Kayaking vs. Hiking Abel Tasman National Park

Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand’s “most popular national park.” It’s located at the tippy-top of New Zealand’s South Island, just west of Nelson, and it’s known as a beach-lover’s paradise. The turquoise waters, lush forests, and sandy beaches make it a no-brainer to include on any New Zealand travel itinerary. But simply deciding to visit is the easy part! Will you multi-day hike through the park? Or will you day-trip there and return the same day? And once there, will you kayak, or hike? Or both?!

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Is it Better to Hike or Kayak Abel Tasman?

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The idea of hiking through Abel Tasman for three or four days to explore every nook and cranny sounded ahhmazing to me. But carrying all my own food, gas, pots, pans, plates along the way….not so much. So, I decided to do a day trip into Abel Tasman from Nelson. I initially planned to only hike. The kayak tours cost much more than the already pricey hiking options, plus, I just like hiking. But upon turning to the internet, I found everyone adamantly claiming that kayaking Abel Tasman was the only way to go.

Torn, and suffering from an extreme case of FOMO under time pressure, I decided to compromise. I opted for a half-kayak-half-hike tour, with transport from Nelson to Marahau, a guided kayak from Marahau to Observation Bay, and an unguided walk back down from Observation Bay to Marahau. Below is a map.

If I could do it over, I would stick to my initial interests and only hike, not letting FOMO and others’ (overly strong) opinions sway me from my original choice. Why? Well, below I share the three main reasons that I personally wish I had only hiked instead of half-kayaked-half-hiked, followed by what I recommend for you when visiting Abel Tasman on a day trip.

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Related reading: Everything I packed for backpacking New Zealand

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#1 Kayaking is More Expensive Than Hiking

While entry into the park is free, car transport from Nelson to Marahau and a water taxi to or from your furthest destination in the park is not. Most hiking and water taxi day trips are between NZ$50 – NZ$80 ($35 – $55). However, the prices for day trips including a kayak rental quickly jump to NZ$150 ($100) for the most simple of packages, with the better ones well above NZ$200. 

Both kayak and non-kayak packages increase in price the higher north into the park you go. This is also apparently the “better” section of the park. But, due to budget constraints, I forwent hiking the “best part” of Abel Tasman’s coastline in order to be able to kayak at all. In the end, I regretted this tradeoff, due to reason #2 below.

#2 Watertaxi Views Can Makeup for Kayak Views

When giving in and deciding to kayak, I was under the impression that kayaking would provide views I just couldn’t get from hiking. I worried I would be missing something if I didn’t kayak. The thing is, though, that most every hike involves a water taxi ride to your starting point or from your ending point anyways, so you still get views of the park coastline from the water. (The only hike that wouldn’t is an out-and-back day hike from Marahau.)

#3 Hiking is Easier (Probably)

Kayaking felt like a workout. Yes, yes, I know it is a workout. And hiking is too. But I felt like I wasn’t just getting a workout in as an added bonus to the activity, it felt like working out was the activity itself. I’ve kayaked before and enjoyed it each time, but this time, it was different, and I wasn’t a fan. The whole time, I was focusing on keeping up with the guide and wondering when our next beach break was, instead of fully taking in my surroundings.

I also love to take photos of my travels, and it’s way easier to do that while hiking. I was too worried about ruining my camera to get it out of the dry bag even once while in the kayak!

So, Should You Kayak or Hike Abel Tasman?

If there’s anything I learned from this all, it’s that there is no right answer for how to see Abel Tasman in one day. If you search online forums like I did, everyone will be swearing up and down that you absolutely must kayak. But personally, I enjoyed the hike portion of my time much, much more. I loved going at my own pace, being able to snap pics (which I was too afraid to do from the kayak), and feeling more in control. 

So, I say, just do whichever initially sounds better to you. You know yourself, and you know your budget. Do you like to be on your own two feet, able to turn around, speed up, slow down, and snap pics whenever you please? Or do you prefer the challenge of working against the waves and love being in the middle of the open water? The answer is different for everyone, and thus, so is the recommendation or whether to kayak or hike with only one day in Abel Tasman.

What Do You Think?

Do you have any questions about your upcoming trip? Drop a comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer any questions about hiking, kayaking, or doing a day trip from Nelson that I can! Have you been to Abel Tasman before? Am I crazy to not have enjoyed kayaking there? Let me know your thoughts!

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