Australia or New Zealand? Compare both + take the quiz

Are you torn between Australia or New Zealand for your next dream trip? You’re not the only one! We spent 4 weeks in New Zealand and 6 weeks in South Australia, and we’re happy to help you choose. In this blog, we compare them in a light and personal way. It’s up to you to pick your next holiday destination — or even combine them!

Australia and New Zealand are both fantastic destinations in Oceania. If you have enough time, it’s a great idea to combine them in one trip. But a lack of time (not everyone can get that many vacation days) and, of course, budget play a big role. Both countries are worth it, so choosing between Australia or New Zealand mainly depends on your interests and preferences. Luckily, there are also important differences between the two. Big cities, temperature, nature, and wildlife will shape your decision.

Quick comparison: Australia vs. New Zealand

• Distances? New Zealand wins! In New Zealand, the highlights are a bit closer together, even though you can still rack up plenty of kilometers! Australia has slightly more boring roads than New Zealand.
• City lover? Australia wins. Sydney and Melbourne are bigger and more vibrant than Auckland.
• Nature fan? New Zealand wins. The landscapes are more dramatic, with high mountains and fjords. And the distances are just a bit easier to handle.
• Wildlife spotting? Australia wins — and by a mile! In New Zealand, we barely saw any wildlife. In Australia, you see it in abundance!
• Temperature and climate? Australia wins! Even though you do have to look carefully at where you are and when (Australia also has a cyclone season), you generally get more pleasant temperatures in Australia than in New Zealand. Australia can be visited year-round (including during the summer school holidays).

Already a clear winner for yourself? That’s totally possible. Still, we’re going to tell you a lot more!

Distances, size, and travel time: how many weeks do you have?

Australia is huge. If you have three weeks, it’s better to focus on a few regions (like Tasmania or the south coast). Our road trip above, for example, lasted six weeks. Do you have six weeks or more? Then you can really do an awesome road trip with domestic flights. We did the entire south coast (from Adelaide to Sydney) and Tasmania.

New Zealand is more compact. In four weeks, you can already drive a great route across both islands. We did that ourselves in just under four weeks and didn’t feel like we missed anything. Of course, we could have added a bit more, but we’ve seen the bulk of New Zealand. We can’t say that about Australia!

Read also: Our 4-week road trip through New Zealand, day by day

City lover? Go to Australia!

Australia has around 25 million inhabitants. About 60% live in the four biggest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. New Zealand has over 5 million inhabitants, with 1.7 million living in Auckland. You can imagine: that’s quite a big difference. Sydney has iconic highlights like the Opera House. Far fewer people know Auckland’s highlights.

We personally always love exploring a big city by bike. Below you can see a glimpse of Melbourne.

So are New Zealand’s cities not worth it at all? Auckland is actually a pretty fun city, but after one day you’ve seen most of it. We did a bike tour here too, by the way, but we quickly headed toward nature.

Nature fan? New Zealand is your destination!

I definitely don’t want to do Australia short when it comes to nature, but New Zealand has the most unique nature in the world, if you ask me. It’s no coincidence that The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. The South Island is spectacular, with high mountains, glaciers, and fjords. Fiordland and Abel Tasman National Park are real gems. Mount Cook is the highest mountain in the country at 3,724 meters. Below you’ll find a glimpse of my New Zealand road trip.

The North Island has volcanoes, beaches, and hot springs. Think of Tongariro National Park, where you can hike between active volcanoes.

Australia is also beautiful, with places like Uluru (the red monolith in the desert), the Great Barrier Reef, the 12 Apostles, and the rainforest in Queensland. But the distances are bigger and the highlights are farther apart. Australia makes up for that with loads of wildlife, cities, pleasant temperatures, and the stunning beaches the country is known for.

Below you’ll also find a glimpse of my Australia road trip!

Wildlife spotting? Go to Australia!

Australia has an enormous diversity of animals: kangaroos, koalas, emus, wombats, dingoes, platypuses, cockatoos, kookaburras, and so much more. You’ll find them in national parks, on golf courses, or simply along the road.

New Zealand has fewer animals, but that also means: no venomous snakes or big predators. The famous kiwi bird is the symbol of the country (and its people), but in practice you’ll usually only see one in a sanctuary. They’re nocturnal animals, after all! And that doesn’t really help when you’re out hiking… So here’s a photo of a stuffed kiwi bird instead.

But should you be scared of spiders and snakes in Australia? In 6 weeks, we saw no snakes and only spiders in a Chinese garden near Melbourne. So it’s definitely not an everyday thing. Luckily, there are plenty of warning signs. Stick to the paths, don’t go looking for trouble, and respect wildlife. And you’ll find a lot of that — especially in Australia!

Temperature & climate: Australia!

In New Zealand, during our road trip (November through mid-December), it never got warmer than 22°C. And Australia? There we experienced everything from 15°C to 35°C. It really depends on where you are. When we were in the south of Australia in March, a cyclone was happening near the famous Great Barrier Reef. Australia also has a cyclone season, after all. So do your research on the climate in the corner of Australia you have in mind.

New Zealand also isn’t an option for most tourists during our summer holiday, because it’s winter there and low season. The seasons are the exact opposite of the Netherlands, and for simplicity you can compare New Zealand to Scandinavia. Ideally, you want to visit New Zealand between November and the end of February. That’s when nature looks its best!

It’s your call: Australia or New Zealand! You can also combine both countries perfectly if that’s what you’d like. Budget-wise, the two countries are roughly equally expensive. Most of all, make sure you have a solid plan.

Want to keep reading to get a better feel for it?