Things To Do in Auckland

We will have 3 days (in early March 2016) pre cruise before boarding a cruise ship. As we have never been in New Zealand nor Auckland, we need your recommendation for stuffs that needed to see in or around Auckland to make the most of our 3 days there.

Thank you for you helps in advance.

Truyen

Auckland zoo

Kelly tarltons sea life aquarium

Sky tower at sunset

Musuem & war memorial

eat out anywhere along the harbourfront

Pizza from That's amore

enjoy

As you can see from the list above, there's not that much to see or do in Auckland, especially for 3 days. (We were there for one day and felt as if had "done" Auckland.)

Although it's a bit of a drive (around 3 hours), you might enjoy going to Waitomo. We had fun seeing the glowworm cave, doing a black water rafting trip and some hiking. I'd spend at least 1 night there.

As you can see from the list above, there's not that much to see or do in Auckland, especially for 3 days. (We were there for one day and felt as if had "done" Auckland.)

 

Although it's a bit of a drive (around 3 hours), you might enjoy going to Waitomo. We had fun seeing the glowworm cave, doing a black water rafting trip and some hiking. I'd spend at least 1 night there.

That was a particularly cynical comment thank you.

Auckland is a great city and there is more than enough to keep you occupied for three days and more. Heres a quick list without me even thinking of it, I hope you find something that might interest you and keep you occupied.

waiheke Island, - the vineyards particulary

the many vineyards in West Auckland

Devonport,

The Museum, (particularly for the Maori exhibit and early NZ exhibit)

sightseeing from one of the many volcano reserves across the harbour

a trip on the harbour, cat , jets, fast boat,

rangitoto - a dormant volcano in the middle of the harbour and a reserve (stunning views)

one of the many good restaurants in Ponsonby

one of the many good restaurants on the waterfront,

one of the many good restaurants in the viaduct and new quarter

a walk through one of the many victorian beach/harbour suburbs

the motat museum

a drive to the waitakere mountain ranges ranges

a drive to the west coast surf beaches

antique shopping in parnell

a drive along to saint heliers - a fabulous beach suburb -great bars and restaurants

a sail on the harbour

a sail on the harbour in a americas cup boat

a fishing trip

a drive out into the country to "helensville - great restaurants bars and a old nz town

shopping - duty free and other wise in the central city

one of the many cycle trails being built through the city

one of the many walking trails through the city

Bungee jumping - sky tower or off the harbour bridge

the harbour bridge climb

Auckland's are a re great outdoors people, one in three has access to a boat. As kiwis we also have

a culture of lots of sport which may interest you, Victoria park is always full of cricketers or depending on the season rugby players.

and that list was without even thinking about it.

As you can see from the list above, there's not that much to see or do in Auckland, especially for 3 days. (We were there for one day and felt as if had "done" Auckland.)

 

Although it's a bit of a drive (around 3 hours), you might enjoy going to Waitomo. We had fun seeing the glowworm cave, doing a black water rafting trip and some hiking. I'd spend at least 1 night there.

Actually the list I made above would easily fill three days. We all enjoy different things.

your question was for things to do in or around Auckland...

is your cruise going to Tauranga?

many cruisers visit Rotorua from there but you could use one of your days in Auckland to visit Rotorua...either with a tour or driving there/back yourself

i went on a tour of Piha and a tree walk as well as the bush near the beach we looked at with Black sand and that is filmed for 800 words [tv series] was awesome

We just arrived home after spending four days in Auckland (post cruise). Wish we had had 4 more days. Auckland is a vibrant city. There is loads to do, especially if you're a nature lover and enjoy hiking and exploring. I recommend the free walking tour of Auckland to learn a bit about the history of this city. Ask the guide about the meaning of "jafa". LOL. The parks, botanic gardens and rose gardens in all of New Zealand are spectacular.

Enjoy!

As you can see from the list above, there's not that much to see or do in Auckland, especially for 3 days. (We were there for one day and felt as if had "done" Auckland.)

Oh really and truly....trying to "DO" any City, anywhere in the World in one day is a big ask.

3 days in Auckland will fly by. .....the more you get out and see the more you will want to see. On one of your days I suggest a visit to Waiheke Island. Fullers run the ferry over there and also offer tours. It would be wise to take a tour .There are also many private operators who will meet you and show you around. Waiheke is becoming like Queenstown , a hideaway for the rich and famous so it would be great to see it before it gets spoilt.

Thank everyone for the responses. I copied all the info into a document to take with us and it will be very handy once we get there (at least we know what to ask).

Yes. Our cruise will have a stop at Tauranga. We already reserved a tour to visit Rotorua to see the Maori and geyser with several members on the Roll Call. Our friends visited New Zealand a few years back said the country is very beautiful so we are looking forward for our cruise which enable us to see both New Zealand and Australia.

We just arrived home after spending four days in Auckland (post cruise). Wish we had had 4 more days. Auckland is a vibrant city. There is loads to do, especially if you're a nature lover and enjoy hiking and exploring. I recommend the free walking tour of Auckland to learn a bit about the history of this city. Ask the guide about the meaning of "jafa". LOL. The parks, botanic gardens and rose gardens in all of New Zealand are spectacular.

 

Enjoy!

We heard about this tour, can you tell us how to get it?. We went to Copenhagen, Denmark walking tour once we loved it because we learned a lot about the country and other stuffs.

We heard about this tour, can you tell us how to get it?. We went to Copenhagen, Denmark walking tour once we loved it because we learned a lot about the country and other stuffs.

My pleasure. Here you are:

http://aucklandfreewalkingtours.co.nz/

They run daily, rain or shine. They even provided fresh strawberries and muffins.... We had a wonderful guide, Oscar. No need to reserve in advance, just show up.

Have fun.

My pleasure. Here you are:

 

http://aucklandfreewalkingtours.co.nz/

 

They run daily, rain or shine. They even provided fresh strawberries and muffins.... We had a wonderful guide, Oscar. No need to reserve in advance, just show up.

 

Have fun.

This tour they did not set the price, what is the normal donation ($)? Did you have a lot people with you on this one?.

Thanks again.

This tour they did not set the price, what is the normal donation ($)? Did you have a lot people with you on this one?.

 

Thanks again.

We had about 20 people from all over the world, mostly youngish couples. I gave the guide $10.00. My husband did not join me since he has mobility issues. The walk lasted 3-1/2 hours, started at the harbor and finished at Silo Park.

Free walking tours are also available in Sydney and Melbourne if your cruise stops there.Payment is by tips , or as we call them downunder , a donation.:)

http://www.imfree.com.au/

Thank Kiwi Kruzer for the info. Our cruise will end in Sydney and hope we will have opportunity to join this one too.

Auckland is a great city and there is more than enough to keep you occupied for three days and more. Heres a quick list without me even thinking of it

waiheke Island, - the vineyards particulary

From our experiences in early 2014, we kind of assumed that Auckland would be "just another large city". We were very pleasantly pleased with what we saw and did. As detailed below through some of my "photo/evidence", that location was very special. More visuals and ideas can be found on the full live/blog that is connected below. Lots good food here, varied retailing options, etc.

Here are more details on Waiheke Island. It is 11.0 miles from Auckland with trips taking about 35 minutes. There are nearly 9,000 permanent residents plus an estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes on the island. Most live in the western area closer to Auckland and its connections. It is New Zealand's most densely populated island and is the most accessible offshore island. There is regular passenger and car ferry services. Waiheke translates as "the descending waters" or "ebbing water", tied to when a Maori explorer landed on the island. The island is 12.0 miles long from west to east with varied widths from a half to 6 miles. Its surface area of 36 square miles. The coastline is 83.0 miles with 25 miles of beaches. The port of Matiatia at the western end of the island. Waiheke is very hilly with few flat areas, the highest point being Maunganui at 758 feet. The climate is slightly warmer than Auckland, with less humidity and rain and more sunshine hours.

Waiheke Island has become known as New Zealand's "island of wine", home to winegrowers who have matched the maritime climate and ancient soil structures for classical grape varieties to produce red and white wines with distinctive varietal character. Waiheke's climate are well suited to growing Bordeaux wine-type grapes, with also some Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc varieties considered to be good. Waiheke winegrowers regularly win awards for Syrah.

The Eyewitness NZ book cites this island's "alternative" reputation known for its artisans and organic farms. National Geographic cites its "fine bays and beaches". Frommers, in its five pages of details, gives the island three stars and notes it as a "divine little paradise". They rate this island's Onetangi Bay as one of the seven best beaches in all of NZ. It is rated as a "Fodor's Choice" and they note how it has been transformed from a once sleep spot and hippie haven to a more upscale escape. Fodors gives high marks for dining to Te Whau Vineyard (with their Bordeaux blend), Mudbrick Vineyard and Cafe and Vino Vino. The NZ Insight Guide credits the high-speed catamaran for making this island easier to reach and notes that many of craftspeople on this island are "world-class". Shopping opportunities??

Waiheke Island's biggest demographic groups are 82% European, 12% Maori, 4% Pacific Islander and 2% Asian. It is highly diverse, with the creative sector (artists, musicians, scientists, writers, poets and actors) and "eccentrics" strongly represented. Around two thousand people commute daily to Auckland for work. The main employment sectors are hospitality (23%) and retail (15%) followed by education, agriculture/horticulture and healthcare (10% each).

Much of this info is from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiheke_Island

You can go to this site for much more detail and background on the various wine places there, beaches, added history, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 129,825 views for this posting.

One of our first stops after getting off of our ship, was going to the top of Mount Eden with this view of both its main downtown, plus this huge crater from volcano action here many, many thousands of years ago.:

In one of Auckland's many grand parks, they have this large War Memorial Museum building. It has lots of historic info from the NZ contributions to world warfare efforts. Its website is: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com.:

Auckland’s Art Gallery is a mix of the new structure and an older, more traditional building. Here is one of the most loved paintings in its collection. They have older, two-story gallery that has most of its collection focused on historic NZ, the Maori connections, etc. Some of these items date back to the 1700's. Our guide in the tour noted that most of the paintings involving Maori history were fictional for how the actual events were depicted. Looked good, but not accurate, nor close. This museum had a great collection of portraits of Maori tribe leaders. We were not permitted to take any pictures in that area.:

Here one of the many great views on Waiheke Island. Lots of varied hills and great water views, including this picture showing the twisting and turning roads on this island. Some paved. Many not. This shows one of those "unsealed" roads that requires slow speeds, much care, etc.. Unsealed is clever term to describe just a basic dirt road. Plus, the fun of driving on the "wrong side".:

At the Man O' War Winery on Waiheke Island near Auckland, their main building was overlooking the beach as a part of its scenic location. This picture shows friends Ed and Karen from Central Ohio enjoying a tasting plate with a variety of good food items, plus, of course, their wine that is produced on this scenic island. Great way to do a "lunch break" and soak up the style, character and beauty for this artsy island. Their website: http://www.manowarvineyards.co.nz.:

Here is a picture from Waiheke Island's two kilometer stretch of white sand on Onetangi Beach. Here are Karen and my wife Penny sitting, enjoying this nice setting before our return to Auckland.:

From our experiences in early 2014, we kind of assumed that Auckland would be "just another large city". We were very pleasantly pleased with what we saw and did. As detailed below through some of my "photo/evidence", that location was very special. More visuals and ideas can be found on the full live/blog that is connected below. Lots good food here, varied retailing options, etc.

 

Here are more details on Waiheke Island. It is 11.0 miles from Auckland with trips taking about 35 minutes. There are nearly 9,000 permanent residents plus an estimated 3,400 who have second or holiday homes on the island. Most live in the western area closer to Auckland and its connections. It is New Zealand's most densely populated island and is the most accessible offshore island. There is regular passenger and car ferry services. Waiheke translates as "the descending waters" or "ebbing water", tied to when a Maori explorer landed on the island. The island is 12.0 miles long from west to east with varied widths from a half to 6 miles. Its surface area of 36 square miles. The coastline is 83.0 miles with 25 miles of beaches. The port of Matiatia at the western end of the island. Waiheke is very hilly with few flat areas, the highest point being Maunganui at 758 feet. The climate is slightly warmer than Auckland, with less humidity and rain and more sunshine hours.

 

Waiheke Island has become known as New Zealand's "island of wine", home to winegrowers who have matched the maritime climate and ancient soil structures for classical grape varieties to produce red and white wines with distinctive varietal character. Waiheke's climate are well suited to growing Bordeaux wine-type grapes, with also some Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc varieties considered to be good. Waiheke winegrowers regularly win awards for Syrah.

 

The Eyewitness NZ book cites this island's "alternative" reputation known for its artisans and organic farms. National Geographic cites its "fine bays and beaches". Frommers, in its five pages of details, gives the island three stars and notes it as a "divine little paradise". They rate this island's Onetangi Bay as one of the seven best beaches in all of NZ. It is rated as a "Fodor's Choice" and they note how it has been transformed from a once sleep spot and hippie haven to a more upscale escape. Fodors gives high marks for dining to Te Whau Vineyard (with their Bordeaux blend), Mudbrick Vineyard and Cafe and Vino Vino. The NZ Insight Guide credits the high-speed catamaran for making this island easier to reach and notes that many of craftspeople on this island are "world-class". Shopping opportunities??

 

Waiheke Island's biggest demographic groups are 82% European, 12% Maori, 4% Pacific Islander and 2% Asian. It is highly diverse, with the creative sector (artists, musicians, scientists, writers, poets and actors) and "eccentrics" strongly represented. Around two thousand people commute daily to Auckland for work. The main employment sectors are hospitality (23%) and retail (15%) followed by education, agriculture/horticulture and healthcare (10% each).

 

Much of this info is from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiheke_Island

You can go to this site for much more detail and background on the various wine places there, beaches, added history, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 129,825 views for this posting.

 

 

One of our first stops after getting off of our ship, was going to the top of Mount Eden with this view of both its main downtown, plus this huge crater from volcano action here many, many thousands of years ago.:

 

 

 

In one of Auckland's many grand parks, they have this large War Memorial Museum building. It has lots of historic info from the NZ contributions to world warfare efforts. Its website is: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com.:

 

 

 

Auckland’s Art Gallery is a mix of the new structure and an older, more traditional building. Here is one of the most loved paintings in its collection. They have older, two-story gallery that has most of its collection focused on historic NZ, the Maori connections, etc. Some of these items date back to the 1700's. Our guide in the tour noted that most of the paintings involving Maori history were fictional for how the actual events were depicted. Looked good, but not accurate, nor close. This museum had a great collection of portraits of Maori tribe leaders. We were not permitted to take any pictures in that area.:

 

 

 

Here one of the many great views on Waiheke Island. Lots of varied hills and great water views, including this picture showing the twisting and turning roads on this island. Some paved. Many not. This shows one of those "unsealed" roads that requires slow speeds, much care, etc.. Unsealed is clever term to describe just a basic dirt road. Plus, the fun of driving on the "wrong side".:

 

 

 

At the Man O' War Winery on Waiheke Island near Auckland, their main building was overlooking the beach as a part of its scenic location. This picture shows friends Ed and Karen from Central Ohio enjoying a tasting plate with a variety of good food items, plus, of course, their wine that is produced on this scenic island. Great way to do a "lunch break" and soak up the style, character and beauty for this artsy island. Their website: http://www.manowarvineyards.co.nz.:

 

 

 

Here is a picture from Waiheke Island's two kilometer stretch of white sand on Onetangi Beach. Here are Karen and my wife Penny sitting, enjoying this nice setting before our return to Auckland.:

 

Thank TLCOhio[/]

Thanks for taking time to give out the information about Auckland and pictures. All pictures you have posted so far are beautiful. Just hope we will capture so pictures as beautiful as yours.

We will have 3 days (in early March 2016) pre cruise before boarding a cruise ship. As we have never been in New Zealand nor Auckland, we need your recommendation for stuffs that needed to see in or around Auckland to make the most of our 3 days there.

 

Thank you for you helps in advance.

 

Truyen

Hi ChattTenn

We did exactly the same as you are going to, we stayed in the Skytower hotel at the base of the Tower so it was easy to find our way back to the hotel.

Auckland is a very easy city to navigate around, we went to Waheke island on the Fullers wine tasting trip, the guide was very informative, he lives on the island so he should. The wine was good, the scenery was fantastic, it was a very sunny day though. We had the opportunity to leave the island later so we had a meal at the beach club in Onero, good food, great view, then got the ferry back to Auckland

Wynyard crossing will take you to the Marina area, there are a number of Bars and Restaurants there that serve good food.

A nice walk on the second day through Auckland Domain Botanical Gardens then to the Museum was great. A visit to the Skytower is a must once the ship is in dock gives great views of the surrounding area and the ship.

This was our first cruise on HAL we found the trip truly amazing especially cruising through the Fjordland national park. We saw Dolphins on a boat trip in Akaroa which was great

The crew on the ship were very good and were very attentive without being too much so.

We spent 3 days in Sydney at the end of the cruise just to round it off. We love Sydney and will be back in February for the start of our next adventure and looking forward to it very much.

We hope this is helpful for you, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

G

Hi ChattTenn

 

We did exactly the same as you are going to, we stayed in the Skytower hotel at the base of the Tower so it was easy to find our way back to the hotel.

 

Auckland is a very easy city to navigate around, we went to Waheke island on the Fullers wine tasting trip, the guide was very informative, he lives on the island so he should. The wine was good, the scenery was fantastic, it was a very sunny day though. We had the opportunity to leave the island later so we had a meal at the beach club in Onero, good food, great view, then got the ferry back to Auckland

 

Wynyard crossing will take you to the Marina area, there are a number of Bars and Restaurants there that serve good food.

 

A nice walk on the second day through Auckland Domain Botanical Gardens then to the Museum was great. A visit to the Skytower is a must once the ship is in dock gives great views of the surrounding area and the ship.

 

This was our first cruise on HAL we found the trip truly amazing especially cruising through the Fjordland national park. We saw Dolphins on a boat trip in Akaroa which was great

 

The crew on the ship were very good and were very attentive without being too much so.

 

We spent 3 days in Sydney at the end of the cruise just to round it off. We love Sydney and will be back in February for the start of our next adventure and looking forward to it very much.

 

We hope this is helpful for you, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

G

Thank G again for another feed back. The info is very helpful. We will gather the info from this board into a word document.

We also will be with HAL (our 3rd cruise with them). We will have 3 days post cruise in Sidney too.

Thank TLCOhio Thanks for taking time to give out the information about Auckland and pictures. All pictures you have posted so far are beautiful. Just hope we will capture so pictures as beautiful as yours.

Appreciate your kind comments about my visuals, but the credit goes to New Zealand and its beauty. I am sure you gain many nice looking views during your trip.

Below are a few more to help build the excitement about Auckland and the other NZ locations.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 191,160 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Auckland is a big, urban city with about 1.5 million people. About a third of the whole country’s population is here. It has a very diverse population with many from various areas of the South Pacific, plus settling from many key parts of Asia, including China and India. BUT, we really enjoyed the variety of architecture styles and building, including a nice mix of new and older. Here are a few of my visual samples to prove it. Notice in the first picture a cute reflection off of one of the building glass walls. Also, lots of big, known international corporations have offices here.:

From O'Connell Street Bistro in Auckland that we super enjoyed, here are my visuals on two of the different main entrees. Look good? Then, here is one of dessert!! Also, outstanding!! All four of us enjoyed this dining star.:

Hi, when you got off the cruise ship, how did you get to the top of Mount Eden

Thank you for your help, just starting to do my research

Hi, when you got off the cruise ship, how did you get to the top of Mount Eden? Thank you for your help, just starting to do my research

We worked in advance with Alan from Elite Travel for the morning of our ship pick-up, taking our group of eight around town for a super introduction to this city and its highlights. Alan is a wonderfully nice guy. The perfect weather here today made it all work out so well. Alan took two couples from our Central Ohio group to our hotels mid-day and then was taking two more couples to the airport for mid-afternoon flights out. The Auckland passenger terminal where our ship docked is very handy, but fairly congested.

It was great having someone meeting us, handling luggage, doing this introductory tour, etc. Don't expect to walk off of this cruise and get a cab in an easy manner. This tour really gave us a good idea of this city that is one third the population for the whole country of New Zealand. Our travel agent set us up with Alan. His contact is: alan@elitetour.co.nz.

Does this help? Any other questions, info needs?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 130,171 views for this posting.

We did three days there in Nov. post cruise and loved the city. Right off the ship we were picked up by Coast2Coast tours and spent the day seeing the beaches, rain forest, the family sheep farm and some of the town itself before we were dropped at our hotel. Days two and three were walking tours. One guided to give us a feel for the city and then lots of walking on our own. Yes, be sure to see the art museum and the parks around it. We had a lot of rain our last day but we still got out. As others have said, there is great food every where you go. We got lucky and were upgraded to a suite at the Crowne Plaza so we had some great views just looking out the window. Both Auckland and Sydney had an amazing mixture of architecture. Make sure you have good walking shoes, you will need them

That was a particularly cynical comment thank you.

 

Auckland is a great city and there is more than enough to keep you occupied for three days and more. Heres a quick list without me even thinking of it, I hope you find something that might interest you and keep you occupied.

 

waiheke Island, - the vineyards particulary

the many vineyards in West Auckland

Devonport,

The Museum, (particularly for the Maori exhibit and early NZ exhibit)

sightseeing from one of the many volcano reserves across the harbour

a trip on the harbour, cat , jets, fast boat,

rangitoto - a dormant volcano in the middle of the harbour and a reserve (stunning views)

one of the many good restaurants in Ponsonby

one of the many good restaurants on the waterfront,

one of the many good restaurants in the viaduct and new quarter

a walk through one of the many victorian beach/harbour suburbs

the motat museum

a drive to the waitakere mountain ranges ranges

a drive to the west coast surf beaches

antique shopping in parnell

a drive along to saint heliers - a fabulous beach suburb -great bars and restaurants

a sail on the harbour

a sail on the harbour in a americas cup boat

a fishing trip

a drive out into the country to "helensville - great restaurants bars and a old nz town

shopping - duty free and other wise in the central city

one of the many cycle trails being built through the city

one of the many walking trails through the city

Bungee jumping - sky tower or off the harbour bridge

the harbour bridge climb

 

Auckland's are a re great outdoors people, one in three has access to a boat. As kiwis we also have

a culture of lots of sport which may interest you, Victoria park is always full of cricketers or depending on the season rugby players.

 

and that list was without even thinking about it.

We spent 3 days post cruise and felt that still was not enough time. You could spend all day in the museum it was fantastic. We also had some great meals out.

Enjoy your cruise from Southampton!