New Zealand Honeymoon

I've been to NZ and Australia, and NZ is gorgeous nature-wise. It is so beautiful and breathtaking.

But their borders are like one of the strictest in the world with regards to COVID, and I don't think they are letting any foreigners in. I wouldn't plan any vacation/honeymoon there for March or April next year, there's still a lot of uncertainty on when NZ (or Australia) will open their borders to America.

Yes, my dad's side of the family all live in New Zealand and I spent 4 months traveling and visiting family there back in 2016 and 2017. I don't know how things will play out with COVID but my parents are hoping to go back January of next year (if it is possible it will only be because my dad is a citizen). I would not make plans for a 2022 trip as a tourist. Maybe tentatively plan for 2023 if you are really set on going.



So, so many amazing things to do and places to see there though! Each area of the country is completely different so it really depends on what kind of travel experience you are looking for. Hiking (which they call trekking) is big in both the North and South Island. If that is your passion, I particularly recommend the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is about a 6-8 hour trip one way, with a shuttle that drops you off at one side and picks you up on the other. Also in the North Island are the Bay of Islands, Hobbiton (near Matamata), and Rotorua (town in the middle of a geothermal area similar to Yellowstone). The South Island has Queenstown which has all kinds of extreme sports right near stunning mountain peaks on a lake. So much stunning scenery in the South Island but the highlights of my trip were a daytrip to Castle Hill (near-ish Christchurch), visiting Akaroa, driving through the Southern Alps near Mt. Cook, and seeing the penguins and albatrosses in Dunedin.

New Zealand is a bucket list item for me.

Top things I want to do:
Te Anau glow worm caves
Milford Sound
Whirinaki Conservation Park
Rainbow Springs (they have a kiwi hatchery!)
Waimangu Volcanic Valley (youngest geothermal valley in the world)

Yes!! New zealand is a bucket list thing to go see HOBBITON!! (Wellington area) anything lord of the rings related

Born and bred there, though I live in Australia now. Happy to provide some recommendations if you tell me more about what sort of honeymoon you’re after - do you want adventure tourism (bungy jumping, skydiving, white water rafting), are you into hiking (which we call “tramping”, not trekking!), do you want to lie on beaches, although March is starting to cool down and isn’t ideal beach season, or would you rather see all the unique places NZ has, like Rotorua, which is a geothermal area like nothing else, for example? And how long are you planning to spend there? People think it’s a small country and a week is plenty to see it all, but that couldn’t be further from the truth (well, it’s a small country but you need a lot more than a week!). My husband and I spent two weeks travelling through Northland and then the Coromandel Peninsula just before Christmas 2019 and we wouldn’t have wanted any less time for just those two regions.

Generally I would always recommend the South Island over the North, if you have limited time, but I’m a South Islander so probably biased...depending on what you want to do and see, there’s likely to be one which is a better option for you.

View Quoted Comment We are definitely into tramping over the adrenaline sports and want to see as much of the natural beauty as possible. We love the outdoors and go hiking, fishing, etc. here so we would love to take in all the natural beauty.


I see a lot of you don’t think it will be open, but all the travel agents are saying they think it will be -with mandated vaccine. So hard to decide to spend the effort planning and potentially not getting to go or switch our focus.

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I’d go for the South Island, in that case. If you can get a couple of weeks, you can do most of the island; fly into Christchurch, spend a couple of days there and do a day trip to Akaroa, then head west over Arthur’s Pass. Go up the west coast through to Nelson, spend some time in the Abel Tasman National Park, then down the east coast back through Christchurch to Queenstown. Do a day trip to Milford Sound from there, spend some time in the area which is gorgeous, loads to do in the outdoors, then fly out from there (probably via Auckland).

View Quoted Comment Thank you!!!! This is so very helpful and sounds AMAZING.

I went to New Zealand two decades ago. Its a beautiful country and I hope to go back one day.

Flights from the USA are long, expect to lose a full day in travel on either end. So personally, I don't think the trip is worth it unless you can take off at least 10-14 days, minimum.

Rotorua area is gorgeous but smells like sulphur from all the hot springs (good to know if you are ooogling photos but have a sensitive nose).

As others have mentioned, New Zealand does have very strict travel restrictions due to Covid. I wouldn't plan anything sooner than 2022 at the earliest.

View Quoted Comment Thank you! We were thinking we would go for 2 weeks. Leave on a Thursday to get the nonstop and return 2 Thursday’s later. Definitely too long of a flight for a quick trip!