The Westhaven Marina adds a lot of beauty and interest to the Auckland waterfront, and helps us…read moreclaim it as a true "city of sails". The marina has a surprising number of services for yachties as well, even clothes washing machines are hidden in some of the shower/toilet blocks for the full-time residents. For those with smaller boats Pier Z has a launching ramp, as well as a busy café and a whole bunche of charter boats (mainly fishing) that go in and out all day. There is also a spiffing new shower block available for public use. If you're not a boatie, the marina still makes an excellent location for a flat, scenic walk or run close to the CBD.

Wow... we saw 4 guys sky jumping from highest building in Auckland... mainly we heard them…read morescreaming as they jumped then we saw them... Amazing people watching... an outdoor restaurant & bar below the skyline tower...

To see all of Auckland, the bay bridge and the Port take a ride on the Sky lift. The view is…read morereally neat. You may see a cruise ship. You can see a McDonald's logo on a roof that is the former location of the NZ corporation office. The old City Hall is nearby. If you know where to look you can see the park and buildings of the Māori Council, the Indigenous people of NZ. Up on the enclosed viewing area you can spend as much time as you'd like. Cool is that in the floor are see-thru panels to the ground below. You can avoid walking on these if you wish. A floor above is a cafe, a bar and souvenir shop. I believe this is handicapped accessible. Call to make sure.

The downtown area is fairly small but quite interesting. Lots of things to do, places to shop and…read morean abundance of restaurants and hotels. The entire city though stretches over quite a large area if you include all the residential areas. If you are looking for adventure, there are many tour companies to keep you busy either within the city or with daytrips to the surrounding areas. I also highly recommend the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Auckland Zoo. Or attend one of the local festivals. There seems to be something going on at all times.

My husband, sister, and I arrived in Auckland on the afternoon of May 3rd and then flew off to Fiji…read moreMay 9th. While it was a relatively short trip, we were able to see and do quite a few things. What we did: May 3: Arrived in Auckland, had disgusting pizza from Hell Pizza for dinner, and relaxed at the hotel. May 4: Did the Wētā Workshop tour and went to Taco Medic for lunch. My husband rested in the hotel in the evening while my sister and I went to Cafe Hanoi for dinner. May 5: We spent the day on Waiheke Island, touring the wineries. On the island our first tasting was at Wild Estate, then we stopped at Heke Kitchen, Brewery & Distillery for lunch, Stonyridge Vineyard and Cable Bay Vineyard for two more wine tastings, and Mudbrick for dinner. May 6: Walked around and stopped in the Gow Langsford Gallery temporary satellite space on 131 Queen Street, had lunch at the Indian restaurant "1947 Eatery", and then my husband went to a workshop at Wētā (which unfortunately sucked and was not what he was expecting) while my sister and I went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Drinks at Bar Albert in the evening. May 7: We booked with the tour company Bush and Beach and did an all day tour to Hobbiton and Waitomo Glowworm Caves (and as a bonus, the awesome driver took us to the Arapuni Suspension Bridge). May 8: Went up the Sky Tower, walked up Mount Eden Domain, had lunch at the Garden Shed, and dinner at Orbit. May 9: We flew off to Fiji! While we were in Auckland, it was very rainy, more so than usual. (New Zealand declared a state of emergency due to severe flooding a couple of months before our trip and the Auckland airport had flooded. While parts were still closed and under repair, it had fortunately reopened when we went.) Despite the rain, it didn't bother us -- we're from Vancouver, you can't control weather, and my husband bought a really nice rain jacket on Waiheke Island. While there were some days where it was POURING rain, the weather was fine when we went to Waiheke Island, just a few sprinkles when we went to Hobbiton, and May 8th was dry, which was fortunate as that was the day we had planned to go up the Sky Tower and walk around the city and Mount Eden. So even though some days were miserable weather-wise, the days we were out side were dry. The day we left for Fiji it was pouring, and as we arrived at the airport, we all received alerts on our phones about a severe rain storm (we had NZ SIM cards). Luckily the storm did not affect our flight. While I enjoyed my time in Auckland and experienced some amazing things, the reason why I am giving Auckland three stars is it is not one of my favourite cities I have visited, and five days was enough (the weather has no bearing on my rating). While I would liked to have seen other parts of New Zealand, because none of us drive, we can't just drive out to the country, so we had to stay in the city (except when we went to Waiheke Island or hired a a driver to take us to Hobbiton and Waitomo). I'd love to go back to new Zealand, but I've seen enough of Auckland and I'd rather see other parts of the country if I ever have the opportunity to go again. [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023; Cities]

Large clean well marked train station bar the ferries & port. Starbucks,a florist, mojo are…read moreinside. Lots of machines to refill our at hop transit card & staff that was a big help. This is the the public transport hub in the central business district. It opened in 2003 but was a post office from 1911. It combines a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive modernist architectural elements, and a bus interchange. It is at the foot of Queen Street, in the main commercial shopping, dining & transportation hub.

If you're getting around Auckland, you're probably going to go through Britomart Station. This is…read morethe central hub for all ground transportation in the area, and everything seems to stop through here. It's right across the street from the Ferry Landing, and there's lots of stores, restaurants, gift shops and things to see and do around here. When I went, the place was swarming with scooters! They were everywhere. Plus, the place was heavily under construction, with big scaffolding over the facade, and shipping containers set up to walk through so nothing falls on pedestrians. The exterior is nice looking, and everyone seems to know where this place is. They have kiosks set up to check your bus tickets without having to deal with a clerk.

I love the discovery tours because they taught me something. Okay so I managed to snatch a sweet…read moredeal that had a tour of the Auckland Harbor, a stopover at Tongariro and a return trip from Auckland to Devenport. After living in Auckland for 8 years one would think I would know where Devenport was. I remember calling nt boyfriend saying oh baby we are going to Devenport. He started laughing and told me that his house was only a few minutes drive from Devenport. I didn't know that one could drive there. I was so embrassed as we had just started dating, now I look back and laugh at myself. The day was a bit windy but we had so much fun on the ferry. Walking on Tongariro and taking pictures was the highlight. This is a trip that those that want to explore Auckland should make.

While Fullers have a near monopoly on most of the major high-demand ferry routes, 360 Discovery…read moreruns services to all the destinations that Fullers doesn't cover. That means a bunch of tourist-oriented routes (Tiritiri Matangi Island, Rotoroa Island, Motiuhe Island, Coromandel), and a couple of commuter routes too (Beachhaven, Hobsonville). Some of these are truly wonderful destinations, so it's great to have a second ferry operator providing access to them. Tiritiri Matangi is probably the best known, and makes for a great day trip or overnighter - it's a bird sanctuary island with great nature walks, panoramic vistas and beaches. The 360 vessels are generally smaller than the Fullers boats so you need to book for some destinations, but they're fast and comfortable and the service is a bit more personal so that's nice.

Small little pedestrian bridge that you can cross from Te Wero Island to the Wynward Quarter. It…read morecrosses the Viaduct Basin water and it's free. Watch as yachts cross here. There's a beautiful view of the marina and Sky Tree in the background so take some pics. The Viaduct Events Center is on this side

Besides the hike up Mount Victoria just a few blocks away, the North Head Historic Reserve is a…read morefree active outdoor activity in Devonport. You can easily walk here along the beach from the ferry port, plus there's tons of free parking if driving. There is an office and many signs sharing the history of the place. The area is a mountain on the coast and offers spectacular views all around, including Devonport and Mount Victoria. You can also see the islands and further out to sea from here. There are winding paths all around, both rings around the mound plus stairs and paths going up to the top. They have clean restrooms at the top as well should you need. It's muddy here and many of the paths are just dirt, so be prepared with proper shoes. If you're exploring the Auckland area, an entire day can be well spent in Devonport. This is a not to be missed activity; Auckland is a beautiful city you can better appreciate from afar.

We took the 807 bus here from the ferry & followed the trails upward. Magnificent views were…read moreenjoyed all the way up. There were clean bathrooms, magnificent views of Auckland, beaches, sailboats, and hand gliders. Maori history dates back to here, 4 aboriginal villages were fortified at this site. It's an important icon for the Maori. I wandered into the south battery, through dark tunnels and ruins. These tunnels were built as a defense against the Russians in the 1880s. Initially it was armed with a 64 pound gun and disappearing gun was added in 1888. This massive gun recoiled into the gun pit after firing to reload safely out of enemy site. There's a complex tunnel system linking the gun pit with magazine storing ammunition, and observation post, gun crew quarters and the engine room. The navy museum is below us right on the harbor protecting Auckland.

I was so impressed with Mt Eden! It's a free activity that offers great education on the history…read moreof the site and the people who lived there long ago. It has an excellent boardwalk all around to further enforce the importance of staying on the paths. There are phenomenal 360 degree views of all of Auckland! It's actually quite stunning! It does involve a good amount of incline walking. Nice clean bathrooms available too.

Yes. The answer is yes, this is a view and experience worth walking uphill and up many steps. Take…read moreyour time and enjoy looking every direction out over the city towards the water; imagine the active volcanoes that were once here. Observe the signs that are written in the Maori language as well as English and think about the efforts the people of New Zealand have made to live with each other. If you are stickler for close parking you may be disappointed; just remember this is a volcano. You are not supposed to be able to drive to the top of a volcano.