Auckland Local Tips

Our Top Tips:

Don’t leave without an umbrella. The tropical climate means you could encounter rain even when the day starts off nice and sunny!

The Auckland Memorial Museum does not open its doors until 10.00am. See a traditional Maori Culture Performance (run 3 times a day) show for just $35 in the museum.

The airport shuttle bus will cost you far less than a taxi and will get you door to door from the airport.  The length of the journey will depend on the number of other passengers sharing the minivan. However, a couple can save up to 50% with fares around $45 for two versus $80 for a taxi.

The red ‘city circuit’ bus offers a free hop on hop off service around the city centre every 10 minutes from 8.00am to 6.00pm every day.

Many Auckland bars run a 'happy hour' from 4.00pm until 7.00pm.

Devonport is a 12 minute ferry from Auckland and runs on a regular basis.  Mount Victoria offers stunning views of the Auckland skyline.  Try the fish and chips at the Patriot pub.

The ferry to Rangitoto Island only runs 2-3 times a day. The last ferry back is 4.00pm – don’t miss it!

In New Zealand, you may only park in the direction of traffic flow on your side of the road.  You can be fined or towed away for parking on the opposite side of the street that you are driving along (unless it’s a one way street).

There are free wireless hot spots in the city with many cafes also offering free Wi-Fi.  Esquires Cafes give a free one hour wireless voucher with each coffee while libraries provide free internet access

A pre-paid ‘Two-Degrees’ 3G dongle (wireless access) will cost about $70 and give you 3GB worth of data use for 30 days.

Hop Cards are new to Auckland and allow you to add credit onto your travel card. The longer you travel the more you save. Up to 10% around the city and 17% further out.  The Hop Card is available from many retailers. View the Hop Retailers list to find your nearest shop. 

Fish Market - enjoy the Jazz band every Thursday (5.00pm-9.00pm) along with a tasty wine at the fish market.  Located at number 22 Jellicoe Street near the Viaduct basin.

Scenic Driving - Make good use of Auckland's location on four great driving trails: Thermal Explorer; Pacific Coast Highway; Great New Zealand; and Twin Coast Discovery Touring Routes.