Road trips
Family road trip destinations NZ: 15 best places
)
Plan the holiday of a lifetime with our list of the 15 best family road trips destinations in NZ.
Our travel experts have compiled a range of fun ideas for both kids and parents, from easy weekend getaways to week-long adventures. Whether you’re after a sunny beach on the North Island or snow-capped mountain on the South Island, you’ll find it all on this list.
Plus, we’ve thrown in a heap of extra information like maps, recommended durations, the best season to travel and much more!
The Best Family Road Trip Destinations In NZ 1. Taupo
Recommended days: 2 to 3 days | Best time to visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
After arranging motorhome hire on the North Island, spend a few days splashing around the gentle foreshores of Lake Taupo and soak away your worries in the free hot pools at Spa Thermal Park.
Take your family on a scenic cruise of the crystal blue lake to see the famous Mine Bay Maori Rock Carvings. Or if you want to give the kids an experience they’ll never forget, grab a family pass and take a jet boat ride over the furious Huka Falls.
Throw on your swimmers and spend the day paddleboarding, pedal boating, shooting water cannons and prawn fishing for your own lunch at Huka Prawn Park!
Stay at Lake Taupo Holiday Resort, which has a range of camping options and boasts a thermal pool with a swim-up bar and cafe.
2. Waikato
Recommended days: 3 to 4 days | Best time to visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
Kick your family road trip off in Hamilton and spend the morning exploring the five themed areas of Hamilton Gardens. In the afternoon, take the kids to Hamilton Zoo , the largest zoo on NZ’s North Island.
Book a 2-hour guided family tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set , only an hour east of Hamilton in the rolling green hills of Matamata. Spend the day popping in and out of various Hobbit Holes and devour a family lunch at the Green Dragon Inn.
On a separate day, take the family on a guided boat tour through the Waitomo Glowworm Caves , New Zealand’s largest and most-visited underground glowworm cave system.
Stay at the highly-rated Cambridge Top 10 Holiday Park, which offers both unpowered and powered sites. Your kids will love the awesome playground, jumping pillow and recreation room!
Rotorua
Recommended days: 4 to 5 days | Best time to visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
Take a family road trip to Rotorua and visit Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland or Waimangu Volcanic Valley , two of the best places to see New Zealand’s famous spurting geysers, bubbling mud pools and steaming hot springs.
For a unique experience, take the whole family on an easy 30-minute walk around the Redwoods Treeway , suspended high amongst a forest of 120-year-old giant Californian Redwoods.
Don’t leave without visiting New Zealand’s top-rated cultural experience, Tamaki Maori Village , where ancient stories and traditional Maori culture is brought to life in a fully-recreated village.
The kids will love staying at the All Seasons Holiday Park Rotorua, a unique and affordable campground that features 19 life-sized dinosaurs, a heated pool and a spa complex.
4. Taranaki
Recommended days: 2 to 3 days | Best time to visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
A family road trip to the Taranaki region is all about the great outdoors. Laze around in the massive Pukekura Park whilst the kids play in the nearby children’s area. As one of New Zealand’s premier botanical gardens, Pukekura is free to enter and also boasts a lovely Tea House.
Hire some bikes or bring your own and ride part of the 13km New Plymouth Coastal Walkway , famous for its views of snow-capped Mt Taranaki. If you’d like to hike the dormant volcano, there’s a heap of easy walking tracks around Egmont National Park.
The kids will love learning about the country’s Maori and settler past at Tawhiti Museum , one of New Zealand’s most innovative museums. All the exhibits are life-sized and life-like, created from moulds of real people!
Stay at the Belt Road Seaside Holiday Park, which offers powered and unpowered campsites with sea views. Plus, there’s free wifi for all your streaming needs.
5. Auckland
Recommended days: 4 to 5 days | Best time to visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
Take a family road trip to Auckland and visit some of New Zealand’s most popular tourist attractions, including the 328m tall Sky Tower and Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Load your vehicle on the ferry to stunning Waiheke Island and self-tour the quiet and calm beaches dotted around its beautiful coastline.
Only an hour west of Auckland is the famous black-sand Piha Beach , where the kids can run amok and you can grab some outstanding photos.
Stay at the family-friendly Takapuna Beach Holiday Park, just a 15-minute drive from the city centre with waterfront campsites!
6. Bay of Plenty
Recommended days: 5 to 7 days | Best time to visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
Start your Bay of Plenty family road trip in the sunny port city of Tauranga , home to some of NZ's best beaches and a collection of fun Hairy Maclary sculptures along its waterfront.
Get wet at the Waimarino Adventure Park , just 10 minutes out of Tauranga. There’s so much here for the whole family, including kayak tours through glowworm caves, NZ’s largest bouncing pillow, a hydro slide, rock climbing, hot pools and tonnes more!
Follow the Bay of Plenty to Gisborne and be one of the first families in the world to see the sunrise from the golden sands of Wainui Beach.
Stay at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, which offers beachfront campsites and three separate amenities blocks.
7. Hawkes Bay
Recommended days: 4 to 6 days | Best time to visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
Beginning in Napier, take the kids to see a penguin or shark feeding session at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. Afterwards, enjoy a glass or two of the world’s best Chardonnay whilst the kids wolf down delicious meals at a local farm-to-fork restaurant.
Visit the world’s largest gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers before continuing your Hawkes Bay family road trip northward and stopping at pretty little beach towns like Tangoio and Mohaka.
The whole family will enjoy camping on Lake Waikaremoana in the pristine Te Urewera National Park , only a short walk from Aniwaniwa Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.
Stay at the Hawkes Bay Holiday Park and choose from over 50 campsites that are only a minute’s walk from the beach or children’s playground.
8. Wellington
Recommended days: 2 to 3 days | Best time visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
How about a family road trip to the “coolest little capital in the world”? Wellington is renowned for its culture, entertainment scene and awesome takeaway (check out the famous Hannah’s Laneway ).
Ride the historic Wellington Cable Car and wander around the nearby Wellington Botanic Gardens or Zealandia Ecosanctuary , home to over 40 native species.
Don’t miss New Zealand’s National Museum and Art Gallery, Te Papa , which attracts 1.5 million visitors each year with its interactive exhibitions and vast collections of artifacts. Plus, entry is free!
Stay at the Wellington Top 10 Holiday Park just 15km out of the city centre. Facilities include an amazing children's playground, air cushion, games room, fun bikes and shuttle service.
Coromandel
Recommended days: 2 to 3 days | Best time visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
The Coromandel Peninsula is one of the most popular family road trip destinations in New Zealand. It’s not hard to see why, with its white-sand beaches, crystal-blue waters and laid back vibes.
Explore the caves and cubby holes around Cathedral Cove before walking to nearby Hot Water Beach and digging a spa in the sand with your kids.
Spend another day riding the charming Driving Creek Railway through the surrounding rainforest. Jump off at the ‘Eyeful Tower’ lookout and admire the amazing views over Coromandel.
Stay at the Long Bay Motor Camp and relax at your beachfront campsite whilst the kids play on the playground or a paddleboard.
10. Bay of Islands
Recommended days: 4 to 7 days | Best time visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
A family road trip to the Bay of Islands promises heaps of sun, sand and history. Drive north to Paihia and stop off at easily accessible sights like Whangarei Falls along the way.
Take your kids to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and learn about New Zealand’s Maori and Colonial history through live performances and a reconstructed Maori village.
From Paihia, it’s only a short drive or ferry ride to the historic towns of Russell and Kerikeri , home to New Zealand’s oldest churches and hotels. Alternatively, take the family on a day cruise to the famous Hole in the Rock.
Stay at the Paihia Top 10 Holiday Park and let the kid’s make the most of the swimming pool whilst you enjoy waterfront views.
11. Christchurch
Recommended days: 3 to 5 days | Best time to visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
After arranging motorhome hire on the South Island, it’s time to see some of the major attractions and sights around Christchurch, including Quake City and nearby water park Hanmer Springs.
Jump on the Christchurch City Tram Tour and ride around town to save the kids from walking. It stops close to many of Christchurch’s most popular attractions, including the free Air Force Museum of New Zealand and the International Antarctic Centre.
Get out and explore the Orana Wildlife Park , New Zealand’s only open-range zoo. Alternatively, take a 2-hour family road trip through the dramatic Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps.
Stay at the Christchurch Top 10 Holiday Park, a clean and modern campground near the city centre with a heated spa.
12. Queenstown
Recommended days: 4 to 5 days | Best time to visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
Kids young and old love Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world! Get your bearings by catching the Skyline Queenstown Gondola (the steepest cable car lift in the Southern Hemisphere) to Bob’s Peak before riding a bobsled track back down the mountain.
Take a day trip to nearby Arrowtown , a living gold rush settlement built-in 1864, where today your family can explore more than 60 restored cottages, shops, hotels and churches.
A separate day trip could be spent visiting Lindis Pass , Aoraki Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo, just a few hours to the north. Alternatively, New Zealand’s # 1 attraction, Milford Sound , is only a short drive south.
Stay at the Queenstown Holiday Park & Motels Creeksyde, a top-rated campground with unpowered and powered sites close to the centre of town.
13. Dunedin
Recommended days: 2 to 3 days | Best time visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
Want a family road trip destination that is less crowded but still jam-packed with fun attractions? Check out the beautiful city of Dunedin - the Southern Hemisphere’s equivalent of Edinburgh.
Visit the world’s only mainland Royal Albatross Breeding Centre and watch as the bird’s show off their monstrous 3-metre wingspan. Afterwards, visit Larnach Castle (the only castle in Australasia) and learn about the city’s Scottish history.
Take a short day trip to the nearby Otago Peninsula or The Catlins and show your kid’s the hordes of sunbathing seals, sea lions and penguins that line the beaches.
Stay opposite the beach at Dunedin Holiday Park and enjoy free unlimited wifi, a TV room, children’s playground and asphalt roads perfect for bikes and scooters.
Nelson
Recommended days: 5 to 7 days | Best time visit: Summer and Spring | Destination Map
The sunny city of Nelson is the perfect family road trip destination for those wanting to experience NZ’s best National Parks, food and wine!
Take the kids to Nelson Lakes National Park and explore some of the country’s most photographed sights, including Lake Rotoiti Jetty and Blue Lake (the world’s clearest lake!). Spend another day visiting famous attractions around Abel Tasman National Park , including Split Apple Rock and the Tonga Arches.
Don’t miss the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in Blenheim, where WW1 and WW2 aircraft are brought to life in state-of-the-art exhibitions created by the same team behind The Lord of the Rings movies.
Stay within walking distance of the shops and restaurants at the Nelson City Top 10 Holiday Park, including a kid’s playground and TV room.
15. Greymouth
Recommended days: 5 to 7 days | Best time visit: Winter and Autumn | Destination Map
Take a family road trip down the West Coast of the South Island and discover one of the Top 10 Coastal Drives in the World!
Base yourself in Greymouth and take a day trip to Paparoa National Park , home to the famous Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. On another day, visit the stunning blue-green waters of Hokitika Gorge.
Don’t forget to visit Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier , both of which are easily accessible by car. There are even some glowworm caves nearby that the kids will love!
Stay at Gentle Annie Seaside Camping Ground, voted the # 3 campground in NZ thanks to its lush grounds and brilliant amenities.
Organise your family road trip with Camplify
Once you’ve chosen from our list of family road trip destinations, it’s time to start organising your wheels and accommodation. We can help you with both!
Camplify is a platform that allows travellers to quickly and easily arrange family motorhome hire in New Zealand. Simply enter your pickup location and budget and within seconds, you can find the perfect motorhome, caravan or campervan for your family road trip!
Why Camplify?
We are proud to be New Zealand’s fastest-growing private caravan, campervan and motorhome sharing community. When you hire a van through our platform, it comes with lots of advantages:
Comprehensive hire insurance
Nationwide AA roadside assistance
24/7 customer support
All members are verified
By hiring with Camplify, you are also helping local families who share their van on our platform and supporting many local companies across New Zealand in addition to ours. So we are very grateful to you.
Sign up if you want to join our beloved community of van life lovers and receive our most recent news and offers.