Nelson Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Various services run to/from Abel Tasman National Park. Note that many operators run reduced timetables from May to September.

Abel Tasman Coachlines (03-548 0285; www.abeltasmantravel.co.nz; 27 Bridge St) operates services to Motueka ($12, one hour, four daily), Takaka ($30, two hours, two daily), Kaiteriteri ($18, two hours, one daily) and Marahau ($18, 1¾ hours, two daily). In summer buses also run to Totaranui and the Heaphy Track ($50).

InterCity (03-365 1113; www.intercitycoach.co.nz; 27 Bridge St) runs daily to Picton ($32, 2½ hours, one or two daily), Christchurch ($69, seven hours, one daily) and Greymouth ($75, six hours, one daily) via Murchison and Westport, with onward connections to Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.

Atomic Shuttles (03-349 0697; www.atomictravel.co.nz) runs from Picton to Nelson ($22, 2¼ hours, one daily) continuing from Nelson to West Coast centres like Greymouth ($50, seven hours, one daily) and Fox Glacier ($75, 10¾ hours, one daily). Services depart Nelson i-SITE.

Naked Bus (0900 625 33; www.nakedbus.com) South Island destinations ex-Nelson include Blenheim (from $11, 1¾ hours, four daily), Motueka ($11, one hour, two daily) and Westport ($29, four hours, one daily). Buses depart the i-SITE. Book online or at the ­i-SITE; cheaper fares for advance bookings.

Southern Link KBus (0508 458 835, 03-358 8355; www.southernlinkkbus.co.nz) runs from Nelson ­i-SITE to:

DestinationPriceDurationFrequency

Christchurch$527hr2 daily

Greymouth$515hr1 daily

Kaikoura$385hr2 daily

Motueka$121hr2 daily

Picton$242hr2 daily

St Arnaud$261hr1 daily

Takaka$28 2½hr1 daily

Westport$414hr1 daily

Call to arrange connections to the Heaphy Track, Collingwood, Totaranui and Marahau.

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Air

Air New Zealand (0800 737 000, 03-546 3100; www.airnz.co.nz; cnr Trafalgar & Bridge Sts; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-12.30pm Sat) has direct flights to/from Wellington (from $69, 11 daily), Auckland (from $99, 10 daily), Christchurch (from $79, eight daily), and New Plymouth (from $122, three weekly).

Soundsair (0800 505 005, 03-520 3080; www.soundsair.com) flies daily between Nelson and Wellington ($75 to $95).

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