What can you do in Timaru over the weekend?
Aigantighe Art Gallery
The Aigantighe Art Gallery is home to one of the largest art collections on the South Island. Spend a couple hours at the gallery in between your return flights to Timaru to see it for yourself. You’ll see pieces created by international artists, but many were made locally by artists from around the Canterbury region. Types of art on display at the Aigantighe Art Gallery include pottery, paintings, and sculptures, and exhibits rotate regularly. Be sure to also take time to wander through the gallery’s Sculpture Garden while visiting South Canterbury on flights to Timaru; it showcases 25 unique sculptures.
Te Ana Maori Rock Art Centre
There’s a fascinating Maori culture to learn about when you book cheap flights to Timaru, and the Te Ana Maori Rock Art Centre is one of the best places to do so. The centre houses one of the most significant collections of Maori rock art across New Zealand. Traditional rock art is displayed on tribal taonga and tells stories of the Ngai Tahu people. See rock art up close and learn more about Maori culture in the South Canterbury region by taking a guided tour of the centre while holidaying on flights to Timaru.
Timaru Botanic Gardens
Escape the city centre for a while and take a quiet stroll through the Timaru Botanic Gardens. The gardens display a mix of native Canterbury plants, as well as flora from Australia, and exotic plants from other parts of the world. Take in areas like a formal rose garden, a fern house, and a woodland garden while visiting the botanic gardens on return flights to Timaru. Other points of note in the Timaru Botanic Gardens include an aviary, a war memorial wall, and several ponds that you’ll see by walking along the gardens’ walking trails.
When is the best time to visit Timaru?
There are four distinct seasons in the Canterbury region, so the time of year you book airfare to Timaru can affect the type of experience you’ll have. Timaru doesn’t have a true high season like its popular South Island neighbours Christchurch, Queenstown, and Dunedin. However, summer is the busiest time of year to book flights into Timaru Airport (TIU), especially for travelling families. Summer sees beautiful daytime temperatures of about 22°C, allowing visitors to spend plenty of time outdoors and enjoy water sports around Timaru. The annual Summer Carnival in January is one of the most exciting times to travel on return flights to Timaru.
Autumn and spring are quiet in terms of tourist numbers, and have mild daytime temperatures of about 15° to 20°C. There is some gorgeous foliage in autumn and flowers blooming in spring, making for some great hiking scenery if you book tickets to Timaru and visit during either of these seasons.
Winter in the Canterbury region is cold, but there’s one major benefit to booking cheap flights to Timaru between June and August: skiing. There are several ski resorts within reach of Timaru. These resorts get busy with visitors, but Timaru itself remains quiet in winter. Pack warm clothes if you book airfare to Timaru in winter as snow is common and temperatures reach 11°C during the day before regularly falling to around 0°C at night.
What is the cost of visiting Timaru?
Cheap flights to Timaru aren’t the only aspect of your holiday that you’ll save on by booking with Webjet. You can also reserve a hotel room and a rental car to accompany your flights to Timaru. The average price for a hotel room in central Timaru is between $100 and $150 NZD, and rental cars start from about $115 NZD per day and can be picked up after you arrive into Timaru Airport (TIU).
Rental cars are the best way to get around while holidaying on flights to Timaru, but the public bus is also an option. Tickets to Timaru’s public buses cost $2.40 NZD.
Some of Timaru’s top attractions are free to visit. Take in the beautiful Canterbury nature at Caroline Bay and along the South Beach Coastal Track for no cost at all! South Canterbury Museum and Aigantighe Art Gallery are both free to enter, but gold coin donations are welcomed. Guided tours around the Te Ana Maori Rock Art Centre cost $22 NZD. End a day of sightseeing by unwinding with a drink at DB Draught Brewery where a tour with tastings costs about $20 NZD.