Abel Tasman Coast Track hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Abel Tasman Coast Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks, the country's official network of premier multi-day tracks. It follows the granite coast of Abel Tasman National Park, at the top of the South Island, for 60 km from Marahau in the south to Wainui car park in Golden Bay. Most people take 3 to 5 days. You sleep in four DOC huts, at 18 DOC campsites or in private lodges, and every night must be booked in advance.

The route

From Marahau the track crosses a causeway and climbs gently through regenerating forest to Apple Tree Bay, Stilwell Bay and Anchorage. From Anchorage you go round Torrent Bay on the all-tide track past Cleopatra's Pool, or cross the estuary near low tide, then walk over the Falls River swing bridge to Bark Bay. The next day leads past Tonga Quarry and the long beach at Onetahuti, opposite the Tonga Island Marine Reserve and its seals, to Awaroa. Here the track crosses Awaroa Inlet, the one compulsory tidal crossing, and continues past Waiharakeke Bay to Tōtaranui, the only road end in the middle of the park. North of Tōtaranui it is quieter: Anapai Bay, Mutton Cove, a side track to the seal colony at Separation Point, the historic farmhouse hut at Whariwharangi Bay, and a last climb over a saddle down to Wainui.

This guide follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 5 stages, about 11.9 km each, using the four huts: Anchorage, Bark Bay, Awaroa and Whariwharangi. These are the classic 5 days. Fast walkers do it in 3 days, for example Marahau – Bark Bay – Awaroa or Tōtaranui, and many finish at Tōtaranui by water taxi, missing the last 15 km.

Highlights

• Cleopatra's Pool: a natural rock pool and water slide on the all-tide track round Torrent Bay
• Falls River swing bridge: a long suspension bridge above a rocky river mouth before Bark Bay
• Tonga Island Marine Reserve: fur seals, clear water and snorkelling off Onetahuti and Tonga Quarry
• Awaroa Inlet: a wide tidal estuary you wade across at low tide; Awaroa beach was bought for the park by public crowdfunding in 2016
• Separation Point and Whariwharangi: a fur seal colony on the granite point, and a 1890s farmhouse that is now a hut

When to walk the Abel Tasman Coast Track

The track is open all year. The climate is mild, with about 1,800 mm of rain and 2,200 hours of sunshine a year. At Tōtaranui average highs range from 23°C in January to 13°C in July. October to April is the main season and the busiest, especially from Christmas to early February, when huts, campsites and water taxis fill up. Autumn and winter are calmer and quieter, with fewer insects and cheaper huts, but short days and frosty nights.

How hard is it?

DOC grades the track as intermediate. The path is well built and well marked, and it rarely goes above 200 m, but it is a constant series of short climbs and descents over headlands, about 2,000 m of ascent in total. Some sections are steep, rough or muddy after rain. Daily walking times are 2 to 6 hours. The main hazards are the tides, heat and sun on the beaches, sandflies and wasps, and tsunami: after a long or strong earthquake, go to high ground at once.

Tides

Plan every day around the tide table. Awaroa Inlet can only be crossed from 1 hour 30 minutes before to 2 hours after low tide, in daylight, and there is no all-tide track; allow 25 minutes. Awaroa Hut is on the south side, so you cross when you leave in the morning or afternoon. The estuaries at Torrent Bay and Bark Bay can be crossed within about 2 hours of low tide or bypassed on all-tide tracks, and the beach at Goat Bay can be cut off at big tides. DOC publishes tide tables for the park; download them before you go.

Permits and booking

No permit or guide is needed, and day walks are free. Every hut and campsite night must be booked in advance on the DOC website, all year. Bookings for 2026/27 opened on 14 May 2026, and summer dates sell out quickly. From 1 October to 30 April a hut costs NZ$55 a night for New Zealand adults and NZ$84 for international adults; campsites cost NZ$21 and NZ$31. Prices are lower and the same for everyone from May to September. You can stay at most 2 nights at one site in summer, and only 1 night at the Tōtaranui Great Walk campsite.

Huts have bunks with mattresses, heating, toilets and untreated water, but no cooking gas and no lights. Bring a stove, fuel, pots and a torch. Campsites are for tents only: hammocks are not allowed. Awaroa Lodge and Awaroa Glamping take independent guests; the Wilsons lodges are only for their packaged trips.

Getting there and away

Nelson has the nearest airport. Marahau, the southern start, is 67 km from Nelson by sealed road (about an hour), and shuttle buses run from Nelson and Motueka. Wainui, the northern end, is 128 km from Nelson and 21 km from Takaka, over Takaka Hill; Go Bus Golden Bay and Golden Bay Air run shuttles to Golden Bay.

Water taxis run all year from Marahau and Kaiteriteri to Apple Tree Bay, Anchorage, Medlands, Bark Bay, Tonga Quarry, Onetahuti, Awaroa and Tōtaranui. Use them to skip a section, start in the middle or send your pack ahead. None go north of Tōtaranui. Book ahead; times depend on tide and weather. DOC car parks at Marahau, Tōtaranui and Wainui are at your own risk; secure paid parking is available in Marahau.

Money, food and phone signal

Nothing can be bought on the track itself. Awaroa Lodge (in season) and Awaroa Glamping sell meals and drinks, and the Tōtaranui camp office sells snacks, insect repellent and sunscreen, with EFTPOS only in office hours. Bring cash and all your food from Motueka, Takaka or Nelson. Mobile coverage is poor and only found on some headlands, so do not rely on your phone. In an emergency call 111; carry a personal locator beacon (PLB).

What to pack

A 40–60 litre pack with a liner, a 3–4 season sleeping bag, a tent and mat if camping, a gas stove, fuel, pot and lighter, a way to treat water, a torch, a first aid kit, a map and your booking confirmation. Wear shoes you do not mind getting wet at the crossings, and bring a sun hat, sunscreen, strong insect repellent, a warm layer and a rain jacket. There are no rubbish bins: carry everything out.

History

Māori lived along this coast for centuries before Europeans arrived. In 1642 the Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman anchored in Golden Bay, the first European to reach New Zealand. Settlers later farmed, logged and quarried much of the coast; the Whariwharangi farmhouse dates from about 1896. The national park was created in 1942, on the 300th anniversary of Tasman's visit, and forest is now returning to the old farmland.