Our hotel catalogue covers 14 regions from Northland to Southland. Each entry below says what the region is known for, when it is at its best and how many hotels we list there.
The adventure capital of the South Island, on Lake Wakatipu, with Wanaka and Glenorchy close by. It is the usual base for the Routeburn and Greenstone/Caples tracks, skiing in winter and lake and mountain activities in summer.
Best time: December to March for walking; June to September for skiing.
Te Anau is the gateway to Fiordland National Park and the starting point for the Kepler and Milford Tracks and the road to Milford Sound; Invercargill and Bluff are the departure points for Stewart Island and the Rakiura Track.
Best time: November to April for Great Walks; Fiordland rain falls all year.
Dunedin's Victorian streets and the Otago Peninsula wildlife, Central Otago's wine country and the Otago Central Rail Trail.
Best time: Summer and early autumn.
Christchurch as the main South Island gateway, Akaroa on its volcanic harbour, Kaikōura for whales and Aoraki / Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo for dark skies and alpine scenery.
Best time: December to March; Tekapo for stargazing in the winter months.
A long, wet and wild coast of glaciers, rainforest and old mining towns. Franz Josef and Fox Glacier are the best-known stops, and the Paparoa Track starts near Punakaiki and Greymouth.
Best time: November to April.
Sunny Nelson and Motueka are the bases for Abel Tasman National Park and the Heaphy Track; Marlborough is wine country around Blenheim and the Marlborough Sounds.
Best time: December to March for the Abel Tasman coast.
The compact capital on Cook Strait, with Te Papa museum, the waterfront and ferries to Picton, and the Wairarapa wine villages to the east.
Best time: Year round; summer is the most settled.
Central North Island river country: Whanganui is the base for the Whanganui Journey canoe trip, and Palmerston North and Ohakune sit on the way to Tongariro National Park.
Best time: November to April.
Mount Taranaki's symmetrical cone, surf beaches and gardens around New Plymouth.
Best time: December to March.
Art deco Napier, Hastings wine country and Gisborne's eastern beaches; Wairoa is the gateway to Lake Waikaremoana in Te Urewera.
Best time: Summer and early autumn.
Rotorua's geothermal land and Māori culture, Tauranga and Mount Maunganui beaches, and the volcanic island of Whakaari / White Island offshore.
Best time: Year round; summer for beaches.
Hamilton and the Waikato river, the Hobbiton film set near Matamata, Waitomo's glowworm caves and Lake Taupo, the base for Tongariro National Park and the Tongariro Northern Circuit.
Best time: November to April for the Tongariro Northern Circuit.
New Zealand's largest city and main international gateway, spread between two harbours, with islands, beaches and volcanic cones close to the centre.
Best time: December to March; the city is pleasant all year.
Subtropical beaches, kauri forest and the Bay of Islands around Paihia and Russell, with Cape Reinga at the northern tip.
Best time: December to April.