By plane - Christchurch International Airport is a major transit airport for international and domestic travellers. There are international services to and from Australia, Japan, Ho Chi Minh City, and Singapore and frequent daily flights to and from most New Zealand airports, with direct flights to and from Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown and Nelson
Flights to and from McMurdo Station in Antarctica also use the airport. This is one of the few international airports in the world where military and civilian aircraft regularly share the same runways.
There is a regular public bus service to the city center. The 30-40 minute trip costs NZ$7 pp and the buses operate half-hourly during the week and at least hourly on weekends. There is also a privately-run 8-passenger "5 dollar bus" which runs between the Square and airport about every 15-20 minutes during the day. A door to door shuttle bus service to all parts of Christchurch is available for NZ$19 for the first person, $4 per subsequent person. Taxi stands (about NZ$45 to the city center) and rental car parks are also close to the terminal building.
By car - State Highway One passes around the western edge of the city, past the airport. This is the main north/south arterial road in New Zealand. State Highway 73 goes to the west, over Arthur's Pass and on to the west coast. From SH73 you can also access Mount Hutt and other regional skifields.
By bus - There are daily bus services north to and from Picton and south to and from Dunedin.
Newmans Coach Lines operates a premium sightseeing tours to and from Christchurch.
InterCity Coachlines is New Zealand's national coach company and operates over 150 services to more than 600 destinations nationwide. There are regular departures in and out of Chirstchurch to all parts of the South Island. A cheaper option is nakedbus.com, a budget bus operator which also has daily bus services all over the south island.
By train - There is a daily train service to and from Picton timed to meet ferry sailings to and from Wellington. Southbound passengers can spend the morning sailing on the Picton ferry and the afternoon on the train, while northbound passengers can do the opposite.
This is also the terminus of the scenic TranzAlpine train service to Greymouth. This can be done as a day trip. The train departs from Christchurch daily at 8:15am, returning at 6:05PM.
The railway station is located in Addington adjacent to the large Tower Junction shopping centre and has limited facilities.
By boat - The port town of Lyttelton is separated from Christchurch by the Port Hills. The early settlers had to walk over the Bridle Path - so named because the path was so steep that horses had to be lead by the bridle as they could not be ridden. Today there is a road tunnel that links the port to the city.
