3 Weeks in New Zealand: Must-Sees and What to Skip

We did a big trip to New Zealand for our winemaker friends’ wedding. Lauren and Jim are just the coolest (shoutout Brood Fermentation!). With a long list from our friends in hand, we explored both the North and South Island. Here’s everything we did, what I wish we could have done, and what you can skip.

Our plan:

4 days in Wellington
3 days in Queenstown
5 days in Cardrona (and the wedding!)
4 days in Nelson and a day trip to the Abel Tasman
4 days in Waihi
2 days in Mount Maunganui
4 days in Auckland

While we were there, unfortunately a massive landslide in Mount Maunganui took place that was quite tragic, so we skipped it and added an extra day to Auckland in order to let emergency services do their thing. Our thoughts are with the families impacted by the tragedy.

Big picture takes, we LOVED Wellington, Queenstown was overrun with bougie tourists and we didn’t like it, Cardrona was cute but sleepy and without the magic wedding taking place there I’m not sure I would recommend it for regular tourists, Nelson was freaking adorable, I wish I could have spent a week in Abel Tasman, Waihi was very cute but I think I would break it up with some hopping around in the Coromandel Penninsula, and Auckland was cool but lacking some flavor for a big city and the 5 days we spent was too long, a weekend would have been perfect.

Wellington

A bigtown smallcity, I loved Wellington. It reminded me of a mix between Portland and Corvallis. It is a college town and full of young people, early career people, and older folks living in the hills. It has a financial district, sprawling hills full of beautiful homes, a historic cable car, cute shopping, fantastic food, and it is the capital city of New Zealand. It is incredibly windy and doesn’t have the tropical feel other North Island towns are known for. It is metropolitan in a kiwi way, where business professionals still wear their jandals and they love a good coffee.

We stayed at the Intercontinental Wellington and it was fantastic. The Intercontinental service is just wonderful, and these slightly outdated rooms felt clean and luxurious even though I felt a little bit like a fancy businessman in the 80s. Their indoor sauna, cold plunge, cedar tub, and pool helped me combat my lingering cold from the flight in, and the views of the city felt so chic. It is located in the more business-y area, so although you are in a downtown it is quiet and chill. It is a short walk to all the cool bars and restaurants on Cuba Street.

Our favorite thing we did was have a meal at Margot, owned by our new bestie Juno and her husband Thomas. Juno and Thomas are great friends of our friend Lauren, and so we got to meet Juno by ambushing her with a reservation at her restaurant. Aside from our friendship with the owners, this was truly an insane experience. Margot feels like a neighborhood restaurant in every sense of the word. You walk in and there’s counter seating and a couple of tables. When you sit at the counter it feels like you’re at your cool friend’s house and they’re serving you appetizers as you chat. Their bartender was also excellent and fun to chat to, they had a tiny hole in the wall to the bar they also own Next Door if they needed another ingredient or a certain wine to pass over. Their food was informed by the land and the seasons and was just such a wonderful way to get to know New Zealand by. Everything was so flavorful and pretty. It was my favorite thing and I wish we could just pick it up and plop it down in Portland.

Our 2nd favorite food experience in Wellington was at (you guessed it, also Lauren and Jim’s friends’ place) Graze Wine Bar. The title “Wine Bar” is deceiving, we were absolutely stuffed here. We ordered the Full Shabang, everything on the menu, and it was honestly too much maybe don’t do that.

Other restaurants we loved:

Fred’s – Coffe and Sandwiches, both excellent
Cuba St. Tavern – Cute bistrot vibes tavern with good drinks
The Ram – pubby restaurant
Ascot – Cool bar upstairs with some good looking young people that will make you feel old and live DJ sets
Regent – Ascot’s older brother
Puffin – Sweet wine bar
August Eatery – Great breakfast spot with a beautiful pastry case and some wellness options
Neo Cafe – Easy choice for a daily cafe, great food and coffee both for sit-down or to go.
TRA Coffee and Eatery – another great cafe with lots of options

You can find great shopping at WORLD, Workshop, Pat Menzies, and Edit. If you need a nail fix, Nailington cleaned me up.

We didn’t make it to the Botanic Garden but it looks beautiful. Instead we did the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, some amazing documents speaking around the founding of New Zealand that tell the entire story of unfair colonization and the impact it has today on Maori people. We also walked along the harbor and experienced the full brunt of The Wind.

If there was anything to change about our trip, it would be that I wasn’t sick and that we could have spent a little more time on Cuba Street bar hopping, they were all such cute bars but I wasn’t drinking much and I think that would have been fun. Overall we really loved Welly and the people in it <3

Queenstown

We didn’t love Queenstown. Although the views were some of the best, it was so overcrowded with local and international tourists and it was so manicured that it felt like Disneyland. I think if you find yourself in the area and can secure a cute airbnb somewhere else in the Fjords that would be the way to go. We didn’t have time to explore Milford Sound, but if I were to do it again I would rearrange it so we were to skip Queenstown for Milford Sound.

While in Queenstown we stayed at the Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa, it was lovely and well priced for how steep some of the surrounding hotels were. The rooms were clean and felt cozy like a ski lodge almost. We weren’t quick enough with a booking to stay at the Dairy Hotel, but it looked really cute as well.

For a spa treatment The Bathhouse Spa Queenstown looked adorable, but we had a credit at the Sofitel with our booking so we did pedicures at the Sofitel.

We liked King Made Noodles Queenstown, Yonder, and The Boat Shed Cafe. We didn’t make it to Little Mez but it looked super cute. If you are in desperate need of a dive, Red Rock Bar Cafe looked to be locals only with cool lodge workers spilled out onto the patio. We walked by the bad vibes at Perky's, Little Blackwood, and Winnies Gourmet Pizza Bar (all placed hyped up on socials), and they were all incredibly busy and felt mall-vibes so we skipped.

For day excursions, we did the Shotover Jet Queenstown and it was honestly a blast. I’m usually not one for touristy experiences, but looking at the photos it looked like the landscape was really pretty and a fun way to see some scenery. It was that, and so fun to do an exhilarating boat experience. We didn’t go, but Onsen Hot Pools & Day Spa looks gorgeous. A visit to Bob's Cove Beach, Bennett's Bluff Lookout, Glenorchy Wharf & Viewpoint would be beautiful and work well with van camping or a longer road trip. A trip to Historic Arrowtown with a stop at Amisfield Restaurant & Cellar Door would be lovely.

Cardrona

Cardrona was gorgeous, but it is definitely a drive-through destination. It would be a really nice way to drive on your road trip or stop a night on your way to Wanaka for hiking.

We stayed at the only hotel lodging, the Cardrona Hotel, where our friend got married! We stayed at their Villas behind the hotel and it was comfortable and easy. There were a couple of cute airbnbs in the area, I feel like if you want to stay in the area, pick the cutest bnb experience you can find. All these little towns are comparable and require a bit of driving so rank based on how cute the bnb is.

Their little pub was so cute and they really put up well with our party of 50 and the hefty amount of wine that we drank. There is also a great small little shop called Cardrona Valley General Store that had my favorite meat pies we had and small cookies, drinks, and snacks. We didn’t go, but the distillery looked cute with some nice looking food as well.

This might have been my favorite wedding we have ever attended, it was so full of love and so our friends’ vibe. The most wholesome weekend and great food and wine. I miss it just thinking back it was the best.

Wanaka

We did a day trip to Wanaka for a wine party at Verve for our friends’ welcome party. Wanaka is a funny little outdoor mountain town vibes little strip at the base of a lake. It felt like a locals summer trip where people rent houses with multigenerational families. It has a beautiful tree living in the lake that is worth a visit if you’re already in town, the surrounding park is a pretty walk with some massive trees. We were late for dinner time so it was very busy, we ended up at Speight's Ale House which was solid but nothing special, a good place to park it. Kai Whakapai Eatery & Craft Beer Bar, Kika, and Sofi Bar & Grill all looked cute. Cork Bar was super fun and a great primer before our wine at Verve.

Nelson

We LOVED Nelson! Our friends live and work in Nelson, and it was so fun seeing it through their eyes. As a bread basket, there are some amazing restaurants and wine makers in Nelson.

Brood Fermentation doesn’t have a cellar door, but we got to visit and taste. You can buy Brood at most bottle shops in New Zealand. We bought all of ours at Glengarry in Auckland and found our bottles easily! We didn’t do a tasting anywhere else in Nelson, but I would recommend stopping by a cellar door as the wine in this region is just amazing.

We stayed in a cute condo airbnb that I would recommend. It was so nice to make our own food and chill out after the wedding festivities, and it is right next door to a great grocery store. It was close to the strip of all good things but not in the bustle and not in the sleepy neighborhood, and it had modern finishes and nice AC as well as laundry!

Our friends recently sold their business, so there is a wine-store shaped hole in Nelson. We loved Arden, Eight Plates, Bar Rosa, Little Dove Cafe, Someday Somewhere. Our friends had an amazing recco to do takeout from The Indian Cafe and bring it to The Free House Pub. The free house used to be a church and it is such a good vibe with a big patio, so cute. We didn’t make it to Queens Gardens but it looked super cute for a walk.

Abel Tasman

My favorite thing we did in Nelson was take a day trip to the Abel Tasman. I wish we did the Abel Tasman as its own separate trip, we might have to come back just for this! The Abel Tasman has lots of huts to camp at but if you’re not a camper, Awaroa Lodge and Split Apple Retreat look gorgeous.

We just drove to the start of the track and did a walk, but there are boat excursions you can take like Waka Abel Tasman. We walked to Tinline, with exploring a couple of beaches it took us about 45 minutes, making the whole walk about an hour an a half. If we started earlier in the day and packed a snack and more water, we would have loved to go farther. I also wished we packed extra sunscreen and wore our bathing suits and some extra socks. This cove at Tinline was the prettiest thing I have ever seen. It was like a mermaid cove vibe and the clearest teal water.

One thing to pay attention to are the tides. The prettiest views are at high tide, but at low tide you can explore the beach and rocks a little more. They’re all gorgeous but if you want lots of crystal clear teal water in your photos you’ll want to plan your walk around high tide.

Everything was much easier than I thought it would be, I feel like even I (a 5 star hotel sort of gal) could have camped and walked for multiple days with the right planning. It was just so dang pretty, the trails were so well kept, and the weather was so nice. I am not the most fit when it comes to major inclines, and I had a great time walking. My older parents with tricky knees wouldn’t have been able to do the walk as the incline was up and down, when if it were flat they could. We saw kids with parents doing hikes, girls in their bathing suits under their shorts and t shirts and tevas on going to picnic, and tourists of varying ability and age.What’s nice is you can go at whatever pace you’re comfortable going, take the path down to the beach every once in a while, and stop and turn back at any time. Loved it! If there is one thing to do in New Zealand please do the Abel Tasman in some capacity.

The way to end your hike is with a real fruit ice cream. We stopped at Thomas Brothers Cherry And Real Fruit Ice Cream Stall and it was insane. I wish I got a chocolate flake with mine but it was still awesome. They surprisingly also had some great non dairy ice creams. Such a vibe on the side of the road stand.

Waihi Beach

We accidentally drove from Nelson to Waihi Beach, so the top of the South Island to almost the top of the North Island. My poor fiance woke up with a double ear infection on our last day in Nelson, and he would have popped an ear drum if we took our flight to Auckland. Everyone was beyond so nice, and the rental car ladies and ferry people helped us get to the Ferry terminal from Picton to Wellington, and then we picked up a new rental car and drove 7 hours to our bnb in Waihi Beach. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it was doable. If we felt like we had to stop for the night we would have stopped in Taupō, but we were feeling OK thanks to the coca colas and were able to make it to our place.

This airbnb we stayed at was so insane, we loved it. It had some flaws, it was a little hot and the beds weren’t fantastic, but the house was insanely gorgeous The owner is a true collector, she had the most beautiful ceramic collection and the best curated home. It was right on the beach with some great loungers out in the yard and wonderful outdoor seating. We had so much fun cooking and laying low in this house and just enjoying nature. reading, and watching movies at night on our ipads. There isn’t much in town, so plan to grocery shop before you get in.

A cool hike day trip is to Owharoa Falls or a longer drive to the iconic Hot Water Beach, but honestly it is a vibe to just lay out and hang out at the airbnb.

Auckland

The biggest city in New Zealand, Auckland is the financial center of business for New Zealand, full of international and Australian companies, cute shopping, and a big univeristy. We drove from Waihi Beach and stopped at Farm House Cafe which was a super sweet farm-vibes restaurant.

We stayed at InterContinental Auckland by IHG and it was a gorgeous hotel. We started our trip at Hotel Indigo, but we had a small room and a couple issues with the air conditioning and some poor service, and we ended up fighting with the manager who avoided me and wouldn’t answer me when I was trying to get help from him, and we ended up getting our Amex representative to get us a refund and get us to a new hotel, thank goodness. The experience was so bad, I can’t recommend Hotel Indigo. Luckily the InterContinental had some last minute availability and they absolutely saved us after a long stretch of non stop travel.

Even if you aren’t staying at the InterContinental, stop in to visit Advieh, their restaurant in the lobby. It was wonderful, every meal was a hit. The hotel is connected to the bougiest mall I’ve ever been in and it was kind of fun haha.

If we didn’t get in to the InterContinental, we would have tried for an airbnb in Greylynn or west of Ponsonby area.

Most of our faves were on Ponsonby Street. Super chic street with wonderful shopping and great food. We loved Azabu Ponsonby for great sushi and cocktails, nami record bar for simple but well done cocktail staples like negronis and martinis in a vintage vinyl-bar setting, Gurume ponsonby for fast-casual sushi from korean-style big cut rolls, and The Tinted Rose for the BEST VIBES local corner bar.

The next day we went to Mount Eden Summit for an incline walk and cool views at a historically significant indigenous Maori site, we refueled at Norma Taps for Pizza and cocktails on tap. Downtown Auckland had a super special jazz bar speakeasy called The Nightcar: gorgeous gorgeous interiors, live jazz, amazing cocktails, and a small plate menu full of wonderful dumplings. We pregamed at My Bar and it was a great low-key spot in a sweet alley just down the street.

On our last full day we went back to Ponsonby for shopping and to gather all of the wine we wanted to bring home! Tobi was the cutest cafe with a sweet street-facing patio and big open doors into a sweet dining room, I bought a new dress at Ruby my new favorite brand and we bought out the local Glengarry of their Brood Fermentation Lemonade Cake wine. Some cute shops were Assembly Label Ponsonby, Continual Store & Fever Vintage Clothing Pop-up, Tatty’s, WORLD, Superette Ponsonby, and if you just walk you’ll find tons of cute spots.

We then went to our new friend Carlo’s restaurant Bar Magda, it is a must if you’re in Auckland. It felt like a love letter to his Filipino heritage and his dad and the land and good wine and good service. We ate more than we should have and then had a slow-moving walk home through the city. We loved rambling down the hill through K road and through the park and the college, it was a lovely way to get to know Auckland and have our last full day come to a close.

Our last meal before we left New Zealand was some quick takout sushi that was surprisingly fire inside the fancy mall food court.

This trip was wonderful and a once in a lifetime moment to be hosted by our friends and to take this much time to ourselves to just travel in a new place. If you’re here and want my opinion on your itinerary feel free to DM me on instagram and I’d love to help!.

Although not the fully accurate plan, this was my planning doc for the trip.