10-day North and South NZ campervan sampler

This 10 day NZ itinerary runs Auckland to Christchurch one-way. It gives you geothermal Rotorua, a North Island road push to Wellington, the Cook Strait ferry, Picton, Kaikoura and a clean Christchurch finish.

It is tighter than our North to South in 14 days route, but it works if you accept two long moving days and keep the South Island simple. Read it beside the Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Picton, Kaikoura and Christchurch region pages, plus the Cook Strait ferry with a campervan guide.

Get this itinerary as a printable plan with the holiday-park shortlist baked in, or reply with your dates and we'll have a planner adjust the pacing to match your party.

This is a sampler, not a slow lap. You collect in Auckland, head south through SH1, SH27 and SH5 to Rotorua, then use SH1 down the centre of the island to Wellington. After the 3 hour 20 minute Cook Strait crossing, allow about 3.5 hours with loading and unloading, you finish through Marlborough and the Kaikoura Coast on SH1.

The best fit is a 2-berth or compact 4-berth with an onboard toilet. A 6-berth gives more beds but is slower in cities, tighter at ferry lanes, and less pleasant on the winding coast north and south of Kaikoura. Use our vehicle-size guide before choosing layout, then check What a NZ campervan trip actually costs for the cost assumptions.

March is the cleanest month for this plan: long daylight, fewer school-holiday crowds than January, and usually less weather risk than deep winter. New Zealand drives on the left. Foreign licences in English are normally valid for 12 months; bring an IDP or certified translation if your licence is not in English.

1. Day 1: Auckland → Rotorua. Distance: 230 km. Pure driving: 3 hours 10 minutes; realistic with stops: 4.5 hours. Take SH1, SH2, SH27 and SH5, with fuel and groceries at Bombay, Matamata or Rotorua. Overnight: Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park. Do the Redwoods Treewalk after dinner if pickup has not run late.
2. Day 2: Base in Rotorua. Distance: 30 to 50 km local. Pure driving: under 1 hour; realistic with stops: half a day. Overnight: Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park. Visit Te Puia or Wai-O-Tapu, then use the afternoon for laundry, water fill and a proper supermarket restock.
3. Day 3: Rotorua → Tongariro National Park. Distance: 180 km. Pure driving: 2 hours 30 minutes; realistic with stops: 4 hours. Use SH5 to Taupo, then SH1 beside Lake Taupo and south via Turangi. Overnight: Tongariro Holiday Park. Walk to Tawhai Falls before dark rather than trying to squeeze in the full Tongariro Alpine Crossing.
4. Day 4: Tongariro → Wellington. Distance: 330 km. Pure driving: 4 hours 45 minutes; realistic with stops: 6 to 6.5 hours. Follow SH1 over the Desert Road, with reliable fuel at Turangi, Taihape, Bulls and Levin. Overnight: Wellington Top 10 Holiday Park in Lower Hutt. Stop briefly at the Taihape gumboot sign, then keep moving because Wellington traffic builds late afternoon.
5. Day 5: Base in Wellington. Distance: 30 km local. Pure driving: under 1 hour; realistic with city parking: 2 hours. Overnight: Wellington Top 10 Holiday Park. Park once, take public transport or a taxi into the city, and spend your main block at Te Papa.
6. Day 6: Wellington → Picton by ferry. Distance: 10 km driving plus ferry. Pure driving: 20 minutes; realistic with check-in, sailing and unloading: 5 to 6 hours. Book Interislander or Bluebridge early in peak season, especially for a motorhome over 6 metres. Overnight: Picton Top 10 Holiday Park. Walk the Picton waterfront after unloading rather than planning a big drive.
7. Day 7: Picton → Kaikoura. Distance: 160 km. Pure driving: 2 hours 20 minutes; realistic with stops: 4 hours. Take SH1 through Blenheim and along the rebuilt Kaikoura Coast, with fuel at Blenheim or Kaikoura. Overnight: Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park. Stop at Ohau Point to watch seals from the signed viewing area.
8. Day 8: Base in Kaikoura. Distance: 20 to 40 km local. Pure driving: under 1 hour; realistic with activities: half a day. Overnight: Kaikoura Top 10 Holiday Park. Walk the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway from Point Kean and check tide timing before you go.
9. Day 9: Kaikoura → Christchurch. Distance: 180 km. Pure driving: 2 hours 40 minutes; realistic with stops: 4 hours. Stay on SH1 through Cheviot and Amberley, with fuel at Kaikoura, Cheviot or Woodend. Overnight: North South Holiday Park. Spend the late afternoon in the Botanic Gardens, which is easier than city-hopping in a motorhome.
10. Day 10: Base in Christchurch and return. Distance: 15 to 40 km local. Pure driving: under 1 hour; realistic with cleaning, refuelling and depot return: 3 hours. Overnight: none unless you add a night at North South Holiday Park. Empty grey water, refill fuel, remove rubbish, and photograph the vehicle before handover.

Slow down in Rotorua if geothermal activity, Māori cultural experiences and hot pools matter to you. This itinerary gives Rotorua two nights because the first day is partly eaten by pickup, supermarket shopping and getting used to left-side driving.

Do not add Bay of Islands, Coromandel or Mount Cook to this 10 day version. They look close on a map from overseas, but they create backtracking and long fatigue days. If you want more mountain time, use the North to South in 14 days route instead.

Wellington is worth a full day because the ferry is not just another road leg. Ferries can shift with weather, check-in is strict, and city parking is easier when you are not rushing. Picton is deliberately quiet on arrival night for the same reason.

Add one night at Taupo or Tongariro and one night at Akaroa. The first fixes the North Island pacing by breaking up the big run to Wellington. Stay at DeBretts in Taupo or keep Tongariro Holiday Park for walking access.

The Akaroa add-on works from Christchurch: 85 km each way on SH75, about 1 hour 40 minutes pure driving each way, longer in a motorhome because the Banks Peninsula road is narrow and bendy. Stay at Akaroa Top 10 if you want a calmer last night than Christchurch.

Those two days make the itinerary feel more like a holiday and less like a transfer. They also give you a buffer if the Cook Strait ferry moves because of wind or swell.

Cut the Kaikoura base day first. Drive Picton to Kaikoura on Day 7, then Kaikoura to Christchurch on Day 8 or 9. You will still see the coast and seals, but you lose the relaxed Peninsula Walkway morning.

If the delay happens in the North Island, skip the Tongariro overnight and run Rotorua to Wellington in one day only if all drivers are fresh. That is about 450 km, 6 hours pure driving and 8 hours with stops via SH5 and SH1. It is a hard day in a campervan, especially on your first NZ trip.

Use What a NZ campervan trip actually costs for the main numbers, because daily hire rates, ferry fares, diesel Road User Charges and holiday-park pricing move by season. This itinerary assumes one ferry crossing, mostly powered holiday-park nights, and a 2-berth or compact 4-berth rather than a large family vehicle.

• Fuel shape: medium on Day 1, low Day 2, medium Day 3, high Day 4, low Day 5, low driving but ferry cost Day 6, medium Day 7, low Day 8, medium Day 9, low Day 10.
• Food shape: higher supermarket setup on Day 1, normal self-catering most days, and one or two café or activity-town meals in Rotorua, Wellington or Kaikoura if you want breathing space.
• Camping shape: powered holiday parks throughout this plan. Freedom camping rules are council-specific, and self-contained certification matters, so read Freedom camping in NZ before relying on free nights.

The ferry is the line item first-time visitors underestimate. Picton-Wellington or Wellington-Picton in peak season should be sorted months out, not left until the week before travel.