As I mentioned in my Ultimate Guide to Wellington (click here to read that), people seem surprised that I spent time in New Zealand’s cities instead of just the pretty natural places. This skepticism of being able to have a good and meaningful time even seems to apply to Auckland, by far the country’s largest and most cosmopolitan city. While I can’t fault anyone for wanting to base a trip around natural beauty – and New Zealand has that in abundance, even on the North Island – I want to dispel the belief that the cities can’t offer amazing experiences.
Auckland is absolutely worth a visit, whether as a stopover on your way to one of those natural spots – this is, after all, basically the only international gateway to New Zealand – or a destination in and of itself. I’ve been twice now, and can easily recommend it.
This guide will attempt to relay to you the experiences I’ve had in Auckland (I can’t talk about things I haven’t done) so that you can plan your time in the city. Links within the guide will take you to articles that will delve a bit deeper into specific places or aspects of life here, so be sure to click on those. And if you enjoy this guide, click here to visit our Ultimate Guides from all over the world!
Getting There
Auckland has a large airport, with direct flights from the US (at least five different gateway cities). I’ve flown direct on Air New Zealand once, and on Fiji Airways once via Nadi. I mention that second option because it tends to be the cheapest way to get to New Zealand for many, and allows a stopover in Fiji for up to two weeks on that itinerary, which might be enticing.
Arriving at the Auckland Airport, you can either Uber/taxi into the city (you’ll probably be staying downtown) or take a bus that goes directly downtown to Sky City. Tickets are $20NZ one way, but when I booked two of them, there was a large discount for a second person. Either way, the ride will take anywhere from a half hour with no traffic to an hour and a half in rush hour. Traffic here can be bad.
One more note about the Auckland Airport. If you are merely connecting here to or from a domestic flight, the domestic terminal is about a ten minute walk from the international terminal. There is a shuttle between them if mobility is an issue, but just take note if you are planning connection times.
Getting Around
One of the limitations of Auckland is its relative lack of transit, although a subway line is said to be opening in 2026. There is a robust bus system, and the hope will be that anything you’ll want to see can be reached without making a transfer. (If you’re staying downtown this can largely be true.)
As mentioned in the section above, Uber and taxis are also point to point options if you don’t want to rent a car. (Renting a car might be necessary if you plan on doing things outside of the city as day trips.)
Within downtown itself, you’ll pretty much be walking. But the area is very hilly. (Seattle is a good comp for those who have been there.) If those are an issue, short Ubers might be your best option, unfortunately.
If you’re headed on a ferry from Auckland to one of the islands off the coast or to Devonport (more on those in the next section), ferries will depart from the ferry building downtown. Some require advance tickets (like Waiheke Island due to its popularity) and some can be purchased at the time.
One last note on transportation. When in Auckland on my first trip, I used the hop on/off bus as my transit. It made stops at all three of the things I wanted to see outside of downtown on that day, and was efficient in terms of time and money.
What to Do
Let’s organize this geographically, starting downtown because that’s likely where you’re staying. There are a few things to do/see in the Sky City complex. First is the Sky Tower itself, if you want to go up. Second is the All Blacks Experience if you want to have a rugby experience and can’t make it to a match. (Click to read about that.) Third, if you can’t make it to the Weta Workshop in Wellington (click to read about Weta), there is an exhibition here featuring some of what they have created, like Lord of the Rings.
Down on the waterfront downtown, there is what I’m told is a lovely maritime museum, but I haven’t been. (It’s on the list for my next trip, whenever that happens.)
Just outside downtown you’ll find the Auckland Domain, a lovely green space, with the War Memorial Museum at its heart. That museum boasts one of the country’s largest collections of Maori artifacts (click to read about Maori biculturalism in Auckland), historical exhibits, and natural history. It’s worth a visit.
If you want a nice shortish hike, Mt. Eden is an extinct volcano just a short bus or Uber outside downtown with awesome views of the city. There’s even a lovely little cafe near the top.
A bit further afield, in Hobson Bay, you’ll find what I’m told is an awesome aquarium called Sea Life. Again, I haven’t been, so I can only pass along the recommendation from others.
If you have transportation and want to explore some of New Zealand’s beauty, getting outside the city to the west leads to some awesome mountains with huge kauri trees (click here to read about the kauri tree), black sand beaches on the west coast, and one of my favorite Auckland adventures, Velskov, a forest farm where you can forage for edible native plants and cook your meals with those. (Click here to read about Velskov.)
Finally, let’s talk about ferries. I’ve taken two as day trips, one to Devonport (click here to read about that), and one to Waiheke Island for wine tasting (click here to read about that one). Others go to Rangitoto to climb a dormant volcano there. Getting out on the water is just awesome on a nice day, so if you have one to spare, taking a ferry day trip is highly recommended.
Where to Stay
Stay downtown, unless you have a strong reason for staying elsewhere. Why? It’s walkable, central to most of what you’ll want to do, safe, and has the widest variety of food, which we will talk about in the next section.
US chain hotels abound, ranging from mid-level to luxury like Intercontinental or JW Marriott. Other nationalities of chains are also present, as are independent hotels of all stripes. I stayed at the Crowne Plaza on my first trip and enjoyed the experience, although on my most recent trip I found an Airbnb just a block from Sky City.
If you want something quieter, you could also choose to stay overnight on Waiheke Island rather than going there as a day trip. I can’t recommend any places in particular, but would have happily spent a second day wine tasting and enjoying the beauty of the island.
What to Eat
Before I get to my personal recommendations, there’s a super cool thing Auckland is doing. Called Iconic Auckland Eats, it allows those really in the know (read: locals) to nominate their favorite iconic dishes from restaurants all over the city by sharing stories associated with them. I was lucky enough, mainly by chance, to try a few, and wish I’d known about this earlier. (And thank you to a friend from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited for giving me a small box of the Dragon Beard candy from Jia Qi Sweets Station. They were so light and unique!)
Ok, now for my own experiences. To me, Auckland has two major areas of food you want to seek out. First is Asian. To say that this city had some of the best and most diverse Asian food, especially tiny places for takeaway, of anywhere I’ve been would not be an exaggeration. My favorite was probably Little Tiger Dumpling downtown, but I just followed lines of people wherever they seemed to be heading and was never disappointed.
The second cuisine to spend energy finding is Pacific Island. Metita in Sky City gets a ton of press, and it was lovely (outside of the service which I found subpar), but if you’re looking for fine dining in this space, get a reservation at Tala in Parnell. It is the only Samoan fine dining restaurant in the world, and is one of the best meals – and best overall experiences – I’ve ever had. (Click here to read about dining at Tala.) If you find yourself in west Auckland, Chikos in Henderson had lovely Filipino-Asian-Island fusion cuisine.
Let’s talk for a moment about seafood. There’s a lot here, ranging from casual to fancy, and over basically every cuisine out there. But my favorite upscale-but-not-expensive place was Depot at Sky City. Just note they don’t take reservations and the place gets packed after about 615pm, so come early. (The green tip mussels with chorizo butter were a standout.)
New Zealand has a lovely emerging wine industry. While Waiheke Island is known for reds, I found the white wine in the country to be shockingly good. My favorite glass was the Sauvignon Blanc at Batch.
Other Useful Information
Let’s start with two things I mentioned before in the Getting Around section, but which bear repeating. First, Auckland – especially downtown – is very hilly. They can be steep. Please wear appropriate footwear for your own comfort and safety when walking around, especially if it rains. Oh, and while on the subject of walking downtown, many street crossing signals are 4-way, meaning you can cross diagonally at those. But don’t just start diagonally if you aren’t totally sure in case you are at one that isn’t. (And remember they drive on the left so look both ways multiple times to be safe.)
Second, Auckland is notorious for traffic. If you rent a car, you’ll need to navigate this, and even if you just Uber anywhere, plan around increased driving times during rush hour accordingly. Don’t miss your reservation at Tala because you didn’t allow enough time to get there.
The traditional greeting in all of New Zealand is in Maori. Kia Ora (normally pronounced key-aura) is a good phrase to know and use.
Finally, I owe so much of my own experience to working with the tourism bureau here in Auckland, Tataki Auckland Unlimited. If you are coming, or thinking about coming, reach out to them for guidance. They are amazing. And tell them you heard so from The Royal Tour!
Conclusion
If you’re coming to New Zealand, no matter what your itinerary, you’ll almost certainly have to at least come through Auckland. So even if this isn’t your primary focus, and that’s ok, it’s 100% worth adding a couple days here. See some sights, eat some amazing food, grab a ferry to some of the coolest wine tasting, go shopping, or visit a museum. You’ll have a good time.
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