Driving from Auckland to Wellington: A road trip itinerary

Aug 31

These are some of my favourite places to stop on an Auckland to Wellington road trip.

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New Zealand’s State Highway 1 unfurls like a ribbon between Auckland and Wellington.

But don’t let the name fool you. Despite ostensibly being the main highway through the country, and connecting two of our largest cities, State Highway 1 at times narrows to the width of a remote rural road.

Efficiency be damned; the highway rolls right through small towns, so you’ll have to drop your speed to 50km/h. It curls right along the edge of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island, and all of the big trucks travelling the route have to take every bend and curve in the road at a snail’s pace.

Ruapehu is visible through the windscreen of a car driving past Tongariro National Park — *Mount Ruapehu, always a sight to behold*

The main artery from north to south does take you past some incredible scenery, though. I never get tired of hitting Desert Road, and seeing the open expanse of Tongariro National Park unfold outside my window.

Driving from Auckland to Wellington is a long trip (it takes around 8 hours non-stop) but it takes you right past some of the highlights of the North Island.

If you’re considering a road trip from Auckland to Wellington, or Wellington to Auckland, here are my recommendations for where to stop.

Auckland to Wellington road trip in 5 days

*The volcanic landscape of Tongariro National Park is a highlight of an Auckland to Wellington road trip*

I’m basing these recommendations on the assumption that you want to move fairly quickly south — if you have longer, you could detour to the Coromandel Peninsula, or spend even longer exploring other corners of the North Island.

This route more or less plots a beeline between Auckland and Wellington, getting you from city to city in less than a week.

Most of the best places to stop on a drive from Auckland to Wellington are clustered around the middle of the island — Rotorua and Tongariro National Park are the two main highlights, and if you have one week to do this same journey, I would stay longer around either or both of those places.

Day 1: Auckland to Rotorua
Day 2: Spend a day exploring Rotorua
Day 3: Head down to Tongariro National Park
Day 4: Visit Tongariro National Park, then on to Whanganui for the night
Day 5: Arrive in Wellington

Your road trip essentials

If you need wheels, check out rental car prices on DiscoverCars
Motorhome Republic is the easiest way to compare campervan prices and models.
I use Gaspy to find the cheapest petrol stations (you’ll need to fill up at least once on this trip).

Day 1: Drive from Auckland to Rotorua, the geothermal heart of the North Island

Steam rises by a lake in Rotorua — *Steam rising from the edge of Rotorua lake*

From Auckland, it’s a three hour drive down to Rotorua, a town surrounded by lakes and geothermal parks.

There’s not a great deal in between; the stretch of highway south of Auckland is one of the few roads in the country where you’ll have the luxury of two lanes. When that peters out, you’ll be making your way through farmland, with the occasional town for pit stops. Tirau, with its corrugated iron sculptures, is one of the better ones for a cafe break.

A colourful building stands next to a steaming lake in Rotorua — *Go for a walk around the lake’s edge, and Ohinemutu village, in Rotorua*

The town of Rotorua is not particularly beautiful, and it feels a little touristy; but the geothermal activity is truly unique. It’s one of the top destinations in New Zealand.

If you stop for one night, you can see some free mud pools in Kuirau Park on your first evening, or visit the Polynesian Spa for a soak in thermal water.

Steam rises in clouds in front of the Polynesian Spa complex in Rotorua — *Steam rising from the Polynesian Spa in the centre of town*

You could also use your evening in Rotorua to experience one of the Maori cultural experiences on offer. With Te Pa Tu, this looks like an evening tour of a ‘village’ (it’s more of a set than a living village) followed by a traditional hangi meal and performances, including a haka.

A colourful geothermal pool at Orakei Korako

You could easily stay a second night in Rotorua, if your itinerary allows for it; there’s more than enough to do in the town.

Visiting a Maori village is one of the unique activities in Rotorua, but the area has plenty to offer on the adventure front, too. Go rafting off the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world, zip line through a forest canopy, or take to the mountain bike trails.

WORTHWHILE DETOURS

If you’re interested in the Waitomo Caves, you could add in a stop on your way to Rotorua.

This would add one hour of driving, making it nearly 3.5 hours total driving for the day, but with a stop in Waitomo in the middle.

There isn’t a great deal of accommodation (or anything else) around Waitomo, so it makes sense to push on to Rotorua.

At Waitomo, you can check out the glow worm caves, or if you’re up for something more adventurous, try the black water rafting.

You can see glowworms in a few different locations around New Zealand (including Rotorua — the glowworm kayaking tour is wonderful) but it’s not everywhere that you can go clambering around caves.

Day 2: From Rotorua, head south to Tongariro National Park

*Golden hour in Tongariro National Park*

Your morning in Rotorua could be spent visiting a geothermal park.

From Rotorua, the drive south will take you toward Taupō (pronounced “toe paw”), a fantastically large lake. Several of the geothermal areas are located on the road south to Taupo, so it makes sense to carry on driving to Taupo after your visit.

My favourite is Orakei Korako, secreted away off the main road between Rotorua and Taupo, but the excellent Waimangu Volcanic Valley, and popular (but busy) Wai O Tapu are more or less right on the route.

The town of Taupo holds little interest for me — it’s pretty enough, right on the edge of the lake, but I’ve never found enough there to keep me for longer than a few hours.

There’s the nearby Huka Falls, an impressive but always busy waterfall lookout spot.

Calm blue water in a deep gorge at Aratiatia Rapids — *Aratiatia, before the dam opens*

White water flows through a deep gorge at Aratiatia Rapids — *With the water in full flood*

Even better is the Aratiatia Rapids — upstream from the famous Huka Falls — where you can see a dry gorge turned into a roaring river as millions of litres of water are unleashed from the Aratiatia Dam several times a day.

Don’t say we don’t know how to have fun in New Zealand.

Taupo can be a place to stop for the night, as there are many more accommodation options than you’ll find further south, but if you can, I would carry on further south to sleep somewhere closer to Tongariro National Park.

Ohakune has several places to stay, and from there you get some great views of Ruapehu. Something about the quiet streets and position right on the edge of the national park makes me love Ohakune.

FEATURED STAY

The Powderhorn Chateau
Rustic, chalet-style Powderhorn has comfortable rooms lined with wood and furnished with leather armchairs. My room opened onto a small balcony, overlooking the river.

See more

FEATURED STAY

Rua Awa Lodge.
One place to stay near Tongariro National Park that I absolutely loved is Rua Awa. There’s an outdoor bathtub, a fire brazier, a cosy kitchen — so wholesome and beautiful.

See more and book

Spend a day hiking in Tongariro National Park

Depending on how much time you have, and how long you would like to hike for, you have a few different options.

If you have more time, you could aim to walk the whole Tongariro Crossing — but you’ll want to spend two nights near the park, as you won’t want to drive far after the mammoth hike.
For a shorter walk that still delivers incredible volcano views, try Tama Lakes. This is a relatively gentle half-day walk, so you could still do this in the morning and drive further south in the afternoon.
You can also walk to Taranaki Falls, for a much shorter loop (you’ll be on the same track as the Tama Lakes walk, so you can always head to the falls and see if you feel like continuing).
If you’re beelining down Desert Road on the opposite side of the national park, you can stop to check out the Waihohonu Historic Hut track. It takes about 1.5 hours one way to reach Waihohonu Hut, so it’s not a quick hike, but it’s flat for most of the way and you get some beautiful views on a clear day.

ITINERARY NOTES

If you want to walk the Tongariro Crossing, I would plan to stay in the same accommodation for two nights in a row — you’ll be tired after the walk and probably won’t want to drive very far.

If you do a day walk in Tongariro, you can make your way down to Whanganui, which is a 90 minute drive from the national park.

I have a real soft spot for Whanganui — it’s a quirky, cute town that feels like a smaller Wellington.

It makes a great place to stop for one night. You can also stop there on the way down, if you spend the night closer to Tongariro National Park.

The town centre is lovely to stroll around, tucked into the elbow of the Whanganui River.

You can ride the Durie Hill Elevator, the oldest operating public elevator in New Zealand, up to a viewpoint.

My favourite thing to do here is check out the Glassworks. You can watch the artists at work from a mezzanine floor (it’s free to go in) and browse some beautiful glass art in the gallery.

The glass kina paperweights are stunning — I think they would make perfect souvenirs.

Drive to Wellington, stopping by the wine village of Martinborough on the way

It will add a bit of time to your journey, but head to Martinborough as one last stop before Wellington.

It’s a cute little town and a great pit stop for lunch — Poppies is the top spot for lunch and a wine tasting.

On your way south to Martinborough, I also like stopping in Featherston, which is just a cute little town.

Thank you for reading

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