Things to do in Nelson

What Nelson is famous for

Sunshine, first. Nelson is one of the sunniest places in New Zealand, with summer highs around 22 to 23°C, winter highs around 13°C and just under a metre of rain a year, most of it in heavy bursts rather than drizzle. The region grows apples, hops, kiwifruit and wine, and the food and craft beer scene is out of proportion to the size of the city.

Then the arts. The World of WearableArt awards began here in 1987 before moving to Wellington, and the town has kept the potters, glassblowers and galleries that grew up around it. The Suter Art Gallery beside Queens Gardens is the best of them. And then the outdoors: Nelson sits within easy reach of the golden beaches of Abel Tasman, the mountains of Kahurangi and the alpine lakes of Nelson Lakes National Park, which is why so many people who come for two nights stay for four.

Things to do in Nelson

• The Centre of New Zealand: a steep twenty minute climb from the Botanic Reserve to a hilltop monument with a view over the city and the bay. It marks an old survey reference point, not the true geographic centre, which nobody seems to mind.
• The Saturday market at Montgomery Square: food, crafts and produce, and the best way to spend a Saturday morning in town.
• Christ Church Cathedral and Trafalgar Street: the cathedral stands at the top of the main street on Church Hill, and the streets below it have most of the good cafes and restaurants.
• Tahunanui Beach: a wide, shallow, family beach five minutes from the centre by car, busy in summer and good for a swim or a walk at low tide.
• Brook Waimarama Sanctuary: the largest fenced wildlife sanctuary in the South Island, in a valley on the edge of the city, where native birds have been reintroduced behind a predator fence.
• Nelson Classic Cars Museum, on 2 of our itineraries: a large private collection that wins over people who do not care about cars.
• The Great Taste Trail: a mostly flat cycle trail of about 175 km looping through the orchards, vineyards and coast of Tasman Bay. Most visitors ride a day section to Māpua Wharf with a stop for food and wine. 2 of our itineraries combine a morning ebike ride with kayaking in the park.
• Wine and beer: the Moutere and Waimea wineries are twenty to forty minutes out of town, and Nelson has more craft breweries than most cities several times its size. 1 of our itineraries include a guided wine tour.

Abel Tasman and the other parks from Nelson

Abel Tasman National Park is the smallest of the country's national parks, a coast of granite headlands and golden beaches with no road along it. The boats leave from Kaiteriteri and Mārahau, about an hour from Nelson by car or shuttle. The usual day is a water taxi or cruise up the coast, a walk of two to four hours on the Coast Track between bays, and a boat back in the afternoon; the other is a guided sea kayak trip. 6 of our itineraries do a cruise and walk with a stop at the seal colony at Tonga Island, and 2 spend the morning in a kayak.

Our Abel Tasman guide explains the tides, which matter more than people expect: some of the Coast Track crossings are only passable around low tide. Further afield, Golden Bay, over the Tākaka Hill, is a long day trip of about two and a half hours each way, with Farewell Spit, Te Waikoropupū Springs and a very slow pace of life at the end of it; 1 of our itineraries do it by coach. Nelson Lakes National Park, around ninety minutes south at St Arnaud, has Lake Rotoiti and alpine walks, and is on the way if you drive on to the West Coast.

How to get to Nelson

Most people drive from Picton after the Cook Strait ferry: about two hours either on State Highway 6 through Havelock or on Queen Charlotte Drive, the slower coastal road through the Sounds. From Blenheim it is 114 km and about an hour and three quarters. From the West Coast, Punakaiki is 264 km and about three and a half hours up the Buller Gorge. Christchurch is more than 400 km away, about five and a half hours through the Lewis Pass, which is too long to be a sensible day for most itineraries.

Nelson Airport, on the edge of the city at Annesbrook, is one of the busiest regional airports in the country, with direct flights to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Flying from Wellington takes about half an hour and is often simpler than the ferry and the drive. InterCity coaches connect Nelson with Picton and the West Coast.

How long to stay, and when to go

Two nights is the minimum we would plan, and it is what 25 of our itineraries give it: one full day for Abel Tasman, and the evenings in town. Three nights let you add Golden Bay, a day on the Great Taste Trail or a slow day in the city. One night, which only 5 of them allow, works as a stop on the way somewhere else but leaves no time for the park.

Summer, from Christmas to March, is peak season: warm, dry and busy, with the Abel Tasman boats and beach campsites booked out in January. February and March are our pick, with the sea at its warmest and the school holidays over. Autumn is settled and golden and the harvest is on. July is the coldest month, with frosty mornings and clear days, and the boats and kayak trips still run in winter on a reduced timetable. For the forecast, use MetService for Nelson.

Where to stay in Nelson

Most hotels are in or close to the city centre, with motels along the road to Tahunanui Beach and lodges and bed and breakfasts in the hills and out towards the Moutere. The properties our itineraries use, with the number of our tours that sleep in each:

• Rutherford Hotel, in the city centre, on 5 itineraries.
• Tides Hotel, in town, on 5.
• The Hotel Nelson, on 4.
• Pihopa Retreat, on 3.
• The Sails Motel, on 2; and near the park, Kimi Ora Eco Resort above Kaiteriteri, on 3.

Book early for January and for the school holidays, when the whole region fills with New Zealand families. For the top of the South Island as a whole, our Nelson and Marlborough guide sets Nelson beside Marlborough, and every tour that stays here is on our Nelson tours list.