Itinerary
16 Days: South Island to Coromandel
Our actual family trip: Queenstown, Mt Cook, Wanaka, and finishing on the Coromandel Peninsula. Two islands, two rental cars, three kids.
Trip Highlights
- ✓ Fly-Cruise-Fly Milford Sound day trip from Queenstown
- ✓ Stargazing at Aoraki/Mt Cook Dark Sky Reserve
- ✓ Hooker Valley Trail with views of the glacier
- ✓ Rob Roy Glacier Track in Mt Aspiring National Park
- ✓ Shotover Jet and Skyline Luge in Queenstown
- ✓ Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula
- ✓ 309 Road Waterworks, a hidden gem kids love
Overview
This is the actual itinerary we ran in March 2025 with our three kids, ages 8, 10, and 12. We flew into Queenstown and out of Auckland, which meant two separate rental cars and no backtracking. It worked beautifully.
The South Island section is dramatic: big mountains, big drives, big activities. Wanaka is where the trip slows down in the best way. The Coromandel is a completely different New Zealand, lush, subtropical, beach-focused, and a perfect way to end before the long flight home.
Total cost (family of 5): Approximately $25,000 USD including flights. Not cheap. Worth every dollar.
The Flight
Chicago, San Francisco, Auckland, Queenstown
We flew United from Chicago to San Francisco, then Air New Zealand to Auckland (16 hours), then connected to Queenstown. The Air New Zealand leg is long but manageable. The aircraft is comfortable, the entertainment system is excellent, and the crew was genuinely great with the kids. Our eight-year-old got a proper kids meal without us having to fight for it.
Tips:
- Book seats together as early as possible on the Auckland leg.
- Download movies to tablets before you board. The in-seat screens are good but having backups matters.
- Plan for 1-2 recovery days at the start. We arrived in Queenstown exhausted. The Bay Playground gave the kids somewhere to run off the jet lag.
Days 1-2: Arrive Queenstown
Night location: Queenstown (AirBnb)
Arrive, recover, and recalibrate. Queenstown is an ideal arrival city. There is plenty to look at, the waterfront is walkable, and you do not need a car to explore on your first day.
Day 1: Queenstown Bay Playground. Let the kids run. Walk the waterfront. Stop at the archway near the harbor and look up. The words “Service Above Self” are carved above it. Hold onto that. You will see it everywhere for the next two weeks.
Day 2: Luge and Skyline Gondola. Take the gondola up, ride the luge down, repeat. Budget for multiple luge runs. Nobody will want to stop at one. Deer Park is worth the stop if you have time in the afternoon.
Day 3: Queenstown Activities
Shotover Jet (morning) + Earnslaw Steamboat (afternoon)
The Shotover Jet is 30 minutes of pure kid joy, a high-speed jet boat through a narrow canyon with 360-degree spins. Book the 9am slot and get there a few minutes early. Kids must be 3+ but honestly the minimum age that actually enjoys it is probably 6.
The TSS Earnslaw is the other side of Queenstown: a restored 1912 steamboat that crosses Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station. A calmer, gorgeous afternoon. Watch the engineers shoveling coal in the engine room. The kids were riveted.
Both are bookable through Viator. Cancel policies are flexible. Check your confirmation.
Day 4: Milford Sound (Fly-Cruise-Fly)
Day trip from Queenstown
This is the splurge day and it is worth it. The Fly-Cruise-Fly option means you fly into Milford Sound on a small plane (the approach through the mountains is stunning), cruise the fiord for about two hours, and fly back. No 4-hour drive each way, no bus, no lost day.
Book well in advance. Weather can cancel flights on short notice. They will reschedule, but have flexibility in your itinerary if possible. Bring layers even in summer; it is a rainforest and lives up to the name.
Day 5: Drive to Mt Cook
3.5-hour drive | Night: Aoraki Court Mt Cook Village
One of the great drives in the world. The road through the Mackenzie Basin opens up into something that does not look real, turquoise lakes, tussock plains, and the Southern Alps rising in front of you. Stop at Lake Tekapo. The color is not a filter.
Evening: Stargazing Planetarium at Mt Cook (9:30pm, ~150 NZD)
Do not skip this. Aoraki/Mt Cook is an International Dark Sky Reserve. On a clear night, the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. The planetarium session adds context and story. Book ahead.
Day 6: Hooker Valley Trail + Drive to Wanaka
Morning hike | 3-hour drive | Night: Wanaka
The Hooker Valley Trail is 10km return (about 3 hours) and leads to a glacial lake at the foot of Aoraki/Mt Cook. Three swing bridges. Kids of all ages can do it. Start early before it gets busy.
Then drive to Wanaka. The road over Haast Pass is spectacular. Allow extra time to stop.
Check into Diamond on Tenby, central, comfortable, and a short walk to the lake.
Days 7-8: Wanaka
Night: Wanaka (4 nights total)
Day 7 is intentionally slow. Wanaka has a way of making you want to stay. Cinema Paradiso is a genuine experience, couches, intermission with fresh cookies, and films that feel different when you watch them here. Puzzle World is genuinely fun for kids (and adults).
Day 8: Rob Roy Glacier Track, Mt Aspiring National Park. One of the best half-day walks in New Zealand. A stunning valley walk through beech forest to a glacial viewpoint, about 4 hours return. The older two pushed the pace; our eight-year-old made it without complaint and was rewarded with the view.
Day 9: Wanaka, Salmon Fishing Dinner
A slower day in Wanaka. The lake, the waterfront, the town. In the evening, hook salmon fishing, a unique local experience where you fish in a trout/salmon pond and they cook your catch. Kids loved it. Nobody went home hungry.
Day 10: Travel Day, South Island to Coromandel
Fly Queenstown/Wanaka area to Auckland | Drive to Coromandel Town
A long travel day. Pick up your second rental car in Auckland (we used Enterprise). Drive north and then onto the Coromandel Peninsula.
The Coromandel is a different New Zealand entirely, subtropical, winding coastal roads, dense native bush. The drive into Coromandel Town is beautiful. The drive out of it in the dark is an adventure. Plan to arrive before sunset if you can.
Day 11: Drive to Hahei via the 309 Road
Coromandel Town to Hahei | The 309 Road
The 309 is a gravel road that cuts across the peninsula through native forest. Stop at the Waterworks, an eccentric water-powered art installation and playground that is genuinely delightful. The older two were completely absorbed for two hours. Our eight-year-old declared it her favorite thing of the trip.
Continue to Hahei. Check in at Hahei Beach Resort.
Days 12-14: Hahei and Hot Water Beach
3 nights | The whole point of the Coromandel
Hot Water Beach is exactly what it sounds like: a beach where geothermal water seeps up through the sand, and at low tide, you dig your own hot pool at the water’s edge. Hire a spade from the shop near the beach. Go at low tide (check the tide tables, there is a 2-hour window on either side).
We went twice. It was worth going twice.
Cathedral Cove is a short kayak or walk away, a dramatic sea arch that is one of the most photographed spots in New Zealand. Go early before the tour groups arrive.
Day 15: Depart Auckland
Drive back to Auckland (about 2.5 hours). Return the rental car. Fly home.
The 16-hour Air New Zealand flight home is long. Everyone is tired. Nobody is complaining.
What We Would Do Differently
- Build in more time at Mt Cook. One night felt rushed. Two nights would let you do the Hooker Valley Trail without the pressure of the drive to Wanaka waiting.
- Start the Coromandel drive earlier. The last hour in the dark on those winding roads was fine, but avoidable.
- Fewer big activity days back to back. The Queenstown days were full-on. A buffer day somewhere in the middle of the South Island section would have helped.
What We Would Not Change
Everything else.