Nelson Airport, four kilometres southwest of the centre, is one of New Zealand's busiest regional airports — direct flights to Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch most of the day, plus seasonal services to Hamilton and Queenstown. Air New Zealand and Sounds Air carry most of the traffic.
By road, the Picton ferry port is about two hours away on State Highway 6, with a connection across the Marlborough Sounds to Wellington. The InterCity bus network runs between Nelson, Picton, and the West Coast, and a number of small shuttle operators do the same routes for backpackers. There is no passenger train.