With 15,000km (9320 miles) of coastline, New Zealand is heaven for beach lovers. Its diverse shores dish up everything from lazy days and blazing sunsets, to active adventures such as swimming, kayaking and surfing.
Finding a great strip of sand in New Zealand is easy, but you can narrow down your coastal hit list with our pick of the country's very best beaches.
While Piha is infamous for unruly surf and strong undertows, it well deserves its mantle as Auckland’s most popular strand. Sizzle yourself on its hot black sand, frolic amid foamy white rollers (always swim between the flags), and wander the beach and surrounding walking tracks to better admire the shapely headlands of Lion Rock and Taitomo Island.
Picking the best beach in Abel Tasman National Park isn’t easy, for its coastline boasts one stunner after another. Anchorage stakes a strong claim not only for its sheer natural beauty – a gently sloping arc of golden sand, fringed with lush forest – but also for its access to a beautiful stretch of the coastal Great Walk.
Planning tip: It’s possible to overnight in the conservation campsite or hut, which should allow time to take the short side-trip to magical Cleopatra’s Pool.
It’s a poorly kept secret, but North Island's famous Ninety Mile Beach is in fact only 88km (54.6 miles), but you won't feel short-changed here. Starting near Kaitaia and ending close to Cape Reinga (Te Rerenga Wairua) – New Zealand’s spiritual northern point – is an epic expanse of sand and endless ocean, backed by massive dunes.
Planning tip: A great spot to visit this seemingly endless beach is just shy of the Cape is Te Paki Stream car park. A walkway from here leads to the beach and northwards to Scott Point.
The coastal crescendo of Kahurangi National Park’s multiday Heaphy Track, this remote beach can also be reached from the northern extremity of the West Coast Road. And what a journey it is: the intensely scenic drive through Karamea to Kōhaihai, the end-of-the-line camping reserve in a magnificent estuary setting. From there you can venture into the national park, over a low hill to Scott’s Beach. Likely to be shrouded in a salt mist, the beguiling scene features jagged rocks, nikau palm forest, and powerful waves clawing at the driftwood-strewn beach.
Beautiful beaches are everywhere on the Coromandel Peninsula, but New Chums is our pick for the best one because of its isolation. It’s actually only half an hour’s walk from Whangapoua car park, but such is the rock-hopping and scampering required that many don’t even attempt it. The reward is a beach so golden, a sea so glittering, pōhutukawa trees so gnarled (and resplendent in red blooms around Christmas), that its beauty may bring a tear to your eye. What’s more,
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You’ve spent all that money on plane tickets getting to the bottom of the southern hemisphere. Now you want to make the rest of your travel fund stretch as far as possible. The good news is that affordable travel in New Zealand is possible – if you plan carefully.
New Zealand is famous for its stunning scenery, and immersing yourself in nature is the best way to experience its remarkable landscapes up close. "Tramping" (that's Kiwi for "hiking") is a popular activity with locals and visitors alike in New Zealand, with hundreds of exceptional trails throughout the country. From the iconic Great Walks to overnight hikes and short walks, there are options for all ages and levels of ability.
Auckland has enough to fill even the most demanding traveler’s itinerary – but New Zealand’s largest city isn’t the cheapest place to visit. Dining out and cultural activities are often on the pricier side, yet Auckland has a wealth of natural beauty including parks, beaches and native forests that are all free to visit.
New Zealand is one of those destinations best explored by car or campervan. Public transport is limited outside cities, and so much of what you'll want to see and do is off-the-beaten-track, immersed in New Zealand's incredible natural environments. Road tripping means touring at your own pace, stopping for stunning walks, cycle rides, wild swimming or wildlife spotting.
White sand beaches, swaying palm fronds, colorful coral reefs: for many, the allure of Fiji is in its landscapes. Yet, this South Pacific archipelago is as much an experiential indulgence as it is a visual one.
While I was born and bred here in New Zealand – or Aotearoa, the country's Māori-language name – I’ve spent enough years away to understand how it’s a destination that can feel comfortingly familiar and completely strange to visitors all at once.