Let us take care of the details and help you design your ideal trip in Abel Tasman National Park. Go to our easy trip finders:

To create your own adventure some background detail will assist your planning.

Access to Abel Tasman National Park

Road access:

  • Marahau in the South
  • Wainui in the north
  • Totaranui - access from Takaka is via an unsealed road. A narrow, four-wheel drive track leads off the Totaranui road to the Awaroa estuary. At the Awaroa road-end the coastal track can be accessed only at low tide.

Boat access:

  • Kaiteriteri for safe, all-tide transfers to larger boats.
  • Marahau for smaller boat transfer in this shallow, tidal inlet.

Abel Tasman Foreshore Management regulations permit landing only on selected beaches along the Abel Tasman coast. There are no commercial landings north of Totaranui

Tides

With the highest tidal range in the country, you need to plan your trip to take into account tidal crossings that can be impassable at High Tide. Go to Weather and Tides for more details.

Walking

The Abel Tasman Coast Track, from Marahau to Wainui is 51km (32 mile) long. The section between Marahau and Totaranui is 38 kms (24 miles) with no point higher than 150 metres (500 feet).

The track is managed and maintained to a very high standard by the Department of Conservation. It is well-formed and heavy hiking boots are not necessary.

For details on walking times and track profiles, see Department of Conservation Website.

For our walking and transport travel packages offered all year, go to our Backpacker Deals.

Sea Kayaking

If you plan to kayak, you need to book kayak hire and transfers before you travel into the Park, or choose Guided Sea Kayaking with everything included. Click here for All you Need to Know About Kayaking.

Accommodation

You can choose from a wide range of accommodation outside the boundaries of the National Park. Within the National Park you have three options. All must be booked before you go into the Park.

  1. Department of Conservation Huts - provide bunk rooms and cooking shelters with filtered water. You must supply all food, cooking equipment and bedding. Book on the Dept. of Conservation website.
  2. Department of Conservation Camp Sites - provide toilet facilities. Filtered drinking water at Anchorage, Bark Bay and Awaroa. . Book on the Dept. of Conservation website.
  3. Enjoy modern comforts at our Beachfront Lodges