8 best places to road trip with friends in New Zealand

From the Bay of Islands in the north to the Canterbury Coast in the south, New Zealand is the perfect place to explore with mates. Choose a destination that you’ll all enjoy with our list of the best places to road trip with friends.

For each road trip, we have included information on the route, distance, days required, the best time to visit, a brief overview of the top attractions and much more.

No matter what you’re hoping to see or do, you’ll find it on this list of the best places to road trip with friends in New Zealand. But to make things even easier, also check out our guide on how to survive a road trip with friends.

Travelling with friends should be fun – use Camplify to find campervan hire in New Zealand.

The best places to road trip with friends in NZ: 8 routes you can't miss

1. Coromandel Peninsula

Total Distance: 550 km | Recommended Days: from 3 - 5 days | Best Time to Visit: Summer | Route on Google Maps

The Coromandel Peninsula is the perfect place to road trip with friends who love surfing, sun and sand.

Pick up your campervan hire in Auckland and head for the seaside village of Kaiaua Beach, where you can enjoy New Zealand’s best fish and chips for lunch. Afterwards, you can head down the road to the town of Thames and hire some bikes to ride section B of the Hauraki Rail Trail.

When you reach Coromandel, take a ride on the Driving Creek Railway and admire the view from the Eyeful Tower. Drive around the coastline with your mates, stopping for a swim at Waikawau , famous for its white-sand beach and crystal-blue waters.

Finally, grab some 'grammable pics with your friends at Cathedral Cove and build yourselves a sand spa on Hot Water Beach.

See this Coromandel Peninsula road trip for full details.

2. Bay of Islands

Total distance: 220 km | Recommended duration: 2 to 5 days | Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring | Route Map

The Bay of Islands is one of the best places to road trip with friends who enjoy history and the high seas.

Pick up your campervan hire in Whangarei and visit the Whangarei Falls, which tumble 26 metres into the pool below. Then head for the coastal town of Tutukaka, where you can take a snorkelling or diving trip and check out the world-renowned Poor Knights Island Marine Reserve.

Continue north to the historic town of Russell, where you can enjoy lunch and a beer at the country’s oldest hotel, bar and restaurant – the Duke of Marlborough. Seriously, don't miss this pub. From here, visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where you can learn about New Zealand’s history through live cultural performances and a recreated Maori village.

In the town of Paihia, you and your mates can jump aboard a day cruise around the islands and see the famous Hole in the Rock. Alternatively, take a boat out to Urupukapuka Island and hire a kayak for some paddling fun.

For full details, see our ultimate Bay of Islands road trip itinerary.

3. Hawkes Bay

Total distance: 450 km | Recommended days: 5 to 7 days | Best time to do the route: Autumn or Winter | Route Map

Hawkes Bay is a heavenly place to road trip with friends who love to wine and dine.

Pick up your campervan hire in Hawkes Bay and start your road trip in Hastings, from where you can enjoy a walk to Cape Kidnappers – home to the largest gannet colony in the world – or Te Mata Peak. Afterwards, dine at one of the town's highly-rated restaurants like Off The Track (try the lamb shank).

Not far away is Napier, a stunningly preserved 1930s Art Deco city. Our hot tip is to hire bikes with your friends and ride the Hawkes Bay wineries trail. Being responsible, of course. You can visit nine cellar doors responsible for producing some of the world’s best red blends and chardonnay wines including Te Mata Estate (New Zealand’s oldest barrel hall) and Mission Estate (New Zealand’s oldest winery).

Escape to nature and follow the coast northward, stopping at the coastal village of Tangoio Beach to go white water rafting on the Mohaka River. Camp alongside Lake Waikaremoana in the pristine Te Urewera National Park before ending your road trip in the surf city of Gisborne.

For full details, see the best road trip around Hawkes Bay.

4. Central North Island

Total distance: 175 km | Recommended days: 2 to 5 days | Best time to do the route: Any time of year | Route Map

The volcanic centre of the North Island is one of the best places to road trip with friends who are adventurous.

Pick up your campervan hire in Rotorua, host to some of the most famous geothermal wonders in New Zealand. To see them up close, visit the Waimangu Volcanic Valley and wander the trails between bubbling mud pools, shooting geysers, steaming hot springs and volcanic craters.

Continue to nearby Lake Taupo, where you and your friends can kayak or cruise to the Mine Bay Maori Rock Carvings. Afterwards, jump aboard a jet boat and ride the Huka Falls, where 220,000 litres of water tumble over the cliff face every second.

End your road trip in Tongariro National Park, which was New Zealand’s first national park. If you’re visiting in summer, hike the Taranaki Falls Walk (six kilometres) or the Tama Lakes Walk (17.6-kilometres return). Alternatively, in winter, you can ski or snowboard Whakapapa.

5. Wellington

Total distance: 120 km | Recommended days: 1 to 2 days | Best time to do the route: Winter and Autumn | Route Map

Wellington is an top-notch place to road trip with friends who enjoy culture and film.

Start by picking up your campervan hire in Wellington and explore all that the coolest little capital in the world has to offer. Ride the Wellington Cable Car and wander the Botanic Gardens or Zealandia Sanctuary. And don’t miss Te Papa National Museum and Art Gallery, New Zealand’s most popular museum!

If you and your friends are movie buffs, take a tour of the Weta Workshop, where much of the post-production work was done for Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Avatar and District 9. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the props, costumes, creatures and sketches that brought the movies to life.

Then escape the city and head for Cape Palliser, a dramatic coastal landscape that is home to the North Island’s largest fur seal colony. On the way, stop at the Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve, where Peter Jackson set the scenes for ‘The Dimholt Road’ (aka ‘ The Paths of the Dead’), which features in The Return of the King film).

If your friends love film, you’ll love this Lord of the Rings road trip.

6. The Marlborough

Total distance: 200 km | Recommended days: 3 to 5 days | Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring | Route Map

Marlborough is one of the best places to road trip with friends who want a relaxing getaway.

Pick up your campervan hire in the Marlborough Region and head for the city of Blenheim. Hire bikes with your friends and ride the Marlborough wine trail, home to more than 30 of the world’s best sauvignon blanc wineries. And if you happen to be in town on a Sunday morning, don’t miss the Blenheim Farmers Market.

Next is the town of Havelock, known as the Greenshell Mussel capital of the world. Enjoy a freshly caught seafood lunch at one of the restaurants in town before jumping aboard a sunset dinner cruise around Marlborough Sounds.

Not far away is the town of Picton, the starting point for the Queen Charlotte Track around Kenepuru Sounds (one of New Zealand’s 'Great Walks'). Afterwards, grab some fresh produce from the local markets and enjoy a picnic with friends on the stunning little beach at Governors Bay.

For more ideas, see the best road trips around Marlborough.

7. Nelson Tasman

Total distance: 320 km | Recommended days: 5 to 7 days | Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring | Route Map

Nelson Tasman is the perfect place to road trip with friends who love to get out and about in nature.

Pick up your campervan hire in Nelson and spend your first day relaxing in what some consider the world’s best cider city. Walk the craft beer trail, stopping for a pint with your mates at local breweries such as McCashin’s, which offers daily tours, and The Free House, which pours craft beers from all over New Zealand.

The next day, tie your laces and head to Nelson Lakes National Park. Walk the Lake Rotoiti Walkway (23–31-kilometres return), which takes about 7–10 hours to complete but provides unforgettable views. Camp overnight near the Lake Rotoiti Jetty and share a yarn around the campfire with friends.

Continue to Abel Tasman National Park, famous for its crystal-clear waters and sights like Split Apple Rock, Tonga Arches and Wainui Falls. You'll find the Te Waikoropupū Springs nearby, which are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand and the largest cold-water springs in the Southern Hemisphere.

Finish your road trip by taking a horseback ride with your friends along the golden sands of Wharariki Beach, recognised globally as the screensaver for Windows 10. It's romantic, sure, but your mates deserve it.

For more details, see the best road trip around Abel Tasman.

8. Canterbury Coast

Total distance: 265 km | Recommended days: 2 to 3 days | Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring | Route Map

The Canterbury Coast (also known as the Alpine Pacific Touring Route) is one of the best places to road trip with friends who love to surf and spa.

Start by picking up your campervan hire in Christchurch, where you and your mates can check out some of the awesome local attractions like the International Antarctic Centre or the Christchurch Gondola. Alternatively, take a day trip to Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps and tackle a few of the walking tracks.

Next, kick back and relax in the natural hot pools around Hanmer Springs. Visit the Hanmer Springs Water Park, where you can float down the lazy river, battle on the water jets and race your friends down the water slides. Afterwards, soak away the day in the bubbling rock spas.

End your road trip in Kaikoura, where you can hire some boards and surf with your mates on Kaikoura Beach. For a unique aqua experience, consider joining a dolphin encounter and swimming with friendly dusky dolphins in the open ocean.

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