Getting to Nelson
Located in centre of New Zealand, at the top of the South Island, Nelson is well served with transport links. This makes the city easily accessible from all parts of New Zealand.
Arriving by air
Nelson Airport is New Zealand's fourth busiest commercial airport and is well served with domestic scheduled flights from most major centres. A number of charter flight operators also fly into and out of Nelson Airport. Air New Zealand, Air2There and Sounds Air currently run scheduled flights to and from Nelson.
The flight time from Nelson to Wellington is approximately 35 minutes, from Nelson to Auckland approximately 80 minutes and from Nelson to Christchurch approximately 50 minutes.
Arriving by sea
Ferry services run between Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park, however there are currently no ferry services between Nelson and Wellington. Inter-island ferry services can be found at Picton, approximately a two hour drive away.
Nelson marina offers visitor berths for recreational craft as well as larger charter/commercial vessels.
Nelson harbour can support large cruise ships and such vessels regularly stopover to enjoy the attractions of the region.
Arriving by road
Nelson is located on State Highway 6 which connects Nelson city with Tasman District in the west and Marlborough District in the East.
By road, Christchurch is approximately a 6 hour drive away (424km), Blenheim approximately 1 hour 45 minutes (117km)
A number of bus and coach operators offer intercity and regional services to and from Nelson. The NBus service offers local bus services with Nelson city and to Richmond.
Arriving by bike
A number of cycle trails start, finish or go through Nelson city, more information can be found on The New Zealand Cycle Trail website.
Arriving by train
Nelson is not currently on a train line, but the national Tranz Scenic Railway can joined at either Picton or Kaikoura.
More information
Visit Nelson Tasman Tourism website for more travel information.