New Zealand Road Trip with Kids (10-Day Itinerary + What I’d Do Differently)
We just got back from a 10-day road trip across New Zealand with our kids, and I’m going to say this upfront so you don’t get the wrong idea: this wasn’t one of those slow, dreamy, “we just soaked it all in” kinds of trips.
This New Zealand Road trip with kids was incredible.
The scenery is amazing, the towns are charming, and there are so many genuinely great stops for kids. But we also tried to pack so much into our itinerary that sometimes it felt more like a logistics drill than a holiday.
So instead of a polished highlight reel, this is the version I wish I’d read before we went: exactly what we did, what worked, what didn’t, and what I would change if we did it again.
If you’re planning a New Zealand road trip with kids, this will hopefully help you plan a great itinerary!
New Zealand Road Trip with Kids
Quick Takeaways (If You’re Skimming)
- Stick to one island (I’d choose the South Island for sure!)
- Stay in one place three to four days
- Plan a laundry/reset day in the middle
- Remember some of the best memories are the unplanned ones
Our 10-Day New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary (With Kids)
I was traveling with my husband, kids (three and six) and mother-in-law so we kind of had to plan for everyone, every age, mobility, etc.
We’ve traveled quite a lot since having kids and generally have the process pretty downpat (here’s our Scottish Highlands itinerary and toddler travel tips), but every destination, season, type of trip really brings its own logistics so as my husband says ‘you always have a plan until you’re punched in the face’.
We did a couple of days on the North Island, but if I were planning again, sticking to one island is wayyy easier. I’ll get into the tips and the lessons we learned in a bit but for now, here’s where we went and what we did:
Days 1–3: Auckland + Rotorua
We landed in Auckland and stayed one night, which was really just a reset after travel.
The next day we drove about 2.5 hours to Rotorua and spent the afternoon doing the gondola and luge. The kids loved this, and even nana got on one! We did the five rides ticket and it was the perfect amount of time to spend there, plus there’s a cafe at the top to enjoy the view.
We spent another day in Rotorua doing the Redwoods Treewalk and visiting Te Puia Cultural Centre. The treewalk was cool for the kids and we went in the morning, but they’ve got evening tours as well that I bet would be beautiful.
The cultural centre was really interesting and we all loved the performance element, but the geyser tour and learning about the landscape was a bit dull for our little ones so this is one I’d probably skip/simplify if short on time.
Notes:
- The luge is great, but you can also do it in Queenstown
- Rotorua is interesting, but not essential for a shorter trip
- There’s a playground along the lakeshore that the kids loved, and plenty of dining options around there, too
Main Takeaway for us: Each island is worth its own trip, so we should’ve saved this for its own adventure and done more there!
Day 4: Travel Day (Rotorua → Auckland → Queenstown)
This was one of those days that looks fine on paper but feels like a lot in real life—drive, airport, flight, rental car, check-in. Especially because we got a flat tire in our rental car about 15 minutes from the airport, typical.
Main Takeaway for us: Transit days suck.
Days 5–6: Te Anau + Milford Sound
The two main things we definitely wanted to fit into the trip were the Milford Sound tour and a glow worm cave tour, which both leave from Te Anau. So, we arrived in Queenstown and the next morning headed right out of town again for the two-hour drive to Te Anau.
The glow worms with kids
We had a glow worm tour booked for the afternoon when we arrived and this was a huge highlight for all of us. To be honest I was a little worried about our three-year-old because they really emphasize that you have to be silent in the caves and on the boat ride and some tours actually don’t even let kids under five go for that reason.
Here is the tour we did that was a lot more flexible, and the kids honestly did great!
It starts with a 30-ish minute boat ride out to where the caves are, then a short walk (in very low lighting so holding hands is a must), and a boat ride in total darkness to see the worms.
As we were getting off the boat about to do the tour, I told the kids we’d be playing adventurer and pretending we were discovering the caves for the first time which was a stroke of genius on my part if I do say so myself.
I told them because the glow worms haven’t seen people they might be scared, so we had to stay silent and observe them for our notebooks later and at the end our guide actually came up to us and said the kids did better in the caves than most adults do and they were so proud of themselves.
Milford Sound with kids
I’d read that driving to Milford Sound yourself can be a bit treacherous so we opted for a full day coach tour that was about two hours of driving each way plus a two-hour boat cruise on the sound. I’m not going to lie, it was a long day and I was personally pretty sick of the bus by the end. We went in April so the weather was still okay but I could see how it could change quickly on the mountain roads and ranges.
I basically did my usual and stocked up on snacks and activities and unlimited iPad time for the kids and then waited by the phone for my mother of the year award.
The boat cruise itself was beautiful though! We made it a game to count how many waterfalls we could spot, and there are sometimes penguin and seal sightings that kept it entertaining for them, too.
NOTES:
- We had our collective best meal of the trip at The Fat Duck. They have a kids snack platter which honestly all restaurants should have full of chicken nuggets, chips, veggies and hummus, cheese sticks, etc. and the adults had everything from salmon to lamb salad and pork belly and we all agreed it was amazing. It was fully booked when we went but we were able to slide in right at opening time, so make sure to book ahead!
- There’s another good lakefront playground here and the pie place right around the corner on the main street was a good little top-up before some playing.
Main Takeaway: Both of these tours are totally worth it and I think we timed it right doing them back-to-back days and spending the one night in town, I don’t think we really needed any more time than that in town.
Days 7–8: Queenstown + Arrowtown
We all loved Queenstown and are literally talking about when we can go back again. The whole area is so beautiful and there are so many little day trips and hikes and this is the point we were like ‘oh okay yeah maybe this should’ve just been our home base then’.
Where we ate
There’s a place along the lake called The Bathhouse and it’s right next to a massive (and beautiful) woodsy natural kind of playground, so if you grab a table on the side you can chill while the kids play. The food is British themed and it was pretty good, but the playground and lake views are honestly the draw. And you’ll quickly find that parking in Queenstown is absolutely insane so grabbing a spot over on the Botanic Gardens side earlier in the day is absolutely the move.
Alex’s algorithm started relentlessly serving him Fergburger content the second he googled New Zealand so he braved the lines there one day and said it was a very good burger, but maybe a bit overhyped (you will literally see this place slammed with people every minute of its opening hours).
Honestly beyond this, we made a lot of meals at home so didn’t eat out a ton in Queenstown.
Things to Do in town
We stayed at a HomeExchange just outside of town (if you haven’t heard me talk about home swapping before we emphatically love it), and our hosts recommended the Bob’s Cove walk.
We spent a morning exploring the trails down along the lake and let our kids be our ‘tour guides’ which kept them walking much longer than usual. We stopped for the detours and skipped rocks, swung on a tree branch swing and explored what we called a fairy hut on the shore so basically a wholesome family montage of a day. Definitely recommend, though the parking lot is tiny so go either early or around late morning when the first wave leaves.
We all split up and spent some time exploring the stores and boutiques downtown which was fun, but the day trips were our favorite part.
Glenorchy
Where we stayed was already the same direction as Glenorchy so we took about a 30-minute (very scenic!) drive out there. It was a bit drizzly, but still a cute way to spend a day. A place called Frank’s Corner had the prettiest handmade treasures and there was a real fruit ice cream place next door the kids loved.
Across the street is another restaurant, but we also went into Mrs. Woolly’s General Store for a snack and a sit in the garden out back. This place has some great gift and souvenir finds, too, and apparently has a great boardwalk trail out back but we went a bit late in the day to be starting a walk so skipped it.
Arrowtown
This one was basically a full day trip but is only about 20 minutes away from Queenstown. We had another pretty rainy day but being autumn the fall colours were out and it kind of gave picturesque New England vibes.
We had breakfast at Provisions which has a cute garden courtyard area, and the kids tried gold panning at the Gold Museum. That one’s definitely worth a visit but I’d just buy gold panning tickets for the kids honestly because it’s pretty expensive and more of a novelty for them.
There are tons of great places to eat, shop and get treats from, and child-free I could probably spend so much time looking through stores but alas everyone wants to touch every single thing they see so I kept it pretty short.
Main Takeaway: We love Queenstown and want to go back for more hikes and day trips, the perfect home base for a NZ road trip with kids.
Days 9–10: Lake Tekapo + Mt Cook Area
Our flight back home was out of Christchurch so our next stop was in Lake Tekapo about halfway between. We intentionally kept the day light because it’s a three-hour drive so we didn’t need to be too rushed.
We stopped at a place called Tarras Village along the way which is this little hub of boutiques and a cafe and a gas station seemingly in the middle of nowhere but between a lot of vineyards. It was so aesthetic and surprising but I think we all found something to take home from the shops there.
We took a walk along Lake Tekapo, played at the playground and stocked up on groceries right next door, and caught up on laundry so kind of just relaxed all afternoon.
Having a reset day made a huge difference!
Mt Cook with Kids
On our second day we went out to Mt. Cook and did the Hooker Valley Track. Unfortunately they were using a helicopter to drop some kind of poison over the mountains so they had the iconic bridges closed off to pedestrians but the kids enjoyed the walk to that point at least and we got a great view. This track is so busy though!
We had lunch at the buffet at The Hermitage which is pricy but was actually really good food for a buffet and had an incredible view (there aren’t many other eating options anyway so pack a lunch otherwise!)
We also did the Tasman Glacier viewpoint which might be impressive when it’s colder, but it was a surprisingly steep hike for a kind of meh view in our opinion. A few other families even asked as we were coming down if it was worth continuing the climb with their kids. Relatable.
Stargazing
The Tekapo area is a Dark Sky Preserve which is one of only a few places in the world that have special regulations to stop light pollution and see the night sky clearer (we stayed at another one in Canada a few years ago too).
The view of the stars even on a regular patio is incredible, but my 6-year-old, my mother-in-law and I all signed up for a stargazing tour with Dark Sky Project one of the nights we were in town.
They don’t let kids under 5 go, and it’s a bit chilly and starts at 8pm so a late one, but I feel like it’ll be a core memory for our daughter who got to see Jupiter through a telescope and learned about all the constellations.
Main Takeaway: This area was really different to the others we visited so it was fun to see somewhere new, though the mountains aren’t quite as scenic as Queenstown. Worth a couple of days on the way to Christchurch!
Day 11: Christchurch (Departure Day)
It was another three hours from Tekapo to Christchurch so after a week of 1-3 hour drives almost daily we were all a bit over it, honestly. We stopped at Fairlie Bakehouse about 30 minutes from Tekapo and had breakfast (a great pie!), then soldiered on and just did the rest of the drive.
Once we got to Christchurch we all wished we’d planned a few more days here, it’s such a cute city. We went to Margaret Mahey Family Playground which was beautiful, massive, and so busy on a perfect weather day.
We then went for lunch at Riverside Market which was a cool place to have everyone pick their own meal (and I saw like 10 options I wanted to try!), and wandered around looking in stores afterward. One shop owner recommended we go walk to the water to see eels and the kids loved it but I can’t get past how much Disney has made me see them as villains, sorry eels.
What I’d Do Differently (If I Planned This Again)
The biggest shift I would make is simplifying the entire trip.
I’d:
- Stick to the South Island only (extra flights, transitions and two rentals cars was just annoying, and it meant less time actually exploring and enjoying our other stops).
- Choose 1-2 home bases. Looking back we wish we’d done just Queenstown and Christchurch, maybe an overnight or two in Tekapo between and do day trips from there. Not repacking a suitcase every day or two makes a big difference
- Pack differently. Instead of packing cubes by person, I’d pack by day with everyone’s outfits for Day 1 for example in the one cube. When you’re having to dig through multiple bags every morning it makes it easier to just pull out the next day’s cube.
- Pack lighter and do laundry. I already always find accommodation with laundry and bring a dirty clothes bag but still could’ve probably packed lighter than I did. I always bring these laundry sheets with us because they don’t count in a liquid allowance so are easy to chuck into a bag.
- Keep more days loose. We had lots of playground stops baked into the plan, but the days where we just explored a small town or did an impromptu hike were the favorites.
Would I Do A New Zealand Road Trip with Kids Again?
Definitely! And we’re already thinking of what we could do next time, but we learned a lot on this one for sure. If you try to do everything, it can start to feel like a checklist. But if you stay longer, build in some flexibility, and let the trip breathe a little, it’s easily one of the best family trips you can take.
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