An essential 2 week North Island route summarised into one compact blog, woo! 

It can be overwhelming working out where to go when you want to see anything and everything. We did lots of research, read a lot of blogs, looked on Instagram and TikTok and then combined that with what I did when I visited in 2020. It was a wholeeee lotta information to process so I wanted to write up a detailed but helpful summary route to get you planning your 2 Week North Island Route. 

This route is linked to our itinerary which was over the Christmas holidays, so I’ve added some alternative things to do where we relaxed over Christmas. I’ve also added some links for activities that we did on our road trip to hopefully make planning this as easy breezy as possible!

---

OK, let’s do this!

---

AUCKLAND

(2-3 Days, then pick up your campervan)

Most people travelling to New Zealand will fly into Auckland. We were no different and I think it’s possibly the cheapest airport to fly into as well. It’s not a bad starting base as you it’s a city thats easy to navigate, you can get the bus from the airport directly into the city centre and it’s located fairly central on the North Island too! 

Absolutely arrange your van pick up for a couple days after arriving into NZ as you’ll probably be fairly jet lagged, so it’s good to have a little time to recover before cracking on with the camping. We hired ours through Barefoot Campers and I reviewed our experience of that here!

A few days in Auckland is enough as it’s not a huge city but it is worth a visit. The hostels seemed to have died off a lot so book in advance. We stayed at the Attic Backpackers and it was ok – not the best, not the worst. I think the hostel’s took a huge hit during Covid and then those that survived have really ramped their prices up. There were plenty of hotels though, they were just out of our backpacker budget!

Things to do:

• Queens street is like the main street of the city. It can be a good place to find some nightlife at the top and Shoal Bay at the bottom. 
• If you fancy a trip out of the city, you can also get to Waiheke Island. It’s famous for its vineyards. You can get the boat over and then just cycle around visiting alllll the wineries! It’s really beautiful. 
• Walk around the Harbour and have some of the freshest fish 
• Take a trip up the Sky Tower for panoramic views of the city
• Use the e-scooters to nip round the city seeing the sights
• Stop at Giapo for some of the craziest gelato ever! p.s. it’s worth the queue

The city also has a maritime museum, an Auckland war museum, an art gallery, loads of ferries going to lots of lovely islands or areas across the water like Devonport, which are worth a visit. As well as big green parks to wander and plenty of shops, perfect for getting those final few things you might want to get before you hit the road. 

Top Tip – most of the camper rentals are at the airport so buy a return ticket on the bus and then you can hop back on to head back in a couple of days time.

---

OUR ROUTE 

(post Auckland)

Day 1

After collecting your van, I’d recommend choosing a site nearby so that you can grab the food you need from the supermarket or the camping essentials from The Warehouse or Bunnings. Both shops are close to Auckland airport! After we’d food shopped, camping shopped and fuelled up with petrol we were ready to get to our site and settle in. We settled on Arataki CSC Overnight Parking Area so we could unpack and settle before enjoying our first camping dins. It was a Low Cost Campsite, but it worked perfectly for us. I’ve linked the full list to our North Island Sites here. 

Day 2 

From the Arataki site, get on the road and head on to Phia Beach to see the black sandy beaches and have a paddle. If you fancy the coastal drive, pick up the Pacific Highway Scenic Route as its a great detour and fab way to see some lovely sites of New Zealand – so much better than a motorway! A good lunchtime spot is Kawakawa Bay where the beach is entirely shells. When you’re back on the road, carry on down the coast to Whanagapoua. It’s a nice spot to visit and the beach is really lovely. There is a freedom site on the front, but if you can’t get on there head to the Low Cost Site called Earls Paradise.  

Day 3

Wake up early and leave Whangapoua and head up to the Coromandel Peninsula. This is an area that really cannot be missed as there is so much to do and see. We headed to Cathedral Cove as this was my favourite spot in 2020. Hopefully you’ll get to Cathedral Cove mid morning, so that you can spend the afternoon on the cove’s beach. There’s a walk down to the cove from the top of the cliff which is fairly easy but in the heat it can be a bit harder. If this sounds good, park up in the Park and Ride carpark and then get the shuttle bus to the start of the walk. The timetable is located in the carpark, so you can work out what time suits you best. We wanted to spend a few hours on the beach, so we took a later bus back. After you get back from the cove, drive over to the freedom camp South End Reserve. It’s a lovely spot to spend the evening. 

If you’ve got longer than 2 weeks, definitely add a few extra days to your time in the Coromandel!

Day 4

From the Coromandel head south to Whangamata. This is a really cute seaside town with lots of activities including kayaking tours to the famous Donut Island. This is why we originally headed to Whangamata. It’s a good spot to have a break from driving so if doing an activity isn’t in your schedule, it’s still a really nice town to stop at, with plenty of spots for food. 

I’d also recommend emptying and refilling your vans water tank here, as it was really quiet. It’s slightly difficult to locate, it’s on the grass verge but there were no queues or other people there using it when we arrived. We located all of our dump stations and water-refill points through CamperMate.

From Whangamata, head down to Maungatautari. There are a few different freedom camps to stay at around here and it was a good middle point for the next few days. 

Day 5

Today was a full day for us. It depends if Hobbiton is on your to do list or not. We pre-booked our tickets to go today (only a few days in advance) and we changed our time slot for one of the last ones of the day. This meant the morning could be spent in Hamilton and the afternoon then on the tour. 

If Hobbiton isn’t your thing, I’d recommend just going to Hamilton for the day. We spent our morning at the Hamilton Botanical Gardens which are free and really, really nice. It’s a great way to spend a few hours. I visited these back in 2020 and they were just as beautiful as I remember them being. Hamilton itself is also really nice with plenty of things to do or for just a walk around. 

If you’re heading to Hobbiton today, then enjoy! 

Day 6

If you stayed around Hamilton, head on to Rotorua. If you didn’t want to visit Hamilton, I’d recommend heading straight from Whangamata to Rotorua to explore this town for a couple of days. A geothermal hotspot and absolutely worth seeing. Geothermal activity is one of the amazing things about New Zealand and here you can get up close and see it in action. If you’ve got one day here, you can see a lot still, just depends what you fancy seeing! 

There is a local park – Kuirau Park, filled with geo-thermal pools to see and a mini pool which is heated by geothermal activity, great if you want to see it up close but not pay an entrance fee. Alternatively, if you’re heading here for a bit longer you can book onto a tour at Hell’s Gate or one of the other centres. The Hell’s Gate one has a fantastic spa too. Another great activity is the Redwood Forest on Rotorua’s outskirts. 

Once you’re done in Rotorua, head in the direction of Taupo. Reid’s Farm is a great freedom site and you can swim in the river for a nice cool off. 

If you’ve got a while longer on the North Island, Rotorua is a great place to spend a few extra days!

Day 7

Start with a morning boat tour over to see the Māori Rock Carving before heading to the visitors centre to check the weather for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. You can book that for the next day or you can wait to return later (we had to wait as it was bad weather). Taupo is a really nice town, good spot to get food shopping and any other essential hiking bits you might need if tackling the crossing. Also, on the way in or out of Taupo, take a detour to the Huka Falls. These are huge and really impressive! It’s possible to do some speedboat experiences round the falls too. 

If you’re completing the crossing the next day, head to Tongariro National Park Village Park and Ride to stay. If not, I’d recommend heading up to Whakapapa Holiday Park which is really great site. Gives you great views of the mountains too and there are plenty of walks to complete nearby. 

---

Day 8

If you’re staying at the Whakapapa site, take your time to empty and refill the tank, use the hot showers and do your laundry. Leave the site and head off to complete Desert Road (SH1) before heading in direction of Waitomo Caves. On the way to the caves stop off at Tokaanu Geothermal Pools. This was such a good spot and a completely spontaneous stop for us. It was so relaxing and we paid for private room which was only $14pp. A really lovely way to spend the afternoon before heading on to the next stop. 

End the day somewhere near Waitomo Caves, ready for a cave tour in the morning. 

Day 9

Start the day with a Waitomo Caves tour. There is an option to do some Black Water rafting or just a boat tour. Both are good and fun to do. We did the boat tour this time as it was a better price for our budget, but back in 2020, I did the rafting which was also really fun. 

After a morning of activity, we headed on to Kawahia Beach. I would recommend that you headed to Hot Water Beach in the Coromandel rather than this one if you’re wanting to experience geothermal activity. Kawahia Beach is a nice drive however and it worked for us, and this route, but I wouldn’t say it was a highlight. If you’re not fussed about Kawahia Beach, I’d recommend spending the afternoon around Waitomo or if not, heading straight from there in the direction of New Plymouth stopping at The Three Sisters and The Elephant. These are famous rocks which are accessible during low tide.

Heading on to New Plymouth, a fab spot on the West Coast. We stayed at Urenui Beach Camp but I would recommend staying somewhere nearer to Mount Taranaki (Egmont) instead as this will mean you can spend time in the National Park. For us, today was Christmas Eve, so head over to Countdown and stock up on food! 

Day 10

This was actually Christmas Day for us, but if it’s not for you, I’d just suggest completing the mountain circuit track, enjoying the National Park and then heading at the beach as you’re on the coast. If it’s your Christmas Day, soak up the sunshine and have a chilled day! We spent ours at the beach. 

Day 11

After a relaxed Christmas Day, take a trip to Mount Taranaki from the Lake View stop before heading back north towards Tongariro National Park. This route wasn’t the most logical but this was because we hadn’t been able to complete the crossing whilst we were in Taupo. However, because we had flexibility it worked for us and we enjoyed a few days off on the West Coast before heading back. If you’ve already completed the crossing, you can head down to Wellington from today exploring more of the West Coast on the way. 

If you’re heading back for the crossing, check the weather, book your shuttle bus for the crossing and drive back via The Forgotten World Highway. One of the best scenic routes to do and it’s an impressive 150km road with 30km of unpaved road. There are lots of small walks and things to see along the highway too sea good way to spend a day or two. Make sure you fuel up on petrol first as there isn’t any on the 150km route. At the end, you’ll be back in Tongariro so head to the National Park Village Park and Ride which is a freedom camp. 

P.S. If you’ve already completed the crossing, when you head south from Tongariro head down the Forgotten World Highway to get you over to the West Coast!

---

Day 12

A full day of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing! This is a day well worth doing – the hike is amazing. I’ve written about it all here. I won’t say more, but definitely consider adding this to your itinerary. 

As it is a full day hike, and you won’t want to go far once you’ve finished so head back to the Park and Ride campsite and spend another night there. 

Day 13

Today is a long road trip down to Wellington. A good stop is at Whanganui before coming into Wellington. The drive into the capital is really nice and takes you up and through the hills. If you take your time to get there (which you might have to if you’ve done the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the day before) you should arrive in the afternoon and have the rest of the day to explore. Campsite wise, we stayed at Cuba Street which was a paid site, one of the safer ones it seemed and it was great for exploring. Spend the afternoon/evening enjoying some good food and drinks in the city.

Day 14

Up early and explore Wellington for your last few hours on the North Island. There’s loads of things to do and see in the capital, including like the Wellington Cable Car, Botanical Gardens, lots of places to eat and drink, harbour walks and more. If you can fit in a visit to the Te Papa – the National Museum of New Zealand, I’d definitely recommend that as it’s so informative, giving you a look into past and present life of New Zealand.

Catch an afternoon or evening ferry over to Picton on the South Island, ready for part two of your roadie!

P.S. If you have more flexibility, you might fancy extending for a few days or even going for an early morning ferry the next day to explore more of Wellington. This is a good spot to add on extra days!

---

I really hope that this has given you some help to start your planning of your North Island itinerary! It is a bit of a overload of information, but it is a big island to fit into just 2 weeks. I did take an alternative route which was longer and followed down the East Coast in 2020, so I’ll put together a blog about that as well in case you’re looking to spend longer on this wonderful island!

If you’re moving on to the South Island, check out the next part of our route here. 

Speak soon! 

lots of love,

Han x