Christchurch: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Christchurch is a city of 419,200 people in New Zealand (Canterbury), 14 m (46 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Christchurch International Airport (CHC), 10 km (6 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 822 places to stay.
Key facts
Open Christchurch in Google Maps
Daylight in Christchurch runs from about 9 h a day in late June to 15 h 29 min in late December (computed for -43.53° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Christchurch is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Christchurch International Airport (CHC), 10 km (6 mi) from the centre, whose 10,787-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Christchurch: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Christchurch · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 822 places to stay in Christchurch. Of the 568 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (376), and 65 are five-star. Across 357 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.8 out of 10. Guests have left 279,899 reviews in total.
Hotels in Christchurch: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 12 hostels in Christchurch, out of 822 places to stay of every kind — 1.5% of everywhere it lists in the city, around the middle of the range for the cities we hold figures for. Across 6 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 7.3 out of 10, 1.5 below the 8.8 its hotels average. Guests have left 6,561 reviews across them.
Hostels in Christchurch: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Wellington, 305 km — flights · buses · car rental
- Dunedin, 310 km — flights · buses · car rental
- Lower Hutt, 319 km — flights · buses · car rental
Twin towns and sister cities: Seattle, Bahía Blanca, Wuhan, Adelaide, Kurashiki, Lanzhou, Songpa District.
Common questions
Which airport serves Christchurch?
Christchurch International Airport (CHC), 10 km (6 mi) from the centre.
How big is Christchurch?
About 419,200 people live in Christchurch, across 295 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Christchurch in?
Pacific/Auckland, currently UTC+12.
What currency is used in Christchurch?
The Dollar (NZD). Traffic drives on the left.
Are there hostels in Christchurch?
12 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Christchurch.
How many hotels are there in Christchurch?
Our booking partner lists 822 places to stay in Christchurch, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Christchurch?
Wellington (305 km), Dunedin (310 km), Lower Hutt (319 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.