Nelson
Nearby
Abel Tasman Marlborough-Sounds Blenheim Golden BayNelson: Understand
Population: 50,000
I (Michelle) grew up in Nelson, and looking back I was pretty lucky to do so. It’s known as the sunshine capital of NZ (there’s plenty of competition from other cities though!), and the outdoor activities are endless … beaches, bays, clifftop walks … ! Nelson has a vibrant art scene with many artists choosing the Nelson lifestyle, and the weather makes this a great wine growing area.
The Nelson Lakes National Park (1.5 hours south of Nelson City) is an inexhaustible playground with mountains, lakes, rivers, ridgelines, valleys … See more on Nelson Lakes below in the 1-Day and Multi-Day Trips.
Nelson: Getting In & Out
By plane:
The Nelson Airport is a relatively main airport. Air New Zealand offers daily flights between Nelson and Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, as well as a number of other locations (by transiting through these main locations).
Sounds Air also services the Nelson airport, and their pricing remains very constant (so pays to check them if you need a last minute flight!).
Renting a campervan or rental car is a great way to explore New Zealand with flexibility and freedom! It’s easiest to pick up/drop off rentals from the major airports in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown. We recommend you book in advance. Check out our handy guides Travel New Zealand by Campervan or Travel New Zealand by Car.
By car:
Nelson is 2 hours driving from Picton (SH 1 to SH 6), 1.5 hours from Blenheim (SH 6) and 5 hours from Christchurch (option 1: SH 1 via Kaikoura then SH 6 from Blenheim, or Option 2: SH 1 until Waipara, SH 7 past Hanmer Springs, SH 65 to meet SH 6.
By bus:
InterCity operates daily services into Nelson from around the South Island. Likewise out of Nelson too. Take a look at the InterCity website to plan your bus journey.
By ferry:
There are multiple ferries a day between Wellington and Picton – these ferries take passengers and cars, and have cafes, restaurants and movie theatres on board. From Picton there are buses connecting passengers to Nelson.
Nelson: See & Do
When traveling, our favourite thing to do in a new place is to walk to a point of height – great for views and perspective. In Nelson, the best place to do this is the Centre of New Zealand!
The Grampians are the hills behind Nelson and have great views of the city and the Port. Great running, walking and mountain biking trails, with a number of entry and exit points. Our favourite entry point is at the very top of Collingwood Street, but parking is limited here. Off Robinson Road is Grampian Road – a gravel trail taking you up into the hills.
The Cable Bay Walkway is a clifftop walk that crosses some farmland. On a clear day, you can see the North Island. The winds can be fun up here, so hold onto your hats!
Other activities in the area include Catamaran sailing trips with Sailing Adventures, 4-wheel quad bikes tours, skywire flying fox and horse trekking at Cable Bay Adventure Park, hand-gliding and scenic flights with Tasman Sky Adventures.
For the lovers of art
The Suter Art Gallery would be our number one pick showcasing a number of local artists, a gift store as well as a Café that backs onto Queen’s Gardens.
If you are a fan of landscape photography, pop into the Craig Potton Gallery to see some beautiful New Zealand photos.
Höglund Art Glass is 20 minutes drive from Nelson City on Landsdowne Road. There is a gallery and the glass blowing studio where you can watch the artistic magic happen. They blow glass most days, but if you want to check they’re blowing, call beforehand on +64 3 544 6500.
Let’s go to the beach, beach, let’s go get away…
Tahunanui Beach is the closest beach to Nelson City, and is a popular spot for swimming, beach volleyball, kitesurfing, and other beach activities. The beach continues quite a ways, so if you’re up for a walk be sure to continue around the corner.
Rabbit Island is a great, long beach. Good (basic) BBQs too.
There is a nice walk around the peninsula at Kina Beach – a rocky beach between Mapua and Motueka.
Nelsons Events & Festivals
There are a bunch of events and festivals in Nelson – our highlights would be:
- Nelson Jazz Fest – January
- Nelson Buskers Festival – January
- Nelson Wine & Food Festival – February
- Marchfest – March
- Nelson Women’s Triathlon – March
- Nelson Arts Festival – October
Nelson: Eat & Drink
My absolute favourite lunch spot in Nelson is DeVille Cafe – it’s down New Street with a gorgeous vine archway as you walk in. I try and branch out, but usually can’t go past the quesadillas… yum! Sweet treats from the counter always go down pretty well too.
Morri Street is also a good option for a hot drink or bite to eat. I love the wooden floors in here.
Broccoli Row is perfect for grabbing something for a day trip (or if you’re in need of sweet treat from the cabinet). Their salads and coffee are also really good.
East Street Cafe is Mums new go-to restaurant. They serve vegan and vegetarian food, they’re super funky, and are open midday till late Wednesday through Sunday.
Next door is Nicola’s Cantina, which is my favourite Mexican spot in Nelson.
Other dinner spots include La Capilla– they are more around the mid-range price mark, and are located on the other side of Richmond (20-minute drive from Nelson). Their food is fantastic!
And Fords is your best fine dining option right in Nelson centre, just beneath the Trafalgar Steps.
Penguinos have awesome ice creams.
Nelson: Sleep
Tahuna Beach Kiwi Holiday Park ($) or Brook Valley Holiday Park ($) would be our top camping spots near Nelson (both a 10-minute drive). Tahuna Beach is a beautiful spot, and there are eateries on the main strip. Brook Valley is more basic, more secluded and set on a river.
Right in Nelson city, there is INNBetween Lodge & Backpackers ($) – the location is perfect and it’s super clean.
The Palace Backpackers ($) is a beautiful, historic building with heaps of character in the rooms. There is a nice garden with hammocks for relaxing, and it’s just a 5-minute walk until you’re in the centre of Nelson.
The Bouncing Lamb ($) is a short walk from Tahunanui Beach, with an on-site bar. It’s been open just over a year, but reviews are raving.
Tasman Bay Backpackers ($$) is another great option near the center, a bit more expensive with fantastic staff and chocolate pudding…
If you’re looking for a more homely place, with a wonderful host and beautiful gardens, Joya Garden & Villa Studios ($$$) is a great retreat spot.
1-Day Trips Near Nelson
Abel Tasman National Park
The Abel Tasman is a real highlight in the Nelson area. With subtropical weather, turquoise waters, sheltered inlets and secluded beaches of golden sand; there are few places on earth that surpass the beauty of this area. The Abel Tasman Track is a popular 60 km walkway, which takes hikers between 3-4 days. It is also very common to see the park by kayak or boat. The best thing about the boats & water taxis is they give you the flexibility to walk whatever distance you want and boat the rest. For a full run-down on the Abel Tasman National Park, check out our dedicated page.
Mapua
Mapua is just 30-minutes from Nelson – a spot we often take visitors for lunch and a wander. Albertas is our top pick for cafes in Mapua, open from 7:30 am daily for breakfast and lunch. Next door is Hamish’s Icecream Parlour… Hamish’s is actually named after the white Heron, ‘Hamish’, who has returned to Mapua for years. There is a giant statue of Hamish down by the wharf too!
There are a couple of dinner options in Mapua, Jellyfish being our family favourite, but there are also fish & chips at the Smokehouse Cafe and heaps of places to sit and enjoy with water-views.
There’s a gorgeous wee store just outside Mapua called Rare Creations Interactive Wooden Art Gallery – all sorts of beautiful trinkets in there including lovely wooden watches.
Bike from Nelson to Kaiteriteri, stopping for lunch in Mapua
The Tasman Great Taste Trail is a 175km loop, but you can choose to do just sections. Our favourite section would be to jump on bikes in Richmond – you would ride on boardwalks along the estuary towards Rabbit Island. From Rabbit Island you can get a ferry ride across to Mapua, stop for lunch and take a nosey around the waterfront shops. From Mapua, you’d continue on to Tasman then Motueka. Motueka is a bigger town, with a few supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, oh and our favourite donuts place… The Smoking Barrel (note: closed Mon and Tues). With the donut energy, continue on to Kaiteriteri and take a well-deserved dip in the ocean!
Nelson Lakes National Park
Approximately 1.5 hours drive Southwest of Nelson, you’ll find St Arnaud Village at the northern end of Lake Rotoiti. Spend the day, or a week, exploring the lakes, forests and mountains in the national park. Pop into the DOC Information Center in St Arnaud if you have any questions, or to get up-to-date weather forecasts.
Lake Rotoiti is 25 km around (with a river crossing!) or you can meander up one side and return the same way.
The Angelus Hut has recently been re-done, and it’s a mighty fine New Zealand hut. The hut is set on Angelus Lake, and you can follow a trail up to summit Mt Angelus. A spectacular area for a weekend trip.
There are a number of routes to get to Angelus Hut, the top pick being via Robert Ridge Range, “Pinchgut Track”. You’ll see how it got it’s name when you start up the zig-zags from the west side of Lake Rotoiti! For all of the routes to Angelus Hut, take a look at this DOC page.
St Arnaud Range Track is a great up-and-back day hike, with very rewarding views! It’s 10km return, taking approximately 2.5 hours up and a bit less down (depending on knees!). For more information on the route, check out the DOC page.
The Travers-Sabine Circuit is another track starting at Lake Rotoiti (they’re honestly endlesss!). It was a track we’d been wanting to do for years, and finally got to it last Easter. It’s at minimum a 4-day hike, with the option of taking it slower and staying at more huts, and/or adding on Blue Lake. Blue Lake is said to be the clearest natural body of fresh water. It’s a shame my camera memory card broke, as we only have one snap from the entire trip! We’ll have to return ASAP! More info can be found on this DOC page.
Kahurangi National Park
Mt Arthur
In our indigenous culture, Māori, we use a mihi as a way to introduce ourselves. In our mihi, we explain who our parents are, what our river is, our mountain, and so on. For me, my mountain is Mt Arthur. Where we grew up, we looked at Mt Arthur outside our kitchen window and have climbed it numerous times. It’s a great challenge, reaching 1,795m in altitude and taking up to 4.5 hours one-way. There is a hut 1.5 hours up from the carpark if you want to stay the night.
Also in the area are Mount Lodestone and Gordon’s Pyramid. For information on these hikes and loads of others in the Kahurangi National Park, take a look at this DOC page.
Multi-Day Trips Near Nelson
You can easily spend a number of days in the Nelson Lakes National Park or Kahurangi National Park. See above.
Where to next?
Nearby in Nelson/Marlborough:
Abel Tasman Marlborough-Sounds Blenheim Golden Bay
Nearby Regions:
Canterbury West Coast Otago