10 days campervanning around the South Island of New Zealand

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
3
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
9
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
6
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
80 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
53rd/454
Top 20%
continent
Oceania
country
New Zealand
Length of time
1-2 weeks
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$190 ($1,350-$2,300 in 2025 prices)
Time of year visited
June
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

New Zealand’s South Island has some of the most rugged natural beauty of anywhere in the world.  World famous sites such as the fjords of Milford Sound, the Frans Joseph and Fox glaciers, and the adrenaline sports of Queenstown.  Yet is also super accessible by road and very compact to get around.  The combination of these factors makes it one of the most appealing places for a roadtrip, scores the maximum Wow-factor rating and I’ve listed below a great 10 day itinerary to get the best of the island.

Highlights

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#1 The Driving itself! It just feels like you're constantly driving through the Middle Earth set in Lord of the Rings! Stunning

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#2 Taking a boat trip through the magnificent fjords of Milford Sound as you see penguins, dolphins and mighty waterfalls cascading from what feels like the heavens above

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#3 Queenstown, one of the adrenaline capitals of the world. Enjoy the views as you paraglide, bungy or go whitewater rafting

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#4 Climb the Frans Jospeh Glacier. Crampons on, ice pick in hand and head off to explore the vast ice caverns

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#5 Stopping for views of the beautifully islands of the remote West Coast

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#6 Skiing in the compact ski slopes of The Remarkables and Coronet peak just outside of Queenstown

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#7 Passing by and stopping for a look at Mount Cook in the distance

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#8 The drive along the Milford Road on the way to Milford Sound

Itinerary

 

 

Day 1 – land in Christchurch and take the remainder of the day wandering around the city centre of the town often described as the most english of NZ cities and a one coping with the aftermath of the giant 2011 earthquake

Day 2 – drive across the Southern Alps, enjoying Arthur’s Pass and the gorgeous coastline, on your way to Franz Jospeh

Day 3 – spend the day climbing the fast moving Frans Joseph Glacier, taking a helicopter up to the top as needed, and enjoying the views of both the glacier and the wonderful surrounding valleys.  See more details in this travel entry – Climbing the Frans Josef Glacier

Day 4-6 – drive down to Queenstown and give yourself a day for the adrenaline sports of skiing, paragliding, bungy jumping as well as to enjoy the stunning views of Lake Wakatipu.  See for more details – Skiing in Queenstown, Bungy jumping the Thrillogy in Queenstown and Paragliding through the mountains and clouds in Queenstown

Day 7-8 – drive down to Milford Sound to enjoy a boat trip or kayaking through the natural majesty of the fjords and the beautiful Milford Road that connects Te Anau to Milford Sound.  For more details see –Taking a boat trip through Milford Sound

Day 9-10 – drive back to Christchurch via views of Mount Cook, Australasia’s tallest mountain, and the turquoise glacial waters of Lake Tekapo

Travel Tips

 

Highlights – whilst the big ticket items are indeed spectacular experiences, the overall highlight is actually the driving itself.  It basically feels like you’re driving through Middle-earth set of Lord of the Rings.

 

Driving distance – the total length of the route I’ve shared is 1,785km / 1,100 miles which will take around 23 hours.  Considering the driving is a key part of the trip, this doesn’t feel like too much spread over the 10 days.

 

Campervanning or driving – you can easily do both.  The route is designed to finish the evenings in places where you could easily find hotel / hostel accommodation or camping sites.  Completely up to you.  We liked campervanning just as we were trying to save a bit of money and really enjoyed staying in the middle of nowhere some evenings.

 

Time of year to go – no doubt the best time to visit is in summer, but we visited for 2 months in the New Zealand winter and still had a blast.  Whilst it was for sure colder, it didn’t dampen what we wanted to do and in fact added another angle with the skiing in Queenstown.  We also didn’t experience any of the super busy times with fellow tourists that many people mention.  Don’t let the winter put you off.

 

Other destination options – the south island is all about the natural beauty, which is why I’ve focused on the big ticket items that are typically on the west coast and central / south.  If this is the type of trip you are looking for then steer clear of the likes of the east coast and south east with Invercargill and Dunedin – they are simply not up to the same standard of the west coast.  But, another option is to head to the north for the world-class vineyards – different type of trip but nonetheless beautiful.

 

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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