Auckland short visit?

[clr0806]

We will arrive mid morning and plan to get on the ship drop our bags and head off to see some sights before we sail away late that evening. Any thoughts on must see and do that would be an easy travel distance from the ship?

[Sonicked]

You could do any of the following, which will be within walking distance or shuttle/taxi from the ship

 

- Queen St. - great shopping, lots of cafes and pubs off side streets too.

- Sky Tower - casino, go and see the 360 degree view of Auckland, can do a jump off it if you're eager

- Catch a ferry to Devonport and enjoy a nice coffee along the beach there

- Visit Kelly Tarlton's (Aquarium)

- Take the jump-on-jump-off bus for a tour around some of the main visitor areas of Auckland

- Visit the Viaduct, Wynyard Quarter or stroll along the waterfront - lots of great pubs, bars and restaurants along here.

 

:)

[erewhon]

Visit the chocolate factory at Devonport.

[clr0806]

You could do any of the following, which will be within walking distance or shuttle/taxi from the ship

 

- Queen St. - great shopping, lots of cafes and pubs off side streets too.

- Sky Tower - casino, go and see the 360 degree view of Auckland, can do a jump off it if you're eager

- Catch a ferry to Devonport and enjoy a nice coffee along the beach there

- Visit Kelly Tarlton's (Aquarium)

- Take the jump-on-jump-off bus for a tour around some of the main visitor areas of Auckland

- Visit the Viaduct, Wynyard Quarter or stroll along the waterfront - lots of great pubs, bars and restaurants along here.

 

:)

Great ideas. If the weather is good I think we will catch the ferry to Devonport then hit the sky tower on our return.

[eh2zed]

The HOHO bus stops at the Ferry Terminal near the cruise pier. 90 minute round trip. You can get at Kelly Tarltons or elsewhere and get back to the pier for boarding. www.viator.com for prices, times and route

[Yungs]

We visited Kelly Tarlton's a few years ago and were disappointed. It is expensive for what it offers. We tried to catch the free shuttle that they had advertised which leaves every hour from Skytower. Well, shuttle arrives, 11 seats, 23 people. Guess who got left behind, all the people with little kids. Yes ok maybe that's out of their control but perhaps management should get a bigger bus as this appears to be a recurring problem. Finally get there on the next bus, waited 20 minutes to even get inside as there is only one ticket booth. Very dark corridor with nothing to look at. Some people had prepaid tickets and there were no staff members to get these people to come to the front of the queue and get in a little faster. In comparison, there were three, sometimes four people manning the penguin ride which seemed a little excessive. Surely one of these people might have been spared to go help with the ridiculous queues outside?

The entire place is tiny compared to the only other underwater world I have been to, the one in Mooloolaba in Queensland, Aust. It was a shock to the system to discover that we might conceivably spend less time inside than we had spent getting there, and queuing up for tickets. The place appears to be set up to separate you from your money. Give it a miss. Go to the Auckland museum instead.

[donnaham]

If you have *all day* in port, have you not considered getting out into the countryside to experience something "real"??...please read Tripadvisor.com for tours/attractions in Auckland (there you can also read about Kelly Tarltons!!).

[KiwiIan]

If you have *all day* in port, have you not considered getting out into the countryside to experience something "real"??...please read Tripadvisor.com for tours/attractions in Auckland (there you can also read about Kelly Tarltons!!).

Lots of options close to the ship berth,

1] NZ Maritime Museum, with sailing trips on historic vessels

2] Sail an Americas cup yacht

3] take a leisurely cruise on a 40ft sailing yacht.

4] look around the new waterfront [revampred for the Rugby World Cup]

5] Join the locals on the ferry to Devonport, an histric section of the city.

6] More time ferry to Rangitoto, the 600 year old newly erupted volcano, walk to the top.

7] Catch the bust to Mission bay and enjoy the best fish and chips in Auckland at the Fish Pot cafe [last shop on the front] either in the restaurant or best still on the beach from the newspaper.

8] Book lunch at the sky tower [free access so the meal is almost free] as you dont pay the charge to get to the top, drop a coin in the slots in the casino on the way down and you could end up a winner.

9] Visit the newly refurbished Art gallery.

10] The Auckland Domain, park and a great Museum, donation to get in and a great Maori concert mid day as well.

 

Hope that helps, from a pom now living in NZ.