7 Day New Zealand Golf Itinerary
New Zealand built the best new golf destination of the decade and put all of it within one week's reach. This route plays both Te Arai Links courses on the dunes north of Auckland, David Harman's clifftop Kauri Cliffs in the Bay of Islands, and Tom Doak's Cape Kidnappers above Hawke's Bay, with one internal flight and the lodges that make the trip.
Photograph: Te Arai Links, via Google
Who this trip suits
This is a bucket list week for golfers who want world top 100 settings without a single weak round, and who are happy paying lodge prices for lodge living. Every course on the route is a destination in its own right: the Coore and Crenshaw South Course at Te Arai opened in 2022, Doak's North followed in 2023, Kauri Cliffs has run among the world's most spectacular courses since 2000, and Cape Kidnappers, Doak's 2004 clifftop masterpiece, is for many the single best reason to fly to New Zealand with clubs.
The compromise built into seven days is honest: this is a North Island trip. Queenstown's alpine golf, Jack's Point and Millbrook under the Remarkables, deserves its own three days and makes the perfect extension for those with ten. The reward for staying north is less time in transit and more in the places themselves, including two nights on site at Te Arai, where the 48 suites, cottages and Ric's pizza barn have made the resort a destination beyond the golf. For the full country picture, start at our New Zealand hub.
The 7 day plan
| Day | The golf | The travel | The night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Land Auckland, drive north; afternoon round on Te Arai Links South, Coore and Crenshaw's 2022 opener through the coastal dunes. International fees at Te Arai run upwards of NZ$700 in peak season, residents far less | Auckland airport to Te Arai, around 1 hour 30 | Te Arai Links, on site |
| Day 2 | Te Arai Links North, Tom Doak's 2023 sibling, wilder and closer to the sea at its best; pizza at Ric's barn after | On property | Te Arai Links |
| Day 3 | Morning drive to the Bay of Islands; afternoon at leisure at the lodge, or hold the legs for tomorrow | Te Arai to Matauri Bay, around 3 hours | Kauri Cliffs lodge |
| Day 4 | Kauri Cliffs, David Harman's 2000 clifftop spectacular above the Cavalli Islands; indicative international fee around NZ$850 | On property | Kauri Cliffs lodge |
| Day 5 | Travel day south: drive back to Auckland and fly to Napier in Hawke's Bay wine country | Around 4 hours' drive plus a 1 hour flight | The Farm at Cape Kidnappers |
| Day 6 | Cape Kidnappers, Tom Doak's 2004 fingers of fairway 140 meters above the Pacific; indicative international fee around NZ$950 in peak season | On property | The Farm at Cape Kidnappers |
| Day 7 | Morning in the Hawke's Bay vineyards or a farewell nine; fly Napier to Auckland and connect home. Stretch version: add three Queenstown days for Jack's Point and Millbrook | 1 hour flight to Auckland | Homeward |
Fees and access verified June 2026 from course and published sources; indicative and seasonal. Always confirm directly before booking. Check New Zealand tee time availability.
Why this routing works
The route runs north first because Te Arai is the natural landing softener: 90 minutes from the airport, two courses on one property, and nothing to do after a 13 hour flight except walk links land and eat pizza. The two course comparison is half the fun. The South is the wider, friendlier handshake; the North is the architecture obsessive's pick, with its short par 3s perched in the dunes. Kauri Cliffs follows as the change of scale, inland pasture suddenly falling into ocean panoramas, and the lodge evenings at Matauri Bay are as memorable as the golf.
The single internal flight is the price of finishing at Cape Kidnappers, and it is worth paying. Doak's routing along the sandstone fingers of the cape produces the most photographed sixth, thirteenth and fifteenth holes in the hemisphere, and The Farm above it is among the great golf lodges anywhere: compare lodge and Napier stays here. Hawke's Bay's syrah and chardonnay close the week properly. Groups choosing between the two big lodge courses should read our Cape Kidnappers vs Kauri Cliffs head to head; those with only North Island ambitions can compare the alternative 7 day North Island routing.
When to go and what it costs
October to April is the season, December to February the southern summer peak, and March to April our favorite: settled, firm and quieter, with the vineyards in harvest. Budget at the top of the market. Green fees at the big three run roughly NZ$700 to NZ$950 for international visitors in peak months, the lodges price like the Relais and Chateaux properties they are, and internal flights and a rental car sit on top. A week built this way lands comfortably in the premium bracket of world golf travel, which is exactly where the experience belongs. The best courses in New Zealand list and our New Zealand golf holidays page frame the budget in full.
Have us build this trip
Tell us roughly when and who is traveling, and one concierge locks the Te Arai suites, the lodge nights at Kauri Cliffs and The Farm, the Napier flight and every tee time, and costs the whole week to the head. We reply within one working day, with no obligation.
New Zealand itinerary questions
How much are green fees at New Zealand's top courses?
Plan on premium pricing for international visitors at the big four. Kauri Cliffs has been charging around 850 New Zealand dollars, Cape Kidnappers around 950 dollars in peak season, and Te Arai Links upwards of 700 dollars in peak months, with New Zealand residents paying substantially less at each. All figures are indicative for the 2026 season; always confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time for a New Zealand golf trip?
October to April, with the southern summer of December to February the warmest and busiest. March and April are superb: settled weather, firm links turf at Te Arai, harvest season in Hawke's Bay wine country. New Zealand golf is playable year round in the north, but winter brings shorter days and softer conditions. Book the lodges months ahead for the December to February window.
Do I need to rent a car for this itinerary?
Yes, for the northern half. Auckland to Te Arai is around 90 minutes and Te Arai to Kauri Cliffs around three hours, all on good roads, remembering New Zealand drives on the left. For Hawke's Bay, fly Auckland to Napier and use lodge transfers or a short rental. Many of our groups take a driver guide instead; it costs more and removes every logistical thought from the week.
Is Tara Iti on this itinerary?
No. Tara Iti, Tom Doak's course next door to Te Arai, is private and access is by member invitation or very limited unaccompanied arrangements. Te Arai Links was built by the same ownership as the public sibling, with the South Course by Coore and Crenshaw and the North by Doak, and it delivers the same stretch of coastline. If an invitation materializes, the routing here absorbs it without changing hotels.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.