About Nelson
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About Nelson
Nelson is a beautiful seaside city at the Northern-most tip of the South Island of New Zealand. Renowned for its sensational natural beauty – snow capped mountains contrasted by aquamarine seas, golden beaches and endless excellent weather.
Nelson has been heralded for decades as a must-visit holiday destination and as a recreational paradise for those who love the outdoors. It offers the perfect environment for fresh and saltwater fishing, kite and wind surfing, hiking, mountain-biking, caving, rock climbing, skiing and just about any other sport that you can think of!
Quiet beaches, waterfront and riverside café and restaurants, wineries, craft markets, local art galleries, shopping, events and concerts make up the other side of Nelson life.
Whether you are looking for adventure or relaxation, Nelson is sure to please…
About Our Nelson holiday homes
We have a number of all-year-round and peak-season-only holiday homes and apartments clustered across the beautiful City Port Hills and waterfront. These houses offer stunning harbour, bay or beach views and a level of living that simply isn’t available elsewhere.
We round this out with a small portfolio of central city character and modern homes, enabling us to offer our Nelson visitors an unparalleled mix of convenience and lifestyle in the heart of Nelson.
Please click here to view our Nelson Holiday Homes
Getting to Nelson
Nelson is easily reached from any of New Zealand’s main international hubs: Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington. If you are looking to make Nelson your destination, you are coming from overseas and you want to maximise your time in Nelson (and not in a car, bus or train) then flying may be the best choice for you.
Detailed instructions on how to get to Nelson, travel times and distances are given below. But if you are flying, rest assured that the connections are easy and once you arrive in Nelson, the relaxed pace will make your bag pick-up, catching a taxi or picking up a rental, and the short journey to your holiday home all extremely easy!
Auckland to Nelson
Flying – If you are coming from Auckland then flying is probably the best option for you. The Nelson – Auckland route is well serviced by Air New Zealand with almost hourly flights between 6am and 7pm. Total flight time is just under 80min. and Nelson Airport is conveniently located, 10min. from Nelson City centre and our Holiday Nelson holiday homes. Sit on the left for the best views!
Driving – This is certainly possible, but with a 900km+ North Island section, a 3hour+ inter-island ferry ride and another 150km of driving from Picton, this is not a plan for the faint-hearted! This huge journey, can be accomplished in a day… but spreading the drive across 2 or more days is certainly recommended.
Driving instructions: Follow State Highway (SH) 1 to Wellington (other options exist, this is just the fastest way).
In Wellington, follow SH1 to either of the Wellington-Picton ferry terminals. Your two main options are, the Interislander ferry or the Bluebridge ferry.
From Picton take either the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive route to Havelock and join SH6 to Nelson (winding, but beautiful) or the slightly longer, less interesting, but usually quicker route: SH1 to Springcreek, SH62 to SH6. Picton to Nelson is typically a 1.5hr drive.
Wellington to Nelson
Flying – Just a 35min. jaunt across Cook Straight. Two airlines to choose from, Air New Zealand or Sounds Air with flights at least every hour. Nelson Airport is conveniently located, 10min. from Nelson City centre and our Holiday Nelson holiday homes. Sit on the left for the best views!
Driving – See Auckland details from Wellington.
Christchurch to Nelson
Flying – Air New Zealand flights leave almost hourly and take just 50minutes. Nelson Airport is conveniently located just 10min. from Nelson City centre and our Holiday Nelson holiday homes.
Driving – There are two main routes North to Nelson, each offering quite different scenary and the two forming an excellent circuit for those completing a return trip by car.
Driving directions: Route 1) Via Hanmer and Maruia Springs: Follow SH1 to SH7, onto S69 and SH6 to Nelson. Both Hanmer and Maruia offer excellent hot spring bathing opportunities. This route is follows mountainous river valleys and takes about 6hrs. Route 2) Via Kaikoura and Blenheim: Follow SH1 to Kaikoura and on to Blenheim before heading further North to Spring Creek, SH62 and SH6 to Nelson. Travel the East Coast where the highway passes before the Southern Alps, through old tunnels, past the whale watching mecca of Kaikoura and the wine growing region of Marlborough! Without stopping this route take about 7hrs.
Queenstown/Wanaka to Nelson
Flying – There are no direct flights between Nelson and Queenstown, you need to hub through Christchurch to fly. Depending on the flight this will take between 2 and 3hrs.
Driving – There are two main routes North to Nelson. Via Christchurch (SH8/SH1…; 12hrs.) or via the West Coast (SH6; 11hrs.). The West Coast is the more spectacular of the two, offering the chance to drive through spectacular virgin New Zealand forests, past the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers and along the rugged cliffs and beaches of the coast.
Note: In the summer months (Dec ~ Apr) a number of bus operators provide an excellent budget solution to travel.
Getting around Nelson
New Zealander’s generally tend to favour personal transportation over public transportation. While this has made it difficult for City authorities and businesses in New Zealand’s provincial cities to establish first class mass transit options we are glad to say that Nelson is steadily moving forward with a new bus service and the development of riding and walking trails everywhere.
Buses – The local bus service operates several routes around and to the City from Richmond and Atawhai. The latest schedule information can be accessed right here.
Mini-buses – Several mini-bus companies as well as larger operators and tour operators ply the roads between Picton, Nelson and Golden Bay.
Taxis- Nelson City Taxis ph 548-8225
Other – Haulashore Is. ferry (boat charters) ph 539-1116
Rental cars – Nelson Auto Rentals offer a good range of cars at excellent rates. Talk to Mason. ph 548-5215
Bicycle hire -
Nelson Bicycle Rentals (Stewarts Cycles) offer a good range of mountain and road bikes. They’ll even deliver the bike of your choice to your accommodation, although they are pretty easy to find right in the city centre – Hardy Street. ph 548-1666
Biking Nelson – Guided mountain bike tours, 1/2 or whole day bike hire for $45 ~ 65. ph 547-3319.
Walking – Everywhere in central Nelson is fairly close and all of our Holiday Nelson holiday homes are conveniently located for access to the City or the beach.
What to bring
One of the benefits of staying at a ‘Holiday Homes Nelson | Marlborough’ holiday home is that it really is your home away from home. All the necessities of life are more are right at your finger tips. All you will need to bring are your personal items, the golf clubs or your recreational equipment of choice.
Regional attractions
- Abel Tasman National Park – beautiful coastal beach and forest trekking
- Abel Tasman Sky Diving – see Nelson-Tasman while plummeting from 30,000ft!
- Aniseed Valley Walk – easy day walk with swimming holes and beautiful bush tracks
- Boulder bank – walk the natural sea wall protecting the Nelson harbour
- Cable Bay Walkway – stunning sea-cliff-top scenery as you go from The idyllic Glen to beautiful Cable Bay
- Centre of New Zealand – a short walk with excellent city and sea views, close to the centre of Nelson.
- Farewell Spit – the huge sandy beak that curls up to form the iconic kiwi-like shape that is the top of the South Island
- Founders Heritage Park – Local history meets theme-park. A lovely place to learn more about Nelson
- Founders Organic Cafe & Brewery – Excellent food and brews
- Happy Valley Adventures – Quad bike tours, fly-by-wire, flying fox and other adventure attractions
- Horse trekking
- Harwoods Hole – an enormous limestone sink hole atop the Takaka Hill. Beautiful drive in along non-sealed roads.
- Kahurangi National Park – New Zealand’s newest national park and home to the Heaphy and Wangapeka Trails
- Kaiteriteri Beach – a simply beautiful spot and a must visit Nelson-Tasman location
- Maitai River Walk – explore the city from the riverside walk. Links to the Centre of New Zealand walk
- Maruia Springs
- Miyazu Gardens
- Nelson Cathedral
- Nelson City Library
- Nelson Lakes National Park
- Nelson Market (every Saturday)
- Ngarua Caves
- Paynes Ford Rock Climbing area
- Pupu Springs
- Rabbit Island Beach
- Rainbow Skifield
- Riwaka River Source
- Sea Kayaking
- Suter Art Gallery
- Tahunanui Beach
- Vertical Limits Indoor Climbing Gym
- Vinyards
- World of Wearable Arts Museum
