New Zealand North Island road trip: Our itineraries

If you’re looking for inspiration for how to get the most out of visiting Aotearoa New Zealand’s epic North Island, then look no further! The North Island is mostly known for its Māori culture (hence the Māori name for New Zealand: “Aotearoa”), geothermal and volcanic activity, and diverse cities. Lord of the Rings fans will recognise many filming sites, including the one and only Hobbiton.

It’s the smaller of the two islands, which makes it easy to cover most of the North Island’s highlights in a two-week road trip. For any lucky travellers or working holiday makers who can stay longer, we’re also including three- and four-week itineraries, perfect for extended adventures. As always, our routes have all been tried and tested by pvtistes team members during their working holiday!

Most international travellers will fly into Auckland, so we’ll start and end the road trip here. The routes can also be modified to start/end in Wellington, especially if you want to take the Wellington to Picton ferry to road trip the South Island, too. Follow the itinerary in either direction from Wellington until it loops back round.