Abel Tasman is New Zealand's smallest national park but consistently its most visited: golden sand beaches, granite headlands, and clear blue water along a sixty-kilometre coast. From Nelson the park is about an hour's drive to the gateway towns of Marahau and Kaiteriteri.
The Coast Track is the obvious headline activity — three to five days of walking from beach to beach with DOC huts along the route — but the park is equally good for day trips. Water taxis from Kaiteriteri drop you at any beach and pick you up at another, and sea kayaking from Marahau is the best way to see the seal colony at Tonga Island. Book everything well ahead for the December–February peak.