The North Island in two weeks
Give the North Island a fortnight of its own and it gives you the parts of New Zealand that most visitors never reach. Waitangi, where the country was founded and is still argued about. The kauri forest of the far north-west. A coast of pōhutukawa and sea arches. Ground that steams, a Māori evening in Rotorua, three volcanoes and the best day walk in the country, and a capital at the end of it.
Fourteen days · thirteen nights · seven bases · hire car · Auckland to Wellington.
Northland is the reason it exists. Of thirty-six published both-islands fortnights we read day by day, exactly one reached the Bay of Islands, and it had to fly an internal leg to do it. Give up the South Island and it fits, with two nights at the bay, two in Rotorua and two under the volcanoes. It moves seven times and sleeps three single nights: a focused trip, and the leanest of our fortnights.
The longest day is the third: 345 km up the west coast through Waipoua Forest on a road slower than any map admits. The bookings that decide the trip are the Tongariro shuttle and its DOC booking. The trade is plain: no fiords, no glaciers, no alpine lakes. If those are why you are coming, the South Island fortnight is your route.
What is ours, and what is researched. Most of this route is our own March 2026 trip: Auckland, the drive through Waipoua to Tāne Mahuta, a week in the Bay of Islands, the Coromandel coast and Cathedral Cove, and Rotorua. Where we write in the first person, we were there.
Waiheke, Russell, Taupō, the Tongariro Crossing, the drive south and Wellington we have not done, and those days are built from DOC, NZTA and the operators' own pages. The drive times are our allowance, not measurements.
Last updated 30 September 2026
The route at a glance
Seven places to sleep, one of them twice, and what each stay is for. Tap a base to open its first day below.
| Base | Nights | The leg in | What these nights are for | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | nights 1–2, and 5 | Arrival; then back on day 5, 225 km from the bay | Losing the flight, a volcano and an island; later, a night to stage the Coromandel | Low. Day 5 is a staging night |
| Bay of Islands | 2 | 345 km through Waipoua, the whole day | Waitangi, and a day on the water | The longest and slowest drive of the trip |
| Whitianga | 1 | 191 km, or 212 by the coast road | Cathedral Cove early, before the crowds | Single night; the tide and the track decide the morning |
| Rotorua | 2 | 232 km after the cove, a long afternoon | Steaming ground, Te Pā Tū and the Redwoods | Te Pā Tū booked ahead |
| Taupō | 1 | 81 km, the shortest hop | Huka Falls and the lake | Single night |
| National Park | 2 | 100 km onto the plateau | The Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with a bed at each end of the walk | Shuttle and DOC booking; the weather decides, and there is no spare day |
| Wellington | 2 | 314 km, about 4½ hours | Te Papa, He Tohu and the capital on foot | No long-haul flights home |
The shape of the route
North first, while you are fresh: up the west coast through Waipoua to the Bay of Islands, and back to Auckland down the east coast. Then one clean run south with no backtracking: the Coromandel, Rotorua, Taupō, the volcanic plateau and Wellington. Seven bases, thirteen nights, one car and no ferry.
The dashed line is the day-5 return, a different road from the way up. The numbers are the day you arrive. This is a diagram rather than a map: each base sits where its real coordinates put it, but no coastline is drawn, because we have not verified one.
Before you commit
Weather will change some of these days
The North Island is lush for a reason. On our own drive in March 2026 we met slip repairs, roadworks and diversions again and again, after rain that was torrential rather than wet, and it is one reason we are cautious about every drive time on this page.
None of it is a reason to stay away. Hold the times loosely, start the long days early, and check the road the night before on NZTA's highway conditions page. SH12 through Waipoua, SH25 on the Coromandel and the roads round the volcanoes, SH47 and SH4, are the ones to watch.
Two slow roads, and why they are worth it
SH12 through Waipoua and SH25 round the Coromandel are narrow, winding and slower than any map will tell you. We drove both. Neither is dangerous at a sensible speed; both punish someone running late. They are also two of the most beautiful roads on the island, which is the argument for leaving early rather than taking a faster way.
The Tongariro Crossing needs a shuttle and a booking
The Crossing is 19.4 km, one way, over an active volcano. DOC says allow seven to eight hours from November to April and nine from May to October. There is no visitor parking at the Mangatepopo start in summer, so almost everyone takes a shuttle, and a DOC booking is required if you use a shuttle or a guide; DOC charges no booking fee.
The weather closes it regularly. Two nights at National Park give the walk a full day with a bed at each end, but not a spare day: if you want one, move a Wellington night here.
Waitangi first, if you can
The route goes north first for a reason beyond the driving. Waitangi explains so much of what you will see afterwards, in every carving, marae and place name, that it is worth reaching early. We went late on our own trip and wished we had not. The Treaty Grounds ticket for international visitors includes a guided tour and a cultural performance; allow half a day.
Getting home from Wellington
Wellington's international flights go only to Australia and the Pacific. From Europe, North America or Asia you connect, through Auckland or an Australian hub, and it is one of the windiest airports anywhere, so leave a generous gap before a long-haul flight.
What to book, in the order it has to happen
| Order | What | When | Why it comes here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The car, Auckland to Wellington | Before anything else | A one-way hire; ask for the one-way fee in writing |
| 2 | The Tongariro shuttle and DOC booking | Once the National Park dates are set | Day 11 is built around it, and summer shuttles fill |
| 3 | Te Pā Tū, Rotorua | With the beds | An evening that sells out in summer |
| 4 | Waitangi Treaty Grounds | A day or two ahead | The ticket includes the guided tour and the cultural performance |
| 5 | The single-night beds | With the rest | Whitianga and Taupō, one night each, leave no room to wait |
| 6 | The Cathedral Cove track and the tide | The night before | DOC closes the track after heavy rain; the tide decides Hot Water Beach |
We could not find a published lead time for any of these. We would rather tell you to book early and say we do not know how early than invent a number.
The itinerary, day by day
Fourteen days. Open one, or open them all.
Day 1Auckland — land, and do very littleno driving
Almost everyone arrives after a day or more in the air, and the commonest mistake on a New Zealand fortnight is to drive on the first of it. NZTA's own advice is to sleep before you drive after a long flight.
Day 2Auckland — a volcano and an island40 min ferry each way
About fifty volcanic cones sit inside the city, and twenty minutes up Maungawhau lays out the isthmus between its two harbours. The afternoon goes out into the Hauraki Gulf, to Waiheke's vineyards and beaches, or across to Devonport, which we did.
- Drive
- No driving. Ferries from downtown: Waiheke about 40 minutes, Devonport about 12
- Stay
- Auckland — second of two nights
- Eat
- Auckland — a Waiheke winery for lunch, or Devonport's main street
- See
- Maungawhau / Mount Eden — early is best
- Waiheke Island or Devonport
- Check
- Tomorrow is the long day. Leave by eight
Day 3Auckland to the Bay of Islands — the kauri coast345 km · the whole day
Up the west coast on SH12, past the Kauri Museum at Matakohe, where the creation story is told on the wall: Tāne, in the form of a kauri, pushing Sky and Earth apart. Then Waipoua, where we stood in front of the tree that carries his name, and the road down to the Hokianga harbour.
- Drive
- 345 km on SH12 and across to the bay. Allow the whole day, and leave at eight
- Stay
- Bay of Islands — first of two nights
- Eat
- Bay of Islands — Paihia's waterfront, or Dargaville on the way
- See
- The Kauri Museum at Matakohe
- Tāne Mahuta and Waipoua Forest
- The Hokianga harbour mouth at Ōmāpere
- Check
- Use the boot-cleaning stations. Kauri dieback spreads on footwear
Day 4Bay of Islands — Waitangi, and the watershort hops only
Go to Waitangi before anywhere else in the country, if you can. We went late in our trip and spent the rest of it re-reading things we had already seen; the tour and the cultural performance explain why the Treaty's two texts are still argued about.
- Drive
- Short hops. Waitangi is walkable from Paihia
- Stay
- Bay of Islands — second of two nights
- Eat
- Bay of Islands — the Treaty Grounds café for lunch; we ate there
- See
- The Waitangi Treaty Grounds — allow half a day
- A boat into the bay, or the ferry to Russell
- Kerikeri's Stone Store, which we saw
- Check
- The Treaty Grounds ticket includes the tour and performance; check times
Day 5Bay of Islands to Auckland — down the east coast225 km · about 3 hours
An easier road than the way up, and a day with nothing fixed in it. We stopped at Kawakawa on the way; take the beach at Mangawhai if the weather is kind.
- Drive
- 225 km on SH1, about 3 hours without stops
- Stay
- Auckland — one night, a staging night, near the motorway south
- Eat
- Auckland — wherever is closest; nothing is asked of tonight
- See
- Kawakawa and its Hundertwasser toilets, on the way
- Mangawhai — surf beach and estuary
Day 6Auckland to Whitianga — the Coromandel coast212 km · most of the day
We took the long way: south to the Firth of Thames and the Pūkorokoro Miranda shorebird centre, then the coast road round the peninsula under pōhutukawa, reaching Whitianga by mid-afternoon. It is the day the Coromandel makes its case.
Day 7Whitianga to Rotorua — Cathedral Cove first232 km · a long afternoon
You cannot park near the cove: it is a steep 20 to 30 minute walk down, and it needs two hours at least. Go early. You come down through pōhutukawa onto a beach with no road to it; the earlier you arrive, the fewer people you share it with. Then Hot Water Beach if the tide allows, and the long drive to Rotorua.
- Drive
- 232 km to Rotorua after the cove. A long drive in its own right; we felt it
- Stay
- Rotorua — first of two nights
- Eat
- Rotorua — Eat Streat, central and easy after the drive
- See
- Mautohe Cathedral Cove — early
- Hot Water Beach, at low tide only
- Check
- Check the Cathedral Cove track with DOC, and the tide. Ours failed at high tide
Day 8Rotorua — the ground, the culture and the forestno driving
The sulphur is the first thing, and you stop noticing it inside half an hour. Steam comes out of drains and park corners; the town is built on ground that is still working. We spent the evening at Te Pā Tū and a morning among the redwoods.
- Drive
- Short hops in town only
- Stay
- Rotorua — second of two nights
- Eat
- Rotorua — tonight's hāngī at Te Pā Tū is dinner
- See
- Te Puia or Whakarewarewa
- The Redwoods — we walked them
- Te Pā Tū — the evening; we went
- Check
- Te Pā Tū is booked ahead
Day 9Rotorua to Taupō — the falls and the lake81 km · about 1¼ hours
The shortest hop of the trip, so use the day. Huka Falls squeezes the whole Waikato River through a narrow rock channel, and the noise arrives before the view. Lake Taupō fills a caldera formed by a vast eruption about 25,500 years ago.
- Drive
- 81 km, about 1¼ hours
- Stay
- Taupō — one night, by the lake
- Eat
- Taupō — the lakefront
- See
- Huka Falls — thirty minutes
- Lake Taupō and its shore
Day 10Taupō to National Park — onto the plateau100 km · about 1½ hours
A short day on purpose, because tomorrow is the biggest on this itinerary. Arrive with time to check the shuttle, the forecast and your kit, and look at the three volcanoes you are going to walk between.
- Drive
- 100 km, about 1½ hours
- Stay
- National Park village — first of two nights
- Eat
- National Park — a small village; eat early
- See
- Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe from the village
- The shuttle pick-up point, before dark
- Check
- Confirm tomorrow's shuttle and the DOC booking tonight
Day 11The Tongariro Alpine Crossing — the day walk19.4 km on foot
Up the Mangatepopo Valley, over the South Crater, past the Emerald Lakes and down through tussock to Ketetahi. It is a real mountain crossing on an active volcano, not a stroll. A ten-year rāhui followed the 2025 fires: stay on the marked track.
- Drive
- Shuttle to Mangatepopo, collected at Ketetahi. 7–8 hours walking in summer
- Stay
- National Park — second of two nights
- Eat
- National Park — carry a full day's food and water
- Check
- If the shuttle is not running, that is the answer. See the fallback below
Day 12National Park to Wellington — down to the capital314 km · about 4½ hours
The last long drive, and an easy one by this route's standards. South round the mountain and on down the island, arriving with light to walk to dinner; leave the car where you park it, because you will not need it again.
- Drive
- 314 km, about 4½ hours without stops
- Stay
- Wellington — first of two nights
- Eat
- Wellington — Cuba Street
- See
- Wellington — the waterfront, if the light holds
- Check
- The roads round Ruapehu take snow in winter. Check NZTA
Day 13Wellington — the document you came to understandon foot
Te Papa, the national museum, earns a morning. Then He Tohu at the National Library, where the original Treaty sheets are kept. If you began at Waitangi, this is where the trip closes: the paper itself, at the other end of the island from where it was signed.
- Drive
- None. The centre is compact and walkable
- Stay
- Wellington — second of two nights
- Eat
- Wellington — the waterfront, or Cuba Street again
- See
- Te Papa Tongarewa — allow three hours
- He Tohu, National Library — the Treaty itself
- The cable car and Botanic Garden
- Check
- Te Papa charges international visitors 16 and over; see its site
Day 14Wellington — the travelling dayto the airport
The last day is a travelling day, so plan it as one: home, if home is Australia, or north to Auckland for the long flight.
- Drive
- Airport about 20 minutes from the centre. Return the car first
- Eat
- Wellington — breakfast in the city before you go
- See
- The harbour from the airport road, one last time
- Check
- Wind can delay Wellington flights. Leave four hours for a long-haul connection
Where to stay on this route
Areas and kinds of bed rather than named hotels. Those belong on each place's own page, and every base on this route has a guide of ours.
Auckland · nights 1–2, and 5
Area: the city centre or Parnell for the first two nights, where we stayed; for night 5, anywhere near the motorway south. Pick: an apartment or hotel you can walk from, then something simple. Suits: a long-haul arrival and a staging night. Watch: city-centre parking is expensive; collect the car on day 3. Our guides: where to stay in Auckland and where to eat.
Bay of Islands · nights 3–4
Area: Paihia, for Waitangi and the boats. We stayed at Ōpua, ten minutes south, which is quieter and fine with a car. Pick: a motel or apartment with parking. Suits: two nights with no packing. Watch: Paihia fills in summer; book it with the rest. Our guides: where to stay in the Bay of Islands and where to eat.
Whitianga · night 6
Area: the town by the harbour, or Hahei, nearer the cove. Pick: a B&B or motel; we stayed in a B&B. Suits: an early start for Cathedral Cove. Watch: a single night; Hahei is closer to the cove, Whitianga has more choice. Our guide: Whitianga, with where to stay and eat inside it.
Rotorua · nights 7–8
Area: the centre near Eat Streat, or the lakefront. Pick: a motel with parking. Suits: two full days without packing. Watch: we ended up north of the town between the lakes when a booking in town was cancelled a few days out. Fine with a car, but everything becomes a drive. Our guides: where to stay in Rotorua and where to eat.
Taupō · night 9
Area: the lakefront. Pick: a motel with a lake view. Suits: one night and an easy onward day. Watch: a single night; the lake is the reason to pay for the view. Our guides: where to stay in Taupō and where to eat.
National Park · nights 10–11
Area: the village itself, on the shuttle routes. Pick: a lodge or motel with drying space. Suits: anyone walking the Crossing. Watch: small, and the beds fill in summer; book as soon as the shuttle is fixed. Our guide: National Park village, with where to stay and eat inside it.
Wellington · nights 12–13
Area: the central city, Te Aro or the waterfront. Pick: a hotel with parking, or park once and walk. Suits: a full day on foot. Watch: weekend events fill the centre; check before you book. Our guides: where to stay in Wellington and where to eat.
Whitianga and National Park village are too small for pages of their own on where to stay and eat, so their town guides cover both. Every other base on this route has a where-to-stay and a where-to-eat page, linked from its days.
Make it yours
Ten days, and seven
The fortnight is the version we would defend. Both shorter versions work; neither is the same trip.
| Length | What you cut | What survives | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ten days | Northland: Waitangi, the kauri and the bay. Auckland 2, Whitianga 1, Rotorua 2, Taupō 1, National Park 2, Wellington 1 | The Coromandel, Rotorua and the Tongariro Crossing with its spare day | Northland, which almost no visitor sees, and the reason to find four more days |
| Seven days | Everything south of Taupō. Auckland 2, Rotorua 3, Taupō 1, then back to Auckland | Rotorua properly, with a day out to Waitomo or Hobbiton | The volcanoes and Wellington. Day 7 is a 272 km travelling day, or a flight from Taupō |
A week spent in one place is the version we would choose over a week spent driving. Three nights in Rotorua sounds like too many until you are there. Taupō has a small airport with Air New Zealand flights to Auckland a few times a week; check the schedule before you plan the seven-day version around one.
Fly out of Wellington, or join the South Island
If you have four weeks, this fortnight joins the South Island fortnight: from Wellington take the ferry to Picton, drive down the coast through Kaikōura to Christchurch, and the loop begins there. What it costs: a ferry day and a coast day between the two, and a one-way car hire that most companies will not let cross the strait.
Swap Taupō for Waitomo
If caves matter more to you than lakes, spend night 9 near Waitomo instead of Taupō and see the glowworm grotto; our Waitomo page has the caves. What it costs: Huka Falls and the lake, and a longer drive on day 10, 145 km across to National Park rather than 100.
One more night, if you have it
Give it to the Bay of Islands. We spent a week there; a third night buys the day on the water that two nights squeeze.
If the route slips
Most fortnights here run more or less to plan. The ones that do not tend to come apart in the same few places, and all of them can be recovered if you know which parts of the route carry the weight.
What is fixed: the Tongariro shuttle and the flight home. What is flexible: Waiheke on day 2, Hot Water Beach, and the Taupō afternoon. What goes first if something has to: the Taupō afternoon and Waiheke, which give back time without moving a night.
- If the Crossing is closed. Walk a lower track from the village area instead, such as Taranaki Falls, and drive on to Wellington as planned; do not go up in bad weather to save the plan. If the Crossing is the reason you came, give National Park a third night from the start, taken from Wellington.
- If SH12 or SH25 is shut. Follow NZTA's detour. On day 3, SH1 north is the straightforward alternative and still reaches the bay; you lose Waipoua, not a night.
- If Cathedral Cove is closed. DOC closes the track after heavy rain. Take Hot Water Beach and the Hahei coast instead, and leave for Rotorua earlier.
- If you are simply tired. Spend the second Rotorua day doing nothing, or skip the Taupō afternoon. Two quiet days are remembered more clearly than four spent behind glass.
For road status, NZTA's highway conditions page is the authority; for the Crossing and the cove, DOC's own pages.
A final word on the North Island
Give up the South Island without regret if what you want is the country rather than the scenery. Start at Waitangi and finish at He Tohu, and the fortnight in between makes a different kind of sense.
Andrew + Margaret
- All four New Zealand itineraries Decide
- The South Island in two weeks Decide
- New Zealand in two weeks, both islands Decide
- New Zealand in three weeks Decide
- How many days do you need in New Zealand? Decide
- Getting around New Zealand Practical
- Understanding Māori New Zealand Culture
- Visiting New Zealand Overview
Is the North Island worth two weeks on its own?
Yes, and it is the only one of our fortnights that reaches Northland. Of thirty-six published both-islands fortnights we read, exactly one reached the Bay of Islands, and it flew to do it. This route gives Waitangi two nights and still reaches Rotorua, the volcanoes and Wellington.
Can I do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing without a shuttle?
In summer, effectively no: there is no visitor parking at the Mangatepopo start, and it is a one-way walk, so you need transport at both ends. A DOC booking is required if you use a shuttle or a guide, with no booking fee.
Where is the original Treaty of Waitangi?
At He Tohu in the National Library in Wellington, not at Te Papa. Te Papa's own Treaty exhibition is built around a full-size reproduction and is worth seeing first; the two are about ten minutes apart.
Can I fly home from Wellington?
Only to Australia and the Pacific. From anywhere else you connect, through Auckland or an Australian hub. Wellington's weather can delay flights, so leave four hours before a long-haul connection.