How to Plan the Perfect New Zealand Road Trip

New Zealand is the perfect country to travel by car or campervan. Infrastructure in the country is well-suited for road tripping and makes it easy to see what you want, when you want. Getting started on the planning process, however, can be overwhelming. This post will help you figure out how to plan a New Zealand road trip — including where to start, how to decide what to do, and everything in between!

Step 1: Figure out your non-negotiables

There are certain travel decisions you need to make early and be firm on. Factors like how much time you have to spend, when you want to travel, and how much money you’re willing to drop all influence your final itinerary. Here are some crucial points to consider.

Timeframe

The first factor to consider is how long you’re able to spend in the country. Do you only have two weeks off of work, or can you stay for a month or more? The amount of time you’re able to spend will determine how much of the country you can reasonably see.

• 1-2 weeks: Choose a few nearby regions in either the North or South Island to explore.
• 2-3 weeks: Choose one island to road trip in-depth. You can reasonably see one island in this timeframe, but seeing both would definitely be pushing it.
• 1 month: This is the minimum amount of time I’d recommend to travel both islands. Renting a car or campervan is your best option.
• 2 months or more: Consider purchasing (and later reselling) a car or campervan. You’ll have the time to thoroughly explore both islands.

Season

Once you have a set timeframe, decide when you want to visit the country. The season that you visit will impact what activities (and sometimes accommodation or routes) you’ll be able to access. There are pros and cons to each — I’ve listed them more in-depth here!

Budget

Setting a realistic budget is super important before starting to plan your trip. You’ll need to figure out how much you’re able to (or are willing to) spend on certain things. Big expenses for a New Zealand road trip can be broken down into these categories:

• Vehicle rental
• Accommodation
• Food
• Activities

If your budget is set in stone, you’ll need to think about what you prioritize most in a trip. Do you value sampling local cuisine, or are you okay with cooking most of your meals yourself? How important are extra amenities and comfort in your rental car or campervan? Once you’ve decided what’s most important to you, you can work backwards and see how much money you have left once you’ve taken care of your must-haves.

Step 2: Start exploring your options

Now comes the fun part! Researching activities and things you want to do is one of the most exciting parts of planning a trip. Here are some of my tips and tricks to make planning a New Zealand road trip easier.

Planning your trip

At this stage, you can brainstorm any and all activities, experiences, and landmarks that you think will be worth seeing. Make sure to write down anything you’re interested in (you’ll have a chance to narrow down your itinerary later).

Some places I like to look for itinerary inspiration include:

• Instagram: Best place to find cool restaurants, cafes, and clubs. I like to search for a town under the “Places” tab and go from there.
• Pinterest: Great for finding links to blogs that have full itineraries and reviews.
• Searching for “Xyz city blog” on Google

When I plan a road trip, I like to have a general route in mind when planning activities. This way, I can decide if an activity is worth going out of my way to experience. If I have something in mind that I absolutely can’t miss, I make sure to plan the rest of my trip around that.

An extra tip to keep in mind: while two points on a map can look close together, they often can take a lot longer to actually drive because of winding roads and mountain passes. To avoid disappointment, I find it really helpful (especially in New Zealand) to check the actual driving time between stops on my itinerary.

Organization

I use a few different websites to keep my trip itineraries organized:

• Google Maps: A must-have for both planning and organizing a trip. I use Google Maps to find restaurants, hikes, museums, and more. You can save your favorite spots to a custom list and see them all in one place. Once you’re on your trip, of course, Google Maps can also give you directions from one place to the next.
• Notion: This is my newest obsession. Notion is basically like a cuter version of Google Docs. You can make aesthetically-pleasing spreadsheets, lists, journal entries, and more. It’s extremely powerful and has lots of other features, so I’m sure I’ll share more about it once I completely learn how it works!

Read about more helpful apps for traveling New Zealand here!

Step 3: Finish your itinerary + make bookings

Once you have a general idea of things you want to do on your trip, you’ll have an easier time putting together a full itinerary. With your budget and timeframe in mind, it’s time to narrow down your itinerary from hypothetical to manageable.

Finished itinerary

A finished itinerary should include a rough outline of how long you want to spend in each place, where you’re going to sleep, and what you want to do or see. Key words here are rough outline — you don’t need to have every minute of every day planned out!

Especially with road trips, things often don’t work out exactly as planned. Having some leeway built into your itinerary helps keep things fun and lets you be more spontaneous.

Booking

This is when all of your plans come to life. Here are some tips to consider:

• For rental cars and campervans, it’s cheaper to book as soon as you know the dates of your trip. Sometimes you can also score discounted rates when booking for a longer period of time.
• Before booking any tours or experiences, make sure to Google “Xyz coupon code.” I also love the browser extension Rakuten for finding discounts and earning cash back.
• For booking flights into and out of New Zealand, try setting price alerts on Google Flights. These will let you know when the price of your flight has dropped!
• Another flight booking tip is to set your VPN to be located in Bulgaria. I don’t know why, but prices are often wayyy lower (although you’ll need to convert into your currency from Bulgarian lev).
• If you’ll be traveling by campervan, it’s okay to not book campsites in advance. There are plenty to choose from and they don’t often sell out (just make sure to budget for these during your trip). If you’re traveling by car, I would recommend booking your hotels or Airbnbs sooner rather than later.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully now you have a better idea of how to plan a New Zealand road trip. Leave a comment down below if you have any questions!

xoxo Niki

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