As two Central American titans of tourism, how do you choose between Costa Rica and Panama? Both have incredible landscapes teeming with wildlife, beautiful beaches dotted along both the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines and a vibrant local culture.
16.05.2024 - 14:29 / thepointsguy.com
Home to some of the world's most iconic natural landscapes, New Zealand's South Island—or Te Waipounamu, in New Zealand's Indigenous Maori language—offers a dazzling array of visual wonders. Although it is about about 25% larger than New Zealand's North Island, it's home to less than a quarter of the country's population.
This rural character results in less car traffic, commercial development and crowds (of people, anyway — you will see plenty of fuzzy sheep). Brilliant blue-green lakes, undulating emerald hills, craggy coastal headlands, utterly pristine beaches and soaring glacier-covered peaks dominate the landscape depending on where you are. And the region's unhurried pace imbues it with a friendly, easygoing atmosphere.
Driving fully around the South Island is a bucket list experience for fans of road-tripping. Even if you're unused to it, you'll likely find it quite easy to get the hang of left-side driving after a day or two, and exploring by car makes it possible to discover the many remote parts of the island at whatever pace suits you.
The greatest challenge you may face is simply figuring out how to pack so much incredible scenery into one trip. Of New Zealand's 13 national parks, all but three are on the South Island. And beyond the incredible opportunities for exploring the wilderness, the island offers plenty in the way of art, culture, food and wine. Here's how to plan an incredible road trip through New Zealand's South Island, including highlights along the way.
Perhaps the most useful thing to remind yourself when planning a tour of the South Island of New Zealand is that you're going to see incredible natural scenery no matter how much ground you cover, so try not to get too anxious about attempting to see every single famous point of interest.
Although the South Island is only about the size of the state of Georgia, it will take most folks a minimum of two weeks to fully circumnavigate it. It's traversed by rugged, twisting roads, and it abounds with stunning scenery that you will want to enjoy at a leisurely pace. That said, it's possible to undertake an abbreviated but still spectacular portion of the itinerary described in this story in as little as five days, and you can see the island's most rewarding regions in about 10 days.
Most international flights to New Zealand arrive at Auckland Airport (AKL) on the North Island. Notable exceptions are those from Australia; there is nonstop service from several cities to Christchurch and Queenstown.
Assuming you are flying into Auckland, though, you can catch ongoing Air New Zealand or Jetstar flights to South Island destinations including Christchurch and Nelson, the starting and end points of this particular itinerary. Flights are
As two Central American titans of tourism, how do you choose between Costa Rica and Panama? Both have incredible landscapes teeming with wildlife, beautiful beaches dotted along both the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines and a vibrant local culture.
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