5 days South Island Itineary

comments interspersed, I detect the underestimating of google maps here.

(day 1) April 11 -- arrive Christchurch 735 am , pickup rental car and drive to Franz Josef
7 hours driving without stops, and there is loads to see.

• the hopes are to do a hike and stay over night in this town (any recommendations on where to stay?) you won't have time, given you have to eat at some point.

(day 2) April 12 -- drive to Milford Sound

6 hours to Queenstown, maybe more. Then 5 hours to Milford.

• catch the evening cruise on the sound good luck...last one 4pm ish.
• stay overnight in Milford (any recommendations on where to stay?) either on the boats, or in the Milford Sound lodge. No other options.

(day 3-5) April 13 - drive to Queenstown
only 5 hours driving today...
- the goal is to stay in Queenstown until our departure and do the following: bungy jumping, shootover jet tour, explore the city

please any suggestions would be great! Thank you!

do you want to try this plan again given what I've told you? :-)

INSANE.
Look, I'm a big fan of packing in as much as you can, but this is madness.
- Christchurch to Franz Josef is a 5 hour drive NON STOP, and then you want to hike? in April? It will be dark around 6
- Franz Josef to Milford Sound is at least a 9 hour drive, again, if you don't stop. And where are you staying? Not much on offer there.

Here's a better plan.
- Christchurch to Mt Cook 2 nights stay
- Mt Cook to Queenstown 3 night stay.
In the middle of this you COULD do a Milford day trip, but this takes about 12 hours there, back and cruise.
You could go via FJ, but would have to skip Milford if you did this.

thank you so much for the recommendations. I realize after a little further research it was way more than I can really fit into a short time frame.

our now route is going to be Christchurch - FJ Glacier (2 Nights)
FJ - Queenstown (3 nights)

I have seen the options of train to Greymouth and then possibly picking up a rental car from Grey mouth to continue the rest of the trip, any thoughts on the train?

phew! Much better!

the train follows pretty much the same route as the road, although I don't think you see the Otira viaduct as it is in the tunnel. But it has the advantage that you can both admire the view. You get a short stop at Arthur's Pass. The train arrives Greymouth about midday.

I think it is 2.5 hours plus from Greymouth to Franz BTW, and do book ahead. Then you can do the full day drive from Franz to Queenstown and admire the views and walks en route. www.doc.govt.nz for all the info you need; tank up in Hokitika.

Spend your 'glacier day' seeing both, they are only 30 mins apart.

The disadvantage of the train is that you can't stop where you want and do a short hike or whatever. And you'll also use up more of your time dealing with the logistics of getting to the train station, waiting for the train, etc.

Much better, and the train (though I've not done it yet)is meant to be a great ride. Worth Investigating, though it may lock you into an inconvenient timetable.
Milford is still a possibility, if you're prepared for a long day trip - perhaps a package tour for the day?

I've done the Tranz-Alpine Chch to Greymouth and it is a most spectacular ride. As you're arriving at 7.35, you may not have time to make the train as it leaves at 8.15am. Train arrives Greymouth at 12.45pm.

What we did last Easter was have a night in Franz Josef, get up early the next morning and drive to Fox (40 mins), and do the full day glacier trek at Fox (Brill day by the way).

This finished about 3.30, then we got in the van, and drove to Wanaka. We got to Wanaka before dark without stopping. You could stay here, go to the amazing Cinema Paradiso, have a walk round the lake the next morning, go to Puzzling world then head to Queenstown just after lunch. Depending on which bungee you wanted to do you could possibly do this in the afternoon, but you could definitely do the Shotover Jet.

We really enjoyed our evening in FJ, but didn't need a second, and Wanaka turned out to be the highlight of our trip.

So I would either do

FJ
WA
QTN
QTN
QTN

Or even

FJ
WA
WA
QTN
QTN

In fact I would probably do the second option, head straight to Qtn after brekkie on the second morning, have a full day of activities, and you still have a full day the day after too, its not a big city. Can I really recommend the segway trip, and going up the gondola.

we had 3 nights but only 2 full days last time and achieved, the cable car bungee, shotover jet, gondola and luge, mini golf, 2 hr segway trip and the wildlife park with the kiwi's. We also had plenty of time for sitting with a drink and chilling

And I would 100% miss Milford given your time frame. We had twice as long as you last time and still decided to skip it for another time as it took up far too much activiiy time

This is doable, IF the weather is good at FJ. Most days it isn't. We were there, for example, for 3 nights and had one good day.
If you stay in Queenstown, there is plenty to do for 3,4 or even 5 days in the town, or nearby at Arrowtown and Glenorchy. But I'd still argue Milford is worth the, admittedly long and tiring effort.