Basics of travel to and between New Zealand islands – airports and ferries
Learn which airports on the North and South Island of New Zealand are often used when traveling to New Zealand and how you can travel between the New Zealand islands.
The first thing you’ll need to make a decision about when traveling to New Zealand is the island you’ll want to visit.
And if you’re into saving time, it might be best to book a direct flight to your New Zealand island of preference.
As you may already know, New Zealand consists of two large islands and several smaller ones.
In this article, I’ll focus on the two large islands, which are the North Island and South Island of New Zealand.
If you want to get an idea of what each New Zealand island has got to offer and why you should visit either the North or South Island of New Zealand, you can read:
There are two major airports – “major” by New Zealand standards – you can fly to if you want to visit New Zealand. Those two airports are: Auckland airport on the North Island of New Zealand, and Christchurch airport on the South Island of New Zealand.
Most international flights arriving in New Zealand land at Auckland airport. So if you live in America or Europe, chances are great that you’ll be able to catch a flight to Auckland.
While there are some international airlines that land at Christchurch airport, there are still less international flights landing directly at Christchurch airport than there are at Auckland airport. Auckland airport can be seen as the main airport of New Zealand.
If you’re flying from Australia to New Zealand, you’ve got a few more options where landing at airports in cities other than Auckland or Christchurch are concerned. Queenstown and Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand, and Wellington and Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand all receive flights originating from cities in Australia, mostly Sydney and Brisbane.
The North and South Islands of New Zealand are not connected to each other – although they were thousands of years ago – so you might be wondering how you can get from the North Island to the South Island or vice versa?
You have two options here: You can either go by air or by boat. If going by air you can typically fly from Wellington at the bottom of the North Island to Blenheim or Nelson at the top of the South Island. If going by boat you can catch a ferry from Wellington to Picton, which is also located at the top of the South Island.
Going by air saves you time (a flight from Wellington to Blenheim typically lasts only 25 minutes and to Nelson only 35 minutes), while catching the ferry will eat up at least 3 hours of your time. However, I do recommend going by ferry if you’re in New Zealand for the first time, because it is an experience of a lifetime, especially when cruising into Marlborough Sounds. However, do pick a nice day for this trip over.
There are two ferries with which you can make the journey over from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island and back: The Interislander and Bluebridge Cook Strait ferries.
Those are the basics for flying to either the North or South Island of New Zealand, and then getting either from North to South or South to North.
Filed under How-To Travel Guide
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