Auckland is not the city people expect
Most visitors treat Auckland as the airport they arrive at. That is a mistake, and it is usually a logistics one rather than a taste one — the best of the region is a ferry ride or a winding drive away, and neither is obvious from a hotel on Queen Street.
Waiheke needs a driver if everyone is going to taste. The west coast needs a vehicle and current knowledge of which Waitākere tracks are open this month. Hobbiton and Waitomo need timed entries booked weeks ahead. Rotorua needs a night, and someone willing to tell you that.
That is what these days are for. We are an Australian family company, we have been arranging travel since 1974, and our New Zealand touring runs with trusted local operators while the planning, booking and support stay with our Brisbane team.
Auckland tours and day trips
Auckland city tour
The Sky Tower, the Viaduct, the volcanic viewpoints and Mission Bay — the orientation day that makes sense of a city built on fifty volcanoes.
Waiheke Island wine tour
Return ferry, a local driver, two or three cellar doors chosen on the morning, a booked lunch and time for a beach. Everyone tastes; nobody drives.
West coast beaches tour
Piha, Lion Rock, the Waitākere lookouts and Muriwai's gannet colony — with the current track closures checked on the morning.
Food and wine tours
Kumeu chardonnay, the Ponsonby and Britomart precincts, and the markets that make Auckland the largest Polynesian city on earth.
Hobbiton Movie Set tour
Two hours each way to the Matamata set — 44 hobbit holes on a working sheep farm, and the most reliably satisfying day trip from Auckland.
Waitomo Caves
The glowworm caves, two and a half hours south. A silent boat ride through a chamber lit like a planetarium.
Rotorua and Waitomo day tour
Geothermal Rotorua and the Waitomo caves in one day. Long, and better as an overnight — we'll tell you honestly which suits your trip.
Northland day trip
North to the Bay of Islands and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Three hours each way, and a trip we usually suggest stretching to two days.
Which day suits your trip
- One day in Auckland? The city tour or the harbour. See our one-day itineraries for the shape of it.
- Two days, fine weather? Waiheke on the better day, the city on the other.
- Three days? Add the west coast. It is the one people remember.
- Want Hobbiton or Rotorua? Read our honest day-trip rankings first — some of these are better as overnights, and we will say so.
- Travelling with children? Auckland with kids covers what holds up and what does not.