How many days do you need in New Zealand?
Seven days. That is the length of the itinerary we built for New Zealand, across Auckland, Rotorua and Queenstown.
Here is what each day holds. Every stop below carries its time, and every gap says how to get to the next stop, with the walk or drive time wherever both stops are mapped.
New Zealand · 7 days Auckland → Rotorua → Queenstown
Best time: Late spring to early autumn (November to April) brings the longest days and the most settled weather.
Auckland: Sky TowerDay 1
🏛️9:00 AMSky Tower
Observation tower over downtown, tallest in the country
🚶 ~33 min · 🚗 ~4 min · 1.2 mi
🖼️1:30 PMAuckland War Memorial Museum
Māori and Pacific collections and war memorial on the Domain
⛴️ Ferry hop
🌆6:00 PMViaduct Harbour
Waterfront marina and dining precinct near downtown
Auckland: Maungawhau / Mount EdenDay 2
🏛️9:00 AMMaungawhau / Mount Eden
Highest volcanic cone on the isthmus, grassy crater and city views
🚶 ~52 min · 🚗 ~7 min · 1.9 mi
🥾1:30 PMMaungakiekie / One Tree Hill
Cone and obelisk set in Cornwall Park
⛴️ Ferry hop
🎟️6:00 PMWaiheke Island wine tour
Ferry to the gulf island for vineyards and coastline
Arrive in RotoruaDay 3
🚗8:30 AMDrive to Rotorua
Auckland to Rotorua on SH1 and SH5 through the Waikato
🚗 3 hours · 143 mi
🏛️2:00 PMRotorua Museum building
Elizabethan-style former bathhouse in the Government Gardens
🚗 Car hop
🌆6:00 PMRotorua lakefront
Promenade and jetties along Lake Rotorua
Rotorua: St Faith’s Anglican ChurchDay 4
🏛️9:00 AMSt Faith’s Anglican Church
Carved lakeside church at Ohinemutu
🚗 Car hop
🖼️1:30 PMRotorua Museum Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa
Te Arawa history and regional collections in the bathhouse
🚗 Car hop
🎟️6:00 PMMāori cultural evening with hangi and haka
Performance and earth-oven meal
Arrive in QueenstownDay 5
✈️8:30 AMFlight to Queenstown
Rotorua to Queenstown domestic flight, connecting via Auckland or Christchurch
✈️ 2 hours
🏛️2:00 PMSkyline Queenstown gondola
Cable car to a viewpoint over the lake and Remarkables
🚶 On foot
🌆6:00 PMQueenstown town centre
Lakefront streets, gardens and the Steamer Wharf
Queenstown: Kawarau Bungy BridgeDay 6
🏛️9:00 AMKawarau Bungy Bridge
Historic bridge and site of the first commercial bungy jump
🚶 On foot
🖼️1:30 PMLakes District Museum
Goldfields and settler history in Arrowtown
🚶 On foot
🎟️6:00 PMMilford Sound cruise
Full-day trip to the fjord by road and boat
Queenstown: Queenstown GardensDay 7
🏛️9:00 AMQueenstown Gardens
Tree-filled peninsula park jutting into the lake
🚶 On foot
🥾1:30 PMLake Wakatipu
Long glacial lake at the heart of the region
🚶 On foot
🌆6:00 PMArrowtown
Preserved gold-mining village with autumn colour and a Chinese settlement site
This is how Petrel lays out a trip. Upload your own confirmations and it builds this for your dates: flights and hotels included, with live flight status and the travel time between stops.
This is one of 126 free itineraries. Open it, change anything you want, and it becomes your trip.