Geysers, volcanoes and beaches that belong to no one – the North Island is the warmer, more cultural New Zealand.
Photo: Alex Viau (Unsplash)
Full disclosure: New Zealand is the country people rave to me about most – and one I've never seen. Almost all my friends have travelled it by campervan, and they all say: the North Island is underrated, because everyone wants to get to the South Island.
The route: Auckland, then north to the Bay of Islands with dolphins and Maori history, back via the Coromandel Peninsula with Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach, where you dig yourself a warm bath in the sand. Rotorua with geysers, mud pools and Maori evenings, Lake Taupo, and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing – 19 kilometres across volcanic landscape, the best day hike in the country.
Finally Wellington, the small capital with the Te Papa Museum, and the ferry to the South Island. Two weeks on the North Island plus two weeks on the South Island is the classic campervan trip – see the South Island page for the rest.
Campervan with nights at holiday parks; hotels in Auckland (Viaduct), Rotorua (lakefront), Wellington (Te Aro).
I almost always compare hotels, apartments and guesthouses on Booking.com – with genuine reviews and usually free cancellation.
See places to stay on New Zealand's North Island Compare on Hotels.com Holiday rental on Vrbo