New Plymouth (NPL): three shuttle operators, and the airport closes at night
A short run into town, a taxi rank and three door-to-door shuttle firms. The airport itself only opens around the flight schedule, which is worth knowing before a long layover.
- The airport is about 11 km north-east of central New Plymouth, a 15 to 20 minute drive.
- The airport is open daily from one hour before the first departure until 30 minutes after the last arrival. It is not a 24 hour building.
- Three shuttle operators serve it door to door: Driving Miss Daisy, Scotts Airport Shuttle and Withers Coachlines.
- Scotts is the dedicated airport shuttle, on (06) 769 5974 or 0800 373 001.
- Driving Miss Daisy is on 06 751 0209, Withers Coachlines on 06 751 1777.
- Taxi stands are outside the terminal exit, and ride-sharing apps also work here.
- A taxi into the city is roughly NZD 35 to 50 and takes about 15 minutes.
- On-site rental cars are available, which is what most visitors take, because Taranaki is a driving region.
- The terminal is called Te Hono, meaning the connection, and it is a recent build with a strong Māori design language rather than a shed.
- Book the shuttle in advance for an early flight. With three small operators and a schedule this thin, they are not idling outside at 5am.
The transfer
- 11 km north-east of the city, 15 to 20 minutes. Short enough that price differences are small in absolute terms.
- Taxi stands are directly outside the terminal exit, and ride-sharing apps operate here too.
- A taxi into town is roughly NZD 35 to 50.
Three shuttle firms, which is unusual for an airport this size
- Driving Miss Daisy, on 06 751 0209 or 027 773 3268.
- Scotts Airport Shuttle, on (06) 769 5974 or 0800 373 001, which has been New Plymouth's dedicated airport shuttle since 2007.
- Withers Coachlines, on 06 751 1777.
- All three are door to door. For one or two people they are usually cheaper than a taxi and no slower over this distance.
- Book ahead. These are small local operators, not a rank, and a 6am departure needs arranging the day before.
The airport hours
- New Plymouth Airport opens one hour before the first departure and closes 30 minutes after the last arrival.
- That is a genuinely useful thing to know. There is no sitting in the terminal overnight, no arriving five hours early, and a badly delayed last flight can land at a building that is about to shut.
Te Hono
- The terminal is named Te Hono, meaning the connection, and it is the pride of the airport: a recent build with Māori design worked through it rather than applied to it.
- There is a lookout, Mātairangi, and the terminal is genuinely worth ten minutes rather than being somewhere to endure.
Taranaki
- This is a driving region. Taranaki Maunga, the Surf Highway and the coastal walkway all want a car, and the on-site rental desks are the usual answer.
- The mountain dominates everything, including the weather. Taranaki makes its own, and flights here are more weather-affected than the distances suggest.
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