By ship
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.
By bus
There are daily bus services north to and from Picton , south to and from Dunedin and west to and from Queenstown West CoastGreymouth, Hokitika Mt Cook.
The InterCity Coachlines Travel Centre located at 123 Worcester Street is the main transfer hub for domestic and tourist sightseeing services in and out of Christchurch. Facilities include a ticketing office, waiting room, toilets and luggage storage. National operators InterCity Coachlines (http://intercity.co.nz) and Newmans Coach Lines (http://newmanscoach.co.nz) provide multiple daily connections from this location to destinations throughout the South Island.
The location 123 Worcester Street is in the NO GO Damaged Red Zone of the Christchurch CBD March 2011 This area has no public access.The Intercity website www.intercity.co.nz states "Our Christchurch temporary stop has moved slightly. Services are now arriving and departing at 126 Bealey Avenue between the Colombo St and Durham St intersections."
National sightseeing tour operator GreatSights New Zealand (http://greatsights.co.nz) also departs from this location with sightseeing tours to Mt Cook, Queenstown, and Chirstchurch.
There are also a number of smaller shuttle operators who operate from Christchurch.'nakedbus.com' (http://www.nakedbus.com/), a budget no frills bus operator.'Atomic Shuttles' (http://www.atomictravel.co.nz) a local operator with services from Christchurch to Greymouth via Arthur's Pass. 'West Coast Shuttle' (http://www.westcoastshutt...) with services to Greymouth via Arthur's pass pick up at Christchurch airport on demand.
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. The stretch from Picton to Christchurch is particularly scenic, including stunning windswept cliffs and seal colonies. 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 plane
Christchurch International Airport (http://www.christchurch-a...) is a major transit airport for international and domestic travellers.
There are international services to and from Australia, Cook Islands seasonal winter flights only, Fiji, Japan, Malaysia the last service will leave Christchurch on the 31st of May 2012, Singapore, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.
There are frequent daily flights to and from most New Zealand airports domestic, with direct flights to and from Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown, Nelson and many more destinations (http://www.christchurchai...). The domestic airlines that serve Christchurch are Air New Zealand and Jetstar Airways.
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 centre. The 20-30 minute trip costs $7 and the buses operate half-hourly during the week and at least hourly on weekends. A door to door shuttle bus service to all parts of Christchurch is available from $20 for the first person, $5 per subsequent person. Taxi stands about $45 to the city centre and rental car parks are also close to the terminal building.
If you have a few hours to spare and no heavy luggage, you can also walk to the airport. There is a separate footpath alongside Fendalton Road/Memorial Avenue all the way to the airport and the around 8km walk is quite pleasant through residential neighbourhoods.