By road
State Highway 2
passes through the centre of Napier and Hastings and the provincial towns.State Highway 5
the Napier-Taupo road - joins State Highway 2 just north of Napier.If travelling from the south, State Highway 50 provides a scenic route that is more direct to Napier However will bypass Waipukurau, Waipawa and Hastings. This road is of a slightly lower standard than State Highway 2 and has some narrow winding sections that need to be taken slowly as well as a couple of single lane bridges with sharp approach coners at the bottom of steep grades, so take care.
If travelling from Taihape, the historic Taihape road over the Kaweka Ranges can be entertaining. It has an incrediably steep bit called the 'Gentle Annie' and and the store keeper at the bottom kept a team of draught horses especially to carry wagons over this one piece of road. Much of the road is dirt, but still easily driveable in a 2 wheel drive hatchback. It comes out at Fernhill, halfway between Hastings and Napier.