While you're here
New Zealand's Great Walks: which one, and what booking actually involves
The country's premier multi-day tracks, how competitive the bookings are, and what to do if you missed out.
9 min read · updated 2026-09
The Great Walks are a set of premier multi-day tracks managed by the Department of Conservation. They are better formed, better signposted and better served by huts than the rest of the backcountry network — which makes them the sensible choice for a first multi-day walk in New Zealand, and also the reason they book out.
The tracks
| Track | Where | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Milford Track | Fiordland | 4 days, 53.5 km, one way |
| Routeburn Track | Fiordland / Mount Aspiring | 2–3 days, 32 km, one way |
| Kepler Track | Fiordland | 3–4 days, 60 km, loop |
| Abel Tasman Coast Track | Nelson / Tasman | 3–5 days, 60 km, coastal |
| Heaphy Track | Kahurangi | 4–6 days, 78.4 km |
| Tongariro Northern Circuit | Central North Island | 3–4 days, 43.1 km, loop |
| Lake Waikaremoana Track | Te Urewera | 3–4 days, 46 km |
| Whanganui Journey | Whanganui River | 3–5 days by canoe, not on foot |
| Paparoa Track | West Coast | 3 days walking or 2 days biking |
| Rakiura Track | Stewart Island | 3 days, 32 km, loop |
| Hump Ridge Track | Southland | 3 days, around 60 km |
How booking works
- Great Walk huts and campsites must be booked in advance for the Great Walks season, which usually runs from late October to late April.
- Bookings open through the Department of Conservation months ahead, and the Milford and Routeburn in particular can sell out within hours of opening.
- International visitors pay a higher hut fee than New Zealand residents on these tracks.
- Outside the Great Walks season, facilities are reduced, some bridges are removed, avalanche risk applies on alpine tracks, and the walks become serious undertakings for experienced parties only.
- You still need transport at both ends. Most of these are one-way tracks with the finish a long way from the start.
Always log your intentions with someone before a multi-day walk, and carry a personal locator beacon in the backcountry. There is no mobile coverage on most of these tracks.
If you cannot get a booking
Almost every Great Walk has an excellent day-walk section, and there are guided options with lodge accommodation on some tracks that operate separately from the DOC hut system.
- Routeburn — walk in from the Routeburn Shelter to the Routeburn Flats or Falls Hut and back in a day.
- Abel Tasman — water taxi up the coast, walk a section back.
- Kepler — the Luxmore Hut climb from Te Anau is a hard but rewarding day.
- Tongariro — the Alpine Crossing shares much of the Northern Circuit's best scenery in one day.
- Milford Sound area — Key Summit, off the Routeburn, is a half-day with an outsized view.
Non-Great Walks worth knowing
The Queen Charlotte Track near Picton, the Banks Peninsula Track near Akaroa and the Hollyford Track in Fiordland all sit outside the Great Walks system and are often easier to book.
Common questions
- When do Great Walk bookings open?
- Generally a few months before the season starts, with dates announced by the Department of Conservation each year. Popular tracks fill on the day bookings open.
- Do I need to be very fit?
- Most Great Walks are graded for reasonably fit walkers with no technical skills, but you are carrying your own gear and food for several days over rough country.
- How do I get to and from the trailheads?
- Nearly all of them need arranged transport, because you rarely finish where you started. We run private drop-offs and pick-ups at trailheads including Tongariro, Routeburn, Kepler and Abel Tasman.
Point-to-point, fixed price
Private transfers between towns, airports, ferry terminals and trailheads across both islands. One-way is no problem, the price is quoted before you book, and your driver knows the road.
Get a transfer price