Seven quieter places on New Zealand's South Island, and the tours that reach them
South Island Hidden Gems: Seven Quieter Places, and Their Tours
Queenstown and Milford Sound carry most of the South Island's tours. These seven places have real tours too, at a fraction of the traffic: a second fiord, a harbour town in an old crater, a lake-head valley, a mountain pass, a coastal national park, the glaciers and New Zealand's third-largest island.
Seven Quieter Places
Choose the Place, Then the Day Out
Open a place to see why it is quieter, how you get there, when to go, who it suits and which tours reach it, with where each one starts.
Doubtful Sound
Reached by boat across Lake Manapouri and a road over a mountain pass. In GetYourGuide's catalogue it has 8 tours against Milford Sound's 97.
Day trips and the overnight cruise →
A DAY FROM CHRISTCHURCHAkaroa
A harbour town on Banks Peninsula with dolphin cruises, little penguins, sea kayaking and a rural mail run. 37 tours in the catalogue.
Dolphins, penguins, kayaks →
45 MINUTES FROM QUEENSTOWNGlenorchy
The head of Lake Wakatipu, Paradise and the valleys used for film locations, plus the old goldfields of Skippers Canyon. 21 tours against Queenstown's 336.
Lake head and valleys →
TRAIN AND ALPSArthur's Pass
A mountain national park and the limestone boulders of Castle Hill, a day from Christchurch, several tours with the TranzAlpine train one way.
Castle Hill and the TranzAlpine →
BEACHES AND BAYSAbel Tasman
Golden bays at the top of the South Island, reached by water taxi, sailing boat or kayak, with sections of the Coast Track walked in between.
Water taxis, sailing, kayaks →
ICE ON THE WEST COASTThe West Coast Glaciers
Franz Josef and Fox glaciers by helicopter, heli-hike or valley walk, and a cruise on Lake Mapourika. Busier than the rest here, still a fraction of Queenstown.
Heli-hikes and lookouts →
THE FAR SOUTHStewart Island
Rakiura, across Foveaux Strait from Bluff: kiwi-spotting trips, Ulva Island's bird sanctuary and the village bays. 7 tours in the catalogue.
Ferry, kiwi and Ulva Island →
What We Mean by a Hidden Gem
Real Tours, a Fraction of the Traffic
How the seven places were chosen, what each one is, and which one fits your trip.
Most visitors to New Zealand’s South Island pass through the same two places. In GetYourGuide’s catalogue in October 2026, Queenstown has 336 tours with 40,459 reviews and Milford Sound 97 tours with 24,329. They are popular for good reasons, and they are busy.
“Hidden gem” is an overused phrase, so here is what we mean by it. GetYourGuide files a handful of South Island tours under its own “Hidden gems” label, but that label mixes a cruise on Queenstown’s main lake with a Christchurch city walk, so it is not our test. Ours is simpler: each place on this site has real tours you can book, with real reviews, but a small share of the South Island’s tour traffic.
| Place | What it is | Tours | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doubtful Sound | A second, larger fiord, reached by boat and a mountain road | 8 | 2,844 |
| Akaroa | A harbour town on Banks Peninsula, near Christchurch | 37 | 1,530 |
| Glenorchy | The head of Lake Wakatipu, beyond Queenstown | 21 | 1,125 |
| Arthur’s Pass | A mountain pass and Castle Hill, a day from Christchurch | 26 | 1,191 |
| Abel Tasman | A coastal national park at the top of the island | 24 | 2,622 |
| The West Coast glaciers | Franz Josef and Fox glaciers | 65 | 5,161 |
| Stewart Island | Rakiura, across Foveaux Strait from Bluff | 7 | 846 |
| For comparison: Queenstown | 336 | 40,459 | |
| For comparison: Milford Sound | 97 | 24,329 |
Tour and review counts from GetYourGuide’s catalogue in October 2026. Quieter does not mean empty: a sunny weekend in summer can be busy anywhere.
The seven places
Doubtful Sound is the fiord to choose if Milford Sound sounds too busy. It takes longer to reach, by boat across Lake Manapouri and a road over a pass, which is exactly why fewer people go. RealNZ’s day trip from Manapouri is the most reviewed tour here, rated 4.8 from 1,816 reviews. See Doubtful Sound, and Doubtful or Milford Sound if you are choosing between them.
Akaroa is a small harbour town on Banks Peninsula, a day trip from Christchurch, known for dolphin cruises, little penguins and sea kayaking. The most reviewed cruise here is rated 4.9 from 535 reviews. See Akaroa.
Glenorchy sits at the far end of Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown, with the valleys of Paradise beyond it. The half-day tours from Queenstown are the easy way in; see Glenorchy, which also covers a goldfields tour into Skippers Canyon.
Arthur’s Pass is a mountain national park on the road and railway between Christchurch and the West Coast, and Castle Hill a field of limestone boulders on the way. Several day tours from Christchurch ride the TranzAlpine train one way. See Arthur’s Pass.
Abel Tasman is a coastal national park of golden bays at the top of the South Island, explored by water taxi, sailing boat or kayak, with sections of the coastal track walked in between. See Abel Tasman.
The West Coast glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox, are the busiest place on this list, but still a fraction of Queenstown. The tours range from a guided valley walk to a glacier lookout to a heli-hike on the ice. See the West Coast glaciers.
Stewart Island, Rakiura, is reached by ferry from Bluff or by air, and is the one place here where the tours are about birds as much as views: kiwi-spotting trips and Ulva Island’s sanctuary. See Stewart Island.
Which one fits your trip
- Staying in Queenstown: Glenorchy is the easy half day; Doubtful Sound is a long day trip or better from Te Anau. See day trips from Queenstown.
- Staying in Christchurch: Akaroa and Arthur’s Pass are both day trips. See day trips from Christchurch.
- Driving the whole island: see an itinerary through the seven places.
- Coming for wildlife: Akaroa, Stewart Island and Doubtful Sound; see the wildlife tours.
- Trying to avoid the crowds at the famous places: see quieter alternatives to Queenstown and Milford Sound.
South Island Hidden Gems is an independent visitor guide. It is not affiliated with DOC, Tourism New Zealand, KiwiRail or any operator named here. Tours are sold by GetYourGuide.
South Island Hidden Gems FAQ
What people ask about the quieter South Island, answered in the first sentence. Tour details come from each operator's listing; tour counts from GetYourGuide's October 2026 catalogue.
On this site, seven places with real tours but a small share of the island's tour traffic: Doubtful Sound, Akaroa, Glenorchy, Arthur's Pass, Abel Tasman, the West Coast glaciers and Stewart Island. Each has between 7 and 65 tours in GetYourGuide's catalogue, against Queenstown's 336. An itinerary through the seven
It is quieter and takes longer to reach; whether that makes it better depends on your time. Doubtful Sound has 8 tours in the catalogue against Milford Sound's 97, and the day trip from Manapouri runs about 7 hours. Doubtful or Milford Sound
Glenorchy, at the head of the same lake, is the closest; for a whole stay, Te Anau puts you near Doubtful Sound. Glenorchy has 21 tours in the catalogue; Queenstown has 336. Quieter alternatives
Akaroa for dolphins, penguins and kayaking, or Arthur's Pass and Castle Hill, some tours with the TranzAlpine train one way. The Arthur's Pass day tours from Christchurch run about 10 hours. Day trips from Christchurch
Akaroa's harbour cruises and penguin tours, Stewart Island's kiwi trips and Ulva Island, and the fiord cruises. No tour can promise a sighting; the listings say what you have a chance to see. The wildlife tours
Quieter does not mean empty: the summer holidays and sunny weekends bring crowds anywhere. What changes is the scale: a place with 7 or 21 tours has far fewer departures than Queenstown's 336. Book ahead in the peak months. Every tour's calendar
Most of them, on a tour with pickup: from Queenstown to Glenorchy and Doubtful Sound, from Christchurch to Akaroa and Arthur's Pass. Abel Tasman's boats leave from the park's gateway towns, and Stewart Island is reached by ferry from Bluff or by air. Each place page lists where its tours start. Choose a place
Still have questions? Email us at info@southislandhiddengems.com
Every Tour, Place by Place
All 42 tours have their own page under the operator's title, with the booking platform's price, rating and review count, and the town, wharf, station or heliport each one starts from.