While you're here
Souvenirs and gifts to take home from New Zealand
What to buy, where each thing is made, and the customs rules that decide whether it gets home with you.
5 min read · updated 2026-09
The best souvenirs from here are the ones made here. A little care in choosing means you come home with something local rather than something shipped in for the tourist shelf.
Things worth carrying home
- Pounamu (greenstone) — carved jade from the West Coast. In Hokitika you can watch it worked, or carve a piece yourself. Look for stone sourced in New Zealand.
- Merino and merino-possum knitwear — warm, light and genuinely local.
- Mānuka honey, from a supermarket at a fraction of the airport price.
- Skincare and soaps made with geothermal mud from Rotorua, or lanolin.
- Māori and contemporary New Zealand art, from a gallery or a weekend market.
- Wine from the region you drove through — Marlborough, Hawke's Bay, Central Otago, Waiheke.
- For children: native bird soft toys, picture books by New Zealand authors, and a set of our coins.
Check what your own country — and any stopover country — allows in before you buy food, honey, wood or anything made from animal or plant material. Rules vary, and confiscation at the far end is a sad end to a good gift.
Where to find the good stuff
Weekend markets in most towns are the best hunting ground for handmade work. Museum and gallery shops are reliably well curated. Hokitika is the place for pounamu, Rotorua for geothermal skincare and Māori craft, and the wine regions for taking a case home. Airport shops are convenient but rarely cheaper.
If shopping matters to you, say so when you book a day tour — a market morning or a craft studio slots neatly into most routes, and everything you buy rides in the vehicle rather than on your shoulder.
Common questions
- Can I take mānuka honey home?
- Usually yes, in sealed commercial packaging, but some countries restrict honey. Check your destination and any stopover before buying.
- How do I know pounamu is genuine?
- Reputable sellers state where the stone was sourced and who carved it. Very cheap 'jade' in bulk gift shops is often imported.
- Is duty free at the airport worth it?
- For alcohol and cosmetics sometimes; for local craft and food, town prices are usually better and the choice is wider.
See more of it in a day
Private day tours with your own driver-guide: you choose the stops, we handle the driving, the timing and the road knowledge. Add or drop places on the day as long as the finish time still works.
Browse private day tours