If you're looking for the best natural destinations in New Zealand, you're in the right place. We Kiwi's (New Zealanders) are passionate about our backyard and believe that the best places to visit can't be seen from the window of a tour bus. They're accessed on foot, behind handlebars, or with a paddle in hand.
So if you'd like to escape the crowds, discover the real New Zealand and get a great taste for Kiwi culture and hospitality along the way - then read on for an introduction to the best places to visit when you're here. Take a look at which Active Adventures trips take you there, the best way to discover each destination, and see the best time to visit.
New Zealand's Top Destinations:
1. Milford Sound
Location: South Island, Fiordland
Highlights: Towering granite peaks, sheer rock walls with plummeting waterfalls, deep black waters, fur seals and dolphins, access point to the Milford Track.
Best time to visit: Year-round.
Best way to see it: By cruise or by kayak, as sun rises off the misty fiord.
Which trips go here: All our New Zealand South Island trips
The true explorer will pray for rain in Milford Sound. The enormous granite peaks don’t absorb a drop of water and they have no beaches. The result is thousands of stunning waterfalls flowing straight into the fiord.
2. The Milford Track
Location: South Island, Fiordland
Highlights: Towering granite peaks, ancient native forests, waterfalls, crystal clear rivers.
Best time to visit: Late October to late April.
Best way to see it: Hike from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound through rainforest covered valleys and over high backcountry passes. Finish the incredible hike with a boat cruise of the fiord. If you're lucky - your captain will nose the boat right into a waterfall, and keep an eye out for the local families of native fur seals and dolphins.
Which trips go here: Milford Track Adventure
The 53.5 kilometre (33.2 mile) Milford Track is one of the jewels in the crown of New Zealand’s extensive walking track system and the most famous and popular of its ten Great Walks. Located in the heart of spectacular Fiordland National Park on the South Island, it is part of the Te Wahi Pounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Over 12,000 people walk the track each year and about half of them walk it independently as a 3-night/4-day trek during the summer.

3. Nelson Lakes National Park
Location: South Island, Nelson
Highlights: Off the tourist path, dramatic craggy mountains, tranquil beech forests, meadows of tussock, clear streams and stunning lakes, a lesser-known New Zealand gem.
Best time to visit: November through May.
Best way to see it: Hike from Saint Arnaud to Lake Head hut on day 1, Lake Head to Angelus Hut on day 2, Angelus Hut back to the Mount Robert Road car park on day 3. Easier options involve traversing the lower mountain around St Arnaud.
Which trips go here: Ultimate South Island Adventure
Without a doubt, this is New Zealand's best-kept hiking secret. Could this be the next addition to New Zealand's Great Walk network? The Nelson Lakes National Park protects 102,000 hectares of the northern most Southern Alps. The Park offers a quiet, yet dramatic experience of craggy mountains, tranquil beech forests, fields of tussock, and clear streams and lakes, both big and small. This area is filled with long mountain ranges with sharp ridges offering 360 views over forested valleys gouged out by glaciers in the last ice age.
4. Doubtful Sound
Location: South Island
Highlights: New Zealand's deepest fjord, similar to Milford - but less crowded and more serene, overnight cruise option with kayaking.
Best time to visit: The summer months - November through March.
Best way to see it: Take the overnight cruise option - it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse yourself in such a peaceful and isolated part of the world.
Which trips go here: Milford Track Adventure
Doubtful Sound, known as the "Sound of Silence", is about three times larger than Milford Sound and is the deepest of New Zealand's fiords at 421 metres (1,380 ft). It extends inland about 35kms from the Tasman Sea - that’s a lot to explore – but heading out in a boat or a kayak is a great way to do so. There's a debate among locals as to which is the 'better' Sound. Frankly you could do worse than visit both of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

5. Fiordland National Park
Location: South Island
Highlights: Largest of New Zealand's 14 national parks. Access to Routeburn Track, Kepler Track, Milford Track, Milford Sound.
Best time to visit: All year round.
Best way to see it: On foot, hike the great walks (check out the Great Walks of New Zealand adventure).
Which trips go here: All our New Zealand South Island trips.
Many of the famous natural features, stunning waterfalls and dramatic views the park has to offer will require some effort from your end, as they are only accessible by foot, by kayak or by helicopter. If your time is limited, then a guided tour is an ideal option to maximize your time in this enormous national park. As there's only one road going to Milford Sound, and a single accommodation available, you don't want to miss out, especially during the busy summer months. Three of the world's greatest hikes are found here so it is no exaggeration to call Fiordland one of the hiking hotspots in the world.

6. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Location: North Island
Highlights: The world's greatest day hike, climb a live volcano, descend into lush native forest, stunning views of Emerald Lakes.
Best time to visit: All year-round.
Best way to see it: Start at Mangatepopo car park and hike to Ketetahi car park. If you're feeling really adventurous, then take the hike and winter (ice axe and crampons are mandatory).
Which trips go here: Ultimate North Island Adventure
Widely regarded as New Zealand's finest one-day hike, the walk begins in a valley and quickly winds its way up and over a cliff. Suddenly emerging into the sunlight, hikers are struck by the perfectly conical shape of the sacred Mt. Ngauruhoe volcano. Depending on the season, the trek then ascends over an icy plain or a network of tiny streams until the path reaches the infamous Devil's staircase - a 200 metre (656 feet) elevation gain leading to some of the best views in New Zealand.
7. The Wild West Coast
Location: South Island
Highlights: Punakaiki, Hokitika, Fox Glacier, Franz Josef Glacier, Okarito Lagoon
Best time to visit: All year-round.
Best way to see it: Hike the stunning temperate rainforests in Punakaiki and Franz Josef. Hike or heli to the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, and sea kayak the picturesque Okarito Lagoon in the company of New Zealand's only white heron breeding colony.
Which trips go here: All our New Zealand South Island trips
The West Coast of New Zealand's South Island is a highlight for many, tourists and locals alike. Lush rainforests, dramatic glaciers, endless beaches and endless possibilities for hiking, biking, kayaking or even surfing, if you're not afraid of cold waters! Here are some of the places we make a point to stop into with our guests.

So much more to explore...
These epic highlights of New Zealand are simply our favourites but there are so many more unforgettable places to visit on both the North and the South Island.
There's the secret backcountry paradise of Siberia Valley, the Copland Trail's natural hot springs deep in the forests of the West Coast, the out-of-this-world Punakaiki Rocks, and the history and culture of the Maori people. In Kaikoura you can swim with dolphins and see humpback whales breaching the sea. In Coromandel at Hot Water Beach you can dig a hole in the sand and create your own natural hot spring!
New Zealand is an explorers' paradise and the trip of a lifetime for adventurers from all over the world. If New Zealand looks like paradise to you, don't think about it, just go. Find your next adventure in New Zealand!