Help needed with itinerary for Southern Island, New Zealand

There are some people on the forum, including me, that have been to New Zealand. However, not a lot. If you don't get enough info, I highly recommend the group New Zealand Travel Tips. A woman in New Zealand started it, there is a website and a facebook page. MANY people that live in New Zealand are active on the Facebook page. There are also many discounts available. I wished I had found the group much sooner in my travel planning. NZTT has gotten so big that she has employees and there is some consulting available. Further, if you have an problems during your planning and when you are in New Zealand, I have seen many offers of help.

We barely "cracked" the south island. My opinion is that you are moving around too much, especially if you like "slow" travel. I didn't stay in some of the places you are visiting.I like the number of days you have in Te Anau, though you may want one more. I think 3 nights in Wanaka would be enough. YOu might want another day in Picton/Nelson, especially if you plan any wine tasting. We were so surprised at how interesting Oamaru was. I'd suggest at least one more night. The Steampunk museum was interesting. We didn't even get to go inside, as it was closed, but there was so much outside that we got a taste. We enjoyed watching the penguins come in at night.

Agree with the previous poster that the New Zealand travel tips group on Facebook is the way to go. That's how I planned my trip.

We did a similar trip a few years ago. Depending on your interests, maybe you can cut some days from Queenstow/Wanaka. You could add Whariki Beach. We spent one night at the Holiday Park. The bathrooms were yucky and luckily we brought food we could have for dinner. It was worth it to walk across the fields to the beach to see the sea lion pups in the tide pools. (We're from southern California and usually not thrilled about seeing sea lions in other places!). We didn't spend any time in Christchurch but spent our last 3 nights in Akaroa and then dropped the car at Christchurch airport. We started our trip in Wellington (flew from Melbourne, Aus) and took the ferry to Picton. Then we stayed at Lochmara Lodge for 3 nights (loved it!) before picking up a rental car by the ferry office.

Forgot to mention that we loved the overnight Doubtful Sound cruise. We also did the Milford Sound day cruise which was okay, but not many waterfalls because they hadn't had much rain.

It's been about six years since we went to New Zealand -- one week on the north island and two weeks on the south island. I'm jealous of the time that you have planned there!

We also stayed several nights in TeAnau and did boat trips on both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. One thing that worked out well for us is that it rained a lot on our trip to Milford (lots and lots of waterfalls) so we went back a couple days later and took another boat trip in the sunshine. Enjoyed both experiences.

TripAdvisor has a relatively active New Zealand South Island forum that you might also check.

We just returned from about 2 weeks on the south island. We stayed in Te Anau 3 nights, and did both Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound. I highly recommend staying at the Te Anau Lodge. It was previously a convent built in the 1930s, and has beautiful wood decorations. The manager was delightful, and it is on a large piece of property with fun activities -- ping pong in a glass garden house, large chess set on the lawn. And we walked to amazing restaurants about a mile away. The lodge manager made recommendations and reservations for us.

Thank you all so much for the quick responses. They are so helpful. I have requested to join the New Zealand Travel Tips group as suggested and I look forward to being able to check that out. I had posted my itinerary on both the fodors.com/forums and tripadvisor forums but got very few responses which surprised me. So thank you all for these very helpful suggestions.

How exciting to have so much time to enjoy the South Island! I was lucky enough to spend two months in NZ in 2023 - one month for the North Island and one month for the South - and had so much fun.

Looking over your draft itinerary, the first 6 nights seem like they'll be very busy with lots of moving around. Do you have an option to fly into Picton or Nelson instead of Christchurch? Since you'll be back in Christchurch at the end of the trip, it feels unnecessary to be there twice if you could fly into one of the other destinations. Nelson is so laid back and pleasant that it would be the perfect place to get over jetlag. I absolutely loved the B&B I stayed at there: https://ahhouse.co.nz/. I was there both before and after hiking the Abel Tasman Coast Track and the owner was so kind - he even offered to do my laundry!

If you can find a way to spend a night or two in Akaroa, I'd highly recommend it. It's a beautiful area and very different to the other areas you're visiting. I'm a keen gardener so especially loved visiting Fishermans Bay garden (https://www.fishermansbay.nz/), which has the most spectacular setting.

We did 3 weeks on the South Island last year focusing on the Southern Alps and Fiordland. I had been there briefly a long time previously.
Looking at your plans it looks pretty good.
March is a good choice for weather although probably pretty busy tourism wise.
We are low budget travellers and travelled in a campervan staying mostly at powered sites.
We had a brilliant trip.
You are hitting up most of the places we visited.
Arthur's Pass is probably the only one missing that was a highlight for us but probably doesn't work for you. You can't see everything but you certainly are seeing plenty.

Agree, with the above. We really liked the drive and spending some time in Arthur's Pass

Thank you all so so much! Your responses are so helpful and give me more things to think about. Thanks so much for the BnB recommendation in Nelson. Not sure if we can fly there but I will check that. We love BnBs when we travel.

Kia ora! As others have mentioned, you are covering a lot of ground with this itinerary but I think you have a good number of nights planned in each place.

In Franz Josef area I'm sure your husband will want to spend some time photographing at Lake Matheson. It's good that you have 3 nights there in case conditions are not great on the first day to see the reflections of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman on the lake in the early morning, you might have a better chance the next day.

One place I think you might spend less time is actually Queenstown. Whilst it is a tourist hotspot, I think it might feel a bit overwhelming and potentially disappointing compared to the rest of the places you are staying, and costly. Unless there are specific activities in Queenstown you want to do or places nearby that you want to hike I'd consider cutting it down to two nights or skipping it altogether as an overnight stay.

Agree with a previous comment that you might want more than one night in Oamaru.

New Zealand Travel Tips is a great group on Facebook. Also check out New Zealand Travel Forum on Facebook - I started that one, but I don't dedicate as much time to it as Sarah does with NZTT which has become her business.

The DOC (pronounced "dock" - Department of Conservation) website is a good resource for finding hikes that suit you - https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/walking-and-tramping/

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I will definitely check out that facebook page you mention. I actually did a consultation last night with Sarah of NZTT and she was so helpful and helped turn the itinerary into what will be, I am sure, a fabulous trip. She made many suggestions I had no way of knowing about and I thank both of you above for recommending NZTT.

I'm glad Sarah and NZTT have worked out for you. I do not know Sarah personally, but what she has done is quite impressive. It is my understanding that she started the group during COVID and has built upon that to have a really successful business. In addition, the amount of personal assistance that Sarah and the employees do to help folks enjoy their vacations is so above and beyond. She has helped people when logistics or reservations have fallen thru, she offered to help me get a host paid for mailing an item I forgot, and some travelers have had some serious issues that she has helped to resolve. I couldn't get a code on their website to work, sent an inquiry, and was shocked to get a response in 15 minutes on a Saturday night.

Colin made good suggestions, and I did use New Zealand Travel forum for my planning, as well.

Sarah was so lovely and friendly and knowledgeable and clearly all she wanted was to make our trip exactly what we would want. Now I will go back and read through the posts on these two facebook groups. I thank you all so much for your suggestions. They were all a huge help.

Hello,
Your itinerary looks good! Here are a few thoughts to refine it:

My suggestions:
Kaikoura: Consider a whale-watching tour or seals at Ohau Point—great for photography.

Picton/Nelson: If you enjoy wine, a detour to Marlborough wine country could be a great addition.

Kaiteriteri (Abel Tasman NP): A boat cruise or kayaking along the golden beaches would be a stunning way to explore.

Punakaiki: Since it’s just one night, make sure to visit the Pancake Rocks at sunset—perfect for photography.

Franz Josef Glacier: A heli-hike or glacier valley walk would be a great way to experience the landscape without strenuous hiking.

Wanaka: If your husband loves photography, Roy’s Peak at sunrise is breathtaking (though a bit steep). Alternatively, Lake Wanaka’s famous lone tree is a must-see.

Queenstown: A scenic gondola ride or sunset at Bob’s Peak would be great for photography.

Te Anau: Your plan for both Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound is perfect.

Catlins: Nugget Point Lighthouse is a stunning spot for sunrise photography.

Dunedin: Consider visiting Otago Peninsula for albatross and penguin spotting.

Oamaru: The Victorian Precinct is charming, and the blue penguin colony is a unique experience.

Aoraki Mt. Cook: The Hooker Valley Track is an easy but rewarding hike with stunning views.

Christchurch at the end: If you love coastal scenery, spending time in Akaroa instead of Christchurch could be a great way to wrap up the trip.

In Oamuru, don't miss the Steam Punk museum.

Re. Hooker Valley Track. The hike is closed for an extended time. The bridges need attention.

Picton/Nelson area

Are you aware these are more than a 2 hour drive apart?

Most overrated site: the glaciers, skip them and do Arthur’s Pass instead.

Most underrated: Nelson and Abel Tasman NP.

I enjoyed our fairly brief time at Fox and FJ. We did fantastic forest hikes with good views of the glaciers. They have retreated significantly so you don't get close if you are hiking but the forests are beautiful and my wife and I are forest tragics.
If $ are not an issue you can take a chopper to do a Glacier walk, above my tightarse budget though.
We stopped in Hokitika then up over Arthur's Pass which is a great area. Typically you will get a close encounter with some Kea at the Viaduct lookout, I haven't met anyone who hasn't.
The drive from Arthur's back toward C'church as far as Springfield is magnificent too. You don't hear much about that but it was a definite highlight for us.

Wow! Thank you all for being so generous with your time and knowledge. All your posts are so helpful and will make our trip much better. I have made some changes taking your suggestions into account and have made notes for all the wonderful activities and places to photograph. Thank you so much for your kindness.

Bonnie

Re. David's suggestion of sunrise on Roy's Peak. Just be aware it is an 8km climb with 1200m of elevation gain. If you are not serious mountain walkers you need to think 3 maybe even 4 hours up (5 to 6 hr roundtrip of 16 kms). So for sunrise in March you will want to be starting out no later than 3 am. Not sure about the crowds at sunrise but during daytime in off season I heard of people having to line up for 15 to 20 mins to get to the peak. Haven't done it myself so don't know for sure.