Napier is an exciting destination for anyone looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Australian life and fly across the Tasman. It’s located in a bustling wine region and prides itself on the Art Deco architecture, relaxed atmosphere, and thriving community.
Hawke’s Bay is the biggest attraction in the region, and you’ll need a car to get there easily. Thankfully, as soon as you land at Napier Airport, you can come to our Hertz rental desk and pick up your car. You’ll either be coming from another part of your trip here in New Zealand or a layover at a bigger airport - so having your rental car sorted ahead of time will help you cut down your journey.
Whether this is the first stop on your holiday, or the only place you’re visiting, you’ll have a magnificent time.
Explore Napier with Hertz
A main attraction of the Napier and greater Hawke’s Bay region is the wine.
With fertile soil and a temperate climate, Hawke’s Bay is one of the busiest regions in wine production. The area particularly favours red wine, so if you’re a lover of cabernet, merlot, syrah, or sauvignon, you should visit a winery or two. You could create a wine tour of your own and drive from place to place - so long as there’s a designated driver in your party, you can have a fun day out. There are plenty of cellar doors in the region and artisan producers, breweries, and wineries, too - so it’ll be a busy day. Of course, as we just mentioned, if you’re driving from location to location, make sure to drive responsibly and always have a designated driver on hand.
For those interested in history, it might be worth paying a visit to the oldest attraction in the area, Napier Prison. Having been built in 1862, it’s the oldest prison in New Zealand and was only decommissioned as a prison in 1993. Keep an eye out for any ghouls or ghosts that haunt the jail cells, as many who have frequented this place have reported mysterious happenings. The prison is a fantastic way to get an insight into the criminal history of New Zealand and get a better understanding of how the country came to be as it is today.
Of course, you may be spending a lot of time in the city itself. The architecture of Napier is proudly Art Deco, and it’s some of the world’s finest. The city was mostly rebuilt after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, and it was rebuilt in the Art Deco style of the times, leading Napier to proudly boast the highest concentration of Art Deco buildings on earth. To celebrate the heritage and culture of the city, Napier throws the annual Tremains Art Deco Festival, which you can attend if your visit here coincides with the celebrations.
Head on the Road with Hertz
Napier and Hawke’s Bay are situated in the Bay of Plenty region, which is stunning in itself and is well worth spending a few days exploring.
However, we also recommend an incredible road trip to Auckland from Napier. It’ll take around five days to complete, but you’ll be able to see some of the North Island’s biggest cities and iconic tourist attractions and impressive landmarks. Notable highlights include Rotorua, Taupo and Huka Falls, Karanghake Gorge, and Auckland. But, don’t forget that the driving in between cities makes New Zealand just so magical; the landscape here is as beautiful as it is diverse, so always keep an eye out for an incredible view or place to stop and look out to the horizon.
Napier is a great place to visit, and it’s relatively simple to get here from Australia. Once you’ve landed, head to our Hertz Napier Airport to collect your rental car from Hertz.
