At this time of year, a good chunk of the NZ population is chucking a suitcase together, loading up the car, and cranking the tunes for a classic summer roadie. 

Many of us have nostalgic memories of stopping off for a toilet break at a small town you’d never stay at, or snapping a picture at an ‘iconic’ landmark - think the Springfield donut in Springfield or the Ohakune carrot. 

One Kiwi took to Reddit to try and settle the debate: “Best/worst small towns in New Zealand?” 

The original poster admitted their experience mainly comes from the middle and upper North Island, and they didn’t hold back on their initial rankings. 

“The better ones: Wellsford - Really buzzing when you go through the main road, and an all-round good vibe. Paihia - Beautiful beach/scenery. Taihape - Busy, seems to be a lot of tourists passing through

The not-so-great ones: Huntly - Reignites my depression every time I pass through. Kawerau - Had a funny smell and gang members roaming, felt pretty dim. Kaikohe - This could be middle tier. The scenery is actually quite nice.”

Kiwis sprinted to the comments, with over 300 defending their home turf or roasting the local competition. 

We’ve sifted through the chaos to find the most common picks. Please, don’t shoot the messenger - these are the people’s opinions! 

The Best 

Cambridge, near Hamilton, was a highly regarded choice, with many calling it a “friendly little town.” While most agreed it’s “booming”, a few critics reckoned it can feel a bit “stuck up.” 

Hunterville, in the Manawatū region, got plenty of love for its short bush walk and stunning landscape. Most importantly, they “randomly have a really good hot dog place.” 

Other highlights included Whangamata, near the Coromandel, which was simply described as “nice”, Hokitika, hailed as the most vibrant spot on the South Island’s West Coast. 

Bay of Plenty’s Kawerau had some mixed reviews, but a generally happy consensus. Many described it as a “beautiful town” with lots of nice greenery.

Back down South, Twizel was praised for having “amazing food” with “super friendly people.” Some did comment on it being slightly overpriced, though. 

Lastly, Taumarunui, also in the Manawatū, earned some good recommendations, with a few raving about how beautiful it is. 

The Worst 

The comments disagreed hard with the poster's take on Northland’s Wellsford; one commenter labelled it “shithole of the highest order.” Unfortunately, I struggled to find any positive comments about Wellsford… 

Tokoroa, located in Waikato, was heavily criticised for having a “creepy, eerie vibe”, with one person claiming it has “been on life support since the 90s.” 

Down in Southland, Mataura copped it as “the worst South Island town by far”. This seemed to be a pretty unifying opinion, being called “the South Island’s only North Island town”. 

Moerewa had a hard time as “the worst in Northland”, with others suggesting that Dagaville was actually the worst “by a long shot”. 

Manawatū’s Dannevirke faced plenty of heat, one claiming they “couldn’t wait to get out”. All replies agreed there were some rather unique characters floating about, and that it just felt a bit off. 

On the West Coast of the South Island, Westport and Greymouth got no love for being “dull”. 

Still in the south, Oamaru had mixed reviews; some liked it but said they “would never live there”, while others got “creepy vibes” and complained about never seeing a penguin. 

And unfortunately, something we probably all saw coming, Huntly just got an abundance of bad comments. 

So, if you’re mapping out your summer route, Reddit has done its job. Of course, take it with a grain of salt and remember, don’t shoot the messenger!