PictonNZWaitohi · Marlborough Sounds
A Picton water taxi launch underway in the Marlborough Sounds

On foot, by water, by coach

Picton without a car

Most of what makes Picton worth visiting is reachable without a vehicle: the town, the tracks, the water and the coach and train connections all start at the foreshore.

Photo: Diego Tirira / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

  • Foot passengers off the ferry
  • Backpackers
  • Anyone who left the car in Wellington

Picton is unusually good for this. Both ferry terminals, the i-SITE, the railway station, the InterCity coach stop and the water-taxi wharves are within a few minutes' walk of each other, and the walking tracks start from the foreshore.

The plan

  1. On foot

    The Victoria Domain tracks

    Shelly Beach (10 min), Bob's Bay (a further 30), the Snout (50 min to the lookout) and the Picton–Waikawa Track (45 min, Easy) all connect from the Coathanger Bridge. Tirohanga and the Essons Valley tracks start at the Garden Terrace end of town.

    View from a hillside lookout over Picton, its marina and Queen Charlotte Sound

    Victoria Domain

    200 hectares of bush between Picton and Waikawa, with over 20 km of walking and mountain-bike tracks.

    20 min – half a dayWalk from townFree
  2. By water

    Water taxis and cruises

    Kaipūpū Sanctuary is a 10–15 minute water taxi. Motuara Island, Ship Cove and the Queen Charlotte Track are all served by scheduled boats from the foreshore.

    A Picton water taxi launch underway in the Marlborough Sounds

    Water taxis

    Everyday transport in the Sounds — to the track, to the lodges, to bays with no road.

    15 min – 2 hrsWalk from town
  3. By coach

    InterCity

    Coaches stop outside the Interislander terminal: about 30 minutes to Blenheim, a little over an hour to Havelock, a little over two hours to Nelson or Kaikōura. Marlborough District Council's Route 3 bus also runs Blenheim–Picton a few days a week as a hail-and-ride service.

    Rows of vines running across the flat Wairau Valley with dry hills behind

    Blenheim and the Marlborough wine region

    New Zealand's largest wine region — nearly 31,000 hectares of vines — starts half an hour south of Picton.

    Half a day – a dayDrive
  4. By train

    The Coastal Pacific

    Seasonal (roughly October–April) to Blenheim, Kaikōura and Christchurch from the station next to the ferry terminal.

    A Coastal Pacific train crossing a street in Picton

    The Coastal Pacific train

    The seasonal scenic train between Picton, Blenheim, Kaikōura and Christchurch.

    Half a dayWalk from town
  5. Wine

    Tours pick up in Picton

    All four wine-tour operators collect in town, which also solves the driving problem.

    Workers walking past large stainless-steel wine tanks

    Wine tours from Picton

    Guided minivan tours to the Wairau Valley cellar doors, with pick-up in Picton.

    Half a day – a dayWalk from town

Worth knowing

  • Bluebridge runs a free shuttle for walk-on passengers between its terminal and the i-SITE.

Track distances and times: Marlborough District Council's Picton by Foot or Bike brochure and track pages; Queen Charlotte Track figures from DOC. Ferry check-in guidance from the operators' own sites — confirm before travelling. Full list on the sources page.