About
Starting point for the South Island loop, with highlights like Botanic Gardens, punting, Gondola, Riverside Market, and day trips to Akaroa or Arthur's Pass. Recommended stay: 2-3 nights.
Why go
- Feels like a proper city, but you’re minutes from mountains, lakes, and weekend road trips
- A great start to the south island
- Full of street art, amazing food, charming vibes
Must try
- Punting on the Avon River
- Christchurch Botanic Gardens
- Riverside Market
- Christchurch Gondola
- New Regent Street
Pro tips
- Pick up car rental/camper
- Start and end point for the South Island road trip
- Cheaper to fly into Christchurch
- Campervan rental
- Stock up on road-trip snacks
Save places like this with mio
mio turns the TikTok and Instagram travel videos you save into a map of places to go. Share a video and mio pulls out every spot in it, tips included.
The tips on this page came from travel videos people saved to mio.