Hotels near Palmerston North International Airport - PMR, Palmerston North

Palmerston North, known to other New Zealanders as 'Palmy' in a mildly disparaging way, is a surprising inland city. One striking thing is that nearly every street is tree-lined, with a range of beautiful mature trees. (Would be nice if more of them were native species though). This is because the local council has undergrounded all the services. Parks are great. One has an impressive miniature railway which kids love to ride (even if their parents/grandparents look a bit overscaled!) Massey University is in a beautiful setting, like a botanical garden, with many interesting buildings. I was there on a site visit as architect of the two major bridges on the soon-to-open Te Ara a Turanga 4-lane highway, SH3, which reconnects Palmerston North with Wairarapa/Hawkes Bay, after the old highway through the Manawatu Gorge had to be abandoned in 2017. The bridges and the shared walking/cycling path over the Tararuas is sure to become another tourist attraction in itself.

We were in PN because of treatment at the hospital for recently diagnosed cancer. On discharge from the hospital we choose to go to the cafe Thyme and Fig. We spotted a car park right outside the cafe. Perfect as my wife had a catheter in tow and was wearing her pyjama bottoms. When we had hydrated we decided to head home to Greytown. You guessed it- we got a parking fine. I'm afraid that soured our stay in PN. We were frassled and never thought about a parking infringement. There are no parking meters in Greytown so it certainly wasn't on our radar. I'm astounded that the fine is $70. That is steep for pensioners.

Palmerston North seems to have everything people would need great shops / Parks / Cossie club/ the only thing drivers would find confusing is the One-way systems .. also car Parking costs seem to be on all streets within the main areas.

The square in Palmy is great. Have a good explore around. If you can, go to a show at the Regent on Broadway. It is a beautiful theatre. Popeyes is now open on the way out of town, it is delicious. EB games is in one of the malls and well worth checking out if thats your sort of thing

Accommodation was well below standard be very careful of the right ups and photos as they can be very miss leading. Apart from that the venues that we attend was well worth the time we had in the city of Palmerston North plus there was a great selection of places to eat out at

Weather was windy and cold, just the season. But a variety of shopping and plenty to do is always great in Palmerston North. Always something to do. Close to other places, Sanson, Bulls and Ohakea Base and Linton camp. Well worth visiting.