Aotearoa has camping for every budget, from DOC campsites at the end of gravel roads to holiday parks with hot pools and jumping pillows. These guides explain the rules, costs and booking systems, and our campsite profiles pull the key details from each official page.
Prices and rules are checked against the Department of Conservation, councils and park operators, with the date shown on each page. Holiday park rates change by season, so we link to live booking pages rather than quoting them. Want somewhere to camp near the city? Many regional parks have campgrounds, and our walks and trails guides cover Great Walk campsites.
Start here if you are deciding how to camp: on public land, at a DOC campsite, at a full-service holiday park or in a ready-made glamping tent.
Where freedom camping is allowed, the self-contained vehicle rules and the fines.
Read the guide
The five DOC campsite categories, fees, bookings and the Campsite Pass.
Read the guide
What you get at a commercial holiday park, how the big networks compare and how to book.
Read the guide
Safari tents, domes, yurts and pods: what glamping in New Zealand looks like and where to find it.
Read the guideCampgrounds and holiday parks in some of the most popular places to camp, with the local rules that matter.
Regional park campgrounds and self-contained vehicle sites within reach of the city.
Read the guide
Lakeside and geothermal holiday parks close to the city, lakes and Redwoods.
Read the guide
Holiday parks and lakeside camping around Lake Taupō, with Tongariro an hour away.
Read the guide
Holiday parks near town and a big lakeside DOC campsite on the Glenorchy road.
Read the guide
Beach holiday parks near Hot Water Beach and remote DOC camping at the top of the peninsula.
Read the guideHow the main holiday park networks work: memberships, cancellations and where their parks are.
10 campsites with verified fees, facilities, dog rules and booking details.
Council campgroundShakespear Regional Park, Whangaparāoa Peninsula
A flat, grassy beachside campground inside the pest-free Shakespear Open Sanctuary, at the eastern end of Te Hāruhi Bay on Auckland's Whangaparāoa Peninsula.
DOC campsiteNorthern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula
A remote DOC backcountry campsite at the very end of the road on the northern Coromandel, and the northern start of the Coromandel Coastal Walkway.
Holiday parkHot Water Beach, Coromandel Peninsula
A Premium-classified TOP 10 park about 700 m from Hot Water Beach, where you can dig your own hot pool for two hours either side of low tide.
Holiday parkLake Tikitapu (Blue Lake), Rotorua
A Superior TOP 10 park beside Lake Tikitapu (the Blue Lake), about 10 minutes from Rotorua city and close to the Redwoods forest trails.
Holiday parkCentral Rotorua, next to Kuirau Park
A family holiday park in central Rotorua with a heated mineral pool and hot tubs, a one-minute walk from Kuirau Park's free geothermal reserve.
Holiday parkTaupō township
A Superior TOP 10 park on 5 acres, about a 20-minute walk from Taupō town centre and the lakefront, with a swimming pool, thermal plunge pool and bookable hot tubs.
Holiday parkGlendhu Bay, Lake Wānaka
Hampshire describes it as Wānaka's only lakefront holiday park: a lakeside campground on the road to Mt Aspiring National Park, about 15 minutes from Wānaka township.
Holiday parkArthurs Point, Queenstown
A Superior TOP 10 park at Arthurs Point, 7 km from central Queenstown and 14 km from the airport, with a free shuttle into town.
DOC campsiteGlenorchy Road, Lake Wakatipu
A large, first-come first-served DOC campsite on a river delta beside Lake Wakatipu, 12 km from Queenstown. It was the Ithilien Camp location in the Lord of the Rings films.
DOC campsiteAoraki/Mount Cook National Park
A DOC campsite beneath Mt Sefton at the start of the Hooker Valley Track. It is often full all year, so you must book ahead.
8 of the 10 campsites above, pinned at the campground itself. Select a pin to open its profile.
Not on the map yet, because we couldn't verify a location: Rotorua Blue Lake TOP 10 Holiday Park, Queenstown TOP 10 Holiday Park.
Location data: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); Department of Conservation, DOC Campsites (CC BY 4.0).
