There is no one best way to get to Wellington, New Zealand's capital city located at the southern tip of the North Island.
Here are your travel options:
Getting to Wellington by Air
Wellington is served by an international airport about 15-20 minutes from the city by road.
There are regular direct flights from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and from Fiji. There are regular domestic flights from around New Zealand.
If flying from outside Oceania, it may be best to fly through the New Zealand cities of Auckland or Christchurch, or through Australia or Fiji.
There are regular buses, taxis and shuttles from Wellington airport.
Getting to Wellington by Road
Wellington is served by major roads and highways, so traveling by car or by coach is no problem.
Distances by road:
- Auckland to Wellington: 658km (404mi) - 9 hours 25 minutes
- Rotorua to Wellington: 460km (289mi) - 6 hours 35 minutes
- Taupo to Wellington: 380km (238mi) - 5 hours and 25 minutes
- Napier to Wellington: 323km (140mi) - 4 hours 35 minutes
- Masterton to Wellington: 102km (64mi) - 1 hour 35 minutes
- Greytown to Wellington: 92km (58mi) - 1 hour 15 minutes
- Martinborough to Wellington: 84km (53mi) - 1 hour 30 minutes
These distances and travel times are approximate and sourced from the Wellington Trade Directory.
Main coachlines serving Wellington are Intercity Coachlines, Newmans and Tranzit Coachlines.
Getting to Wellington by Rail
Tranz Scenic trains arrive in Wellington daily from a network of New Zealand destination.
The Overlander travels daily between Wellington and Auckland, and the TranzCoastal travels daily between Picton and Christchurch connecting with Interislander sailings to and from Wellington.
Getting to Wellington by Sea
The Interislander and Bluebridge operate frequent ferry services between New Zealand's North and South Islands linking Wellington and Picton.
The ferries are able to take not only passengers but also cars and campervans across Cook Strait.
