day
February 6	Waitangi Day
March/April	Good Friday
March/April	Easter Monday
April 25	Anzac Day
June 1	Queen's Birthday
October 26	Labor Day
December 25	Christmas Day
December 26	Boxing Day

Transport Information

6 International Airports

107 Domestic Airports

Highways

Trains

Buses

Ports & Harbours

New Zealand Travel Tip

The bus system in NZ is very good, making travelling between locations easy. Self drive is also a great option whether you stay in traditional accommodation or hire a camper van.

New Zealand Cuisine

New Zealand has a cuisine that is quite similar to British cooking traditions. For something different try whitebait, which are the fingerlings of a freshwater fish served in a fried patty. Traditional mãori food is also available and noteworthy for using earth ovens (Hangi) for cooking, which take hours but make for some delicious food.

Pavlova, a meringue cake, is an iconic dessert here and a point of contention between Australia and New Zealand. You will also find something called ANZAC biscuits, which are oatmeal bound with golden syrup and they go back to WWI traditions.

New Zealand City Travel Guides

Wellington

The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. It is the most southern city on the north island and offers lots of arts and culture, as well as being the stepping-stone to the South Island. On a rainy day head to Te Papa, which is the national museum. Wellington is nice to explore on foot, and the city centre is actually quite compact - be aware though that it is built at slightly odd angles making it all too easy to lose orientation.

Auckland

'The City of Sails' as Auckland is known, is the largest city in New Zealand, and also the place where most travellers will arrive.

To have a look at the local art scene, head to the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tãmaki, which has an excellent selection of local and international art.

For history buffs, the Auckland War Memorial Museum was built in the 1920's and contains a lot of information on New Zealand's military history as well as an excellent selection of Mãori and other Polynesian art.

While you’re in the area, make sure to check out the famous winter gardens – they’re well worth a stroll.

Rotorura

Rotorura is probably one of New Zealand's busiest tourist centers, home to beautiful hot springs and a great spot to experience the world famous mãori culture.

Probably one of the best places to go to is Waimangu Volcanic Valley. It’s a stunning geo-thermal ecosystem with unique bush, rare botany and beautiful geysers and hot springs. The area has several different hikes and walks ranging from a quick 45 minute walk to a more committing 4 hour walk - whichever one you choose, it will be stunning! Before setting off on any hikes, take out travel insurance for New Zealand.

There are also several beautiful lakes and water falls in this area. Rotorura is also a great place to try a traditional mãori feast with its unique cooking technique, the earth oven. Many restaurants around the area offer this (known as Hangi), and you will be delighted by the smoky and earthy flavor.

Christchurch

The South Island is where most adventure travellers head, and here you find everything from stunning beaches and great hikes to glaciers and world class skiing.

Christchurch is the biggest city here and definitely fun to explore, but the most famous town on the island is probably Queenstown.

Queenstown

Set between dramatic mountains and a beautiful lake, this tiny town boasts to be the adventure and adrenaline capital of New Zealand.

The amount of activities on offer here is staggering: bungee jumping, kayaking, white water rafting and hiking, and these are just the first few to come to mind.

Queenstown is also the place to come if you want to party with other travellers, as this small town is quite the travellers heaven. Before setting off on any big adventures though, make sure you have appropriate New Zealand travel insurance.

Wanaka

If Queenstown is just too busy for you, the place to go to is Wanaka. Famous for not having any chain stores at all (apart from one supermarket), this city is very quiet and laid back for most of the year, until the world famous skiing festival starts - which is a blast even if the town gets a little bit busy.

The main thing to do in Wanaka is skiing, with many great mountains close by. You can walk to the valley where 'The Lord of the Rings' was filmed, or you can enjoy a big night out by visiting all four pubs in town.