Inside the region, getting around is easy: short flat commutes and one of the country’s better cycle networks. Getting out of the region is the price of living at the top of the South Island.
The commute
Ten to twenty minutes to work from most of Nelson, Stoke or Richmond. There is mild congestion on the Nelson–Richmond corridor at either end of the day, and that is the whole traffic story. Parking at the hospital and in town is straightforward.
Because the region is compact along the coast and flat on the plain, going further out for cheaper housing costs remarkably little time. Richmond is twenty minutes, Wakefield thirty, Motueka forty-five. That is why the housing decision here is more about money than commute.
Cycling
The Great Taste Trail is one of New Zealand’s Great Rides and unusually practical — a mostly flat, sealed network linking Nelson, Richmond, Māpua, Motueka and Wakefield, along coast, estuary and orchard. It connects real places, so it works for commuting as well as weekends.
Combined with the sunshine, that makes Nelson a good cycling city year-round. A number of clinicians here commute by bike or e-bike, and the trail is a large part of why.
Buses
The roads out
Flying and the ferry
Distances worth knowing
| Journey | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Across Nelson | 10–15 min |
| Nelson → airport | 10 min |
| Nelson → Richmond | 20 min |
| Nelson → Māpua | 30 min |
| Nelson → Wakefield | 30 min |
| Nelson → Motueka | 45 min |
| Nelson → Kaiteriteri | 1 hr |
| Nelson → St Arnaud / Nelson Lakes | 1 hr 30 |
| Nelson → Tākaka | 1 hr 30 |
| Nelson → Blenheim | 1 hr 45 |
| Nelson → Picton | 2 hr |
| Nelson → Christchurch | 5–6 hr, or 1 hr flying |
Times on a good run. Check the Tākaka Hill and the Rai Valley road in bad weather.
Converting your licence, buying a car, and what a warrant of fitness and registration involve are national matters, explained once in Driving & licences.