New Zealand’s South Island is known for its stunning natural beauty – from mountains and volcanoes to beaches, waterfalls, and glaciers. In this post, we share our pick of 20 Must-Visit Destinations in New Zealand’s South Island, perfect for planning your next adventure.
We’ve been lucky to call this beautiful country home for many years, and we truly believe that visiting New Zealand belongs on everyone’s bucket list.
Read also our post on 20 Must-Visit Destinations in New Zealand’s North Island.
1. Mount Cook
The highest mountain in New Zealand – Mount Cook (Aoraki) – is a reason enough to visit the South Island. Located within Mount Cook National Park, the area offers spectacular scenery, with snowy peaks, alpine lakes, and even glaciers. There are walking tracks and hikes to suit all abilities, as well as glacier lake boat tours and scenic helicopter flights for a truly unforgettable experience.
2. Arthur’s Pass
Arthus’s Pass National Park is known for its mountains, waterfalls, wide rivers and sightings of kea – New Zealand’s native alpine parrots. We’ve visited many times and still enjoy every single trip.
Don’t miss the limestone formations at Castle Hill, one of the filming locations of Chronicles of Narnia. Take one of the many walking tracks through Arthur’s Pass, explore waterfalls, admire landscapes, and keep an eye out for kea parrots in the wild – they’re curious and cheeky, and won’t think twice about coming right up to you, or hopping onto your car to explore.
3. Devils Punchbowl Waterfall
New Zealand is home to countless waterfalls – with over a hundred named ones on the South Island alone. No matter where you’re travelling, chances are you’ll come across at least one!
Devils Punchbowl waterfall is a 131m high waterfall located in Arthur’s Pass National Park. The walk to the falls takes around 30 minutes, through forest and up the series of steps. It’s well worth the effort – the waterfall is both powerful and beautiful, especially after rain.
4. Glaciers
The Southern Alps are home to New Zealand’s glaciers. Visit the popular Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier on the west coast of the island. For the largest glacier in New Zealand, head to Tasman Glacier – located in the Mount Cook Regional Park.
Sadly, like many glaciers around the world, New Zealand’s are melting rapidly due to climate change. So if seeing these icy landscapes is on your list, don’t leave it too long! 😉
5. Queenstown
You won’t find many large cities on the South Island, although New Zealand’s second-largest city – Christchurch, with a population of just 380,000 – is located here. What you will find, however, are some of the prettiest small towns in the country.
One of them is Queenstown, renowned for its adventure activities including bungy jumping, skydiving, mountain biking, and ziplining. Set on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by mountain ranges, Queenstown is a must-visit destination on the South Island.
6. Wanaka
A popular alpine town and gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park, Wanaka is another favourite on our list of must-visit places in New Zealand’s South Island. It’s also home to the iconic #ThatWanakaTree – one of the most photographed trees in the country.
Visit nearby ski resorts in winter, admire blooming lavender fields in summer, enjoy the scenic views, explore one of the many hiking tracks, or head to the Puzzling World attraction – there is always something to see and do in Wanaka, no matter the season.
7. Arrowtown
Arrowtown is a small historic gold mining town located east of Queenstown. You will find well preserved buildings from the town’s gold rush era, once used by European and Chinese settlers.
But what attracts most visitors to Arrowtown is not just the history, but its picturesque setting among lush, rolling hills. It’s especially beautiful in autumn, when the surrounding hills are colored with yellow and red leaves.
8. Tunnel Beach
While the North Island is often considered to have New Zealand’s best beaches, the South Island offers plenty of beautiful beaches and dramatic coastlines too.
Tunnel Beach, located just 7 km southwest from Dunedin, is one of the most scenic coastlines on the South Island. It features sea-carved arches, caves, and a hand-carved tunnel – all accessible via a short walk from the carpark.
9. Abel Tasman National Park
Located at the northern tip of the South Island, Abel Tasman National Park is famous for its golden beaches, granite cliffs, and clear turquoise waters. As a protected wilderness reserve, it’s home to fur seals, little blue penguins, and bottlenose dolphins.
There are plenty of scenic walking tracks throughout the park, as well as boat tours and water taxis to help you reach its most beautiful and remote beaches.
10. Wharariki Beach and Archway Islands
Wharariki Beach is a remote white-sand beach in the north part of the South Island. Located away from New Zealand’s more popular tourist spots, Wharariki is one of the most stunning beaches on the island! It’s perfect for coastal walks, dramatic scenery, and wildlife watching.
From the beach, you will see the Archway Islands, famously featured as a Windows desktop background – and just as impressive in real life.
11. Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and is known for its English heritage. Sadly, many of its historical buildings were destroyed in the 2011 earthquake, including the iconic Christchurch Cathedral. Today, the city features many murals and street art on the walls left behind by demolished buildings, alongside new architecture that has emerged in the years since.
Christchurch is still worth visiting as a main hub of the Canterbury region and as a convenient starting or ending point for road trips to Arthur’s Pass, Kaikoura, the French settlement of Akaroa, Mount Somers, Lake Tekapo, and Mount Cook.
12. Akaroa
Just a short drive from Christchurch, Akaroa is a charming harbour town known for its French heritage, scenic beauty, and wildlife encounters. One of the highlights is a boat tour in the harbour, where you might spot rare Hector’s dolphins – the smallest and rarest marine dolphins in the world.
We loved Akaroa’s scenery, slow pace of a small harbour town, and The Giants House – a home and garden filled with various mosaic sculptures and art installations.
13. Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound Fiords
There are not that many countries in the world where you can find fjords, but New Zealand is one of them! New Zealand’s fjords (or ‘fiords’, as they’re more commonly spelled in New Zealand) are located in the remote south-west of the South Island. The area is known as Fiordland National Park. Some of the most popular and spectacular fiords in the area are Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound fiords, both known for their dramatic landscapes and serene beauty.
Take a day tour or cruise through the fiords to enjoy stunning landscapes and scenery, numerous waterfalls and marine life (you can frequently spot sea lions in the area).
14. Pancake Rocks
Next on our list of 20 Must-Visit Destinations in New Zealand’s South Island are the limestone formations known as Pancake Rocks, located at Dolomite Point on the West Coast.
This popular destination is famous for its layered rock formations that resemble stacks of pancakes – a natural geological wonder. Visitors also come to admire the beautiful rocky coast and watch the water surging through blowholes, especially at high tide.
15. Te Anau Lake
The South Island is dotted with stunning lakes, and Lake Te Anau is the largest of them all – covering over 300 square kilometres. Located in the southwest of the island, it’s a gateway to Fiordland and a popular base for exploring the region.
Some of the popular activities at Te Anau are walking and hiking, cycling, fishing, kayaking, and boating. Whether you’re after peaceful lake views or an active day out, Te Anau offers something for everyone.
16. Lake Tekapo
Lake Tekapo is another stunning lake on the South Island, known for its vivid turquoise waters and alpine surroundings. The small lakeside town is home to the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd, a popular photo spot framed by mountain views.
The area is also famous for stargazing – it’s part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve – and offers a range of winter activities, making it a year-round destination for nature lovers and families alike.
17. Dunedin
Dunedin, located on the east coast of the South Island, is known for its strong Scottish heritage – even its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh: Dùn Èideann.
I love Dunedin for its architecture. The stone buildings, leafy public squares, and well-kept gardens – especially when the trees turn golden in autumn – remind me of European cities.
18. Moeraki Boulders
Not far from Dunedin lies Moeraki Boulders Beach, where you’ll find large, sphere-shaped boulders scattered along the shoreline.
The beach is beautiful at any time of day or tide. Visit at low tide to see the boulders fully exposed, or at high tide when they’re partly submerged by seawater. Sunrise makes the beach look even more special, with soft light shining on the rocks and waves.
19. Hokitika Gorge
If you’ew travelling along New Zealand’s West Coast, Hokitika is a nice little town to stop for the night. You can see glow worms in the evening, visit the National Kiwi Centre during the day, wander along the beach, and be sure to drive to the stunning Hokitika Gorge.
Hokitika Gorge is easily reachable via a short 15 min walk from the carpark, through forest and to the Hokitika Gorge Viewpoint, where you will be rewarded with vivid turquoise water and lush surroundings.
20. Blue Pools
Located in the West Coast region of the South Island, the Blue Pools are naturally formed pools of pristine, glacial-fed water. Their vivid blue colour comes from finely ground rock particles carried down from nearby glaciers, including Franz Josef.
The water is always cool, but in summer you can take a refreshing swim, or simply enjoy the scenery. A short walk through native forest leads to a suspension bridge with stunning views of the pools and surrounding landscape.
Kea and Other Wildlife
If you’re travelling through the alpine regions of New Zealand’s South Island, there’s a good chance you’ll spot a kea in the wild. These large, native parrots live only in the South Island’s high-altitude areas and are known for being incredibly intelligent – and famously mischievous.
You might see them at Arthur’s Pass, near the Homer Tunnel on the way to Milford Sound, or around Mount Cook Village.
There are plenty of places across the South Island where you can experience wildlife up close. Head to Kaikoura for a whale watching tour, or cruise through Milford Sound to spot fur seals lounging on the rocks. Take a boat tour in Akaroa or Abel Tasman to see playful dolphins in the wild.
Visit Curio Bay to watch rare yellow-eyed penguins, or stop by Oamaru to see the blue penguin colony as they return from the sea at dusk. And if you’re exploring the coast, keep an eye out for paua shells – New Zealand’s colourful sea mollusks – often found in shallow waters and perfect for a photo-hunt.
That wraps our list of 20 Must-Visit Destinations in New Zealand’s South Island. Now it’s time to start planning your trip! 🙂
Continue reading 20 Must-Visit Destinations in New Zealand’s North Island , or explore our other posts about New Zealand to discover even more places to visit and things to do across the country.
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