Top attractions in New Zealand

Discover New Zealand’s unique attractions – breathtaking landscapes, exciting adventure activities, absorbing museums, indigenous culture… here are our recommendations.

1. A taste of Maori culture

New Zealand’s indigenous culture can be experienced by attending a traditional kapa haka (song and dance show) performed at venues nationwide; at a hangi feast; and on guided walking tours of local marae (open courtyards) and meeting houses. Read more about the Maori culture...

2. Walking the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers

Explore stunning blue glacier ice and crevasses on a half- or full-day glacier walk, led by fantastic guides. All the gear, including crampons, is provided. Read more about this spectacular walk on the ice... 

3. Getting up close to whales and dolphins

Watch whales frolic at close range and even swim with dolphins. Read more about this unique experience...

4. Exploring the Waitomo Caves in the Waikato

Venture underground on a guided tour to see a magical world, lit by thousands of glowworms. Read more about this awe-inspiring boat ride through enormous caverns...

5. Rotorua's thermal marvels

A geothermal wonderland of geysers, bubbling mud pools and strange odours. Read more about Rotorua's thermal hotspots...

6. Northland's magnificent Waipoua Forest 

Stroll through the vertiginous canopy of tangled foliage in this mighty Northland kauri forest, where stands New Zealand’s oldest living kauri tree. Read more about this unforgettable forest...

7. Te Papa Tongarewa Museum, Wellington

Art, artefacts, natural history and hands-on interactive fun for kids, including an earthquake house, make this state-of-the-art museum the best in New Zealand. Read more about how this museum brings New Zealand's culture and history to life...

8. Stunning scenery at Rakiura National Park, Stewart Island

Discover this seldom-explored paradise of wondrous beauty – a dense wilderness of podocarp rainforest, granite peaks, freshwater wetlands and deserted beaches which are a refuge for New Zealand’s rarest birds. Read more about this remote haven for kiwis, penguins and albatrosses...

9. On the water at Milford Sound

Majestic mountain peaks tower above the waters of New Zealand's most awe-inspiring sight. Read more about this glacier-carved fjord...

10. Following New Zealand's wine trail

Sample the finest regional wines in New Zealand. Read more about the vineyards that put New Zealand on the world wine map...

See all of our recommended places to visit in New Zealand...