How to Elope in New Zealand

In this ultimate How to Elope in New Zealand guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know to start planning your dream trip to the best country on earth. Got questions? I’m here for em!

Eloping in New Zealand in 2025 & 2026

The best elopements are planned as a vacation! Your elopement is not an event, so you don’t need a long planning process, an elaborate cake, delicate footwear, speeches, or a hotel block, or the stress of planning any of that! Book your dream trip, and get married on the most exciting day you have planned. For the perfect tour of New Zealand, spend a week on North Island and two weeks on South Island. I have plenty of availability in 2025 and 2026 to be your guide to how to elope in New Zealand and you’ll get the best dang photos to boot.

How to Elope in New Zealand

Most folks who travel to New Zealand to get married can do so simply and without fuss. You can choose to get legally married in your home country (often easiest) or choose one of my packages with a celebrant included. Follow these steps of how to elope in New Zealand & keep it simple.

1. For the best weather, plan your elopement in New Zealand between December and March – that’s our summer!
2. Hire a knowledgeable and local photographer to lead you to the best hidden gem locations. Decide if you are having a legal or symbolic ceremony.
3. Book your flights, accommodation or campervan. I’ll make a custom timeline for your elopement and the rest of your trip. Plan to elope on the day you’re most excited for.
4. Apply for your travel visa no less than 3 days before you fly. Pack your wedding clothes and your most rugged shoes in your carry on – you’re in for an adventure!
5. Elope!

When is the best time to elope in New Zealand?

New Zealand is a great place to travel when it’s cold and wintery in the northern hemisphere. Our summer months are December, January, February and March. In late November and early December, the lupine flowers bloom on South Island, making it a popular time to see the central mountain lakes. April and November are shoulder seasons when the weather is more hit-and -miss. It could be a chilly and rainy fall in April, or a windy and cold spring in November. Plan to visit New Zealand from May to October if you don’t mind the cold or are planning a glacier helicopter elopement.

Consider a symbolic ceremony

You may want to consider a symbolic ceremony when you elope in New Zealand. A symbolic ceremony is one that has all the elements of a ceremony, except the legal paperwork. You can still exchange rings, vows, gifts, and have any other rituals that are important to you. A symbolic ceremony is perfect for couples who..

• Are already legally married
• Don’t want to be legally married
• Don’t want to be bothered with legal paperwork while on vacation
• Want your ceremony to be completely private without a celebrant / officiant
• Plan to get legally married in your home country or have a reception later

How to Travel to New Zealand to Elope – Visas

If you are coming to New Zealand and you are from a Visa Waiver Country*, you need an NZeTA. This stands for New Zealand Electronic Transit Authorization and it’s a visa waiver. This means you need the NZeTA but not a Visa. With an NZeTA, you can visit for up to 3 months at a time, and it’s valid for 2 years. The cost is $117nzd per person and you can apply for it here. Make sure you apply for it at least 72 hours in advance!!

*These are some of the Visa Waiver countries who need an NZeTA – See the full list here.

• Canada
• USA
• Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain
• Japan
• UK (if you are a resident)
• South Korea

How to get around in New Zealand

New Zealand is best explored in a campervan on a road trip, because there is simply so much to see! Driving in New Zealand is on the LEFT – opposite from the USA and Canada. Don’t let this deter you, as it’s easier than you think to switch sides. Public transport is better (cheaper, cleaner, goes more places) than the USA, with trains and buses between cities. Europeans and Japanese travelers will find it lackluster compared to their standards. However, public transport rarely takes you to trailheads and remote areas, so for your elopement I recommend hiring a camper or a car. I recommend these campveran rental companies:

• CheapaCampa
• Jucy
• Spaceships

Visiting Auckland

If you’re based around Auckland, there are tons of elopement locations close enough for a day trip. The Waitakeres reserve, West of the city, offers solitude, lush bushwalks, great beaches and waterfalls. Check out Piha, Karekare, Huia Heads, and Muriwai. Or, take a day trip out to one of the islands east of Auckland, like Waiheke, Tiritiri Matangi, Great Barrier or Rangitoto. Hunua Falls makes a great elopement location near Auckland. There are even some beautiful parks within the city of Auckland – check out the Auckland Domain and Oakley Creek, and of course the beaches of the north shore.

North Island Trip Itinerary

There are tons of unique places to see and explore on North Island. Most folks plan to spend 3-7 days on North Island, which will barely scratch the surface of seeing the island. No trip would be complete without these sightseeing stops:

• Cathedral Cove on the Coromandel Peninsula (2 nights)
• Geothermal Pools of Rotorua (3 nights)
• Tongariro Alpine Crossing (2 nights)
• Hobbiton near Hamilton (1 night)
• Waitomo Glow Worm Caves & Sanctuary Mountain (1 night)
• Mt Taranaki in New Plymouth (2 to 3 nights)
• Cape Reinga & Sand Dunes (3-4 nights in Northland)
• Waitakeres & Auckland (2-3 nights)
• Tiritiri Matangi Island (1 night)

For my full guide to elopement locations on North Island, click here.

South Island Trip Itinerary

The South Island of New Zealand holds many of its most iconic landmarks. When you think of New Zealand, you’ll be picturing the rainforests, rugged coastline, towering mountains, glaciers and fjords of South Island. Here’s my must-see list of South Island locations for the first time traveler to New Zealand.

• Abel Tasman National Park & Farewell Spit (2-4 nights)
• Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers (2-4 nights)
• Wanaka (2 nights+)
• Lake Tekapo & Lake Pukaki (3 nights+)
• Mt Aoraki / Mt Cook (2 nights+)
• Queenstown & Lake Wakatipu (3-4 nights)
• Milford Sound (Day trip from Te Anau, 2 nights)

For the full guide of elopement locations on South Island, click here.

So, now you know How to elope in New Zealand

And it’s even easier than you thought! I’d love to chat with you about your New Zealand elopement photography. I’ll plan the perfect elopement day blueprint to get you all the best photos, and I’ll help you plan it every step of the way.