Invercargill Travel Guide: How To Plan a Trip to Invercargill 

If you’re venturing all the way down to Invercargill it probably means you’re being very thorough in your exploration of the South Island. Tourists on the typical two week trip around the island will almost definitely miss it, and plenty of New Zealanders haven’t been (and have no interest in going).

 

Invercargill doesn’t have the best reputation (not for anything nefarious, it just isn’t considered an interesting place) but I reckon it’s a good spot to spend a night or two and it’s close to some spectacular and less visited South Island destinations including Stewart Island, the Catlins and Riverton.

 

 

There are direct connections to Invercargill from Auckland and Christchurch. It’s roughly a 2.5 hour drive from Dunedin and Queenstown and two hours from Te Anau, so it’s well connected to three of the South Island’s top tourist destinations (buses ply these routes). 

 

Invercargill is on the doorstep of the Catlins, a special region of New Zealand that many foreign tourists skip. It’s also a short flight (or potentially rough ferry ride) from Stewart Island, another underrated New Zealand spot.

 

Invercargill and Bluff were founded at roughly the same time in the 1860s. They were linked by one of the first public railways in New Zealand. It was then overshadowed by Dunedin (200 km north) and had a pretty uneventful history after that aside from being home to the first all women’s organisation in New Zealand, which had a hand in the women’s suffrage movement.

 

Burt Monro is the most famous person from Invercargill (that’s debateable, I guess). He set several under-1000 cc land speed records in the 1960s on his modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle. Check out the movie “The World’s Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins (who did a pretty good Kiwi accent) for a fascinating look at his life.

 

Downtown Invercargill is picturesque and easy to navigate, with museums, shops and a decent selection of places to eat. Walking the streets you’ll notice plenty of old buildings (typical of most South Island towns) and some street art. There’s also a mall which opened recently.

 

There isn’t too much else to do in the city centre aside from the historic water tower and Queens Park. If you’re keen for a short drive, Bluff or the beaches to the south are your best bets.

 

Bluff, cool little seaside town, is a 20 minute drive from Invercargill. If you’re looking for views and walks it’s the place to go (Invercargill is very flat and not that interesting outside of the historic city centre). Ferries to Stewart Island leave from Bluff.

 

READ MORE: 7 of the Best Things to Do in Bluff

 

Oreti Beach / Sandy Point is a 10 minute drive from Invercargill and is a good place to see some nature. We preferred Omaui Beach which is just across the river mouth from Oreti Beach but an extra 15 minutes of driving. 

 

You might see cars and motorbikes on Oreti Beach, which takes away from the natural beauty a bit but it’s part of the history of this beach (Burt Monro practiced there 60 years ago).

 

Queens Park is a nice garden area to visit, although it took quite a beating during the 2025 storm and is temporarily closed. The Invercargill Water Tower is also worth a look and there’s the Southern Farmer’s Market on Sundays.

 

Invercargill has several museums mostly based around transport. If you’re keen to see some Burt Munro memorabilia and other transport bits and pieces for free check out E Hayes Hardware Store.

 

READ MORE: 10 of the Best Things to Do in Invercargill

 

Bluff is a cool place to visit and is a lot more scenic than Invercargill. Drive to the top of Bluff Hill for awesome vistas. There are some decent short walks too as well as beaches to explore.

 

Riverton is a very underrated town. It’s home to a great beach and there are some walks and viewpoints a short distance from town. 

 

Colac Bay is just down the road from Riverton — a typical rugged Southland Beach with baches and a pub (could be a good place to stay if you can book one of the baches). Cosy Nook, Monkey Island and Gemstone Beach are good places to stop nearby.

 

To the east you have Fortrose and the small settlements of the Catlins. The Catlins is full of beautiful beaches, forest tracks leading to waterfalls and some of the best coastal views in New Zealand — try and add it to your South Island itinerary if you can!

 

Gore is north of Invercargill (not particularly interesting for foreign tourists) and Te Anau / Manapouri are northwest. Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park, is one of the most scenic towns in New Zealand and the drive there from Invercargill takes you along the underrated southern coast of the South Island. It’d be a long day trip from Invercargill but definitely doable (two hours driving each way).

 

READ MORE: 10 of the Best Things to Do in Te Anau

 

Check out our Southland Travel Guide for some good ideas on how to plan your travels around Southland.

 

We haven’t eaten many meals out in Invercargill so I’m definitely not an expert. We did try Fat Bastard Pies recently, which made it onto our Top 12 Pies in the South Island list (mostly due to how big they are — the most filling pies we’ve had on our travels around the South Island!). 

 

We also had a nice dinner at Meld one night (restaurant at Langlands Hotel). Invercargill is good for fast food — it has the only Popeye’s in the South Island (still not sure why it has one when Christchurch and Dunedin don’t). The Sunday market is also a good place to get some food. 

 

There are lots of well priced motels in Invercargill. We stayed at Monarch Motel and it was a good option. Langlands Hotel seems like a good place to stay if your budget allows it, or consider Bluff (Lands End Hotel looks nice). Check out other Invercargill hotels here.