We had a delightful time, with Meredith as our guide! She picked us up bright and early, and even…read morecame into our hotel lobby area to find us. She had plenty of facts to share, providing the local perspective of how Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand. It was a super smooth experience! We went to Hobbiton, and the tour group smartly booked the early lunch slot, meaning that we were able to access the buffet uninterrupted.

During our trip to Auckland, high on our list of things to see was Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves. As…read morenone of us can drive, we can't just "rent a car" (as many people suggest) and drive out to Hobbiton or Waitomo Caves, so we had to find a tour company to take us. My sister researched tour companies and settled on Bush and Beach, as they offered a smaller tour group, as opposed to a large coach with 50 people. (In addition to my sister, husband, and I, there were two other people with us, a mother and son from New York, who were lovely people.) For $395NZ per person (the current price is now $450), the price included admission to Hobbiton (the tour and lunch combo) and Waitomo Caves. While $395 is not cheap, considering it included admission to the attractions (which is now $158 and $75, respectively -- it was probably cheaper last year), transportation (we spent several hours driving), and the driver's time (a full day -- we were picked up from our hotel at 6:45am and returned around 12 hours later), the price was very reasonable. It was a great day, but what made it such a memorable experience was Damian, our driver. Damian is honestly the highlight of my trip to Auckland. He was just so AMAZING. He was friendly and personable, and you could tell he really liked his job and meeting people. On our drive he told us interesting tidbits about the area and history of New Zealand and made the drive very interesting. He was so engaging. If that wasn't enough, he bought all of us "hokey pokey" ice cream, which is apparently a famous flavour of ice cream in New Zealand, and on our way to Waitomo Caves from Hobbiton, he took us to see Waipapa Dam and the surrounding area as we had some extra time. Seeing Hobbiton and Waitomo Caves is a great experience in itself, but Damian pushed it over the top. [Yelp collections: NZ/Fiji 2023; New Zealand 2023]

Lasting three hours on Sunday afternoon, the Auckland Big Foody Food tour walked our group of nine…read morethrough various eating establishments. With underground mass transit being further opened up in this area, it gave our guide plenty of opportunity to impart his knowledge. Cost was $107 USD (it had been prepaid through Viator) per participant. Because Auckland is so walkable, we didn't have to walk very far to get to the 5 food locations. We met outside the Britomart Train Station in Te Komititanga Square, very close to the cruise terminal where we had entered Auckland. Our guide was Jono, friend and sometimes co-worker of the owner. We finished the tour at the last stop, which was quite close to where we began. Stops in order (could definitely argue this isn't the ideal ordering): The Shuckers Brothers: had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, shared mussel dish, and a seafood croquette. Miann: one scoop of gourmet gelato. Hotel DeBrett: shared cheese plate in a beautifully restored interior bar-room Honest Chocolat: 3 gourmet bon-bons, along with cocoa shell 'tea' Gochu: Korean-inspired fried chicken slider, cabbage roll In terms of the value and new tastes compared to other food tours I've taken, this would probably rank near the bottom...tasted nothing I haven't had before (and no taste jumped out); you definitely need to eat before starting (it's smart for them to start at 2:30, after lunch but before dinner). But Jono's enthusiasm and knowledge really pumped up the entire tour. And I would definitely come back to the Hotel DeBrett for cocktails with good company, the next chance I get.

Took a 3 hour Big Foody Tour in Dunedin on the South Island New Zealand. What a great fun…read moreexperience. Jono was our tour guide and did an excellent tour. Visited a total of 5 different locations and each was prepared for us and the food and drink were exceptional. Great value for the price paid for the tour.

Great way to experience nature and learn from an experienced animal advocate. We did the night hike…read moreand it was thrilling to go thru the forest with Tristan. He provided a tasty picnic dinner near the beach. This was the last night of our 3 weeks in New Zealand and enabled us to end on a great non-touristy note. Highly recommend Tristan's tours.

Looking for a shore excursion off the beaten path in Auckland that would take me into nature and…read moreout of the city and after much research I settled on Habitat Tours. I am so glad I did. Tristan picked up my guest and I in the harbor downtown where our cruise ship was docked and off we went. We had opted for the Waitakere Half Day Tour which included a short hike through the beautiful sand dunes leading up to Lake Wainamu, a walk through the Cascade Kauri Park among the majestic and ancient Kauri trees, and some play time at Bethell's Beach to stroll the sands, wade into the waters, and take it all in (with tea and cookies waiting for us when we finished). It was just my guest and I on our tour so everything was tailored to us and very intimate. We loved chatting with our guide Tristan and we felt great about supporting a local small business. If we had more time we would have done a full day tour. Really just a fantastic day and would highly recommend Habitat Tours to anyone wanting to get out and explore nature around Auckland.

Absolutely love to Seqway…read more Have near experiences in US and in several European nations... Yes - Do it Start with review lessons - there may be a person or two who just does "not get it....." Lovely tour with neat stories I still am not convinced that a Seqway is useful for my personal transportation

Oh, for goodness sake people! Just DO it!!…read more So much fun, and surprisingly a little bit of a workout, as you are forever conscious of your balance. You end up feeling like a determined demon as you lean in to make your segway go faster, and like a BOSS when you manage to stand on it, hands free to take photos. Yeah. Thoroughly recommend it, and, just a tip, if you are thinking about walking up to the summit of Mt Victoria. Don't..It's a killer hike. Get a segway instead! I wish we had!

I was looking to find out what I can do in Auckland for a few hours with a friend visiting from…read moreabroad, and had heard about a company called Stray from a traveller friend. Conveniently located with a funky bright sales office on Fort street super friendly and helpful staff can book you a free day stray bus tour around Auckland showcasing our magnificent city. The Vintage orange bus takes you to highlights of Auckland such as a Bungy jump off the Auckland Harbour Bridge for a discounted fee, or at the Sky tower the Sky Jump where you free fall with security ropes off a ledge and down to the waiting platform in a matter of seconds, what a thrill! You also take in the sights and great view at Bastion Point near Mission Bay, go for a bush walk in the Auckland Domain, have a pub meal if you feel like it and a free beer at Speight's Ale house. Last but not least you even get to wander around the world class sailing village of the Viaduct and hop on a Whale and Dolphin Safari if weather and your wallet permits. The amazing sales staff at the office can also book you any activity In Auckland which is fabulous to have as a service.

Having taken a Stray tour around southeast Asia from Bangkok, to northern Thailand and all the way…read morethrough Laos and spent (almost) every minute loving it, I knew that when I wanted to book a similar trip around New Zealand, there was only one place I would head to. Gaz, the guy I booked my trip with in the office, could not have been nicer and literally knew the answer to all my questions about the trip: what it would be like in certain places, what there is to do there, how much money I'd need (I could go on, I was probing him for probably a good half an hour about it!) it's really reassuring to know people know first hand about what they are selling you and more importantly, never pressuring you into anything you don't want to do. I'm also going to be booking a trip to Fiji in there soon as well. Can't recommend the people or the tours highly enough. They really know New Zealand and their target customers perfectly. I can't wait for my trip now!

This is the second time I have been on the Sandringham Spice Tour run by Eat Auckland and honestly…read morethe only time I had been to Sandringham. What a great world of Indian cuisine I had missed. Food writers Lisa and Mary will take you on the short walking tour and along with the owners of the establishments they will educate you on 6 different Indian and Sri Lankan restaurants and 3 spice markets. They will teach you how to make a Mango lassi and even give you recipes to take away. You will try traditional Indian sweets, Poori that bursts in your mouth, and succulent tandoori chicken. It's also home of Paradise, a very popular Indian restaurant that you must dine at. I'm looking forward to when they start up some other ethnic foodie tours in the near future.

We opted for a cycle tour of Auckland. Bicycles and helmets were available and our experienced…read moreguide led us on an extensive, 4 hour cycling tour of Auckland. Not for the weak or witless, since even an e-bike requires strength, alertness, and agility when plugged-in pedestrians step in front of you! The tour was fabulous! Our guide led the way and at each stop she gave extensive history of the particular site. We saw so much of this fantastic, beautiful, and amazing city, much more than just walking or taking the tour bus. We will definitely do this again!

Went on a excursion through Royal Caribbean. Jackie and Andrew led the group and they were super! I…read morereally liked the bike ride from downtown to Mission Bay and just beyond that till the bike path along the water ends. She said it was 22 kilometers(whatever that is in miles). It was about a 3 hour trip. We made stops along the way. We stopped across from Rangitoto Volcano and we were treated to coffee or ice cream at Movenpick(Swiss ice cream). That was icing on the cake. It definitely wasn't raining, but it was a bit overcast. When the bike path ended along the water, we turned around and went back the same way we came in. The leaders led a small group of 6-8 people at a moderate speed. I was always sure to ride behind the leader because I wanted to go fast and not have to ride behind another group member. Maybe that's obnoxious. Oh well.

Centrally located in the Atrium of Skycity, this i-site is perfectly positioned to be able to cater…read moreto those tourists coming through the skytower attractions etc. If you are just new to the city and unsure of what and where all the best places to visit in Auckland are ( after exhausting resources besides yelp of course!) the i-site is a really great place to take a breath and relax and put your problems in the hands of the resourceful hands of the staff here. The staff are able to help out with any requests really and can provide expert local knowledge and free, objective advice on travel throughout Auckland and New Zealand, from good hotels and backpackers to check into, directions for those directionally challenged among us and bus and train timetables and reservations. Really an awesome service all over!

Hmm parking will be a problem. Pity it wasn't located in the Cloud. Is there another more easily…read moreaccessible?

I mainly wanted this glowworm tour because they allow pictures to be taken while in the cave. The…read moretour date I was looking at was fully booked but you can email them to be added to the waitlist. I asked to be added to the waitlist for 2 on October 12, and got off the waitlist on November 9, for a tour on December 28 so don't give up hope if it is originally fully booked! I did the spellbound explorer tour which included a walk through a cave as well as a boat ride through a cave for the glowworms. The tour guide was great and allowed pictures during the first back and forth on the boat ride and asked us to put away our phones during the second. This is because the first go-around allows for the eyes to adjust and see the glowworms better so the second go-around the glowworms are much brighter. The cave walk was also a nice add on for 20 NZD but if the tour with the cave walk is not available the regular boat ride is perfect on its own. I loved this tour as our tour guide took pictures for each group that wanted some with glowworms and also provided us with personal pictures of glowworms taken with a nicer camera with a longer shutter speed.

This was a really incredible experience for the whole family! Our guide even showed us a place…read morewhere we could feed eels in a stream. We took our nine month old and two year old in carriers. Would highly recommend! The morning is the best time as the glow worms are the brightest! This isn't too far from Hobbiton if you are planning a drive strategically to Auckland.