Auckland Tourism - Travel to Auckland

Auckland is the largest metropolitan area in New Zealand, with a population of over a million in the greater urban area. It is located in the northern half of the North Island, on a narrow isthmus of land that joins the Northland peninsula to the rest of the North Island. It is composed of four separate cities, Manukau city in the south, Waitakere city in the west, North Shore city in the north and Auckland city, itself, on and around the isthmus.

Table of contents

1 Understand

2 Get in

3 Get around

4 See

5 Do

6 External Links

Understand Auckland Tourism

Auckland is often known as the "City of Sails" for the large number of yachts that grace the Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf.

It could also be known as the "City of Volcanoes". Much of its natural character comes from the fact that it is built on the Auckland Volcanic Field which consists of about 48 volcanoes. All of the volcanoes are individually extinct but the volcanic field as a whole is not.

Auckland is the largest city in Polynesia. There are more expatriate Polynesians living in Auckland from some of the Polynesian islands than there are left living in the whole of some of those island nations. Consequently Auckland has a rich Pacific cultural mix that is often celebrated at festivals and sporting matches.

In a recent survey, Auckland was placed 5th among 215 cities with respect to its quality of life. It was the highest placed city in the Asia-Pacific region. (The first four were Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver and Vienna).

Get into Auckland

Auckland International Airport, New Zealand's largest airport, is located in the southern suburb of Mangere on the shores of the Manukau Harbour.

Get around in Auckland

There are a variety of ways to get around including bus, train, ferry, taxi, shuttle.

Within the Auckland region, travel by train is probably the least convenient. There are only a limited number of routes, and while the local government has recently completed a central transport centre to improve public transport, this has actually had the opposite effect. Delays of up to an hour are infrequent but expected occurrences.

The Auckland roading network experiences severe congestion at rush hour. The geography of Auckland constrains the roading network to a limited number of routes. A historic lack of investment in the Auckland roading network has meant the city is rapidly outgrowing its highway network. Despite this it is often easier and cheaper to hire a car instead of use taxis, simply because the city is so large and spread out. Taxi fares may be NZ$50 - NZ$100 from the airport to a city location, about the same as it costs to hire a car per day.

While you can get around the city on public transport, it does take time and may need to make a transfer. Often a car is far more direct and convenient and Aucklanders tend to rely on their cars rather than public transport.

See Auckland

Auckland War Memorial Museum
New Zealand National Maritime Museum
Sky Tower, the tallest erection in the Southern Hemisphere
Auckland Art Gallery, the largest collection of national and international art in New Zealand. It is split across two buildings (main gallery and new gallery)
Auckland Zoo, located in Western Springs. Has 150 animal species, 500 animals and a number of different habitats such as the Rainforest and Pridelands (an African savannah)
The StarDome Observatory, located on the slopes of One Tree Hill. The park also contains Maori archaeological sites, a kid's playgrounds and a working farm
Kelly Tarltons,located on Auckland’s scenic Tamaki Drive and the home of Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World. It's a world-class aquarium which includes a trip through a transparent tunnel while the fish swim all around you.
Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, located in Manurewa (South Auckland) has over 10,000 different plant types spread over 65 hectares with both natives and exotics
MOTAT(Museum of Transport and Technology), situated near the Zoo. It's an interactive museum with over 300,000 items. Look out for the WW2 Avro Lancaster Bomber in the Sir Keith Park Memorial Aviation Collection
The Lion Beer Experience, not a traditional brewery tour but rather an educational beer experience

Do Auckland

Climb the Auckland Harbour Bridge
Do the Sky Jump, a cable controlled base jump from a height of 192m on Sky Tower.
The New Zealand International Comedy Festival returns again in May of 2004.
The annual Incredible Film Festival is for fans of cult, offbeat, boundary-pushing or simply eye-poppingly bad cinema.
Visit Ponsonby. Auckland's cafe mile. Once home to New Zealand's gay pride festival.
Wine Tasting on Waiheke Island. Waiheke is home to some fantasic wines and has some of the best beaches in the area. Wineries here
Greater Auckland wine route here
Rainbow's End, is NZ’s premier family based theme park with many rides and attractions