MUST DO on your first day! Highly recommend Liz's Aucky Walky Foodie tour in Auckland CBD. Debbie…read more(and Liz) met us right outside Sky City Tower sign/ticketing area which is right in front of the SkyCity Hotel entrance. You won't be disappointed... you end up with tummies full of delicious food, ton of information, and new found friends. I really liked the small group setting bcuz it's like you are on a private tour. Knowledgeable and they chose the perfect spread of foods while meandering the streets of Auckland CBD down to the wharf. Take the tour first before anything else... that way you can narrow down where to eat/see next. Debbie - you are the BEST! Thank you for being our guide. Special thanks to owner Byron at Cocoa Wilds Chocolates for personally coming out to greet us. We could just feel the good vibes and passion he has for his business. God bless you and much success to you and your team! Special MAHALO to Jed, SkyCity Tower Hotel OUTSTANDING concierge, for recommending us to Aucky Walky tours.

Great tour! Debbie customized the tour to accommodate our interests and she graciously answered our…read moremany, many questions about architecture, history, culture, restaurants, places to buy men's shoes and Auckland customs. We enjoyed our time with Debbie and wholeheartedly recommend Aucky Walky Tours. -Michael Florida, USA P.S. the mussels were incredible! Thanks for the recommendations.

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.

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.

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.

When it comes to Stray, the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." I have…read morelearned a very expensive lesson and hope my bad experience with Stray will help you decide if this is the type of company you want to deal with. Before considering this supposed hop-on, hop-off bus service I would urge you to do a deep-dive of research. Start by sifting through all the Stray marketing surrogates who provide a glowing review (especially if it's the only/first review they've posted) or superlative photo-laden blogs since many have identified in the small print that they received their trip either free or deeply discounted. I desperately wish I had done so prior to enthusiastically falling for Stray's slick presentation. Unfortunately, I am not a travel blogger nor a social media "star" so I used my hard-earned money for a standard fare and am now paying the price in the form of a HUGE penalty for cancelling (20%) even though it was far in advance and I never stepped foot on a Stray bus. Stray's MINIMUM cancellation policy is 20% and they won't budge on it no matter the reason. You may eventually find, like I did, that there are some problems with Stray's model and not everyone has an over-the-top experience described with gleeful hyperbole. Those who have legitimate complaints like me are quickly drowned out by sarcastic on-line statements from company reps. I must stress this again - be fully aware that from the second you hit "book" Stray will immediately charge you for the total amount of the bus trip. From then on, there are no full refunds whatsoever - even if you haven't selected a start date (and maybe won't travel for months yet) and even if you haven't stepped foot on one of their buses. The policy states that there is a MINIMUM 20% penalty for ANY cancellation, no exceptions. The first problem I discovered is it isn't as easy to hop on and hop off as they portray. But you only find this out AFTER you've booked and get access to the app. They also obfuscate the fact that "Straymark" locales are MANDATORY. You MUST stay at these locations for the number of days/nights listed and you must pay the listed additional charges for doing so. There is no way around these mandatory stops without booking an alternate bus service other than Stray and you must pay out of pocket for it. If the Straymark location does not have activities that appeal to you or are too expensive, then you may find yourself sitting around a remote area for a couple of days while you twiddle your thumbs. While some people may thoroughly enjoy these stops and what they offer and are fine with spending their money at a place Stray dictates, there are others who would rather be free to do something else. Stray "guarantees" a bed for you for the first night on your stops which seems appealing. But I then learned it may be in a mixed dorm (meaning men and women sleeping in the same room and sharing a bathroom). While that may not be a problem for many it may not appeal to all and for some, it can present an extremely uncomfortable situation if their RELIGIOUS OR CULTURAL beliefs prohibit such arrangements. Also be aware there is an exclusive and COMPULSORY overnight stop at one of the Straymark locations where shooting "feral" animals is one of the optional ENTERTAINMENT activities. This may be fine for those who enjoy hunting in order to balance the natural environment but VEGANS and animal advocates may find it highly objectionable. This information should be identified very clearly and locations like these should not be "compulsory." If you do NOT want to spend a few days at a compulsory Straymark location then you must find another means of transportation (at your own cost) to meet up with the bus further down the line. Stray buses don't run every day to each location so that means finding your own lodging while you wait. BTW, trying to read Stray's bus schedule is like trying to break a cold war-era encryption code. IMO, all these issues may rise to the level of deceptive marketing practices and can be reported to the NZ government. I plan to do so and encourage others with bad experiences to do the same. I attempted to resolve my complaints by asking to deal with a member of Stray management but I was just directed to another glib staff member who abruptly blew me off. I trust the NZ government office of oversight won't. Be sure to read all - and I mean read ALL, every word - of Stray's policies! Be well aware that you will automatically lose AT LEAST 20% of what you paid should you cancel at ANY time for ANY reason!! While I certainly understand that companies may need to charge a small administrative fee for a cancellation, charging a minimum of 20% full cost when it's many months or weeks before travelling is far beyond the pale. In my experience, Stray's "fine-print" marketing maneuvers and cancellation polices are the most rapaciously egregious I've had in many years of travel.

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!

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.

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.

Okay. So it's not like the bus in London, Rome or Sydney, but it was a really great way to see the…read morecity especially when traveling with a couple of octogenarians. Stopped at almost all of the stops along the Red Route. Blue Route was less interesting to us. Stop 1- The heart of the city is at the Queens Wharf and the Central Business District. Loved the historic buildings, shops and restaurants. Saw the International Buskers Festival. Watched the boats come into harbor. Stop 2- The Sky Tower is pricy, but gives a great view of the city. A short uphill climb from our hotel apartment. Stop 3- The Art Museum and Albert Park. The Guo Pei exhibit was so interesting. A very eclectic museum. Stop 5- The Auckland War Memorial Museum and the switch to the blue line or red line depending on which way you came. Easy to walk from this stop to the Winter Garden. Stop 6- The Holy Trinity Cathedral. Closed on Auckland Day. Easy to walk from here to Parnell Village and then stop #7. Stop 7- Pick up a lamb or meat pie on the way to this stop. Stop 8- Bastion Point has stunning views of Auckland. The memorial is beautiful as well. Stop 9- The aquarium, because who doesn't love penguins? Happy Feet! Stop 10 - The Winter Garden has the most beautiful flowers in the glass greenhouses. The fernery is interesting, too. Pricy, but we got a great taste of Auckland.

Really good time. Professional helpful really enjoyed our day. I have said enough and think 85…read morecharacters is too much so I write this gibberish