The 10 day North Island itinerary, Auckland to Wellington

The shape, and the one decision

Fly into Auckland and out of Wellington. The one-way car hire costs a little and saves a full day of backtracking up the middle of the island. The decision inside the route is day three: the Coromandel for Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach, or Waitomo for the glowworm caves. Both are two and a half hours from Auckland in opposite directions, and ten days holds one of them.

In summer, take the beach; in winter, take the cave. The Waitomo guide compares the caves themselves if you go that way.

Day by day, Auckland to Wellington

1. Day 1, Auckland. Land, walk the waterfront, eat at Wynyard, sleep. After a long-haul flight the drive south can wait a day; the forum threads that land and go straight to Rotorua are the ones that arrive exhausted.
2. Day 2, Auckland. The ferry to Waiheke for the vineyards, or west to Piha and the Waitakere Ranges for the black sand. The Auckland guide ranks both.
3. Day 3, Auckland to Hahei. About 2 hours 45 via Thames and the Kopu hill, now that the SH25A bridge is back. Walk to Cathedral Cove in the afternoon: 2.5 kilometres along the clifftop, 45 minutes each way. Hot Water Beach two hours either side of low tide, with a spade from the cafe.
4. Day 4, Hahei to Rotorua via Hobbiton. Matamata is 2 hours 15; the Hobbiton tour runs two hours and now includes the inside of a hobbit hole. Rotorua is another 45 minutes. Two nights.
5. Day 5, Rotorua. Te Puia for the geyser and the carving school in the morning, the Redwoods in the afternoon, a hangi and concert in the evening. The Rotorua guide has the version for people who dislike crowds.
6. Day 6, Rotorua to Taupo. One hour, with Wai-O-Tapu on the way if you left the geothermal for today. Huka Falls, the lake, an early night. One night.
7. Day 7, Taupo to National Park Village. An hour and a half around the lake and up the Desert Road side. Check the Crossing forecast, book the shuttle, lay out the layers. Two nights.
8. Day 8, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. 19.4 kilometres, seven to eight hours, shuttle at the far end. If the mountain is closed for wind, today becomes the Whakapapa short walks and tomorrow becomes the Crossing.
9. Day 9, National Park to Wellington. Four hours down the Desert Road or through Whanganui. If day eight was blown out, walk this morning and drive this afternoon; you arrive late and it is fine.
10. Day 10, Wellington. Te Papa, the cable car, Zealandia if you have the morning, a flight out in the evening. The Wellington guide covers a day well.

The Crossing, and why it gets two nights

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a one-way walk across an active volcanic plateau, past the Red Crater and the Emerald Lakes, and it is closed by the shuttle operators whenever the wind on the saddle makes it unsafe. That happens often enough that a single-night plan fails about one trip in four in our experience. The fix is not complicated. Sleep two nights at National Park Village or Whakapapa, and the walk has two chances.

Pack for four seasons even in February. The saddle is 1,886 metres and the wind chill up there is a different country from the car park. The Crossing guide has the kit list and the times.

What changed on this route

• State Highway 25A across the Coromandel range reopened on 20 December 2023 with the new Taparahi bridge, after a slip closed it for most of that year. Auckland to Hahei is a normal drive again; NZTA’s project page has the detail.
• Hobbiton opened the interiors of two hobbit holes in December 2023, designed by Weta Workshop. Every tour now goes inside; the hobbiton worth it guide weighs it against the ticket price.
• The Northern Explorer train still runs Auckland to Wellington three days a week, and for a car-free version of this route it replaces days seven to nine, with the Crossing done as a day trip from Ohakune. Our rail itineraries are built that way.

What the forums say, and where we differ

The North Island thread Google ranks first on the New Zealand travel subreddit opens with a plan to land in Auckland and drive straight to Rotorua the same day. We see that in our inbox every week. It is three hours after a twelve hour flight, on the wrong side of the road, and it is the reason day one of this route stays in Auckland.

Day 1: Land in Auckland and drive directly to Rotorua. Day 2 and 3: Te Puia, Waimangu, Waiotapu, Whakarewarewa Forest. Day 4: Hobbiton day trip.

r/newzealand_travel, 10 Days Itinerary (North Island)

The other common piece of advice is to skip Waitomo, and a two week thread says exactly that. We half agree. Waitomo is a detour if you are doing the Coromandel, and a highlight if you are not. Children and anyone travelling in winter should take the cave version of day three without hesitation.

Driving times for the route

About 12 hours of driving in ten days. This is the gentlest of our itineraries by a distance, which is why it is the one we point families and first-time drivers at.

The packages that run this shape

The Taste of the North Island is this route as a self drive with the one-way car and every bed held; the Middle Earth Tour is the same spine with the film locations added; and the Signature North Island does Auckland to Wellington by coach in nine days. All three can add the spare night at the volcano if the itinerary does not already carry it.