A honeymoon is just the start of your adventure together — and the first challenge is choosing a destination.
For natural beauty, romantic locations and pure fun, New Zealand has so much to offer. Whether you’re planning a five-star journey or an adventure that’s a little more intrepid, it’s all there at your fingertips.
One ideal form of transport and accommodation for couples is a campervan or motorhome. So to help you start planning, we’ve compiled our top ten ultimate New Zealand honeymoon tips with a campervan hire.
1. Set up an iconic Kiwi experience
Choosing to honeymoon in New Zealand is a big decision. So it’s only natural that you’ll be looking for something uniquely Kiwi to make your post-wedding time together seriously special.
Consider one or more uniquely New Zealand experience like:
- Visiting the Waitangi Treaty Grounds outside Paihia in Northland — featuring extraordinary museums, concerts and guided tours
- Paddling a traditional Māori canoe known as a waka in the Bay of Islands
- Authentic Māori cultural events in Rotorua — where you can taste food from a traditional earth oven known as a hāngi
- Whale watching off the coast of Kaikōura — in between swims with dolphins
- Bungy jumping at the original Kawarau Bridge bungy in Queenstown — as you’ve tied the knot together, why not take the next step, literally.
2. Take honeymoon snaps amongst water wonders
Gondwana’s gallery of gorgeousness will give you the raw ingredients to create a stunning honeymoon album.
If your celebratory theme is coastal wonders, you’ll discover countless ones while beach-hopping across New Zealand — from Northland’s Ninety Mile Beach to Colac Bay in Southland.
East coast beaches offer magnificent dawn glows while west coast beaches display memorable sunsets beyond the rugged foreshore.
From chasing seawater to searching for fresh water, the country is also jam-packed with waterfalls. Some of the best spots for honeymoon pictures are:
- Bridal Veil Falls just outside Raglan — walk to the top of this captivating 55m waterfall
- Wairere Falls Walk in the Kaimai Ranges near Te Aroha — marvel as the cascade drops over the Okauia Fault and misty droplets spritz the native trees
- Purakaunui Falls Walk in The Catlins — one of Otago’s most photographed sites
- Devils Punchbowl Falls in Arthur’s Pass National Park — walk to the base of this 131m high waterfall.
For more epic locations, check out our best New Zealand honeymoon destinations.
3. Quench your thirst for thrill-seeking adventure
New Zealand is the supreme destination for thrillseekers. Not only is it the fabled birthplace of bungy jumping and zorbing, it’s also the home of the HamiltonJet — an innovation that revolutionised shallow water jet boating.
Base your motorhome honeymoon in one of the country’s famed adventure towns, such as Queenstown, Rotorua or Waitomo. Then combine your love of the outdoors and adrenaline by going on a range of daring dates.
Your options are endless with skydiving, canyoning, heliskiing and whitewater rafting all in vogue.
Book ahead to experience New Zealand’s most iconic thrills where they’re most famous. For instance:
- Black Water Rafting in Waitomo
- Canyoning at the top of the South Island
- White water rafting in the Bay of Plenty
- Rock climbing in Raglan
- Canyon swinging in Queenstown.
4. Soar to new romantic heights with a scenic flight
Explore the lush beauty of New Zealand from a heavenly perspective by taking to the air. Enjoy a helicopter ride to a secluded spot — the best place for a picnic. Or take your partner on a scenic flight over the sweeping Southern Alps to marvel at the alpine scenery.
A few popular airbourne alternatives to consider are in:
- The Hauraki Gulf — unbeatable experiences taking a seaplane above Auckland
- Central Otago — amazing views choppering up to a secluded patch of snow
- Glacier Country — otherworldly icewalking after your helicopter ride onto a West Coast glacier
- Milford Sound — fly into and land at this legendary location.
If staying a little closer to ground is more your thing, look into the opportunities to zipline around the country. You’ll find them on Waiheke Island, at Driving Creek Railway in The Coromandel and at Rotorua Canopy Tours.
New Zealand’s longest zipline is over a kilometre in length and you can find it at Christchurch Adventure Park in the picturesque Port Hills.
If you and your spouse have a head for heights, take a stroll around the top of Auckland's Sky Tower. Then, choose to bungy for the quickest way down.
5. Overindulge in New Zealand’s celebrated wine regions
Kiwis are proud of their wine and rightly so because countless New Zealand wines have been making waves and taking medals on the world stage. With numerous wine regions around the country, why not let your nose lead you on your honeymoon.
Hawke's Bay
Start with Hawke's Bay and Napier — one of the first places to grow grapes thanks to thirsty Marist missionaries who grew grapes here as early as 1851. A few popular wineries to try are:
- Elephant Hill — sustainable and handcrafted with plenty of space to enjoy their wines
- Craggy range — set below an actual craggy range including landmark Te Mata Peak
- Mission Estate — New Zealand’s oldest winery.
Take a look at our Napier motorhome holiday guide for more exciting places to eat and drink in Hawke's Bay.
Marlborough
At the top of the South Island, the Marlborough wine region is the sauvignon blanc capital of New Zealand. Sitting at an ideal latitude, this area has a host of relaxing wineries including:
- Forest — lounge about on bean bags in the wide open space of Forest Estate
- Framingham — to try their well-regarded riesling
- Cloudy Bay — a popular winery with equally popular Sauvignon Blanc.
Central Otago
Central Otago produces a range of varietals with verve — but it’s their pinot noir that really turns heads. Head to the region’s highly-rated vineyards, such as:
- Amisfield — situated by the picturesque Lake Hayes offering Trust the chef five-course degustations
- Mt Difficulty — located in Bannockburn near Cromwell
- Wet Jacket Wines — it’s a true novelty tasting local wines in an old woolshed.
Also consider visiting the wine regions of Martinborough in the Wairarapa which has over sixty boutique wineries — many of which are family owned and operated. This region is perfect for cycling between cellar doors.
Meanwhile, a mere hop skip and a jump from Christchurch is the Waipara Valley where you’ll discover all manner of great drops. Some, like Torlesse Wines, even have a spot to park up your campervan so you can indulge in the harvest without worrying about driving to your campsite.
Don’t forget to make time for lunch at one of the many award-winning restaurants attached to these wineries. For more unforgettable places to eat, check out our 20 best food experiences in New Zealand.
6. Sample those beer necessities
Wine is often regarded as the beverage of romance. It’s likely your family and friends toasted your nuptials with champagne. Yet New Zealand beer is becoming increasingly more exciting and drinkable thanks to the many microbreweries cropping up — or should that be hopping up — all over the country.
Beer experiences throughout the land are everywhere — but there are a few that stand out as ideal for a campervan honeymoon visit, such as:
- Emerson’s Brewery — in the heart of Dunedin you can enjoy a guided tasting of six of their beers
- Garage Project — one of the country’s most highly innovative craft breweries
- Nelson Craft Beer Trail — if you fancy biking between some reputable South Island breweries.
7. Enjoy peaceful birdwatching
New Zealand is renowned for being home to many species of birds that aren’t found elsewhere on the planet. That’s because many of our fine-feathered friends were able to evolve uniquely without the need for flight — thanks to the absence of mammalian predators.
For a spectacular avian experience visit Maungatautari — Waikato’s Sanctuary Mountain located 37km from Cambridge. It covers 3,400 hectares of tightly-fenced native bushmaking in a gated community for kiwi, tui, kaka, hihi and tuatara.
Want to see kiwi in the wild? Book ahead to stay overnight on Tiritiri Matangi in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. Or head for Kāpiti Island outside Wellington.
View kiwi in captivity at Otorohanga Kiwi House in South Waikato. You can also sign up for a night walk at Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington or visit Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch — among other places around the country.
Dunedin is also a blast for birds. Albatross and penguins are available for photo opportunities at Taiaroa Head. While you’re on the Otago Peninsula, head up the hill to Orokonui Ecosanctuary for more astonishing avian adventures — just don’t forget your binoculars.
If you’re able to take a break from your campervan, consider heading across Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island — and more specifically, Ulva Island. It’s a magical, open sanctuary with a phenomenal amount of native bird species.
8. Plan your honeymoon around a season
Are you planning a snuggly winter honeymoon or a summer of love? An autumn of memories or a spring in bloom? Learn more about seasons in New Zealand.
Summer
If you and your spouse are keen on water, summer’s your go-to season. In New Zealand, the summer months are from December to February. Temperatures can get above 30 degrees Celsius ensuring it’s the best time of year to enjoy lakes, rivers and beaches.
Find out how to have a fun and safe summer in New Zealand.
Autumn
Autumn colours and tones are arguably most prominent down south. The beauty of autumn leaves, the fun of autumn festivals, and the splendor of the Aurora Australis make this season one to remember.
See our six reasons to explore New Zealand by motorhome in autumn.
Winter
Hot springs, open fires, snow, hot chocolate and hot tubs under the stars — the smells, tastes and feelings of winter can’t be denied. New Zealand’s winter lasts from June to August with snow possible even outside these months. It’s a magical time to travel on your honeymoon.
Check out our ten reasons to tour New Zealand by motorhome in winter.
Spring
Flowers are in bloom, farm animals are being born, and the weather is warming up. It’s an ideal time to honeymoon by motorhome if you want a little more warmth but are still interested in snow sports.
Get some more info about planning your motorhome trip in spring.
New Zealand promises an unforgettable range of honeymoon experiences whatever your taste or budget. The most difficult thing will be deciding where to go and what to do. Just remember that if you can’t do it all, you can always return for your first anniversary.
Check out our reasons for planning a campervan honeymoon in New Zealand.
