Auckland travel guide

Auckland

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Pacific flavor in the north of New Zealand

Straddling a narrow, volcano-strewn isthmus between the Manakau Harbor and the Hauraki Gulf, Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and major international gateway.
The city is home to significant immigrant communities from Polynesia and Southeast Asia, which give it a distinctly multinational flavor. Its harbors and numerous offshore islands (Rangitoto and Waiheke in particular are excellent day trips) have earned Auckland the title "city of sails," and it comes the closest of any center in New Zealand to having "big-city ambiance" (something the rest of the country, perhaps with some envy, derides it for). Shopping (Ponsonby Road, the CBD, and Victoria Park Market), restaurants (Mission Bay and the Viaduct Basin), cafés, and bars are all available in abundance. Visits to the Sky Tower and One Tree Hill provide excellent views over the city, while a trip to North Head, Bastion Point, or the Auckland Museum helps to put it all in cultural and historical context. Aside from being a destination in its own right, Auckland makes an excellent hub from which to explore subtropical Northland or the stunning Coromandel and, of course, to rent a car and begin a journey down the length of the entire North Island.

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